Senator Kennedy’s passing marks the end of an era in Washington. The man they called the Liberal Lion was one of the few remaining links to a time when the Kennedy family was American royalty. The man’s public image was torn between glossy-eyed nostalgia and the recollection of an unfortunate event on Chappaquiddick, but nevertheless, Kennedy never allowed his detractors to prevent him from speaking loudly in favor of his political causes. One issue which stayed in the forefront of Kennedy’s mind for much of his Senate tenure was health care.
Kennedy’s physical presence was largely absent from the current health care debate due to his advancing brain tumor, but his spirit certainly flowed through Washington Democrats. Kennedy called universal health care “the cause of his life.” His looming demise gave liberal lawmakers yet another reason to rush the passing of public health insurance legislation. A political victory of that magnitude would have been a fitting end to Kennedy’s historic career.
Now that the public option is still lingering on the Congressional table, and Senator Kennedy has gone to see Mary Jo Kopechne in that big Oldsmobile in the sky, Democrats are pushing Kennedy even harder as the symbol of health care reform. Robert Byrd, the only living Senator to serve longer than Kennedy, wants to rename the health care bill in honor of the fallen lion. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promised, “Ted Kennedy’s dream of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year.” Ralph G. Neas, CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, went as far as saying, “You’ve heard of ‘win one for the Gipper’? There is going to be an atmosphere of ‘win one for Teddy.’”
These are undoubtedly efforts to counteract the influence of town-hall protestors and appeal to the Blue Dogs, giving Democrats hope Kennedy’s death will rally support for the foundering bill.
Voters and lawmakers need to see past the re-branding of Obama’s health care reform. Invoking Senator Kennedy to garner support is another attempt to blind voters with a flashy façade rather than teaching the substance of the legislation. Thankfully, many Americans are smart enough to demand answers to the difficult questions surrounding the bill—most notably, “How are we going to pay for this in a recession?” Despite all this, the failure by Democrats to pass health care reform on style alone hasn’t stopped them from using the now deceased Kennedy to sell it.
Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who correctly predicted that a posthumous Kennedy would gain influence in the health care debate, suggested that Washington Republicans should be following the Democrats’ lead. Republicans should adopt Ted Kennedy as a symbol for their side of the health care debate. The Senator’s dogged perseverance to extend the life he loved is not only admirable, but a prime example of what simply couldn’t happen under Obama’s proposed public health insurance option.
Obama has said again and again that a major factor behind the failure of the current health care system is the execution of needless or futile medical procedures. Among these procedures, Obama specifically mentioned surgeries for terminally ill patients. He said, “Maybe you’re better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller.”
Senator Kennedy, age 76, was diagnosed with malignant glioma on May 20, 2008. Only 50% of patients survive one year after diagnosis, and that drops to 25% after two years. Kennedy endured brain surgery and intensive radiation and chemotherapy treatments, procedures which cost thousands of dollars. Luckily, Congress is famous for offering top notch health care, giving members a choice from several private insurers and plans based on their health needs. The President, and everyone who is in favor of public health insurance, needs to ask themselves two important questions. Would Senator Kennedy, if he were a private citizen under Obama’s public plan, have been able to pursue these life-extending procedures, even though their success rate at his age is extremely small? Would President Obama have been willing to look Senator Kennedy in the eye and tell him he would be better off taking the painkiller in order to save the system money?
As the days progress, liberal politicians will use the memory of Ted Kennedy to sell public health insurance. What they will universally omit, however, is how lucky the Senator was not to be covered by that plan. I never thought I would say this, but Republicans should champion Kennedy as a symbol of their cause against the government-run plan. Kennedy was a survivor, and that’s what health care is all about.
Chris Koslowski, an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, is a weekly contributor to The D.C. Writeup.
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