Like a Death in the Family

By the time word had filtered out last night, I was off the grid. Having to be at work around sunrise will do that to you. Therefore, I didn't learn of Ted Kennedy's passing until this morning.

This was a day that was pretty inevitably going to come once the news about his condition began to filter out last year.

Growing up, my parents were moderate right in their political views. In those days, they were Republicans, though they were known to cross party lines occasionally (my dad, for example, voted for Carter in 1976, mainly because of Watergate).

These days of course, the GOP is so crazy that my mom is a a fairly staunch centrist Democrat.

Like most Republicans of the day, my family, including myself, disliked Ted Kennedy. My political views didn't truly change until college, at which point I discovered the world wasn't lily white, that people from different backgrounds, races, and points of view made the world a more interesting place, and that the veiled (and not-so-veiled) classism, racism and sexism of the GOP was not something I could stand any more. In other words, I was a Republican, until I actually saw Republican ideals (an oxymoron in itself) in action during the Reagan years.

One of the political speeches I remember was Kennedy's speech in 1980 at the Democratic National Convention. I couldn't bring myself to support Carter (though I admire what he's done since leaving office), in fact, I supported John Anderson that year. But Ted Kennedy's speech in that convention was electric. Though it took a few years to percolate through, I think Ted spoke to me in a way that no politician has since.

Since that time, and particularly since 1984, when I reregistered as a Democrat for the express purpose of expressing my displeasure with the Reagan Administration (I voted for Mondale), I have come to admire the unique gifts of Ted Kennedy.

For the mess that his personal life was at times, politically, he had the rare gift of knowing exactly where he stood and what his core values were. Better still, he knew how to take those ideals, and work through the arcane procedures and roadblocks of the Senate to put those ideals in action. It's no surprise that Kennedy got so much done when you realize that he combined the unique combination of having unshakeable core values, combined with a willingness to negotiate to put those values into law.

In my mind, he may be the most effective Senator in the history of the Republic. Certainly, he was a political hero of mine. When he endorsed Barack Obama last year, I was at last comfortable with my vote for Barack in the Primary. I really think that endorsement, while it didn't give Barack Massachusetts, did put the stamp of legitimacy on Barack with a whole lot of Democrats, and immediately made him a candidate to be taken seriously.

To bring this full circle, I was saddened when I heard of his illness, was saddened at the mounting evidence in the last month that the end was near, and I haven't been the same since I read it at work this morning. Losing Ted Kennedy is like a death in the family for me.

Anyway, because this is the way I will always remember him, enjoy his 1980 DNC Speech below.

“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,” -Edward M Kennedy, 1932-2009.