CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
– CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
Aug. 26, 2009 – 2:48 a.m.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy Dies
By Martha Angle and Seth Stern, CQ Staff
Edward M. Kennedy , the liberal “lion of the Senate” and youngest of three brothers who helped define American politics for more than half a century, died late Tuesday of complications from a brain tumor. He was 77.
Born into wealth and privilege, the Massachusetts Democrat was the unflagging champion of the disadvantaged, the sick and the disabled. He had an unshakable belief in the ability — and responsibility — of government to level the playing field for the millions of Americans less fortunate than the storied Kennedy clan.
Kennedy’s influence on the nation could be seen in a broad sweep of legislation that he had a hand in writing during more than 46 years in the Senate. He was the third-longest serving senator in history, behind his 91-year-old colleague Robert C. Byrd , D-W.Va., and the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., with whom he also served.
Kennedy died at his family’s home in Hyannis Port, Mass., his family said in a statement, calling him “the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply.”
“We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever,” the statement said. “We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”
The flags at the Capitol and the White House were lowered to half-staff Wednesday in honor of the late senator. He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 29.
Involved to the End
Kennedy had appeared in the Senate or at public events only a few times since his brain cancer was first diagnosed after he suffered a seizure on May 17, 2008, in Hyannis Port. But he continued to work from home and hospital, determined to pursue his last, best chance to achieve the goal that had consumed him throughout his career — universal health coverage.
As chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Kennedy was deeply involved in drafting the health care overhaul now starting to take shape in Congress. He tapped his best friend in the Senate, Christopher J. Dodd , D-Conn., to guide the committee’s hearings and negotiations in his absence, but he remained immersed in the bill’s development.
It was no accident that President Obama declared a health care overhaul to be his top priority this year and pushed Congress to accelerate its work on the measure as Kennedy’s health deteriorated.
Just four months before he was stricken, Kennedy had draped the Camelot mantle around the shoulders of the Illinois Democrat, who, like Kennedy’s older brother, John, was a young senator turned presidential candidate.
“Every time I’ve been asked over the past year who I would support in the Democratic primary, my answer has always been the same: I’ll support the candidate who inspires me, who inspires all of us, who can lift our vision and summon our hopes and renew our belief that our country’s best days are still to come,” Kennedy said in a forceful endorsement speech shortly before the critical “Super Tuesday” primaries. “I’ve found that candidate.”
In a statement Wednesday, Obama called Kennedy “the greatest United States senator of our time.”
“For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts,” the president said. “An important chapter in our history has come to an end.”
Kennedy brushed aside a bout with kidney stones to deliver a final farewell to the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Aug. 25, 2008.
“So many of you have been with me in the happiest days and the hardest days. Together, we have known success and seen setbacks, victory and defeat, but we have never lost our belief that we are all called to a better country and a newer world,” he said. “And I pledge to you — I pledge to you that I will be there next January on the floor of the United States Senate” when Obama takes office.
And he was.
Kennedy sat on the VIP platform to watch Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20, but he was carried out of the luncheon that followed on a stretcher after suffering another seizure.
He returned Feb. 11 to vote on the economic stimulus bill (PL 111-5) before departing for his home in Florida.
Kennedy also came to Washington in March for a White House “Forum on Health Reform,” where he said he was “looking forward to being a foot soldier in this undertaking.” Three days later, he was the guest of honor at a Kennedy Center event celebrating his 77th birthday. Kennedy received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his efforts to overhaul the nation’s health care system.
There When It Counted
Kennedy had not voted in the Senate since April 27, 2009. His final vote — like the first one after his illness — came on a cloture motion, this time to limit debate on the leadership’s version of legislation (PL 111-21) to combat financial fraud, including mortgage-related fraud.
Characteristically, the first Senate vote Kennedy cast after he was stricken was on a health care issue. He took the Senate floor on July 9, 2008, to cast a decisive vote to break a Republican filibuster and advance legislation to prevent a 10.6 percent reduction in Medicare payments to physicians.
The vote was on a motion to invoke cloture to proceed to the measure, the second such effort to move the bill in two weeks. The first attempt, on June 26, fell just short of the 60 votes needed. In that instance, 39 Republicans voted against the bill.
Kennedy was one of two senators absent for the June cloture vote. Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., scheduled the next cloture vote for July 9, and as the votes in favor of cloture approached 60, the chamber suddenly erupted in applause. All eyes turned to a door behind the central dais. Kennedy entered the room, accompanied by his son, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy , D-R.I.; John Kerry , his Democratic colleague from Massachusetts; Obama, the party’s presumed nominee for president; and Dodd.
Senators and visitors in the gallery, including Kennedy’s wife, Vicki, gave him a prolonged standing ovation. Kennedy walked up to the desk and, loud enough for all to hear, shouted out his “aye.”
“Win, lose or draw, I wanted to be here. I wasn’t going to take the chance that my vote could make the difference,” Kennedy said later in a statement.
His vote did make the difference. Republicans who had not yet voted joined Kennedy in supporting the bill, and others switched from no to yes. The vote to invoke cloture was 69-30, more than enough to override a veto.
That paved the way not only for passage of the bill, but for its enactment over President George W. Bush ’s veto (PL 110-275).
Thundering Eloquence
Throughout his career, Kennedy was noted for rhetorical eloquence, but he spoke infrequently in 2009 as he harbored his waning strength.
His first floor speech of the year came on Jan. 8, when he paid tribute to “our dear colleague and dear friend from West Virginia,” Robert C. Byrd , on his 50th anniversary in the Senate.
“I have served with Bob for 46 of those years,” Kennedy noted. “I have immense respect for him, and I am proud to say that we have become close friends. I love Robert C. Byrd .
“It wasn’t always this way. There was a time that Senator Byrd and I were rivals, each with eyes on the position of majority whip. I was elected to that position after the 1968 election, but as I have often said, Bob taught me how to count votes in 1970 when he defeated me for reelection. It turned out to be a blessing for both of us.
“Bob would go on to become one of the finest majority leaders in the history of the Senate, and the defeat freed me to concentrate on my legislative passions of health care, education, labor, and civil rights. In a very real sense Bob liberated me, and as our leader in many of those years he was especially helpful in accomplishing my goals.”
One of those goals was realized with the enactment this year of the largest expansion of national volunteer services programs in decades.
Praising Obama for promoting the legislation, Kennedy alluded to the creation of one of the most famous volunteer service programs, the Peace Corps, by his brother John.
“President Kennedy’s call to service still echoes today,” he told the Senate March 26, “and I am proud we have renewed that call for our day and generation by passing this important legislation.”
The following month, on April 21, Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (PL 111-13).
Kennedy’s most famous speech was almost certainly his farewell to the 1980 Democratic national convention, as he formally conceded the presidential nomination to President Jimmy Carter. The closing lines of that speech appear destined to stand for the ages:
“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.”
Comments
Ted Kennedy drew a lot of fire for accusing the Bush administration of playing politics with the Iraq War, but history proved that he was right to accuse Richard Nixon of timing American withdrawal from Vietnam to his 1972 reelection campaign. Ken Hughes? Presidential Recordings Program? Miller Center? University of Virginia http://fatalpolitics.blogspot.com/
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