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John F. Kennedy was perhaps the most high-profile martyr in the fight against communism. A fearless advocate for democracy over the murderous collectivist ideologies of the three-headed leftwing serpent -- communism, fascism, and socialism -- JFK once famously proclaimed we would "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 by a self-described communist inspired by Fidel Castro. His brother, Robert Kennedy, was also assassinated by a man poisoned by hateful ideology. Sirhan Sirhan was a Palestinian nationalist who sought revenge for Kennedy's support for Israel during the Six-Day War, and shot him in June 1968 after Kennedy addressed a room full of supporters.

This may seem like well-known information, but in fact there are those who would dishonor the memory of the Kennedys with grotesque encouragement for conspiracy theories.

And these same people are at it again, joyfully trampling on the memory of recently deceased Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Meet Barney Frank. Frank is a Massachusetts Democratic congressman, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, and longtime colleague and associate of Ted Kennedy.

After Ted Kennedy's death, Frank was asked by a reporter from MSNBC how he thought Kennedy would handle the vocal political opponents of the Democrats' health care reform plan. Eventually, Frank gives us this: "This is a man, two of whose brothers were murdered by political opponents. Extreme and crazy political opponents."

Frank was joined by leftwing radio host Mike Malloy, who said this last week: "I remember feeling that way in 1963 and in 1968, when [Ted's] two brothers were murdered by the right wing in this country."

Conspiracy theories about the murders of the Kennedys abound, but are mostly treated with proper skepticism. Encouraging them, as Frank did in order to discredit opponents of the health care reform plan, is disrespectful to the Kennedys, to say the least.

This isn't the only way to trample on the grave of a political hero, which Ted Kennedy was to many. We have merely to look at the death of Yitzhak Rabin for a lesson Kennedy's supporters should have learned -- and should learn now.

Isi Leibler, an old friend of Rabin's and a columnist for the Jerusalem Post, once wrote that he was "enraged at the cynical, even obscene manner, in which the memory of an assassinated prime minister has been transformed into a cult to promote political objectives to which Rabin [was] adamantly opposed, even at the height of the Oslo period of his career. Worse, his name is being exploited to intensify divisions, create hatred and collectively demonize and transfer the guilt of a demented evil assassin on decent law abiding sectors of society."

No one has since put it better. Rabin's memory has been used (and, as Leibler says, "abused") for two things: to shame the Israeli right wing through bitter denunciation at annual Rabin memorial services designed to paint all right wingers as complicit in the assassination, and to guilt the electorate into trading land for peace to carry on Rabin's Oslo legacy.

The first use is evidence of moral corrosion, and the second is, well, simply false. Rabin was steadfastly opposed to dismantling approved settlements, he was clear about his support for settlement construction for "natural growth," and never wavered on the need for a united Jewish Jerusalem.

Rabin, surprisingly, was an oft-misunderstood figure. He once said that "Arafat can break necks, because he doesn't have a B'Tselem (the Israeli human rights group). I only care that he delivers peace, not how he delivers it."

That sentiment has been distorted to support a moral equivalence never intended by Rabin. He didn't mean that the Arabs should be able to act however they want. He simply meant he could do nothing about their behavior, but was working with them for the singular purpose of bringing peace to his people.

Yet, as a result of the Olso process, Rabin's supporters have ensured that anything regarding a peace plan has Rabin's face on it, tying the poor soul to every ill-fated, half-baked "peace" proposal -- most of them representing in no way, shape, or form Rabin's values.

And here's where Ted Kennedy joins the fray. The day after Kennedy's death, West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd proposed renaming the health care reform proposal after Kennedy, an idea seconded by many.

This would be same bill that has been deeply controversial and opposed by a majority of the population. Some of the citizens who have raised concerns about the plan have been called "un-American" and "evil mongers" by the bill's proponents. Byrd's idea would thus have Kennedy's name attached to every insult hurled at private citizens who oppose the bill, and if the ship of reform is sunk, it will go under flying the Kennedy flag.

That is no way to honor Ted Kennedy. His supporters should change course before their desire to memorialize Kennedy disgraces his name or burdens his legacy with the failures of others.

Seth Mandel is the managing editor of The Jewish State.