Break Out the Obituaries: Ted Kennedy
“For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.”
—Senator Ted Kennedy, Democratic National Convention, August, 1980.
Senator Ted Kennedy, champion of a liberal movement that has perpetually struggled to find a powerful leader, accomplished legislator, and the last surviving brother of a political dynasty that once seemed destined to lead America to a brighter future, passed away last night at the age of 77 after battling a brain tumor for months.
His legacy remains one defined by both tragedy and triumph, grief and hope. The youngest of nine siblings, “Uncle Teddy” watched as his brother Joseph was killed during a risky combat mission during World War II; as his brother John ascended to a presidency of limitless potential cut short by assassination; as his brother Robert became a U.S. Senator and undertook a presidential campaign to end the Vietnam War, only to fall before his time.
Politico: “The youngest member of his generation did not have the cool grace of John F. Kennedy, the dazzling wit, or the easy command of language. He did not have Robert F. Kennedy’s lean, ascetic features or electric sense of purpose. He spent decades in Washington as a contemporary and sometimes painfully mortal figure, rather than one shrouded in history and myth. At the end, his death did not come in a horrible jolt of violence—the only one of patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy’s four sons of which this can be said.”
Senator Kennedy carried the burden of grief for his entire life, outliving his brothers and expected to carry their torch. He did so admirably, and the United States is a land of opportunity for more people thanks to his efforts.
America turned to Ted Kennedy to fulfill the dreams that his brothers offered America. Such expectations, to forever chase the shadows of his fallen siblings, would be impossible to fulfill, even for a Kennedy. Though he never rose to the Oval Office, a post that all but seemed his birthright, Kennedy helped shape every piece of legislation that came through Washington during his forty-year tenure in the Senate. His contributions to Civil Rights, Health Care, Education, and Immigration are far too many to list, but he was indisputably the most prolific legislator of his generation.
His passing has touched everyone in Washington’s corridors of power, from President Obama to Vice President Biden to Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to Democratic congressional leadership to millions of Americans who spent their lives looking to a Kennedy to show them the way.
Of course, Senator Kennedy was taken before his time, as well. The battle of his life, to provide every American citizen with the right to health care coverage, remains tragically incomplete. The debate will, no doubt, continue to rage, and the Kennedy legacy will certainly be invoked for political gain. Massachusetts will witness a battle between generations of state politicians who have waited for decades for a chance at a Senate seat. Democratic leaders will wonder how they can pass health care reform at all without their lion standing beside them. But these questions should wait for now. All of us should focus our attention today on the flickering memory of the Kennedy Dynasty, the titanic accomplishments of a true public servant, and better future that he and his brothers showed us is possible.
“We are told that Barack Obama believes too much in an America of high principle and bold endeavor, but when John Kennedy called of going to the moon, he didn’t say it’s too far to get there. We shouldn’t even try. Our people answered his call and rose to the challenge, and today an American flag still marks the surface of the moon.
Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. And we can do it again. There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination — not merely victory for our Party, but renewal for our nation.
And this November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.”
—Senator Ted Kennedy, Democratic National Convention, August, 2008
Many mourning admirers today have said that there will never be another public servant like Ted Kennedy. They are probably right -- a truly inspiring voice of progressive ideals comes around once in a lifetime. However, for the sake of our nation, I hope they are wrong. America has relied on the Kennedy family for forty years, and I pray that we can carry on fighting for the causes of justice, equality, and opportunity to which they devoted their lives.
Ben Theodor tried to tame the blogging beast within by murdering his former blog, Change We Voted For, in cold blood (his first attempt, Election Day Countdown, expired due to natural causes). However, like so many cheap horror movie villains, Ben's sarcasm simply couldn't be kept down, and has found a permanent home here at BOTO. Read more.
