He died this morning at age 88.
I didn’t always agree with him, but he was a unique character and a fierce defender of our quality of life, the law, and Israel.
There are few people who established such a force of personality.
Update — via Twitchy:
Ed Koch tombstone: "My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish." Daniel Pearl's last words.
— laichungleung (@laichungleung) February 1, 2013
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My favorite line of his:
Yes, I’m a Liberal, but a Liberal with Sanity!
On a number of things, Dershowitz, fills the niche. Security and Israel coming to mind.
When asked who he despised the most, Ed answered: “Former president Jimmy Carter.”
He will always be Mayor Koch to me. RIP Ed. Say hi to Andrew Breitbart. I am sure those two will argue all the time and get along famously.
An honest guy. Told you what he thought, not what you wanted to hear.
A Mensch…
That’s exactly why I like him. I frequently disagreed with him, but I knew where he stood, and I knew that he wouldn’t pretend that he wasn’t standing there. An honorable man, whose death makes the world a much poorer place.
Sighs of relief from Albany to Gracie Mansion.
He was a thorn to their hand and a bramble to their feet.
He was an HONEST liberal Democrat.
One of the last.
He will be missed.
My husband was just talking about Koch last night with a friend whose relative was his personal secretary for 43 years. So he was surprised to hear the news this morning. I liked how Koch backed the Republican after Weiner’s resignation.
God Bless you Ed Koch. You were an American original.
Mayor Koch was at least honest about being a Liberal. One can respect that. He was 10 times the man of that nutcase in NYC now.
Rest in peace Mr. Koch.
He wasn’t a Koch Brother, was he?
A dying breed.
Like Pat Moynihan, a Democrat whom, even when you disagreed with him, you could respect. R.I.P.
The headstone at his grave quotes Daniel Pearl’s last words before he was publicly beheaded: “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.” The headstone also makes reference to Pearl’s death at the hands of a “Muslim terrorist.” Koch also died on the same date as Pearl. Astonishing.
This from a Politico Tweet that had me laughing in the aisles, mostly because this morning Andrew Cuuomo tweeted out “his thoughts and prayers…” Might want to delete those tweets after reading THIS:
In a fascinating interview with the New York Times that was not to be made public until his death, former New York City mayor Ed Koch had final words for his 1977 mayoral opponent Mario Cuomo and called him a “prick.”
Said Koch: “Even though social relationships when we meet in public are good, underneath, he knows that I know what I’m thinking–‘you prick.'”
[…] » R.I.P. — Mayor Ed Koch – Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion […]
He was the type of man you could disagree with and still respect him, unlike the current batch of progressive nitwits in the administration and senate today.
Rest in peace, WWII combat veteran, proud Jew, proud New Yorker, and proud American. Shalom!
How do you get a tombstone up before you are dead?
You can have your tombstone engraved long before you’re dead. The only thing they will have to engrave when you kick is the day the bucket fell down.
It seems he had it prepared ahead of time.
Ed Koch: What’s on My Tombstone, and Why (HuffPo)
I lived in NYC during Koch’s reign as mayor, thought he was an awful mayor, and disliked him passionately. His constant “how am I doing?” was annoying. In later years, I came to respect him somewhat because though he was a liberal, he was sometimes honest and said what he thought. Plus, he did not set himself apart from voters the way Bloomberg does. Significantly, for him, ‘never again’ were not just just words, and his unflinching support of Israel is testimony. He respected his own privacy and that of others.
RIP, Ed Koch. May God’s perpetual light shine upon you, and may you rest in peace.
Where did you live, Suffolk? You thought Beame was doing the right thing? Koch saved the city from hurtling down the pipe to what is now Detroit.
Brooklyn. I’m from Brooklyn. I was young then and he annoyed the heck out of me. Beame was a disaster. Koch was better than Dinkins, but Rudy was the best.