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Ted Kennedy: Health Care “Has Been the Passion of My Life”
His legacy of political achievement is long: his constant and continuing fight (YouTube) for the child health insurance program (CHIP), support and legal equality for Americans with disabilities, reforms of mental health programs, national community service, the voting rights act, substantial work for years on civil rights and civil liberties (YouTube) concerns.
His was consistently a fight for the little guy.
But his passion, the one that has not yet been achieved, has been quality health care for all, not just the privileged few.
In the video above, Sen. Kennedy speaks in Montgomery County, PA, about his motivation on health care: watching families in the pediatric cancer ward give up everything they had worked so hard for their entire lives to desperately try to save their children, the same way he and his family were trying to save their own. Except that he had excellent health insurance, and the difference it made was substantial.
Imagine facing the fear that you could lose your child and trying to deal with that? Now imagine adding the fear that you might have to lose everything, including that child's home and place of comfort, to do so at the same time?
Sen. Kennedy wrote a piece for Newsweek last year regarding his passionate work on health care, and the motivations for it. It is a fitting tribute to him that those words resonate just as strongly today:
. . .quality care shouldn't depend on your financial resources, or the type of job you have, or the medical condition you face. Every American should be able to get the same treatment that U.S. senators are entitled to.
This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver—to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American…will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege." For four decades I have carried this cause—from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my belief in a just society. Now the issue has more meaning for me—and more urgency—than ever before. But it's always been deeply personal, because the importance of health care has been a recurrent lesson throughout most of my 77 years.
Whatever health care bill comes through the legislative process, if there is any care or concern for the public at large in the bill, it will have been due -- in large measure -- to the constant fight from Ted Kennedy.
This is a great loss indeed.
6 Comments so far
Show AllSingle Payer now, Now, NOW!
Rest in Peace Ted Kennedy.....May the Mother/Father of All wrap you in new Energy! Thank you for your fight for Universal Health Care on this Earth, at this Time. May your efforts bring forth fruit!
Inanna, Thank you for a beautiful tribute to Senator Kennedy. I'm sure he is well-cloaked and assisting our efforts for healthcare reform even now as we post. Blessings, Teddy. We'll do you proud. Thank you for all the passion and wisdom you gave to this fight.
What are the odds?
That right in the middle of the health care fight the biggest champion of it passes? This is disturbing to say the least.
Recall that one hour before CIA Director William Casey was supposed to testify publicly to congress about Iran Contra, he lost the ability to form words and was diagnosed with brain cancer.
From the perspective of the monster heath care companies we have created, trillions are on the line. The unholy collusion between the pentagon and the Fortune 500 Crime Family is not something we should dismiss in passing.
But without a free media, we are but subjects in an evil kingdom, not citizens.
Thank God for CD.
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
Passion: health care. (Good on you, Ted). Love of his life: Scotch whisky.
As an American with a pre-existing condition, and a 70 mile a commute,I feel that National Health Care Reform must be passed.
There are millions of Americans being held hostage by their employers due to health care coverage.
American Insurance corporations talk about the government competing in their market is unfair.
But truth be told, how many small American Businesses can not compete for the best employees because they can not match health care benefits, or because preexisting conditions hold employees in jobs they can not leave or they will loose health insurance coverage.
Fair ,free market competition has been taken away from the Americans looking for jobs that are a better , healthier , life style choice.
How many Americans would take jobs much closer to home, and save time , money , and energy?
How many small companys would could grow and compete against larger competition if they could higher better talent?
The fact is indisputable, Insurance companys have helped large corporations over the last 30 years become monopoly's in being able to hire and keep the best employees.
Small business's are being slowly forced out due to high costs in Health care Insurance or not being able to compete for top American talent because to lack of health insurance.
National Health Care Reform , no matter what the cost, will be a boom to improving Americans life styles, healthier choices, and small American businesses.
Lets not forget that there would also be a boom in new start up businesses.