Count Me Blue: Rest in peace, Senator Kennedy

It's with sadness that I awoke this morning to hear about the loss of Sen. Ted Kennedy (above, left, with brothers President John F. Kennedy (center) and Robert F. Kennedy). There was no greater champion in the U.S. Senate over the last five decades for civil rights, healthcare reform, world peace and even stem cell research than Ted Kennedy.

Of course, in these highly partisan times that we live in, I've no doubt that many on the right will quietly cheer the silence of this proud liberal voice (and no doubt a few will even publicly do so), but that's to be expected. As far as the right's strong hatred for Kennedy, I'll say this - if there was any way to quantify it, you'd have to multiply that by a factor of a million to even begin to describe the way I feel about Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and the rest of the conniving, profiteering, scum of the Earth who pillaged this country during the eight years of the Bush administration. However, President Obama has been in office for a little over 200 days, so now we can blame everything on him now! At least, that seems to be the battle cry among many conservatives these days. But, I digress.

It would be wrong to completely whitewash Kennedy's entire career in the wake of his passing, for the man was deeply flawed, for sure. But, I try to see the other side when it comes to Kennedy, too. I can't begin to fathom the emotional strain he must have endured after seeing two of his brothers assassinated and also losing two other siblings to tragedy very early on in their lives. I'm not making excuses for Kennedy's often boorish and even tragic behavior, but it's easy for people to judge his behavior, but more difficult to comprehend the many tragedies in Kennedy's life. Many critics point to the Chappaquiddick incident as proof of Kennedy's criminality, and his actions are impossible to defend, and I'm certainly not going to try here. However, many conspiracy theorists have argued that Mary Jo Kopechne was intentionally drowned by Kennedy, and I'll never believe that. But, I'm also not naïve enough to believe that Kennedy didn't receive special treatment from the justice system because of his last name, either.

One of the stupidest bumper stickers I ever saw on a car read: "Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my guns." I've always wanted to print bumper stickers that say "George Bush has killed many more people than Ted Kennedy's car," but I never got around to it. I still say it could have been a seller, though.

Despite Kennedy's many flaws, in the end, I admire the man for the way he handled the many tragedies he had to endure, and largely how he handled them. One of his finest moments was courageously eulogizing his brother, Robert, following his assassination in June 1968:

My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.

Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: 'Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.'

I think the same can be said of Ted Kennedy himself, too. What a career on Capitol Hill - during 46+ years in the U.S. Senate, he authored 2,500 bills, 300 of which became law; and he co-sponsored another 550 bills, too. Because of personal flaws and mistakes, he was not destined to be president, but he certainly made a difference on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

From civil rights, to Title IX, to healthcare and 18-year olds gaining the ability to vote, Kennedy was in the middle of all those legislative debates and more during the last five decades. I've often written that I believe in term limits for all members of Congress, and in the end, I probably still do, but Kennedy is an example of what career politicians can accomplish during a long and mostly distinguished career on Capitol Hill.

To the man who was never ashamed to be called a liberal (I share that same trait), I say this - well done, Senator, well done. Liberals and like-minded moderates alike will continue the healthcare fight in your absence, but the fight just became a little harder without you.

Below is the tribute to Senator Kennedy during the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention - it's pretty good and worth a look (thanks, Sadath) ...