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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Ted Kennedy, Senate's Liberal Lion, Dead at 77

So, if he was 'The Liberal Lion', were we his prey?

He died at his home in Hyannis Port last night after a year long battle with brain cancer.

Our condolences to his family.

Gub'mint supplied, single payer health care was Ted's life long political passion. Simply put, he wanted Medicare for everyone. Exactly what he didn't choose for his own treatment for brain cancer:

Just weeks after his diagnosis, Kennedy tapped the vast array of health care specialists he’s come to know through his Senate service or personal experiences to convene an extraordinary brainstorming session about his own treatment.

According to a New York Times account, Kennedy summoned more than a dozen experts from at least six academic centers, some of whom flew to Boston while others joined in by telephone. The upshot of the meeting appears to be a vigorous, proactive shift in his treatment.

His Massachusetts doctors initially said he’d receive radiation and chemotherapy to combat the tumor. But, after the Boston consultation session, he wound up flying to Duke University Medical Center, another top brain cancer center, to undergo complex and risky surgery to remove parts of the tumor. The surgery was done by Dr. Allan H. Friedman, a renowned leader in the field.

Since then, he’s undergone proton-beam radiation at Massachusetts General Hospital and multiple rounds of chemotherapy, he said in his Newsweek account. The senator offered no insight into the pharmaceuticals he is taking — though cancer drugs are some of the most expensive in medicine, some of which can cost as much as $50,000 a dose, according to medical reports.

Kennedy’s care is being paid for by his Senate health insurance policy and his own money, according to his essay.

I cannot blame the man for marshaling all the resources at his command, but any thinking adult knows that is not, and will not be, available under a 'medicare for all' gub'mint program championed by this liberal lion.

But that's not hypocritical.

A fitting hagiography of the man can be found here.

John Kerry is now the senior senator of Massachusetts. I can't decide if that's an improvement or detriment.