Edward Kennedy’s legacy of failure

Amid the tributes, remember that Senator Edward Kennedy was a spectacular failure, the leader of US liberals while a conservative tidal wave swept the country. As this longtime supporter wrote in Asia Times, Kennedy’s legislative accomplishments are mere footnotes to the nation’s march to the right. On Kennedy’s watch, the word liberal became an accusation instead of an adjective. For every dollar his name raised for liberal causes, he probably raised ten times as much for his opponents. Kennedy’s personal and political conduct are largely responsible for the decline of the US left. Ted, you chose to fiddle with legislation while the American left burned.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, financial crisis, and cheap lingerie.

Tags: Asia Times Online, Edward Kennedy, Hong Kong On Air, US conservatives, US liberals, US politics