Kennedy a champion of common men

Last week, the fourth king died from brain cancer and America’s working and poorer classes lost a great champion. Using a deck of cards as a metaphor, Sen. Edward “Ted” Kennedy, D-Mass., represented the last king; the other three were his brothers, President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Nobel Prize winner and civil rights champion Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Years from now, when students of history discuss the four K’s, the three Kennedy’s and King will be credited with taking care of everyday and less-fortunate Americans.

Those four men, whom I call kings, each in his own way did as much if not more to change America by making it a better country for all of its people than any other man, including Abraham Lincoln.

Taken singly, Ted Kennedy held elected office for 46 years, longer than his two brothers and Lincoln combined. And Ted equaled the accomplishments of Dr. King.

Kennedy’s legislative accomplishments are too numerous to list here but promoting higher minimum wages for workers and fighting to end segregation and provide meaningful voting rights for African Americans rank high on the list. He also introduced bills that promoted equal rights for gays, insurance coverage for children in poverty, voting rights for 18-year-olds, Medicare coverage for seniors and universal health care for all Americans. Using today’s street language, Ted “had our backs.”

Kennedy introduced the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990. The bill prohibited employers from discriminating against Americans with disabilities.

Most recently, Kennedy’s endorsed Barack Obama, giving a stirring speech at last summer’s Democratic National Convention that helped the Illinois senator become the first black elected to the Oval Office.

Like most humans, Kennedy had his flaws but they were far outweighed by his accomplishments. Had he not driven a car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, leaving Mary Jo Kopechne to die in his Oldsmobile after it had plunged into a pond, Kennedy might have made a run for president.

Ted was the youngest child of Joe and Rose Kennedy and they say he was the wildest, even as an adult. He and his first wife, Joan, divorced and he remarried at age 60.

He suffered a broken back from a plane crash in 1964. In a rousing speech following his return to the Senate, Kennedy said that as a senator he received the best of care and that every American deserved the same quality of care.

That injury and recovery began his crusade for health care for all Americans. Many people think that, had Ted been in this year’s Senate session and fighting for health care reform’s passage, it would be closer to becoming law. Upon announcement of his death, Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid, has pledged reinvigorated promotion of the bill.

Obama will certainly miss Kennedy’s leadership and support. News organizations repeatedly called Kennedy the lion of the Senate.

The old lion is gone and his roar silenced. Perhaps there’s a cub or two within the pride to continue Ted’s legacy.

Nelson Graves, of Augusta County, is a columnist for The News Virginian. E-mail him at .