Ted Kennedy’s passing this week comes at a time when the vitriol in American politics is at fever pitch.<\/p>\n
Democrats pushing for healthcare reform have been accused of trying to kill old people and people with disabilities. <\/p>\n
They’ve been accused of being communists, fascists, and agents of the Anti-Christ.<\/p>\n
Kennedy was a standard-bearer for the liberal movement and many of his policy proposals were highly controversial. <\/p>\n
Along with Hillary Clinton, he was perhaps the most significant left-of-center culture warrior of his day. <\/p>\n
But whatever you think of Kennedy’s ideas, his motivations were beyond reproach: He believed in the vision of a better America, of better lives for the poor, people of color, women and working class families.<\/p>\n
He also happened to believe that a democratically-elected government was an important tool for achieving those goals.<\/p>\n
If nothing else, his career serves as a reminder to all sides of the discourse that we can disagree with the message without despising the messenger.<\/p>\n
Opponents of health care reform should acknowledge that the goal of the reformers is very simply to extend health coverage to as many Americans as efficiently as possible. <\/p>\n
Then they should make their arguments against the specifics of the Democratic plan, without hysterics and without poisonous accusations.<\/p>\n
It’s worth remembering that the nasty rhetoric isn’t just a game; it isn’t just a way of tweaking the ratings for cable news shows.<\/p>\n
The experience of Ted Kennedy’s family — two brothers gunned down by assassins – shows just how ugly the politics of personal destruction can become. <\/p>\n
Would America be a better place if all of Kennedy’s proposals had been implemented? I don’t happen to think so.<\/p>\n
But I know with certainty that his motivations in politics were of the highest moral and civic caliber. That’s good enough for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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