Lion of the Senate is Silenced

Senator Ted Kennedy, the Liberal Lion of the U.S. Senate, has lost his last battle, with brain cancer.

A lot of us, as we mourn his passing, think of the loss of a generation of liberal leaders – and the loss of the last direct link to “Camelot”. Others out there cannot help but remember the death of Senator Paul Wellstone.

If Wellstone was the Senate’s liberal conscience, Kennedy was its liberal deal-maker. He was always more interested in getting something done, anything to improve the lives of the less fortunate, the forgotten, and the voiceless. He was a tireless advocate of much what we liberals hold dear. And just this weekend, even Republicans were making the argument that they could have cut a deal with Kennedy on healthcare, his last major wish.

The Liberal Lion has now been forever silenced, and the loss may be greater than we realize. But if those of us who share his dreams of a fairer and more just America continue his work, then the Lion will continue to live on – in all of us.