Why bring Ted Kennedy into this?
Erick Erickson image from Flickr.
It’s amazing how far political pundits will go to talk a little trash. Today, Erick Erickson, founder of the conservative blog RedState, said on CNN that it’s the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s fault, basically, that the healthcare reform bill is in danger of not passing. According to Politico:
“If Ted Kennedy had decided to resign, or retire, when he found out just how bad his health was, instead of wanting to be a martyr for the cause, the Democrats wouldn’t be in this position,” Erickson said.
He says Democrats would have held onto the seat if the Massachusetts special election had been held at a different time, specifically before the healthcare reform bill debate was in full swing.
Is Erick Erickson retroactive-psychic?
I may know more about online cash loans than I do about what would have happened in Massachusetts if they’d held a special election earlier. Nevertheless, I would like to present the following argument in two parts. *Clears throat*
- You don’t know that
- Even if that is true (see 1), that doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk
Unless Erick Erickson has some sort of special powers that allow him to know what would have happened in the past if certain events were different, he has no idea what the political climate would be like right now if Ted Kennedy had resigned when he found out about his health problems.
Why the low blow?
So, keeping in mind that there is no proof that the Republican victory wouldn’t have happened if Ted Kennedy hadn’t died while in office, let’s say he’s right. Let’s say his retroactive psychic powers are spot on. I do think that it’s a fair enough reverse-prediction to make. I’ll give him that. If the Massachusetts election had been held before the healthcare reform bill debate heated up, that senate seat would probably have gone to a Democrat.
This brings me to the second part of my argument: What is his point? Is he trying to send a message to all senators with health problems that they should immediately vacate their seats or something catastrophic will happen to their party? I highly doubt it. The only logical conclusion is that he just wants to be on record as saying that the current healthcare reform bill debacle is Ted Kennedy’s fault. He’s just using a Dead Kennedy for political ammunition. Jerk.
