Ted Kennedy's Soviet Gambit.
In a nutshell: Ted Kennedy made an appeal to Soviet dictator Yuri Andropov to help defeat Ronald Reagan's re-election bid in 1984. He offered to help the Soviets with their propaganda if the Soviets helped the Democrats win in November. As astonishing as that statement is on its face, the details are worse, including coaching the Soviets on how to best answer questions about their "problems with nuclear disarmament," and setting up phony interviews with American journalists.
Then he offered to make it possible for Andropov to sit down for a few interviews on American television. "A direct appeal ... to the American people will, without a doubt, attract a great deal of attention and interest in the country. ... If the proposal is recognized as worthy, then Kennedy and his friends will bring about suitable steps to have representatives of the largest television companies in the USA contact Y.V. Andropov for an invitation to Moscow for the interviews. ... The senator underlined the importance that this initiative should be seen as coming from the American side."
Kennedy would make certain the networks gave Andropov air time--and that they rigged the arrangement to look like honest journalism.
How could anyone question the veracity of this after Kennedy's behavior at Chappaquiddick?
Thanks to Chuck Serio for the tip.
|