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Holly Bailey

Katie Connolly





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Posted Thursday, August 20, 2009 9:45 AM

Kennedy’s Absence Unfortunate for Democrats

Daniel Stone
February 10 of this year was a big day in the United States Senate. It was the day the full body voted to approve President Obama’s $787 billion economic-stimulus package, the biggest amount of money attached to a single bill in Senate history. But it was also the last time that Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts appeared on the Senate floor. Only once since has Kennedy been seen in public, for a White House forum on health care in March. And he was noticeably missing from the funeral of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, earlier this week. The reason, of course, traces back to Kennedy's private fight with a malignant brain tumor that doctors diagnosed last fall as terminal.

It’s certainly a difficult time for Kennedy and his family, and his colleagues seem to have cut the lion of the Senate a pass for as long as he needs. But legislative calculus is far less forgiving. And Kennedy’s extended leave can be felt in the chamber. After some party-switching early this year and a late installation, the math for Democrats became positive, yet rigid. Sixty Democratic seats might be enough to override a Republican filibuster, but it would only work if all 60 Democrats were present. Without Kennedy (and the venerable Robert Byrd, who we’ll address in part two of this series), the number comes up short at either 58 or 59, which in the face of a filibuster might as well be 51. With the willingness of some moderate Republicans to pitch in, the math might not be so simple, but the fierce sentiments surrounding a vote on health-care reform later this fall suggest the issue will almost certainly fall along party lines. And anything less than a round 60 would ensure a GOP stall that would kill the Senate bill before it could get to the House.

Numbers may be stubborn, but there’s another way the Senate’s second-longest serving member is sorely missed on Capitol Hill. Health-care reform is the issue that Kennedy has pursued for more than three decades. In the late '90s, he called it “the cause of [his] life” and last month, he wrote a NEWSWEEK cover story about his efforts over the years. At a time when the issue could use a broker, the man who knows it better (for better or worse) than any of his colleagues is ironically gone, fighting a more personal battle over health.

There’s little news from Kennedy himself. According to several sources, Senate leadership has not heard from Kennedy or his family in over a month and a half, suggesting that the senator’s health continues to decline. There are also signs that Kennedy has been pondering the future of his Senate seat, sending a letter to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick today with a plea to change state law in order to make sure that, should he pass before this fall, his constituents would not be without a second Senate vote. He reportedly asks Patrick to appoint someone temporarily before a special election could be planned. In the meantime, while neither his Democratic colleagues nor President Obama would dare ask that Kennedy return to work to lend them a needed hand, the fact that he's unable provides his party a sobering example of unfortunate timing.
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Member Comments

Posted By: jakeacton (August 30, 2009 at 3:38 AM)

Check this voting record out:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00147

The article has an error - Kennedy's last time on the senate floor was April 2, 2009.  I knew because I was there!

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Posted By: brydges (August 24, 2009 at 3:58 PM)

agnes82002 - "One additional comment, I am really struck by the unkindness of some people who lack common human decency and find it acceptable to insult a terminally ill man. No matter what are political beliefs human compassion should be a bipartisan virtue."

Tell that to the family of Mary Jo Kapechne

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Posted By: MJ000777 (August 22, 2009 at 3:37 AM)

Good reporting LilM; Mr. Stone let that be a lesson to you.

Good thing Mr. Kennedy isn't under the Obama healthcare plan as he (if he were joe schmo) would likely be encouraged to hurry up and die since he is terminal and those last few months/years of life can be quite costly. We'll have to cut costs you know.

Mary Jo is going to have some not so kind words for him when they meet again.

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