Sen. Kennedy was smart enough and pragmatic enough to reach across the aisle to get deals done -- but only to the degree that they advanced his agenda. He worked across the aisle to ensure the never-ending growth of federal taxes and spending, consistently opposing American foreign policy abroad while working tirelessly to defeat conservative nominations and initiatives at home.
And when he felt it necessary to wear brass knuckles, he did so. Conservatives (especially) will quickly recall his initial floor speech in 1987 against Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork:
"Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists would be censored at the whim of government," and on and on.
It was vicious and untrue, but for a liberal like Kennedy, for whom ends justified means, it was also strategically necessary and therefore appropriate.
"The statement had to be stark and direct so as to sound the alarm and hold people in their places until we could get material together. I was confident we could win this one." That's how Ted Kennedy justified his action to Ethan Bronner, author of "The Battle for Justice."
Bronner added that Kennedy later sought out Bork's wife to say, "I hope you understand it is nothing personal."
The networks cast every law Kennedy passed as an achievement. This is true -- if you're a liberal. It's the opposite if you're a conservative. Despite their surprising generosity to Ronald Reagan when he died, the TV elite nonetheless questioned his policies. On ABC, Peter Jennings asserted "a great many people (read: liberals) thought he'd made the wealthy wealthier and had not improved life particularly for the middle class." On CBS, reporter Bill Plante asserted the Iran-Contra affair helped "set the stage for the first Iraq war and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism." And so on.
Edward M. Kennedy was a liberal's liberal. His supporters can cheer his intense commitment to a leftist agenda. His opponents can -- and should -- respect his dogged refusal to compromise on that philosophy. But his detractors (which, let us remind ourselves, outnumbered his supporters) also found his leftist agenda destructive. And the national news media are doing a great disservice by omitting that from their Camelot narrative.