Ted Kennedy killed at Chappaquiddick

Let's say that in his intoxicated state, Ted doesn't release his seatbelt or blacks out longer, and drowns along with Mary Jo in the Olds. Political consequences down the road? For the Kennedy family? I'll share my thoughts later.
 
Butterflies would ensure that no one has ever heard of Barack Obama. In any case, I'm looking for more immediate political consequences, and for the family as well. If you mean CHIP, Nixon's healthcare plan (which Ted torpedoed in February '74), then yes, it will lose its bipartisan sponsor.
 
With all the Kennedy brothers dead, might we see one of the Kennedy women at the helm? Admittedly, I know little about the Kennedy family, but I don't think they would vanish after Teddy's death, and I'm pretty sure none of John or Bobby's children were old enough to really be involved yet.
 
Butterflies would ensure that no one has ever heard of Barack Obama. In any case, I'm looking for more immediate political consequences, and for the family as well. If you mean CHIP, Nixon's healthcare plan (which Ted torpedoed in February '74), then yes, it will lose its bipartisan sponsor.

I was talking about the one that just passed under Obama. Forgot about CHIP, so that might fail also.
 
Ted's kids probably get shipped to various in-laws' or perhaps Eunice. If anything, the kids turn out worse because they don't have a father figure or male role model. Ted dropped the ball IOTL, and he couldn't fill Bobby's shoes as an authority figure. That is why RFK's kids in particular went downhill at Mach 2, when they had excellent futures ahead for most of them. Jackie disliked raising children other than her own. The delinquency started within 2 months of RFK's death. There was a gang of delinquents- the Gang of Four. Bobby Jr was the ringleader, and Chris Lawford, Bobby Shriver and David were his partners in crime. Quite literally too. RFK Jr's first narcotics bust was selling heroin (which caused his voice to sound like it does today) to an undercover narcotics cop. Headdesk-worthy, I know. Especially from the smartest of RFK's children, and the presidentiable of that generation. David never recovered from drugs, as we all know. The others pulled themselves together by the time they were 30, having wrecked any hopes of a political career due to a lengthy list of felonies and misdemeanors, mostly petty crime and narcotics. Alternatively, perhaps Ted's death provides a wake-up call when it is very easy to break the vicious cycle. Only David couldn't pull himself out of it. The other 3, particularly Bobby (who among other things, inherited his father's willlpower), were fully aware of what they were doing throughout the 12-15 years in question.
 
RogueBeaver

You know my opinions about the crash, and I'm not alone in holding them. So could Ted being in the car and Mary Jo as the one who walks across the bridge to the motel, what could that do? In this scenario, could that change anything at all?
 
Last edited:
There's no politics involved- all 3 Kennedy brothers are dead within 6 years. Conspiracy nuts will be working in overdrive. Recently the FBI's declassified files on Ted revealed that Sirhan Sirhan reportedly tried to hire a hitman from prison to take out Ted. Nothing came of it, but take it with a healthy dose of skepticism. After all, of the 3 1960s assassins (Oswald, Ray, Sirhan), he is by far the looniest.
 
Top