Kennedy for US Senate
2006-10-27
Source: Boston Globe
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rss feedIN THEIR single 30-minute debate, Kenneth Chase of Belmont referred to Senator Edward Kennedy as "the most powerful Democrat in the nation for the last half century." So why should Massachusetts voters choose the Republican over such a powerhouse? Chase's argument that Kennedy has outlived his usefulness is not persuasive, to put it mildly.
Kennedy is finishing his 44th year in the Senate -- he is already the third-longest serving member in history, after Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond -- yet he shows no hint of fatigue. Even when Democrats have been the Senate minority, as has been the case for most of his last two terms, Kennedy has managed to influence national policy on many of the nation's most pressing concerns. His MO, usually, is to create alliances with key Republican colleagues. Consider:
On Iraq, Kennedy has been a critic from the start, as one of 23 senators voting against the use-of-force resolution and one of the earliest voices calling for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. But he and GOP senators have won legislation calling for a new national intelligence estimate.
On pensions, he worked with Republican Senators Michael Enzi and Charles Grassley to win enactment of major reforms.
On immigration, he and Senator John McCain are sponsoring sensible legislation that combines heightened security with some hope for long time illegal residents who would like to become citizens.
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