Today we lost one of the greatest visionaries of our time. Senator Edward Kennedy was the most important influential person in America and in shaping it’s history
I was a great fan of Senator Kennedy. In fact, I was elected as a Kennedy delegate when he ran for president in 1980. More memorable was being a Kennedy man on the convention platform committee on foreign policy in Latin America where I served with Kennedy speechwriter and confidant, Ted Sorenson.
During that time, I met the Senator and was invited to his house outside of Washington DC. His home was filled with family photos. He commanded discipline from his campaign staff and they were committed to him, his platform and what he stood for…We battled the Carter white house on numerous issues. The California point man for Kennedy was Ron Brown who later became Commerce secretary under President Clinton.
While on the platform committee during the campaign of 1980 we would meet for 19 to 22 hours a day at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC. During that time, our issues were ignored by the Carter white house staff and by Jimmy Carter. The Kennedy democrats held on to the idea that the platform should reflect the needs and the concerns of the marginalized community. Kennedy always believed that there was room in the Democratic platform for the elderly, the sick and the poor.
Senator Kennedy was the first national l elected official ever to attend a gay/lesbian event. I remember that night of the annual fundraising event held by the Municipal Elections Committee Los Angeles. And when Sheldon Andelson, a major gay rights activist died, Senator Kennedy took the time from his busy schedule to provide the eulogy at UCLA Royce Hall.
Senator Kennedy was our leader; fighting for immigration rights. As the chair of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate, he worked tirelessly to promote justices to the federal bench that had a non-bias and non-racist view on the issues of the day.
He was my kind of a practicing Roman Catholic. One, who does not view the bible in its literal translation but looked at the works of Jesus as an agent of change,.
I cry as I write this…not just because of the man we lost, but also for time to remember. I want to hold on to this piece of history. I want to believe that there are men and women that dedicate their lives to public service and not to their political personal ambitions.
We must mourn his passing, celebrate his life and learn his from his history. We can share those experiences with our future generations of Americans..
Pray for him, his family and our future. Pray that we more of us can dedicate our lives to public service. In the end, let s honor him by passing healthcare reform. Not just for Ted Kennedy; but because it is the right thing to do…
There are no coincidences in life. Let his loss be our gain.
