A couple of years ago Paul Kengor wrote in the American Thinker of a certain confidential offer former Senator Ted Kennedy made to the Soviet Union in 1983. In secret, Sen. Kennedy offered to help the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union fight President Ronald Reagan. The total affair is fairly involved, but you can read Kengor's article here, my comments on it here, and the contents of the original Soviet file here.

Some of the things that struck me about Kennedy's offer to the Soviets were the names he mentioned -- those who might help the Soviets push Reagan out of office. Some names might not be surprising: Walter Cronkite and Barbara Walters. But there was another name.

"Kennedy thinks the benefits of a meeting with Y.V.Andropov will be enhanced if he could also invite one of the well known Republican senators, for example, Mark Hatfield.  Such a meeting will have a strong impact on American and political circles in the USA. (In March of 1982, Hatfield and Kennedy proposed a project to freeze the nuclear arsenals of the USA and USSR and published a book on the theme as well.)"

Why Mark Hatfield, for example? One might ask.

Mark Hatfield died earlier this month: August 7, 2011. Guess where I saw "A tribute to Senator Mark Hatfield"? The People's World, the newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party USA.

"He was a man of conscience, and possessed a sense of right and wrong which overrode party loyalty... Council for a Livable World was proud to support him throughout his Senate career. Indeed, Hatfield represented a brand of Republican moderation that has largely been obliterated in United States politics.

"When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, he launched a massive military buildup and abandoned the SALT II nuclear arms treaty. Sen. Mark Hatfield was the only Republican senator to oppose the enormous Reagan military expansion.

"In 1989, he delivered an eloquent speech in which he argued that peace through strength -- the watchword of the Reaganites -- was a fallacy."

Just thought I would offer a couple of dots. I leave the connecting to others.