Remembering Mary Jo Kopechne

How Being a Democrat Can Get You Killed and Ruin Your Reputation, in that Order

Fifty-six years ago last weekend, July 19, 1969, a pretty young political activist named Mary Jo Kopechne died in a preventable and bizarre accident in Massachusetts that has never been fully explained. It is often said she drowned, but the autopsy said she died of asphyxiation as the car that imprisoned her slowly, inch by inch, filled with water.

Mary Jo was one of several “boiler room girls” who worked on the Democratic presidential campaigns. Although she was young, she had already worked on several Democrat campaigns. Her most notable work was helping Bobby Kennedy (RFK) to campaign for the presidency in 1968. She, like most of the rest of the nation, was devastated when RFK was gunned down in a Los Angeles hotel in another inexplicable event involving Sirhan Sirhan who was convicted of the murder but by all accounts did not commit the crime. (Even RFK Jr. wants Sirhan Sirhan paroled on the grounds that he is innocent of his father’s murder.)

For Mary Jo, the death of RFK was a personal loss. She deeply admired Bobby Kennedy and he may have propelled her into a political career. He was the sort of politician she believed in. For Ted Kennedy, it was also devastating, but in a different way. For Ted, this was business. It was expected that he now carry the Kennedy mantle into the White House in the next election. This little party in July 1969 was to “get the band back together” to see if they could get Ted elected. But make no mistake. Ted was no John or Bobby Kennedy and everyone (especially Ted) knew it.

Mary Jo had been contributing to Bobby Kennedy’s campaign as a speech writer and political strategist. Had Bobby Kennedy lived, she might have landed a job in his administration and had a bright political future. She wasn’t just arm candy or an escort. She had worked on RFK’s campaign far beyond just stuffing envelopes and answering phones; one could argue she was paving a new path for women in politics.

The assassination of RFK crushed her, but she and the other boiler room girls sought solace by banding together. They were all going to work on Ted’s campaign, as dull as that sounded. With the deaths of the first three Kennedy sons (Joe Jr. died in war, John and Robert were assassinated), Ted Kennedy was the last Kennedy hope for regaining the White House.

Mary Jo was on board to help, as were the other boiler room girls and no doubt lots of other campaign workers all over the country.

That Night

Ted Kennedy was with her the night his car drove into Edgar Town Pond. This pond must be like the Democrat version of the Bermuda Triangle since it’s the same pond where Obama chef Tafari Campbell drowned. The media painted a picture that made Mary Jo look like some sort of promiscuous party girl and hanger-on. They said that Ted Kennedy was drinking and Mary Jo was his “date” that night. Only half of that statement is for sure true. (Ted Kennedy was always drinking.) It is unlikely Mary Jo was his date for the night, since she didn’t do that sort of thing for the politicians worked with and actually liked—and she did not much like Ted. She’d work for Ted, but she did not care for him the way she admired his brother.

The story of the accident does not make sense. Ted was driving (or maybe he wasn’t), Mary Jo was the passenger (unless it was she who was driving), and it was very dark (that much is true). They were on a back road. The car—a big moose of an Oldsmobile owned by Rose Kennedy—went off the bridge and into the shallow water of the pond. It was deep enough that the car got submerged but it was also shallow enough that in daylight you could see the car. Some people have theorized Ted wasn’t even there that night and Mary Jo was the victim of a crime aimed at costing Ted his election hopes.

Like I said, the whole Chappaquiddick event does not make sense, but in Massachusetts (a Kennedy stronghold) it did not have to make sense.

The car went into the shallow water. By his own testimony, Ted said he was driving the car, Mary Jo was with him, and the car took a wrong turn and went off the bridge into the water (the bridge had no guard rails). But the weird thing is, Ted got out, and for some reason, Mary Jo did not get out. Ted claimed he swam back to the sunken car numerous times to try to rescue her, but he could not open the car door to get her out.

Now here’s a peculiar detail. It is presumed both doors (driver and passenger side of the front) were shut when the car plunged into the pond. Ted got out, which I presume mean he was able to open the car door. But for some reason, he closed the door behind him. He then swam to shore, then tried to get back but could not open the door to rescue Mary Jo.

• If Ted could get out of the car through an open door, why didn’t he just pull Mary Jo with him? Was she unconscious?

• You would think being in a car in a pond, seeing an open door would cause an alert person to swim or struggle their way out of the car. That didn’t happen

• It’s like a David Copperfield trick. The car goes into the war with both doors shut, Ted gets out alive, and Mary Jo dies in that car with both doors closed

• Autopsy reports show that Mary Jo was conscious at least near the time of her death, if not the entire time. Why couldn’t she get out of the car?

• Was there some truth to the idea that Ted Kennedy was not in the car at all but this death was used to crush his campaign chances? Did anyone take Ted Kennedy that seriously as a political threat?

But it gets worse.

Ted just left the scene and did not even call the police until nine hours later. In fact, Ted returned to the party and never mentioned he had been in an accident or that Mary Jo was stuck in the car. And the other people never asked what happened to Mary Jo. You would think driving a young woman into a pond, swimming to rescue her but failing, and then leaving her would be on his mind. Also, wasn’t he soaking wet? I’ve forgotten a lot of things in my life, mostly car keys and where my glasses are, but I never forgot that I drove a woman into a pond and left her to die.

Democrat Privilege

It’s great to be a Democrat, because all Ted got charged with was a misdemeanor (leaving the scene of an accident) and his driver’s license was suspended for one year.

Many crimes were committed against Mary Jo Kopeche, and not just murder. Not only was she killed by Ted Kennedy’s gross negligence (or she was murdered to hurt Ted Kennedy’s political future and he never spoke up), but her reputation was damaged. For years, she was painted as a frivolous party girl on Ted’s arm. She wasn’t a woman about to break a glass ceiling in politics, she was just a bimbo.

None of the other five boiler room girls ever defended Mary Jo or—by implication—themselves. They allowed themselves to be denigrated as quasi-prostitutes.

Kopechne’s parents once speculated that perhaps the other girls at the party got a payoff or something to keep quiet about what happened. The Kennedy family paid the Kopechne family $90,904 as a settlement which kept the case out of court. There was also a payout from the insurance company of $50,000.

The Truth

We may never know the truth about Mary Jo and we certainly will never find out much truth about the Kennedys, but we know some facts about Mary Jo Kopechne that are not widely shared.

• She went to parochial schools and had a reputation as a bright student

• She considered a vocation as a nun (but changed her mind)

• She wanted to marry a man in the foreign service (but she was still looking for Mr. Right)

• She had no romantic designs on any of the politicians she worked with

• She genuinely liked Bobby, but she did not much care for Ted, thinking he was not cut from the same cloth as his brothers

• She helped RFK with political strategy; he trusted her enough to ask her opinions on campaign decisions

• In fact, she worked with RFK on his March 1968 speech announcing he was running for President

• She had a reputation for rarely, if ever, drinking. When she did drink, it was minimal. Not saying she was a teetotaller, she just wasn’t known as a drinker

Whatever happened that day in July more than half a century ago was covered up. Money was paid, mouths were shut, and reputations ruined. All to further the political career of a worthless man.

Ted Kennedy never became president. Mary Jo’s father once said that was the only good thing that came from the accidental death of his daughter.