Jonah Goldberg expresses my feelings perfectly:
I’m staying mostly silent about Ted Kennedy for reasons that should be obvious. . . But here’s one tip for liberals outraged that anyone would speak ill of the dead in regard to Kennedy. Such protests are fair for the moment. But they lose all legitimacy the moment liberals try to use his memory to steam roll a healthcare bill through Congress. If they want to invoke his memory or legacy as a reason to pass their partisan version of healthcare reform, that is their right. But they should not then say that nobody should dare criticize Kennedy. That’s not making an argument for healthcare reform, that is simple bullying and I see no reason why opponents of the Democratic push should cave in to it.
Of course, the left is already doing exactly that. I think it will be ineffective, though. People fear the bill and distrust those who are writing it, and one man’s death won’t change that.
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