Teddy Kennedy, Not the First, With Grace Not the Last

The praise heaped on the late Senator Teddy Kennedy this week reminded me of another man lost to history for most of us. Kennedy, despite his faults, was loved and respected by his conservative, moderate and liberal peers. By his constituency he was known not only for his unbridled compassion but, also as a man who could get things done. How could someone so apparently liberal stay on good speaking terms with conservatives and actually pass legislation?

Ole Teddy stole a page from someone’s playbook whose name I’ll bet you have never heard.

The man’s name was George Mason. Mason was one of the five most frequent speakers at a little gathering held to write a constitution for a new nation. This constitution would be cut from whole cloth. There had been nations and nation-states which were governed with similar values but, this convention would end up constructing a government never before seen. Mason however would not sign the new Constitution of the United States of America.

Mason believed the Constitution gave the government too much power. He lobbied for a Bill of Rights but, was overruled by the federalist including the future president James Madison. Civility, in the face of bitter disagreement was the mark of our founding fathers and especially Mason. Madison was quoted as saying, “was chiefly on occasional visits to Gunston (Mason’s home on the road between Williamsburg, Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) when journeying to & fro from the North, in which his conversations were always a feast to me.” This was apparently true because in one of his first acts as an inaugural congressman, Madison introduced the Bill of Rights which was very similar to the Bill of Rights Mason penned for the State of Virginia and championed at the Constitutional Convention.

Convention, to be sure, was never Teddy Kennedy’s trademark. He befriended his political foes, took his political lemons and made the best lemonade bill possible. In general, Kennedy was the master of civility and believed fully in the art of compromise. To truly compromise as our founding fathers did, Kennedy understood the value of giving his political foes the benefit of the doubt. He was honest about his dreams for America and expected the same from people like Senator Orrin Hatch who said:

“…And he had more control over the Democrat Party base than anybody else. He’s the only one who could bring them along on issues that were — you know, that were down the middle and really bipartisan, but he could bring them along. They would have to listen to him. And part of that was because he led so many purely liberal battles on the floor, lost a lot of them, but he also won on a lot of them, too.”

Kennedy was much like Mason. He had the conviction of his ideas. He thought he could actually bring even Hatch around. On many occasions Hatch and others did lend their support. He was patient and never missed the chance to make even a rival a friend.

The moderate in me celebrates the life of Teddy Kennedy. Not because I completely agree with his vision of America but, because he practiced the best in the art of the compromise. It worked for Mason on perhaps one of most divisive and important documents ever drafted. I hope, for the sake of our country, Senator Kennedy’s spirit will bless our next generation of leaders. I hope those leaders regardless of political ideology will practice the fine art of compromise.