Kennedy's Legacy: The Fight Continues

At the end of his days, the bickering among his colleagues and uninformed opposition to reforming our crippled health care system must have broken Ted Kennedy's heart.

The Lion of the Senate worked tirelessly since 1962 to make the level of medical care that his privileged New England family required and received available to all Americans. One thing that toiling 50 years in the sausage factory of federal legislation teaches is to be practical, and Kennedy knew when to cut his losses and prepare for the next battle or the next session. One of his last official acts was to ask his home state of Massachusetts to assure his seat would not sit empty during a congressional vote to rectify inequities in the still woefully broken system.

Since his fatal diagnosis in May 2008, he knew his time in the arena was nearly over. It's up to others now to follow in his footsteps. Over the months and battles to come, many in the trenches will no doubt be asking themselves WWTD? What Would Teddy Do?