I've wept several times during televised coverage of the late senator's wake and funeral, I'm not ashamed to admit. He was a force of nature, and a powerful example to us all. Not aside from or in spite of his faults, but for how he remained dignified and focused in the aftermath of them. And not because of the personal tragedies he endured, but for how he managed to persevere, even thrive, through it all. For beyond the tales of drunkenness and womanizing, beyond the many family ordeals he faced, he was a man of strong principles and fierce convictions. This man, born into wealth and power, assumed that "the wealthy and powerful are able to look after their own interests," and so dedicated his life to service to the less fortunate among us. What a remarkable job he did, too. What a tremendous debt all Americans owe this fine man, even the Republicans. He was a proud liberal who never shied away from the label even when the term and even its political philosophies were unfashionable. Today I read that Democrats are debating whether his legacy is that of pragmatic compromiser or dogged liberal champion. In other words, should they take whatever political ground the Republicans give them and be grateful, or should they charge and seize whatever ground they can overtake? It's not an either-or proposition, however. As an advocate for the people, Kennedy would take whatever he could get. Knowing how to compromise assures that you get something out of almost any deal. But it also means not giving up any more than you have to. To me, this is the difference between Ted Kennedy and most of the other Democrats on the hill.
Of the last forty years or so, a Democrat sat in the oval office for only twelve of those years. Democrats have been in the minority in Congress for much of that time, as well. They've learned to accept the scraps that the Republicans would mete out, and consider themselves lucky. All the while the Republicans have stood by their convictions, looking the American people in the eye and calling for lower taxes (for the rich), deregulation of communications, energy, trade, and banking industries, among others, all benefitting wealthy investors, corporate executives and boards of directors. And most Americans bought it! That is literally like selling ice to an Eskimo. You've got to hand it to the conservatives. And now they've got nearly half of all Americans believing that it's a bad thing to provide healthcare coverage to all Americans. Let the Democrats stand by their convictions. Most liberals truly believe, as I do, that theirs is the more compassionate, efficient, fair and superior political philosophy. So now that they have the ability to do almost whatever they want, legislatively, let them stand up now and slam healthcare reform through. Their opponents can choke on it. We all know it's the right thing to do. And even the Republican lemmings out there shouting down the debate in town hall meetings will be thankful, in a few years, that the Dems got it through. Of course, they'll claim it was John McCain and Orrin Hatch and Mitch McConnell and John Boehner who brought healthcare coverage to the people, and by the way, keep government out of it!
