The Swimmer's Unwanted Birthday Present

Today is Teddy "the Swimmer" Kennedy's 74th birthday. Speaking today at a community college in Massachusetts, Teddy got what could only be called an unwanted birthday gift:

A community college student in Massachusetts faces possible disciplinary action for shouting "Remember Chappaquiddick!" during an on-campus speech by Democrat Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Paul Trost, 20, a student at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Mass., says he was upset by an introduction of Kennedy given by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., in which the congressman noted how the long-time senator overcame hardship in life on his way to success.

"Lynch said Kennedy had overcome such adversity to get to the place he was, and that's a bunch of bull," Trost said of the introduction, which occurred in the school's student center Tuesday morning.

Just as Kennedy began speaking, Trost was walking out of the room when he shouted, "Remember Chappaquiddick!"

"Most of the crowd gasped," Trost said. "Then I walked out of the student center."

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The student said one of his teachers confronted him after a class about the Chappaquiddick issue.

"One of my teachers called me ignorant and told me this was an embarrassment to the school," Trost told WND. "She said to me, 'Can't you forgive him after all these years?' And I said, 'No, he killed somebody.'

"If it had been me or any other person, we'd be in jail," Trost says he told his instructor.

Referring to his two-word shout, Trost said, "I did it because I know about Kennedy's past. I know what happened at Chappaquiddick.

"I wanted to send a message to him that my generation still knows about it. We haven't forgotten about it."

Trost said he was satisfied to know that students on campus were talking about the Chappaquiddick incident later in the day – some of whom, in fact, were not familiar with it.

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Trost, a liberal arts major who has protested the Iraq war, says he's not a right-winger.

"I tend to have what would be considered liberal views," he explained, "but I go with whatever I think is right."

"I don't regret what I did," Trost said. "And if they ask me to apologize, I won't do it."

(emphasis added)

My Comments:
I don't think much of hecklers, as I indicated in an earlier post today regarding some heckling that Justice Scalia recieved. Heckling an invited guest during a speech is rude.

That being said, this guy is what I would call a "principled liberal". He has protested the war in Iraq, and now he has protested the laughable claim that Teddy, a trust-funded member of "America's royal family", has had to overcome adversity to get where he is. Again, I disagree with his chosen tactic of heckling, but this is a liberal with whom I could sit down and have a beer.

Hope you enjoyed your birthday, Swimmer!