In my home state of Massachusetts Ted Kennedy was loved. He touched the lives of many people and was as good a representative in Washington as anyone could wish for. He knew how things worked in Washington and he used that knowledge to forward his agenda. And that is not entirely a bad thing. We vote for politicians who agree with our views and we expect them to go to Washington and work for those views. In Massachusetts those views are decidedly liberal and so was Senator Kennedy.

I am sure that countless news reports and blogs will provide a full account of the failings of Senator Kennedy. And I am sure they will also tell of his success as the consumate Washington insider. I will simply wish the best for his family. The death of a loved one is never easy. My prayer for them is that they will find comfort, joy, and peace in their memories.

Ted Kennedy (D – MA) is terminally ill. That is sad but it is a fate that awaits us all. As a parting gift to the Democrats he is now trying to overturn a 2004 Massachusetts that took the ability of the Governor to appoint the replacement of a Senator who resigns or dies.

The Wall Street Journal puts this situation in perspective with one paragraph:

What Mr. Kennedy doesn’t volunteer is that he orchestrated the 2004 succession law revision that now requires a special election, and for similarly partisan reasons. John Kerry, the other Senator from the state, was running for President in 2004, and Mr. Kennedy wanted the law changed so the Republican Governor at the time, Mitt Romney, could not name Mr. Kerry’s replacement. “Prodded by a personal appeal from Senator Edward M. Kennedy,” reported the Boston Globe in 2004, “Democratic legislative leaders have agreed to take up a stalled bill creating a special election process to replace U.S. Senator John F. Kerry if he wins the presidency.” Now that the state has a Democratic Governor, Mr. Kennedy wants to revert to gubernatorial appointments.

In his letter advocating for the law change Kennedy trots out his supposed concern for citizens of Massachusetts “to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.” This is all very noble but the question immediately comes to mind: During his illness ho often has Sen. Kennedy been present to lend his voice and vote to the job he seems so concerned about? Well, in 2009 he has been absent for a staggering 97% of the votes. Of 270 roll-call votes he has been absent for 261. And these absences started last year.

Senator Kennedy, concern is not saying the right about a subject. Concern is doing the right thing. You say you believe “it is vital” the people of Massachusetts “have two voices” representing them in the Senate. Well, where has your concern been for part of 2008 and 9 months into 2009? Do they only deserve two Senators when it is politically convenient for you and your party? This is not leadership and, as a former constituent of yours, I am not surprised.

Here are some thoughts on the poster and the reaction to it.

As satire and political comment the poster misses the mark. Others have well explained that Obama is nothing like the Joker. Andrew Sullivan does the job with the help of some others, here and here. You can also see the poster there.

What really amuses me is the reaction of some people. People who had no problem when President Bust was depicted as the same Joker in Vanity Fair or as other deranged and demonic characters. One of the favorites was Bush-as-Hitler both in spoken word as well as in caricature.

Bush As Hitler

Here is one example. Do a Google search and you will find hundreds, if not

Bush as Dracula

thousands. On the right we have Bush as Dracula on the cover of the LA Weekly. I find it funny that Steven Mikulan was offended enough by the Obama poster that he opined that “The only thing missing is a noose.”

Steve, it is political satire. It may be bad satire but it does not, in spite of the white-face, contain a racist or racial element. And there is nothing about killing President Obama. That was an all too common theme of some who hated Bush but this poster is not in that camp. Your noose comment is unwarranted.

Predictably, some on the right are in heaven over this. Because the word “Socialist” is on the poster they somehow think that there is a grassroots reaction to Obama and his policies. Over at the “American Thinker” they said that “It is starting. Open mockery of Barack Obama, as disillusionment sets in with the man, his policies, and the phony image of a race-healing, brilliant, scholarly, middle-of-the-roader.” I will not debate their points here but I will say that “open mockery” has been the hallmark of some people since Obama announced his candidacy. And “open mockery” is not confined to one side of the political spectrum, nor is it a new phenomenon.

“Open mockery” is just a symptom of how cheapened the discourse in America has become. Facts and reasoned argument are replaced with name-calling, jokes, and crude depictions of our political leaders. Like them or not I think they deserve better. I think America deserves better.