Paße 8
^Jhnrtlanì» (Dbserner
March 3. 2010
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Kennedy’s Voice is Missed
Fighting for
jobs, health care
and opportunity
BY M a R( H. M okial
"To all those who
are idle in our cities
an d in d u s tr ie s o f
Am erica, let us pro
vide new hope for the
d ig n ity o f u se fu l
w ork." - Sen. Ted
Kennedy
Six months ago, the
legendary Lion of the Senate,
Edward M. Kenney, lost his cou
rageous battle with a brain tumor.
Feb. 22 would have been his 78th
birthday.
Today, as we pause to rem em
ber Teddy once more, I am espe
cially struck by the void his pass
ing has left in a Congress that too
often fails to act on behalf o f the
most vulnerable and disadvan
taged in our society.
Services)
Teddy's big dreams: healthcare
for all, full employment, a hand up
for the poor and people with dis
abilities, are still being debated,
but like a sports team that has lost
its franchise player, there is a big
hole in our game.
If T eddy w ere here, he
w ould not accept the loss
o f one player, no m atter
how pivotal, as an excuse
for failure. He w ould tell
us that creatin g a better,
stronger A m erica is a team
sport requiring all o f us to
step up to the plate. He
w ould tell the S enators re tu rn
ing from th eir P resid en t's Day
recess that it's tim e to put p a rti
sanship aside. We m ust pass a
jo b s bill w orthy o f the m illions
o f men and wom en in this c o u n
try who are stru g g lin g to m ake
ends m eet and provide for th eir
children in the m idst of the worst
eco n o m ic dow nturn since the
Great Depression.
He would say to those of us
fighting for real, com prehensive
health reform, the same thing he
said in his 1980 Democratic Na
tional Convention speech: "We
must not surrender...L et us re
solve that the state of a fam ily's
health shall never depend on the
size o f a fam ily's wealth."
T eddy's final gift to us, his
m em o ir, "T rue C o m p ass," is
a co m pelling read. It d escrib es
in honest detail the life o f a re
m arkable public servant w hose
ow n p erso n al ch alle n g es and
s e tb a c k s o n ly s e e m e d to
stren g th en his reso lv e to m ake
life b etter for others. In talking
about his d iag n o sis and dem ise,
T eddy's m ain concerns w ere for
his wife and fam ily, and the u n
fin ish e d w ork th at m eant so
m uch to him.
Before going into surgery, he
called a few of his most trusted
Senate colleagues, to ask them to
shepherd important pieces o f leg
islation just in case he didn't make
it through. He survived the sur-
gery, and was even able to speak
at the 2008 Dem ocratic National
Convention, where he gave a brief,
but passionate speech in support
of Barack Obama and the cause of
his life — "affordable health care
as a fundam ental right." I leave
you with these words:
"There is a new wave o f change
all around us, and if we set our
com pass true, we will reach our
destination - not m erely victory
for our party, but renewal for our
n a tio n ...A n d so, w ith B arack
Obama — for you and for me, for
our country and for our cause -
the work begins anew, the hope
rises again, and the dream lives
o n .”
Teddy K ennedy's voice and
leadership are sorely missed. May
we all draw strength from his pow
erful legacy as we continue his
fight for jobs, health care and
opportunity for all.
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive officer o f the
National Urban League.
m m m h h
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Rallying ‘Rainbow Warriors’
Creating a progressive third force
by
D r . R on D aniels
With Tea Party ac
tivists getting wall to
wall coverage by the
mainstream media it is
clear that the right con
tinues to outmaneuver
the left in terms of cap
turing the limelight to
promote the conservative cause.
The cold fact is there has been no
equivalent concept or response from
a liberal, left, progressive "move
ment" that is disgruntled, disjointed,
disoriented and ineffective. If a re
turn to power of the conservatives
is to be blocked, there must be far
more innovative thinking, meaning
ful messaging and creative organiz
ing on the left.
I would not begin to claim to be
an innovative thinker, but I could
envision rallying "Rainbow W ar
riors" to vigorously defend the his
torical legacy of the left in fighting
to improve the quality of life for the
majority of working people, the
middle class, women, people of color
and the poor.
Unlike the virtually all white "Tea
Party Movement," the "Rainbow"
symbolizes the promise of a 21st
century "patriotism" rooted in the
commitment to a multi-racial and
ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cul-
tural, inclusive and expansive
democracy with a "socially re
sponsible" economy.
The Tea Party crowd repre
sents a dying order. Rainbow
Warriors could represent the
birth of a new future. It occurs
to me that somehow, minds
that are more gifted than mine
could take this concept and shape it
into a vehicle that could capture the
imaginations of millions of Ameri
cans who have been wounded by
eight years of Bush-Cheney; mil
lions who are focusing their anger
and frustration on President Obama
and the Democrats rather than the
villains whose misguided policies
and misdeeds are responsible for
the pain and suffering vast numbers
of Americans are experiencing.
Redirecting this anger and frus
tration must be the first order of
business for Rainbow Warriors. No
matter how distasteful to some, it is
imperative that we circle the wag
ons around the Obama administra
tion and accentuate the positive
contributions made despite the
grave economic crisis the President
inherited.
We cannot allow the American
people to have a lapse of memory
about who created the mess that is
ruining their lives. To expect any
administration to end joblessness nities across the country; immigra
in ayear is simply unrealistic and we tion reform that creates a gateway to
must fashion a message which re citizenship for millions of undocu
spectfully conveys this reality while mented persons in our society; pas
charting a path to recovery that sage of the Employee Free Choice
offers hope for the future.
Act; and, re-emphasis on a people-
What if the progressive move oriented health care system.
ment were able to rise above its
What if a million Rainbow war
splintered state to develop a popu riors, armed with a Common Ground
lar, populist, progressive agenda Agenda, mobilized a march on
centered around "economic com Washington to call attention to a
mon ground" policies, calculated to movement dedicated to advancing
ameliorate the pain and suffering of policies to win the allegiance of or
millions of Americans and generate dinary people who are currently
jobs and economic opportunities? alienated and turning to the right for
Green jobs in a modem 21 st cen answers?
tury economy with a living wage
What if a million Rainbow w ar
and benefits should be at the top of riors com m itted to engaging and
the list. Such an agenda might also registering m illions o f unregis
incorporate proposals to rigorously tered and unorganized voters,
rein-in and regulate Wall Street; Congressional District by C on
provide meaningful assistance to gressional D istrict, to counter the
homeowners victimized by the sub attack on wobbly Dem ocrats, op
prime lending scam; and, increase pose conservatives and support
Pell Grants and low interest loans to liberal and progressive candidates
students Some of these proposals to stem the tide o f the Tea Party
are already before the Congress but reactionaries and other right wing
require robust support from out forces?
raged but organized constituencies.
If the progressive movement
In addition, there is a need to could gather itself to meet that chal
press for enactment of proposals of lenge, it would be a game changer in
critical importance to key constitu American politics.
encies within the liberal-progres
Dr. Ron Daniels is president of
sive umbrella, the base, like a mas the Institute o f the Black World
sive jobs program targeted to end 21st Century and Distinguished
depression level unemployment and Lecturer at York College City Uni
underemployment in black commu- versity o f New York.