Sen. Robert Byrd: Ted Kennedy, My Friend and Colleague:
Neither years of age nor years of political combat, nor his illness, diminished the idealism and energy of this talented, imaginative, and intelligent man. And that is the kind of Senator Ted Kennedy was. Throughout his career, Senator Kennedy believed in a simple premise: that our society's greatness lies in its ability and willingness to provide for its less fortunate members. READ MORE
Sen. Harry Reid: Our Lost Patriarch:
Senator Kennedy's legacy stands with the greatest, the most devoted, the most patriotic men and women to ever serve in the halls of government. Because of Ted Kennedy, more young children could afford to become healthy. More young adults could afford to become students. More of our oldest citizens and our poorest citizens could get the care they need to live longer, fuller lives. More minorities, women and immigrants could realize the rights our founding documents promised them. And more Americans could be proud of their country. READ MORE
Mike Lux: The Greatest Senator in American History:
There were other Senators who served a very long time and have many notable achievements to their credit. There were others whose oratory and personality dominated the Senate chamber for awhile. There were others who were held in great esteem by their Senate colleagues. There were others who became a recognizable face as a representative of Senate traditions and honor. But no one in all of America's great history combined all of these things with getting more tangible things that mattered accomplished for the American people. READ MORE
William Bradley: Camelot Ends, Again: The Passing of Senator Ted Kennedy:
Camelot has ended, again. But as Ted Kennedy himself pointed out, the legend is ever renewable. "The hope rises again, and the dream lives on." For it is not about "a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease." Though a most imperfect man, Ted Kennedy made his choice over a life of ease, and America is much the better for it. READ MORE
Robert Creamer: Greatest Tribute to Kennedy: Pass Health Care for All:
The decision facing America is whether - at long last - we will inscribe into our law the principle that health care is a human right - that everyone among us deserves health care simply because we are all human beings. Ted Kennedy believed that to his core. It was his life's passion. It would be fitting if his passing itself served to refocus the health care debate on the moral principle that lies at its center. READ MORE
Robert L. Borosage: A Giant Lost:
We have lost a giant. The Senate is a smaller place today -- a special measure of joy, political passion, irrepressible energy has been lost. Edward Kennedy's words, delivered as his 1980 presidential campaign came to an end at the Democratic Convention in Madison Square Garden, should be played repeatedly in his memorials, for they provide the charge that he has left for us. READ MORE
Robert Reich: Ted Kennedy's Passing: An Inestimable Loss:
America has had a few precious individuals who are both passionate about social justice and also understand deep in their bones its practical meaning. And we have had a few who possess great political shrewdness and can make the clunky machinery of democratic governance actually work. But I have known but one person who combined all these traits and abilities. READ MORE
Robert Scheer: Remembering the Real Deal:
I haven't felt quite so sad about the passing of a political leader since the day when people started bawling all over the Bronx with the news that FDR had died. In a political world dominated by bipartisan cynicism, there are few touchstones of integrity for the common folk, and Kennedy was one of them. READ MORE
Steve Clemons: Mourning for Ted Kennedy:
Senator Kennedy's political franchise had no rival in the legislative branch of government, and the younger brother of the Kennedy political trio may very well have been the very best "Executive Legislator" this country has ever seen. READ MORE
David Wild: A Dream Goes On Forever: A Playlist for Senator Ted Kennedy:
Senator Ted Kennedy loved to sing. And so it seems only fitting to make a playlist in memory of this singular American icon who did so much for so long to help so many. May he rest in peace, and may all the men and woman elected to be our leaders in Congress actually honor his memory by fulfilling Senator Kennedy's longstanding dream of true health care reform in this country that he loved even more than he loved singing. READ MORE
Fortune's Stanley Bing: Ted Kennedy: My Little Memory of Big Guy:
Some politicians are admired by pundits. Others feast on the support of the quiet, suburban bourgeoisie. Some wave one banner or other and attract a crowd for a time. What I saw on that little cruise in 1992 cannot be bought by advertising, or spun into life by pollsters or consultants. It's the enthusiasm regular, working people feel for someone they know has their interests at heart, and has for a long time, someone who has had his own troubles, overcome some if not all of them, and can still hold a drink when he has to. READ MORE
Jennifer Donahue: Young People: Carry on Kennedy's Torch of Caring for Those with Less:
The message is this: we are one country. We are in this together. If you don't have health care and I do, we will both pay for it in the end. We are not Democrats or Republicans, we are Americans. The reason to do something meaningful is to help society and not look first at your own self-interest. This philosophy was embodied by Ted Kennedy, and we will wait for a leader to step up to the plate and lead the way he did. READ MORE
Allison Kilkenny: Ted Kennedy: Health Care Reform Is the "Cause of My Life":
Many politicians (especially Democrats) will claim today to have respected Kennedy, but if they want to really pay tribute to the man, they should stop watering down health care reform. Democrats should end this silly debate over insurance co-operatives and securing 80 votes in the Senate (instead of the 51 they actually need,) and just get Americans affordable health care right now. It's what Ted would have wanted. After all, it was the cause of his life. READ MORE
John Bohrer: Ted Kennedy's Summer in Exile:
As Ted Kennedy disappeared from the public eye this summer, I liked to think of him as thirty-two years old, strapped to an orthopedic bed in Boston, waiting for his back to heal. It was the summer of 1964 -- forty-five years ago now -- when his plane crashed and he badly broke his back. No surgery, they decided. He'd have to be laid up for half a year, practically in a full-body brace. He took that time to reeducate himself, to read and think about subjects he hadn't paid enough attention to in school. It was now his duty to be ready. READ MORE
Jayne Lyn Stahl: No Time for Mourning -- In Memoriam: Ted Kennedy:
He was blessed in having made his life one that was filled not merely with courage, but purpose; one not scarred by contempt or anger, but enriched by compassion. He was a man who sought to discard darkness by embracing the light that comes only from diversity. READ MORE
Christine Pelosi: Kennedy: Mourning The Loss of an Icon:
A few years ago I was at the Capitol for a Kennedy Center honorees reception and saw the senator in a quiet corridor off Statuary Hall. "I love to walk through here and see the great statues and pictures of our Founders" he said. "It always gives me a thrill to be here and think of all they did." It was striking that after all the years and all his accomplishments at the Capitol, Ted Kennedy was still awed by being there. READ MORE