Good-bye, Uncle Ted

I have to admit I'm a little emotional over the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy.

The youngest of nine, he was almost an afterthought in an overachieving family (his father named Edward Moore Kennedy after his closest aide), he rose to become a giant of the Senate, joining the ranks of Webster, Clay, Johnson, and Dirksen, who could reach across the aisle for our country's greater common good.

I have memories of him as far as I can remember: I was a 10 year old watching California's delegation casting its votes for him at the 1980 Democratic Convention and have a vague recollection of his "The Dream Will Never Die" speech; his decision to not run for President the next time around in 1982; his "Where was George?" speech at the 1988 Democratic Convention; the humiliation when his nephew was accused of rape in 1991; and his brilliant repudiation of Mitt Romney's attacks at a debate when Uncle Ted came closest to losing his Senate seat in the Republican tidal wave of 1994.  And most recently, who can forget his endorsement of Barack Obama and months later, his stirring speech in Denver last summer . . . I think we all knew that would be the last speech of his life.

The biographies and now news wires are amplifying this man of contradictions:  deeply flawed yet highly accomplished, an indulged kid busted for cheating at Harvard who later became labor's greatest friend.  Privileged and overprotected in youth, he later made sure that no one was left out of American society, and would, without fanfare, visit families who lost their children in Iraq.

His record on the environment is mixed, but no one will be talking about that anyway in the days to come.  I have raised my eyebrows over his stances on the issues, but in reality, that's a small blip compared to his advocacy of health care.  After all, the two issues are intertwined, and as I read Rachel Carson's work, I wonder if we're still paying a huge price--our health--for all the environmental degradation over the past few generations.

What should be mentioned is one of his greatest speeches, "The Dream Will Never Die," which must have been excruciating for him to deliver, knowing that a Kennedy had lost a race for the first time.  So let me close with a great quote:

"The same Republicans who are talking about preserving the environment have nominated a man who last year made the preposterous statement, and I quote, 'Eighty percent of our air pollution comes from plants and trees.' And that nominee is no friend of the environment." - Ted Kennedy on Ronald Reagan, Madison Square Garden, summer 1980.