Progressive Statements on the Passing of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy

We've been getting a lot of press statements in honor of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy from local labor unions and progressive organizations at Open Media Boston this week; so it seems like a good idea to simply run a selection of those below in the public interest. After all, Kennedy is spoken of as a lion of the liberal wing of the American left - and the statements clearly show that many left-leaning organizations agree with that assessment. 

 

For myself, however, I have a different view - which I will just mention en passant. Kennedy's role as a liberal guardian reminds me of nothing so much as the politics of the Roman Republic in the period when Julius Caesar rose to power. And my views on that period have been shaped by an interesting book The Assassination of Julius Caesar by the left historian Michael Parenti. Much of that book is devoted to discussing the wars between the two major parties in the Roman Senate in Caesar's era. <!--break-->

 

The Optimates (the "best men") were the conservatives. The Populares ("favoring the people") - Caesar's party - were the party of the urban working class. Parenti prefaces this discussion by demonstrating that virtually all of the history of the period was written by Optimates like Cicero - all of whom hated Caesar not simply because he managed to amass more power than any ruler of the Italian peninsula since the time of the Etruscan kings, but more critically because Caesar used the ascendant power of his party to push numerous reforms through the Senate that raised taxes on the aristocracy, provided money, food and jobs to working people, and started placing limitations on the institution of slavery. 

 

I find this all very interesting, but naturally I'm not bring this episode up to write an essay on ancient history. I bring it up because all of the Optimates and the Populares were <i>nobiles</i> - aristocrats - true not of the same social strata, but that's not important here. Like the Republicans and Democrats in our Senate, the Optimates and Populares had different views on how to run the Republic, but they all agreed that they should be the ones to run it. And while the Populares in the Roman Senate, like Democrats in our Senate, supported some social reforms - they did not support rule by the working classes. And they certainly didn't support the idea that the lowest class - and nearly the largest - the slaves should become citizens en masse and participate in governing Rome in any way. 

 

In fact, both Optimates and Populares alike helped crush rebellions against their Empire - especially the three biggest slave rebellions that became known as The Servile Wars, the third and last of which was the famous Spartacus rebellion which happened shortly before Caesar came to power. Not that dissimilar from the way both Republicans and Democrats have regularly voted to crush rebellions against American economic and political hegemony the world over in the last 100 years.

 

All this to say that I was brought up in a liberal Democratic family that voted for all the Kennedys including Teddy in every election. I myself voted for him more than once. I have interacted with members of his staff on numerous occasions in various labor and community campaigns, and found them generally supportive to a fair number of political causes that I was working for - although I never dealt with the man himself. I am absolutely concerned about the fact that it's virtually certain that whomever replaces him will be far worse politically than he was. 

 

But as someone on the broad socialist left - differentiated from the liberal left by our opposition to capitalism - I have to say that if we had a parliamentary system in the U.S., Kennedy's politics would represent the "right of the left" so to speak. The best of what was available in the current two party system. Kennedy was certainly sympathetic to working people - including immigrants, which won him big points with me. But he was always a man of the ruling class. A rich and powerful man who sided in a number of key situations with rich and powerful interests that operate ever and always against the interests of working people (some of these instances are enumerated in a nice op-ed by Steve Early in our Opinion section this week).

 

In addition, as a friend of mine put it this week, Kennedy was only as good as he was on some issues over the last 40 years because large social movements created the necessary political conditions needed to push him to the left. Where those movements were weaker - as with partisans of single-payer health care - he remained in the mainstream of elite political opinion and refused to back popular reforms.

 

Still, now that Kennedy has passed on, the people of Massachusetts (or possibly Gov. Deval Patrick, himself a neoliberal, if the state legislature reverses a 2004 to go back to the old system that empowered the governor to choose temporary Congressional replacements) - will choose a younger replacement to his Senate seat who will not be someone molded by Civil Rights-era social movements but instead by the pro-corporate reaction that has dominated American politics since that time. With a much-weakened labor movement in disarray and no social force capable of pushing politicians to better represent the interests of working families, the new Massachusetts Senator will be nothing if not an enthusiastic capitalist. 

 

And more's the pity. But we'll cross that bridge when we shortly come to it. For now, the above-mentioned qualifications taken as given, we will honor Kennedy's memory by publishing several statements by local progressive groups.

 

Open Media Boston extends our condolences to the Kennedy family, and hopes the Senator is now in a better place. (Because, let's face it, Massachusetts has really lousy weather.)

