America's Royal Family

Well, now that Caroline Kennedy has decided that she wants to join the family business, I think it’s apropos to say a few words about the Kennedy Clan. As with all Kennedys, Caroline has surely proven her abilities to be in the family business: She wants to be appointed to the US Senate with absolutely no experience whatsoever.

I was sitting at lunch yesterday with a younger member of the electorate who was obviously enamored of the Kennedy clan and all of the myth surrounding them. Of course, she was from Massachusetts. Just the mere mention of the family and my lunch partner became starry eyed. After feeding her a true history of the family, her attitude seemed to change. So, maybe a little “straight talk,” to coin a phrase, about the Kennedys is in order.

Let’s start with the ultimate patriarch of the family, good old Joe. There is substantial evidence that the majority of his riches came from stock manipulations and insider trading. Although, these schemes may not have been technically illegal when he was doing them, prior to the 1929 crash, they were definitely as immoral then as they are now.

In addition, there is much circumstantial evidence, though never proven, that a large majority of the family wealth came from bootlegging during prohibition. In fact, noted mobster, Frank Costello, stated “I helped Joe Kennedy get rich.” At the time he was talking about having Kennedy as his business partner in a bootlegging scheme. Sam “Momo” Giancana has been quoted as saying that, “Joe Kennedy is one of the biggest crooks that ever lived.”

A good start for America’s Royal Family, huh?

John, the man who is most revered by the American populace and, in some circles, is considered even more than a royal figure, was probably elected only because the mafia helped rig the primaries prior to the general election and, some say, the election itself. Sam Giancana, a name that keeps coming up when talking about the Kennedys, wrote a book with his brother entitled “Double Cross.” In that book, Giancana states the mafia stuffed the ballot box in Illinois. As many people know, the election in 1960 was so close that if Nixon had won Illinois, he probably would have been president. In fact, if ballot stuffing in Illinois were not the norm, then maybe we would not have this Blago problem now. But, that’s another column altogether.

John showed the true Kennedy governing skills in the Bay of Pigs fiasco. After authorizing the invasion upon briefings from the CIA, he did not follow through at the time when the invasion force needed American support the most. Kennedy’s failure to order the necessary air force bombings left the invasion force as sitting ducks. If he had followed through with the initial plan, the Cuban Missile Crisis two years later probably would have been avoided. In fact, Kennedy admitted that he was responsible for the failure and stated that in a parliamentary form of government, this would have been his downfall.

John’s personal life is again worthy of a Kennedy. A known womanizer, John was well known in entertainment circles and is generally accepted to have been hooked up by certain members of the Rat Pack. In fact, there are even rumors that Sam Giancana and John were sleeping with the same woman during a period in which John was president.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about Teddy. Here is a man that the Democratic Party considers their elder statesman and a man that could do no wrong. In fact, at the Democratic Convention this year, Teddy was idolized. To state it quite simply, in my opinion, this man in reality is an un-convicted murderer. I’m not going to go into the details of Chappaquiddick as they are available all over the internet, but suffice it to say, that a conviction for leaving the scene of an accident is a joke. He should have been, at least, charged with manslaughter. But, being a Kennedy, he skated.

I won’t even get into his personal drinking habits which have become a bit of a joke on capital hill. The man is known as a lush among his peers and the general public at large.

Now, let’s talk about Caroline. This approximate 50 year old has never held public office in her life. Now, she wants to achieve public office by appointment, not by a general or special election. She wants an appointment to the United States Senate representing New York, replacing Hillary Clinton who may become Secretary of State. When asked last week, why she wanted this appointment, Caroline couldn’t even complete a sentence without saying “You Know,” multiple times. In fact, she could not even respond to the question. She simply does not know why she wants to in the Senate. Maybe, it is just because it’s the family business?

If this were Sarah Palin, the poor woman would have been crucified. But, being a Kennedy and a Democrat, she is given a free pass. In fact, her responses last week made Sarah Palin look like a nuclear physicist.

My opinion is real simple here. Enough with the Kennedys. It is time the people in this country stopped glorifying them and put them out of politics and the public eye. Caroline should not get any Senate seat, especially by appointment, and good old Teddy should be slowly walked away from his.

In closing, I wish you all a happy and healthy new year. I am off to Thailand to shoot a movie and will be writing this column from a foreign perspective for the next two months.

© 2009 Frank T. DeMartini – All rights reserved. Permission to be copied will be granted freely upon request.