NY Times Op-Ed: Chappaquiddick Film Is ‘Character Assassination’ of Ted Kennedy

You can’t assail something that he no longer has. He left any character he had in the car to slowly suffocate and die along with Mary Jo when he didn’t report the accident until after it was discovered the next morning, over nine hours later. Weasel Zippers

Free Beacon  "In a New York Times op-ed published Friday, a liberal journalist and film critic complained the new film Chappaquiddick was a "character assassination" of its central character, Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy.

" 'How ‘Chappaquiddick’ Distorts a Tragedy" wrote Neal Gabler, who is working on a biography of Kennedy.

"Gabler complained the film, released in theaters Friday, has been "heavily promoted by conservative media outlets, and reviewers across the political spectrum have praised what they deem its damning but factual approach. Damning it is; factual it is not."

"There actually was no "cover-up" of Kennedy's car accident that led to the death of an aide, he claims, adding that "no one but the most lunatic conspiracy theorists see this as anything but a tragic accident in which nothing much was covered up."

"Chappaquiddick tells the story of a car accident that occurred on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts in 1969. The accident was caused by Kennedy's negligence and resulted in the death of his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, who was trapped inside the vehicle. The screenwriters have said their efforts in making the film aren’t partisan and they aimed to tell the facts of the story. 

"Gabler doesn't actually point to any factual errors in the film (save for the fact that Joe Kennedy, confined to a wheelchair by a stroke, likely wouldn't be able to grunt one-word dialogue like he does in the film). Instead, his criticism is limited more to the depiction of Kennedy as a character." . . .

Ted Kennedy, the Borker of the Senate

To Bork someone:  "Sen.Ted Kennedy took to the Senate floor with a strong condemnation of Bork declaring:

Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the Government, and the doors of the Federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is—and is often the only—protector of the individual rights that are the heart of our democracy ...

Well, Judge Bork did indeed have some troubling positions that needed to be discussed. 

Ted Kennedy: Lion or Jackal?  "On April 6, Chappaquiddick, a movie detailing the events involving Senator Ted Kennedy on Martha's Vineyard in July 1969, will be released.  That incident demonstrated the depths to which the Kennedys were willing to go to salvage the political career of the last of the Kennedy sons.  In subsequent years, the actions of Ted Kennedy that night were forgiven by the Democrats, as were subsequent actions as noted below.

"The movie is based on a book, Senatorial Privilege: The Chappaquiddick Coverup, by Leo J. Damore, who committed suicide in 1995. 

"Well, that is the official version, at least.  The Kennedy family exerted pressure toblock the making and release of the current movie.  Similar pressure was reportedly put on Mr. Damore, which may have added to the issues that resulted in his death.

"In the history of politics in this nation, few families have equaled the Kennedys in both political power and despicability for their personal actions." . . .

Gonzo Overkill

‘Chappaquiddick’ is a long-overdue dismantling of the Kennedy myth

. . . "Ted Kennedy passed by nearby lighted homes and the local fire department as he walked back to his inn, away from the pond he’d later claim was deep and at high tide. He slept that night as Mary Jo took her last breaths.

"The next morning, Ted refused to appear at the scene when summoned, demanding that the chief of police come down to the station. There, the chief finds Kennedy behind the cop’s own desk, reading a carefully worded statement. He doesn’t mention Mary Jo by her full name because he doesn’t know how to spell “Kopechne.' ” . . .

Juan Williams's comparison to Chappaquiddick could not have been dumber . . . "Williams said he didn't know the "story" of Chappaquiddick.  You would expect that someone whose job is a paid political commentator would know the story.  Kennedy would have been the Democratic nominee for president but for Chappaquiddick.  Kennedy was lauded by the Dems and the media as the Lion of the Senate.

"It is important, therefore, to know . . .  how Kennedy acted.  It isn't that complicated.  Kennedy drove off the bridge into the pond, swam away, and left Mary Jo Kopechne in the submerged car to die.  Kennedy waited close to ten hours to report to the police.  Had he reported it immediately when he swam away to safety, Ms. Kopechne would have probably survived.  It does not take a detective to figure out that the ten-hour delay was for Kennedy to sober up and concoct a story.  The details have been known to anyone interested, at least since Leo Damore's factual, exhaustive book Senatorial Privilege, The Chappaquiddick Coverup, published in 1988.

"If not knowing about Chappaquiddick isn't bad enough for a paid political commentator, Williams then outdid himself.   He said that while the left wanted to block the Chappaquiddick movie, the "right" wanted to block the movie about President Reagan's last years while he was afflicted with Alzheimer's.  This is beyond stupidity and civility.  How could anyone compare a movie about President Reagan's Alzheimer's with Ted Kennedy leaving Mary Jo Kopechne to die in a car submerged in a pond that he put her in?" . . .  

Williams's tasteless, stupid remark shows again that leftist commentators will say anything about Republican presidents.

The #CounterResistance in California continues to grow

Legal Insurrection

"In 2015, I reported that California’s creation of new rules that permitted the issuing of driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants overwhelmed the Department of Motor Vehicles and within less than 2 months over 100,000 illegal immigrants had obtained those vital pieces of identification.

"Jumping ahead to 2018, and now over 1,000,000 “undocumented” residents now have drivers licenses…quite predictably. And equally predictable is the pride that many of our state legislators are take in this achievement.

“Immigrants are getting tested, licensed and insured and this is making our roads safer for everyone,” said [Luis] Alejo, now a Monterey County supervisor, in a prepared statement. “Today, we see the law working the way it was intended to and has dramatically improved the lives of a million immigrants and their families.”

