Shameless

by Gil Weinreich

Time and again Washington's Congressrogues put their crass personal intersts ahead of the public weal. Exhibit A from the new $410 billion federal spending package is the pork destined for Massachusetts, where more than one out of five dollars is going to preserve the Kennedy family legacy. Will a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate cure what ails the Bay State? Is it appropriate to honor a still living politician whose legacy is very much debatable? Are there not conflicts of interest in lavishly funding a monument to a still powerful policitian? Given all the dishonor associated with the Kennedy name -- the disgraces are too numerous to name, but Chappaquiddick would top any list -- it does make political sense that rewriting the Kennedy legacy would be a legislative priority for Massachusetts' ailing senator and his allies.