The Dream Shall Never Die. R.I.P. Senator Kennedy

I didn't always view Ted Kennedy with the respect he commands from me now. I once shared the cynical view that many have of him. Of course I always respected and admired his brother John because of his involvement with the space program but Teddy would grow on me. Part of that was due to the respect and education by a former girlfriend and Massachusetts native, and part of it is I began to follow Ted Kennedy and politics in general more closely during the years surrounding the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

But I think what most endeared Ted Kennedy to me were his speeches on the Senate floor. No one could give a more impassioned speech in the well of that chamber than Ted Kennedy his face turning red, fist pounding the podium in front of him and hands waving. It was really something to behold even on TV. It was then that I realized he was a true believer everything else you might believe about him they weren't just words or names to him they were people without equal rights, or workers without a fair wage, or health care (his life-long cause now left unfulfilled), or soldiers who had died in an unjust war. Whatever the issue Ted Kennedy was a forceful voice more often than not on the side of those of far less means than himself. Having just become a Massachusetts resident myself I was looking forward to the opportunity to vote for a Kennedy though I may still get the chance we shall see.

Whatever your political background or beliefs the Senate and indeed the country are a lesser place without him. I was struck by these words from his family's public statement on his passing...

He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.

The Senate's "liberal lion" is gone. Rest in Peace Senator Kennedy.