"What has been less predictable to those outside of the Blue Zone of California is the mounting #CounterResistance to Sacramento’s illegal-immigrant-embracing policies. As I indicated last week, the City of Escondido has voted on the Sanctuary State policies, and has now formally joined the lawsuit against California." . . .

Video: California Dem Sen. Kamala Harris - Democrat from California - Jokes About Killing President Donald Trump. Did I mention she is from California?

Weasel Zippers

General Mossberg • 

This is the lefts de facto choice for 2020. Her corrupt past is being quietly swept down the memory hole and if you pay attention, watch as she gets more and more air time in the coming months. Her talking about killing Trump was deliberate designed to appeal to liberal foamers.....and done with no concern because the media is tasked with covering for her and they don’t consider it a joke, they are hoping it happens. Harris is obama on steroids, and she should re consider her position when millions of conservatives see they have nothing to lose. She is laboring under the gross misapprehension that she will be [electorially] safe. She isn’t.

LA Times political cartoonist David Horsey wrote in 2015:  Willie Brown warns Villaraigosa: 'Don't crowd Kamala!'  . . . "A week ago, Willie Brown, the former California Assembly Speaker and ex-mayor of San Francisco, suggested that former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa should sit out the race in deference to Brown’s favored candidate, state Atty. Gen. Kamala D.  Harris. This could be passed off as Willie Brown just being his old, flamboyant self, or it could be an indication that Bay Area Democratic leaders -- a group not so affectionately described by Southern Californians as “the San Francisco Mafia” -- want to hand the job to Harris right now. " . . .

Truth or Fiction somewhat denies Harris got a political advantage by sleeping with Willie Brown

But in 2012 Daily Caller claimed otherwise: At Dem convention, Kamala Harris demands ‘opportunity … open to everyone’ — but had special career help from powerful boyfriend

. . . The first big boost to her career, however, came not because of her legal prowess but because her boyfriend was California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen once called Harris “the Speaker’s new steady.” He went on to become the first black mayor of San Francisco.
As Brown’s time as speaker drew to a close in 1994, he named Harris to the California Medical Assistance Commission, a job that came with a $72,000 annual salary. Brown had previously appointed her to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.
She “was described by several people at the Capitol as Brown’s girlfriend,” the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. . . .

You’ve Been Hoodwinked. (Perhaps.)

Sharyl Attkisson

"If you watched the mash-up of Sinclair station anchors reading their national promo and were convinced it was something evil and nefarious, you’ve been hoodwinked.

Watch the Deadspin mashup of Sinclair station promos: 

"From what I can tell, this issue breaks down along ideological lines, and minds are not likely to be swayed. My friends on the far left are convinced that Sinclair anchors reading a national promo is Hitler-esque Orwellian brainwashing. My friends on the far right are happy and hopeful that Sinclair might, indeed, be pushing conservative views. Those in the middle don’t care or seem to think it’s much ado about nothing. 

"There's legitimate debate to be heard on many topics surrounding media fairness and consolidation. It’s obviously perfectly fine for you to disagree, but I find nothing to argue with in the nonpartisan, national Sinclair promos at issue. (The text is printed at the end of this article. You can decide for yourself.) In fact, I’ve heard many conservatives and liberals alike make these same points: That we have a problem with one-sided, false and biased news; that some reporters are pushing agendas; and that untrue stories are being published without proper fact checks. These assertions are pretty indisputable, wherever you sit. 

"The promos go on to say that Sinclair stations are committed to factual reporting neither “left nor right.” The anchors were even instructed not to wear blue or red, lest the colors be incorrectly interpreted as politically-charged in today’s environment. Somehow, this was portrayed by leftists as “Turning news anchors into soldiers for Trump’s war on the media.” They’re saying that the idea of news that’s fair, accurate and neither left nor right –is a right-wing idea. It’s all the more ironic considering that it was left wing interests who invented the anti-“Fake News” campaign, as I reported in my TEDx talk and The Smear. "Yet, here, the same interests oppose the notion of a stated, corporatewide commitment to fair, accurate reporting. 

"Those who disagree with this approach appear to be indicating they prefer to receive biased news. And that may be the real issue here: Many people do. " . . .

Conan O'Brien had fun with this very topic some time back:

The Sinclair Debacle Is a Big, Juicy (here comes that word!) Nothingburger
. . . "Sure, there's something unnerving about seeing local TV anchors across the country reciting a scripted message in unison.  But that's more of a testament to the power of effective video editing than anything else.  Any group chant can be painted as creepy (like when these celebrities pledged to "be a servant to" President Obama), as can any video." . . .

Mick Mulvaney says it's Elizabeth Warren's own fault he doesn't have to answer her questions

It took a bit of doing to find this as every other link on the search page was, as expected, anti Republican. TD

Washington Examiner  "Mulvaney, a conservative who was an outspoken critic of the bureau during his time as a congressman, told Warren in a letter sent Wednesday that the structure of the agency, which she helped design, shields him from accountability.

 “ 'I encourage you to consider the possibility that the frustration you are experiencing now, and that which I had a few years back, are both inevitable consequences of the fact that the Dodd-Frank... Act insulates the Bureau from virtually any accountability to the American people through their elected representatives,” Mulvaney wrote.

" He told Warren that he wouldn’t be answering any of the 105 unanswered questions she submitted to him about his management of the CFPB and handling of cases against payday lenders and others. Instead, he said he would discuss them during congressional testimony, when Warren will likely have five or 10 minutes to question him in the Banking Committee. " . . .