ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605080004
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-15 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Cal Thomas
SOURCE: CAL THOMAS
THE SENIOR senator from Massachusetts and thorn in conservative flesh, Edward M. Kennedy, is on a roll. The Boston Globe's David Shribman wrote recently that Kennedy, ``smack in the Age of Conservatism, right in the redoubt of Republicanism, [is] the man who seems to be in control.''
The word on everybody's lips, writes Shribman, is that ``Kennedy is `energized.' He is the talk of the town. ... Eight of the nine legislative priorities Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle announced this week are Kennedy bills. And nobody - not his staff, not the gallery regulars, probably not even Strom Thurmond - can remember a Kennedy bill that passed, as the health insurance bill he wrote with Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum did, by a vote of 100-0.''
This is not what Newt Gingrich had in mind for the second year of his ``revolution.'' And it doesn't mesh with Bob Dole's campaign plan for winning the White House.
Love him and his priorities or not, Kennedy's great virtue is his consistency. He doesn't appear to be something he isn't. He is proud of the ``liberal'' label. With the exception of abortion (he once made statements that seemed to lean toward pro-life), Kennedy's views have remained remarkably harmonious on capital punishment, the environment, a federal role in health care, immigration, gun control and programs to fight poverty.
For example, on Sept. 24, 1970, Kennedy said, ``The present environmental movement is neither a fad nor a diversion. Rather, it is part of a long struggle to control the forces of technology, to control the quality of our lives.'' He says the same today when debating environmental legislation.
On March 12, 1974, Kennedy said, ``The death penalty is wrong in principle, and it is applied in an arbitrary and unfair manner.'' That is about as straightforward as you can get. No wiggle room or ambiguities. It's a position not crafted by a focus group but by conviction. In 1996, he says much the same thing.
Kennedy's greatest strength is his steadfast passion. He wears down the opposition. If he doesn't win today, he comes back tomorrow. But he doesn't compromise his principles, even if he must make short-term accommodations in order to move a step closer to his ultimate goal. His 100-0 victory on making health insurance portable came 25 years after he introduced his first universal health-care bill.
Kennedy has one major advantage over conservatives. The press never dubs him an ``ideologue'' or employs the modifiers ``arch'' or ``ultra'' as they do with conservatives who won't budge on their principles. Kennedy is portrayed as noble for not wavering. When they do the same, conservatives are called ``rigid'' and ``uncompromising.'' Still, even a consistent conservative can overcome the name-calling.
Many Americans appreciated Ronald Reagan for his firm stance on important issues. For a similar reason Kennedy is making a comeback - even while a member of the minority party in the Senate - and he just keeps plugging away. In season or out of season, he doesn't change.
As Republicans lick their wounds (many self-inflicted), they should swallow hard and consider this favorite target of political and religious fund-raisers. Ted Kennedy could teach them a thing or two about letting principle drive an agenda, instead of pragmatism, polling and focus groups.
- Los Angeles Times Syndicate
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB