Quote of the Day: In each of us the dream will never die

by: Jason Springer

Sat Aug 29, 2009 at 10:18:33 AM EDT

The Lion of the Senate roars no more, but in each of us the Dream will never die.

You can watch the funeral for Senator Kennedy streaming here. It seems that all the networks are carrying it live:

They will try to Wellstone Ted Kennedy. Don't let them.

by: Rosi Efthim

Fri Aug 28, 2009 at 03:45:14 PM EDT

That struck me. I count two things as the engines behind everything I'm doing in politics right now. Howard Dean's What I want to know ... speech. And the massive arena celebration of the lives of Paul & Sheila Wellstone. Sen. Wellstone was not perfect; he was not angelic. But what he was, was brave. An ordinary, everyday guy with a Minnesota Senate seat.

Ted Kennedy was a very different guy. Tried most of his life to connect with the ordinary. And you bet there's going to be an effort to remind grieving congressional Democrats that health care was the cause of Kennedy's life. They'd better damn well pass it. And there's no way the right will not challenge that.

The answer to that question - How long? - is now. Today, Rush Limbaugh ridiculed Wellstone's memorial, that arena brimming with people who knew early that change was coming, and there was work to be done. Forward-thinkers, progressives, and fearless local organizers. There was more loss, and backlash, before there was winning. But that memorial - those people, those speeches - meant everything to me. And I can't just sit and listen to what was just said on the radio, without saying this:

Paul Wellstone didn't die. Not like they wanted him to.

He's now called Wellstone Action.
He's called Democracy for America.
You can call him the 2008 Senate, House & White House, if progressive.
He's called Barack Obama. Called Michelle Obama. Aim higher, he'd say.
He is called first-time voters, and change.
Canvasser. Phonebanker. Local organizer.
He's called Organizing for America. PDA.
Union.
They call him janitor, and educator, and factory worker. New immigrant.
He is called the Congressional Black Caucus, and Progressive Caucus.
He's the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, and those who didn't made it.
He's a first-time candidate, who thinks politics isn't about winning, it's about improving people's lives.
He's not going to let up on Marriage Equality.
He demands the public option.
He's called the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party.
And he's called 50-State Strategy.
He is called Loretta Weinberg.
Paul Wellstone is called Senator Al Franken now.

And he's called Blue Jersey.

Take that, Rush Limbaugh. You disrespectful son of a bitch.

Alicia Menendez interview with Ted Kennedy in 2007 for big think about his first days in office

by: Jason Springer

Thu Aug 27, 2009 at 12:15:00 PM EDT

Ted Kennedy is gone

by: Rosi Efthim

Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 03:57:08 AM EDT

The Lion of the Senate is dead. He died tonight, at the fabled Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, MA, the little group of grey shingled buildings that fueled some of the dreams, and some of the frustrations, of more than one generation of his countrymen. He was a complicated soul, responsible for great tragedy, yet hero to so many, the beneficiary of tremendous privilege but workaday, approachable and productive in his service to his country.

There is too much irony wrapped up in this. Health care access was "the cause of his life," he said. And, having just returned from a marathon public event where I saw an earnest Member of Congress abused for nearly 5 hours by an unruly mob, it all feels endangered to me. Fragile.

Simply said, Frank Pallone could have used Ted Kennedy standing beside him tonight. He'd been laying the groundwork for this, for decades. And if it's to be done now, it will be done without its prime mover.

Let's get it done.  

Menendez teams with Kennedy on Immigration raid guidelines

by: Jason Springer

Thu Oct 09, 2008 at 09:35:21 PM EDT

The Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act calls for more stringent legal procedures when authorities execute immigration-related warrants. The two Democratic lawmakers say lawful residents and U.S. citizens - in many cases, the American-born children of immigrants - are frequently caught up in raids and have been mistreated.

"We cannot allow the fervor to deport undocumented workers to take away the constitutional rights that belong to each and every U.S. citizen and legal resident," said Menendez, a Hoboken resident who is the son of Cuban immigrants. "And we can't allow it to cause the inhuman treatment of any human being. This is the United States of America, where we protect our citizens and treat our fellow humans with respect."

"If ICE had conducted much more targeted enforcement actions that were against individuals named in warrants, this bill wouldn't be necessary," she said. "Instead, we're seeing raids in homes and worksites everywhere in the country, because there's no guidelines governing the conduct of these immigration raids. That's why national legislation is necessary."

"ICE fugitive operations officers follow applicable federal laws and ICE policies during all of our operations, which are conducted to minimize the risk to officers, those we arrest, and others we encounter during an operation,"

DNC Monday night live blog and open thread

by: Scott Weingart

Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 09:32:49 PM EDT

Update #1
Kennedy: "I pledge to you that I will be there next January to witness" Barack Obama's inaguration. The crowd breaks out in chants of "Teddy, Teddy."

Update #2
Kennedy: Our destination is "not merely victory to our party but renewal of our nation."

Update #3
Kennedy closes his speech and exits to the strains of "Still the One". Presumably, the DNCC got permission from NY-19 Congressman John Hall to use the song; Hall has fired off cease and desist letters to both George W. Bush and John McCain for using the song in their campaign rallies.

NJ pols react to Kennedy

by: Juan Melli

Tue May 20, 2008 at 03:37:30 PM EDT

"My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Kennedy and his family. Since I entered the Senate in 2006, I have had the unique fortune to spend a great deal of time with Senator Kennedy and to fight side-by-side with him on some of our nation's greatest challenges. He has been a mentor to me. Just last week, we were on the Senate floor together, standing up for first responders, and he was as strong and powerful as ever. He is a fighter, and I know he will fight this challenge with all his might. I will support him in any way that he needs, and I look forward to working side-by-side with him on the Senate floor again soon."

"We just hope for the best. Ted Kennedy makes the Senate the place that it is and has for so many years."

"I was greatly saddened to hear the news of Ted Kennedy's diagnosis. I've known Senator Kennedy as a colleague in the Senate, walked the campaign trail with him and count him as a personal friend. I have never met a more effective or more committed individual. He has faced incredible adversity in his life and conquered it all.

"I am sure he will continue to show that same fighting spirit and resilience as he undergoes treatment. Senator Kennedy is a man of courage and strength, a legendary lawmaker who has touched the lives of virtually every American with his work on civil rights, health care and education. I am sure New Jerseyans feel as I do in keeping Senator Kennedy in out thoughts and prayers."

Ted Kennedy to Campaign in NJ?

by: Juan Melli

Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 04:49:16 PM EST

Kennedy plans to campaign actively for Obama, an aide said, and will focus particularly among Hispanics and labor union members, who are important voting blocks in several Feb. 5 states, including California, New York, New Jersey, Arizona and New Mexico.