We've avoided Chappaquiddick out of respect. However, after Kennedy's close friend says the senator often joked about it, it's time to address the pink elephant in the room.

Morrissey includes a response to Klein’s “fond memories” from Mark Hemingway who shares most people’s shock and outrage over the idea that Kennedy found humor in Kopechne’s death or even thought that Kennedy “always saw the other side of everything and the ridiculous side of things, too.” Hemingway stated, “EXCUSE ME? If that’s true it makes Kennedy kind of a monster. The odd thing is that if you listen to the whole show, the tone of everyone involved is nauseatingly haigographic and reverential. Klein apparently let his guard down a bit; after he lets it slip Kennedy liked to joke about the woman he killed you can actually hear in his voice that he’s trying to backpedal. The show actually cuts to a break as he’s trying to explain himself, and I seriously wonder if it wasn’t the producers trying to do Klein a favor. But I’m sorry, there appears to be little to that could explain this. It goes way beyond “you had to be there.”

For anyone not familiar with the ghastly facts of the events that transpired on the night of Kopechne’s death, here are few of the details that point to Ted Kennedy’s character. On July 18, 1969, Kennedy and five other married men went to a cottage on Chappaquiddick Island and met with six single young women who had previously worked on his brother, Robert Kennedy’s campaign in 1968. In the evening, Kennedy left in his Oldsmobile with 28-year-old Kopechne. In his official statements, Kennedy said that he was taking Kopechne to catch a ferry so she could return to her hotel room. However, the bridge that Kennedy ended up running his car off of was in the opposite direction from the ferry. Instead, they were traveling on a road towards the beach. While recklessly speeding, Kennedy lost control of the car and ran off of a bridge into the inlet known as Poucha Pond below. Kennedy was able to escape from the submerged vehicle, but Kopechne wasn’t so lucky. After swimming to safety, Kennedy returned to the cottage and told the men about what had happened and instructed them not to tell the other ladies about the accident. The men accompanied Kennedy to the crash site but none were able to locate the young lady. At no time up to this point had Kennedy contacted the police and rescue personnel even though he walked past plenty of pay phones, farm houses, and even a fire house on his way back to the cottage. Once Kennedy determined he would not be able to locate Kopechne, he asked the other men to drive him to the ferry, which had already stopped running for the night. From the ferry landing, Kennedy told his friends not to call the authorities or tell the other women about anything. Before swimming across the channel to return to his hotel room, the other men made Kennedy promise to call the authorities as soon as possible. Kennedy agreed, swam across the channel and returned to his hotel room to fall asleep.

The next morning, Kennedy engaged in a conversation about yachting with a local resident and agreed to meet him for breakfast. At about 7:30 AM, two of the men from the cottage found Kennedy and asked him who he called about the accident the night before. Kennedy responded that he had not called anyone yet. Speaking to the authorities, Kennedy explained, “I just couldn’t gain the strength within me, the moral strength, to call Mrs. Kopechne at 2 in the morning, and tell her that her daughter was dead.” He didn’t work up the “moral strength” to call the authorities until about 9:00 AM the morning after.

As the explanation of the incident on PoliticsDaily.com states, not reporting a fatal traffic accident is a felony. However, the police chief on Martha’s Vineyard never felt the need to ask Kennedy why he waited nine hours to call anyone regarding Kopechne’s death. The State of Massachusetts suspended Kenney’s driver’s license for six months after citing his excessive speed for the accident. That was the extent of the now-deceased senator’s punishment.

Up to this point, I haven’t wanted to mention the Chappaquiddick incident out of respect for a recently deceased man and his mourning family. Since the news of his death, several of Kennedy’s supporters have briefly mentioned the events of that night to quickly state the great grief and sorrow Kennedy felt over Kopechne’s death. However, from Klein’s testimony about his close friend, we know hear that Kopechne’s death was a source of humor for Kennedy because he “saw the other side of everything and the ridiculous side of things, too.” The most ridiculous side of that evening was the fact that Senator Kennedy never reported the incident to bring in professionals who might have had a chance at rescuing the young lady trapped at the bottom of the inlet in Kennedy’s Oldsmobile. It’s also ridiculous that Kennedy never faced the consequences of his actions. It’s outrageous to think that the senator joked about that night with his friends.

Kennedy never quite realized his disconnect from average Americans. After Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, an outraged Kennedy declared, “Is there one system of justice for the average citizen and another for the high and mighty?” Apparently, he never saw the hypocrisy of his words.

Many of Kennedy’s colleagues speak fondly of him. According to many current and former senators, Kennedy had a very personable demeanor and many in Washington found it pleasurable working with him. However, the tributes are getting a little out-of-hand. Out of decency, I have refrained from mentioning Chappaquiddick. However, hearing a close friend of Kennedy’s fondly reminisce about the humor of that tragic evening is enough to break the silence on the subject and shed some light onto, according to Klein, one of Kennedy’s favorite topics of humor. Sorry, Mr. Klein but we “didn’t have to be there” to realize there was nothing funny about that night or Kennedy’s cowardly actions.

Below is the audio HotAir.com posted of Ed Klein’s remarks:

Early this morning, the “Liberal Lion” of the Senate, Edward M. Kennedy died. He had been battling a brain tumor for quite some time and around 1:00 AM EST, the battle ended. The nation sends its condolences to the Kennedy family as they mourn their loss.

No matter what your views of Sen. Kennedy, there is no reason not to reserve a place in your prayers for him and his family as they cope with this difficult time.

I do hope that no one uses Kennedy’s passing as a tool in the current health care debate. Kennedy was said to have considered universal health care the main focus of his lengthy career in the Senate. With public support for the Democrat plans waning, many moderate Democrats in both the House and Senate are expressing worries about voting for the bills. Hopefully, Kennedy’s death does not become part of any strategy to pressure hesitant Democrat party members to vote in favor of the current legislation in either chamber.