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August 27, 2009 in Opinion
Editorial: To honor Kennedy, lift debate to his level
On Tuesday, just a few hours before Edward M. Kennedy died, one of his Senate friends and occasional allies was meeting with constituents at a town hall meeting across the country in Sun City, Ariz.
The audience’s admiration for John McCain was unmistakable. They nodded. They applauded. They voiced support, and they listened attentively – as long as McCain was detailing the flaws of President Barack Obama’s health care reform plan.
But then the Arizona Republican reminded everyone that Obama believes in the Constitution, is sincere in his beliefs and deserves respect. The two men simply have different ideas about government’s role in pursuing what’s best for the country, that’s all.
The remark brought a hiss of disapproval. As we’ve learned, civility and respect are as foreign to political discourse these days as they are to cage fighting.
Which brings us back to Kennedy, who was both revered and reviled during his four decades in the Senate, but who achieved some of his greatest successes by forging bipartisan relationships with such Republicans as McCain, Utah’s Orrin Hatch and Virginia’s John Warner.
In the coming days, legions of Kennedy admirers will honor his dedication and passion on behalf of America’s unempowered. Critics, on the other hand, will stress the reckless self-indulgence that landed him in a cheating scandal at Harvard and a tragedy at Chappaquiddick, and they will deride Kennedy’s political agenda as socialism. The blogs are already filling up with it.
But among his Senate colleagues and others with whom the veteran senator from Massachusetts waged policy battle, it is his rivals who have uttered some of the most meaningful tributes.
Hatch, for one, noted that he came to the Senate wanting to rid it of Kennedy but came to realize it’s a good thing for the country that he failed.
Ed Fuelner, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, hailed the public service of Kennedy, a man with whom he disagreed “on virtually every major issue.”
To hear accomplished national political figures heap praise on a competitor should be an inspiration to the rest of us. Philosophical disagreement doesn’t have to rule out personal friendship or admiration. Issues can be debated vigorously without resorting to character attacks.
It won’t be easy.
In Sun City on Tuesday, even John McCain’s popularity with a sympathetic home-state crowd could not calm the demagogy.
Some voices are urging Congress to honor Kennedy by passing the universal health care system he fought for.
A more lasting gesture, but probably a more difficult one, would be a national commitment to constructive, issue-focused political debate.
We suspect Kennedy would approve.
Don’t fudge fish standard 
Ninch on August 27 at 9:44 a.m.
Sure.. Kennedy wanted universal healthcare, but that is not what Obamacare is about because its creators and supporters are dishonest in that it is a Trojan Horse and not plain and simple universal health care…and cowards because they will not authentically debate the details. Kennedy would have helped craft a truly bi-partisan solution, but the Obama-Pelosi-Reid crowd are all about flexing their newly acquired power and cramming poor legislation (complex and not well researched with potentially hundreds of unintended consequences) down the throats of Americans instead of looking for real solutions. Additionally, “federally-mandated” health insurance for individuals is un-Constitutional as are the fines (really a backdoor tax) to be “administered” by the IRS, which has the power to garnish wages, empty your bank accounts, lien your property, and even sell your house if you do not pay. (Note: The federal government can tax individuals to pay for health care, but they cannot mandate consumer purchases)… These “fines” are a good example of how ObamaCare Dems lack courage and honesty. Proponents need to openly admit that ObamaCare health reform will cost taxpayers money. They need to quit the lying and the name calling of those who have legitimate concerns, which includes the concept of a “death panel,” a colorful attention-getting metaphor used to focus on potential health care limits within the boundaries of “cost-effectiveness.”
Nicotinegun on August 28 at 9:35 a.m.
Obama has said in numerous situations that he finds the Constitution “flawed,” and the Framers had “a blind spot” because the Constitution doesn’t address economic redistrobution and Black people. This entire bill is indeed a Trojan Horse designed to do nothing more that give new Fascist President more control.
I fear they will win this battle in votes but that will invoke a new battle on the streets of the U.S. Not only is Fascist Obama attempting to run people’s lives through health care he now wants the FCC to make our choices of who we listen to on radio. THIS IS FASCISM, plain and simple. Obama is a Fascist.
This is the Obama philosophy on running the nation: If you don’t want to give your money to the poor, I will make you do it through law. If you don’t want to give up your money so others can have health care and we can run health care I will make you do it through law. If you choose not to listen to Liberal talk radio and watch liberal television I will take away your Conservative hosts through the use of new laws. If you aren’t willing to give up your guns without a fight I will make them so expensive you can’t afford them and I will make the ammunition so expensive you can’t buy that either.
Obama thinks he is smarter and more enlightened than all of us. So he actually believes he has the right to take away our rights. FASCISM, FASCISM, FASCISM