The Liberal Lion is Dead

Senator Kennedy died yesterday, at the age of 77. I have wonderful memories of Kennedy from my summer on Capitol Hill at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). Kennedy spent a good deal of time at the DSCC, and would make an entrance with gruffness and warmth, complaining about the summer's heat, some reception he had to attend, or the doings of the Republican majority leader. I remember watching his fiery speeches on C-Span and and being energized by his anger at the status quo: Kennedy was not intimidated by the Bush Administration or the Republican control of all three branches of government. It was a dark time to be a democrat, and Kennedy's defiant energy provided historical perspective to the sense of being under attack by Karl Rove and the Neoconservatives. Kennedy's presence was reassuring and gave us a sense of being a part of a struggle that was far from over- he had a presence that was much larger than the people and events around him.