Published: Thursday, August 27, 2009
SEN. EDWARD M. KENNEDY
A life of artful lawmaking
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was among the last of a particular breed of lawmaker, one that makes our nation stronger.
Too few members of Congress these days strike the balance that Kennedy modeled for most of his 47-year Senate career: holding strongly to partisan principles, but maintaining respectful relationships with rivals that open the door to compromise. It’s becoming a lost art in lawmaking.
Kennedy, who lost his battle with brain cancer Tuesday night at age 77, showed year after year, decade after decade, that effective legislating is an incremental process. The founders designed a system resistant to rapid change. Patience and perseverance are rewarded, bull-headedness and short-sightedness are not. The former moves the nation forward, the latter keeps it running in place.
Make no mistake, Kennedy was a fiercely partisan Democrat. When many in his party thought the “liberal” label had fallen out of favor in the 1980s, he wore it as a badge of honor.
But Kennedy also knew that success in Congress is measured in small victories, accumulated over time. He often won them in committee, carefully crafting amendments that could get wide support on the floor. And he won them by finding common ground with wise Republican colleagues, many of whom he locked horns with regularly.
Notably, he worked with Utah’s Orrin Hatch on countless bills, among them a 1993 act preventing undue governmental burdens on religion, establishment of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and this year’s expansion of the AmeriCorps service program. The two became close friends.
He and John McCain also collaborated frequently — including on practical, humane immigration reform proposals, an effort joined by former President George W. Bush.
He grew up in privilege, but like his famous brothers was a champion for the underprivileged. Numerous laws ensuring fairness in the workplace, in public institutions and in health care carry his imprint.
His liberal ideology made him an easy target for the right, and many took frequent aim. But it’s telling that virtually none of the vitriol came from Republicans with whom Kennedy had worked. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan was among the first to honor Kennedy’s memory Tuesday night in a generous, heartfelt tribute.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Kennedy’s personal touch was remarkable. He knew when to sit down with a fellow senator to bolster them or to work out differences, and he “knew how to work as a friend with everyone.”
“That’s something that’s not known as well today in the halls of Congress,” she said.
And something that makes Kennedy’s passing such a deep loss for that institution, and the nation.
Too few members of Congress these days strike the balance that Kennedy modeled for most of his 47-year Senate career: holding strongly to partisan principles, but maintaining respectful relationships with rivals that open the door to compromise. It’s becoming a lost art in lawmaking.
Kennedy, who lost his battle with brain cancer Tuesday night at age 77, showed year after year, decade after decade, that effective legislating is an incremental process. The founders designed a system resistant to rapid change. Patience and perseverance are rewarded, bull-headedness and short-sightedness are not. The former moves the nation forward, the latter keeps it running in place.
Make no mistake, Kennedy was a fiercely partisan Democrat. When many in his party thought the “liberal” label had fallen out of favor in the 1980s, he wore it as a badge of honor.
But Kennedy also knew that success in Congress is measured in small victories, accumulated over time. He often won them in committee, carefully crafting amendments that could get wide support on the floor. And he won them by finding common ground with wise Republican colleagues, many of whom he locked horns with regularly.
Notably, he worked with Utah’s Orrin Hatch on countless bills, among them a 1993 act preventing undue governmental burdens on religion, establishment of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and this year’s expansion of the AmeriCorps service program. The two became close friends.
He and John McCain also collaborated frequently — including on practical, humane immigration reform proposals, an effort joined by former President George W. Bush.
He grew up in privilege, but like his famous brothers was a champion for the underprivileged. Numerous laws ensuring fairness in the workplace, in public institutions and in health care carry his imprint.
His liberal ideology made him an easy target for the right, and many took frequent aim. But it’s telling that virtually none of the vitriol came from Republicans with whom Kennedy had worked. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan was among the first to honor Kennedy’s memory Tuesday night in a generous, heartfelt tribute.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Kennedy’s personal touch was remarkable. He knew when to sit down with a fellow senator to bolster them or to work out differences, and he “knew how to work as a friend with everyone.”
“That’s something that’s not known as well today in the halls of Congress,” she said.
And something that makes Kennedy’s passing such a deep loss for that institution, and the nation.
Comments
(