The Senate Has Lost Its Lion

The Lion of the Senate, Senator Ted Kennedy, lost his fight with brain cancer and died Tuesday night.  Perhaps this ends the dynasty of the Kennedy family in American politics.  But we should note that with his passing, we have lost one of the great legislators.  Ted Kennedy was, without doubt, a standout liberal and a partisan warrior and he could fight tooth and nail for what he believed in.   One example: it was Teddy Kennedy who organized Democrats in the U.S. Senate and led the fight against the nomination of Robert Bork for the Supreme Court and by doing so saved Roe v. Wade and Brown v. Board of Education.  In other words, in that effort alone, Kennedy saved America as we know it today.  No one in America had struggled more than Ted Kennedy in order to end discrimination of all sorts.  I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that the fact that we have an African-American as President today is at least in part due to the efforts of Teddy Kennedy. 

However, lion-hearted fighter that he was, Kennedy still treated everyone, friend or foe, with respect and knew how to make a deal.  He, more than most of our legislators today, knew that the most important skill for governing in a democracy is the art of compromise.   He found a way to work with George Bush on the “No Child Left Behind” bill.  He worked with John McCain on immigration legislation and he worked with Orrin Hatch on a number of bills through their long tenure in the Senate.

I’ve heard some say that to honor Senator Kennedy legislators should now get together and pass health-care reform, which was Ted Kennedy’s lifetime goal.  I don’t agree with that idea.  Legislators should not vote for a bill they don’t think is right no matter who wants it.  What I think we should do to honor the “Lion of the Senate” is to change the tone of the debate.  Perhaps Republicans and Democrats might stop shouting each other down and talking past others and start the process of a compromise that will get us the health-care reform we all need. 

With Kennedy gone, someone needs to step up and lead the Democrats.   That person should be President Obama.  When he returns from vacation, he should call all the Democrats together, find a compromise they can agree upon, and invite Republicans to have some input, if they want.  Then pass a bill whether or not Republicans join.  The Democrats can do this alone, but they need a leader.  So far, Obama has not been that leader.  It is time he stepped up.