Politico: "It was an Irish wake with an edge. Tales about Teddy Kennedy's sailing and lousy singing voice got big laughs at his Friday night memorial service at Boston's JFK Library — but it was a call to use his death as a spur to pass health care reform that ignited the passion of those gathered to honor him. Kennedy's family and friends, led by his nephew Rep. Joe Kennedy and Senate brother-in-arms John Kerry, celebrated the Massachusetts Democrat's 77 years by vowing to carry on his fight, despite GOP warnings against politicizing his passing."
"Joe Kennedy likened his uncle's passion for sailing to his passion for health care reform, pounding the podium as he repeated Kennedy's advice to him. 'Don't ever, ever, ever, ever give up,' the former Massachusetts congressman said to a burst of applause" (Thush, 8/28).
The Associated Press: "The left claims the Senate's liberal champion would have settled for nothing less than universal care and a new government-run insurance option. Republican foes of those ideas say the Democrats should take a lesson from Kennedy's gift for cutting a pragmatic deal and sacrifice some of their priorities in the interest of a bargain the GOP could support."
"Kennedy's friend, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., has suggested naming the health overhaul legislation after Kennedy, and a liberal political action committee, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC, has launched a Web site, http://www.HonorKennedy.com, to press for passage of legislation that reads like a Democratic wish-list and is anathema to GOP lawmakers. ... Conservatives have also tried to use Kennedy's death after a long illness to score their own points in the health care debate. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday on his radio show that it would be absurd to enact a far-reaching health overhaul in Kennedy's name when he 'gave us the most shining example of why this particular bill is so bad'" (Davis, 8/28).