Posted on 08/27/2009 1:15:46 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Advancing Kennedy's legacy through bi-partisan cooperation
What is the best way to honor Ted Kennedy's significant legacy? A couple of Democrats have already voiced their own ideas about that. Yet by seeming to swoop in and want to take partisan advantage, they are actually missing a major part of what made Kennedy such an effective legislator.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said right away, "Ted Kennedy's dream of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year because of his leadership and his inspiration." Other Democrats echoed Pelosi's idea. Robert Byrd -- the only man currently serving in the Senate longer than Kennedy -- called for the health care bill to be named after Kennedy. (In so doing, Byrd is ironically following a prediction of Rush Limbaugh's earlier this year). But in pushing a "win health care for the Gipper" (as problematic as that sounds for fans of both the Kennedys and Ronald Reagan), Democrats are actually doing the departed Ted a disservice. While it is true that health-care insurance for all was Kennedy's "life work," he also didn't just sit around and do nothing while waiting for that day. He got some 300 pieces of legislation into law -- often with a Republican in the White House or the GOP controlling the Senate.
How did he do that? By working across the aisle. Ted Kennedy is likely the only Democrat who didn't mind working with Republicans that his fellow Democrats regarded as lightweights (perhaps because that's how he was seen that way early in his career). Kennedy authored a jobs training bill with Dan Quayle and introduced No Child Left Behind in the Senate as President George W. Bush's first domestic legislative initiative. And there have been numerous others with whom Kennedy has made law.
Barack Obama ran partly with a promise to get beyond the partisan gridlock in Washington. He faces a challenge now -- managing to fulfill both Ted Kennedy's dream and his own vision for a post-partisan Washington. Can he take advantage of the opportunity afforded by eulogizing the "Lion of the Senate" this weekend? He has the ability on such a stage to speak to the country and all sides and put forward a new open hand on health care. Of course, it couldn't stop there. He would have to follow-up with meetings in Washington with individuals like Charles Grassley, Orrin Hatch and John McCain and say to them: "Look, our side has allowed this to get viciously partisan. The Ted Kennedy that was our friend would want us to get something done. Give me something that you think Republicans must have in here to make it work and lets go from there." That would be something that would honor Kennedy's memory AND elevate Obama's "moderate, post-partisan" brand that has taken a beating this summer. If his fellow Democrats don't like it, he can tell them that he's doing exactly what Teddy has been doing over several decades.
I just honored it by my morning bathroom ritual. I won’t go into the details.
Ah. Plop, plop, flush, flush. Oh, what a relief it wush.
That will mean a lot of mileage.
Stagger left. Stagger right a bit. Try to straighten up, fall backwards, run forwards gain no momentum.
A Drunks shoes make very little progress
Detestable RINO Al D'Amato has been saying the same thing.
“in Memory of Kenney...”
They killed Kenney?
Robert George is usually better than this. Kennedy was wildly partisan; he simply knew it was good PR to get weak RINOs to put their name on some of the Dems’ more radical iniatives, and sadly, he never found that he had to look very far to find one willing to do so.
Of course he was bi-partisan, he would let the Republicans vote for any of his bills.
Gee, you sound like a friend of mine who wants Obamacare because she (with a perfectly good job, which, alas, doesn’t include healthcare — she buys it for $800 a month), doesn’t care to pay for her own and her husband’s coverage. She wants you and me to pay so she can spend her salary on bi-monthly skiing and hiking vacations all over the world. The most selfish person I know. Well, that’s before I read your reply.
Ted Kennedy crawls out of boston Harbor with a pair of panties in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other and he's the moral and spirtual leader of the democratic party.
Folks, this is NBC the talking piece for the Obama Administration. NBC is going down fast!
No thanks. His 'legacy' already haunts us now!
Say hello to Mary Jo...
Walk?
Why not RIDE in his car?
Gee!
Just what we needed!
I’ll buy the Oldsmobile if someone can get Pelosi in it with him.....
This is a joke -—right???
Remember how they turned Wellstone’s funeral into a political rally, but Coleman won the Minn. senate seat anyway?
Sure. . .and the Congress iself; must sign on to 'Kennedy Care'. He IS their hero, afterall. . .Let them prove it.
Truth be told; as I mentioned on another posting; this should be 'Kopechne Care'. As it worked for Mary Jo; so too; will the public be damned.
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