 

The statements follow in no particular order.

 

 

 

Today the working families of Massachusetts mourn the passing of the biggest voice and the biggest champion of the ‘little guy’ to ever serve in the United States Senate. His legacy on workers’ rights, civil rights, and human rights lives on in the quality of life and freedoms he ensured would be extended to all Americans, regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, economic status or any other factor. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO joins the entire world in expressing our condolences to the Kennedy Family during this incredibly solemn time. The enormity of the loss of Ted Kennedy cannot be overstated, especially in terms of the impact his life has had on the pursuit of social and economic justice in this country. Ted Kennedy epitomized humanity in every sense of the word. His larger-than-life presence was only outpaced by his kindness in the form of even the smallest, most humane gestures. Few public figures had the impact on others that Senator Kennedy had, traversing the entire spectrum from the indelible mark he left in both the history books and on individual lives.

 

“The great lesson of his life is that even the hardest challenges are no match for determination in the pursuit of what is right. The working men and women of organized labor, and all working families, have been so fortunate that Senator Kennedy’s mission for a better country matched the virtues of our Labor Movement. We are overcome at this monumental loss, but we will honor his life and his legacy the only way we know how. In the spirit of one of Ted Kennedy’s favorite poems, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO will strive, seek, find and not yield in the pursuit we shared with our Senator of improving the lives of all workers in this nation. Through that work, the dream will indeed live on.

 

 

 

Massachusetts' Immigrant Community Mourns the Loss of Senator Kennedy

 

It is with great sadness this morning that the MIRA Coalition joins the chorus of voices from across Massachusetts, the nation and the world to mourn the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. The Senior Senator from Massachusetts was a wonderful friend to MIRA from its inception. Senator Kennedy was a towering inspiration to all of us fighting for the rights and dignities of immigrants and refugees, and to all those who yearn for the warmth of liberty's torch.

 

We at MIRA remember Senator Kennedy most vividly, perhaps, when he faced Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, with visible passion,   to protest the New Bedford raids of 2007. This was only one instance of his tireless work in defense of the innocent, and I am sure many others share equally inspiring memories. Senator Kennedy's presence in Massachusetts was as rich as it was long, and he will live in history as a testimony to America's greatest ideals.

 

Senator Kennedy was an icon of the immigrants' rights movement, who provided support and assistance to countless Massachusetts immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and students. We owe it to his memory to enact both health care reform and a comprehensive immigration reform, so that those he served so well will continue to have the healthy and prosperous lives he championed for them.

 

On behalf of ourselves and the immigrant community we offer our deep felt condolences to his family and loved ones. We are honored and privileged to have worked with the Senator, and we will draw strength and spirit from his memory and legacy every working day of our lives.

 

 

 

Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts mourns the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. 

 

A tireless advocate for working people, Senator Kennedy was a champion of economic justice and human rights for all. His belief that health care is a right, not a privilege, has been the foundation of N2N-MA's organizing over the past fifteen years.

 

We will remember his legacy as we continue the fight to build power in our communities.

 

 

 

Honoring the Legacy of Sen. Kennedy

 

In 2006, the ACLU of Massachusetts bestowed its highest honor on Senator Edward Kennedy: the Roger Baldwin Award, named for the Massachusetts-born founder of the ACLU. This is what we said about that award today in a statement honoring Sen. Kennedy's legacy:

 

On behalf of our more than 22,000 members statewide, we gave this award to Senator Kennedy in recognition of his passionate dedication to the pursuit of liberty and justice. Senator Kennedy gave his first major speech on the Senate floor in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and he played a role in every civil rights battle in Congress for nearly 50 years. In recent years, he stood strongly for the rule of law, opposing measures such as the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and domestic surveillance of ordinary Americans.

 

This work made Senator Kennedy a champion of freedom throughout the nation — and that is how he should be remembered today.

 

Even as we mourn the passing of Senator Kennedy, we remember his lifetime of contributions to the cause of civil rights and civil liberties. For more on his legacy, please read and comment online at www.massrightsblog.org.

 

 

We mourn the passing of a great leader in the struggle for workers' rights, for immigrant rights and the fight to make health care recognized as an essential human right for all people in our country. At Jobs With Justice, we feel there is no better way to honor the late Senator than by taking up the banner from his hand, and continuing forward on all of these important issues.

 

This week we ask you to join us in the fight for health care reform that values people's lives over companies' profits, and help to make Senator Kennedy's dream a reality. As Mother Jones, the great workers' leader said, "Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living."