Ted Kennedy’s 45-year career in the U.S. Senate has blended public advocacy for liberal causes with a backstage record of bipartisan achievement.
As a lawmaker, Kennedy is a magnificent throwback to the mid-19th century, when the Senate was dominated by such master orators as Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun and Daniel Webster. After airing their partisan and sectional differences on the floor, these statesmen would quietly gather to bind the nation’s wounds. When Congress finally lost that ability to compromise, the nation plunged into Civil War.
Kennedy likewise has led the public fight for endless liberal causes ranging from health insurance for poor children to anti-discrimination legislation and raising the minimum wage. But he has also worked quietly with conservative Republicans like Utah’s Orrin Hatch and South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham on a host of bipartisan causes, and even teamed with President Bush to pass the No Child Left Behind law.
The nation’s thoughts and prayers are with the Massachusetts senator and his family in the wake of last week’s disclosure that he suffers from a malignant brain tumor. Whatever the future holds for Kennedy, America is richer for his service.
