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After a constant barrage of news coverage and a few questions from my own acquaintances asking about my views on Ted Kennedy I thought it appropriate to pay this tribute to The Lion of the Senate.
Few men have likely done more to earn the title of “Senator” in the history of our nation. I say this with all sincerity despite the fact that my own political views are very different from those espoused by Ted Kennedy. Of course I did not know him personally, but based on all the stories that are told of his work in the Senate (and I have seen no cause to doubt any of the accounts) he was a rare example of a Senator who truly understood the nature of the work that elected officials in the senate are called upon to do. Comparing him to others who hold or aspire to hold seats in the Senate consistently results in the others looking like pretenders.
He was well known for his ability to hold fast to his principles while still knowing how to work with people who did not agree with those principles. Our own Senator Hatch is a prime example. Despite any personal weaknesses he was willing and able to stand firm against any opposition to a position he held on principle. I believe it is because of his unwavering devotion to principle that I discovered that when he disagreed with Senator Hatch (who is ideologically closer to me than Kennedy is) at least half the time it was Kennedy that I agreed with – it was when the two of them agreed that I was more likely to disagree.
Perhaps the highest tribute I could give would be to share my belief that, in a nation where more people identify themselves as conservative than as liberal it was the sustained effort of this one principled liberal in the senate for the last few decades that has ensured that out government has moved inexorably toward more liberal positions. I hope that I can one day see a conservative Senator who works as hard and holds to his principles as well as Ted Kennedy did for so long.