Kennedy would leave void in Senate

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- In a city where Democrats and Republicans alike speak in awe of the astonishing list of legislative accomplishments Senator Edward M. Kennedy has been able to rack up in the face of political and personal adversity, it seemed only fitting that the Massachusetts Democrat today would score an enormous policy coup even as he battled a malignant brain tumor.

As the legendary senator headed to Cape Cod with his wife and his dogs to await the results of his biopsy, President Bush signed a law banning discrimination against people who learn of a hereditary ailment through genetic testing, an effort 13 years in the making. And his absence at a Capitol reception to laud the signing of the bill was a sad reminder to those who honored his work there: no one in the US Senate is in line to step into Kennedy's unique role as Capitol Hill's chief deal-maker and relentless advocate on a wide range of issues.

Kennedy's office has a bulging binder filled with hundreds of the senator's legislative accomplishments, and none is insignificant. From a health insurance program for poor children to protecting the privacy of health records, from housing anti-discrimination legislation to raising the minimum wage, from increasing student financial aid to making sure workers can take unpaid time off to care for an ill family member, Kennedy's name is there.

Four major pieces of Kennedy legislation, relating to mental healthcare coverage, collective bargaining for workers, healthcare information technology, and higher education funding, are wending their way through Congress. The senator's shaken staff continues to work on the bills, and are hopeful at least one will pass before Memorial Day.

Then there's the long wish-list that Kennedy keeps in hopes of having a Democratic White House next year: a return to immigration reform, universal healthcare, and the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind act.

After nearly 46 years in the Senate, Kennedy simply isn't done yet, his friends and colleagues on the Hill say.

But while lawmakers were heartened by images today of the smiling Kennedy leaving Massachusetts General Hospital -- and defiantly refusing to discuss the possibility that he might not return -- the prospect of one day losing the Senate's most prolific legislator had political veterans wondering if there even lives a person who could take Kennedy's critical place in government.

"He's not just the patriarch of the Kennedy family. He's the patriarch of our family,'' said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, as he left a Senate chamber conspicuously lacking Kennedy's booming voice and hearty laugh.

Many senators are simply too new to fill the role. Others have higher ambitions that make them wary of brokering deals that could be used against them later in political ads. Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, has been punished for his aisle-crossing ways on issues such as campaign finance reform and immigration.

Nor is the Senate the same collegial place it was in Kennedy's earlier years. The fierce partisanship that has infected the once-chummy Senate in recent years has made lawmakers like Kennedy an anomaly; few are willing to set aside party differences and compromise on legislation.

"I just don't know that people are capable of divorcing the partisanship and the polarization that exists in the campaign universe from the legislative arena -- and that's the biggest transition,'' said Bill Carrick , a California-based Democratic strategist and former Kennedy staffer.

Few senators practice Kennedy's old-fashioned style of politicking. Senator John F. Kerry, the Bay State's junior senator, gained added prominence during his 2004 run for the presidency, and is a respected voice on foreign policy and environmental issues. But Kerry, like most of the rest of the Senate, does not engage in the tireless relationship-building that Kennedy has conducted in Congress and among policy experts off the Hill.

Kennedy is famous for reaching out to lawmakers in both parties, sizing them up, and figuring out what issues might bring them together. Kennedy and Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican who says he came to Washington "to fight Ted Kennedy,'' have teamed up on healthcare and other legislation, and have become close friends in the process.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, was convinced to come on board the negotiating team for a bipartisan immigration bill, though the measure failed last year.

Even President Bush -- a frequent target of the Massachusetts senator's jibes -- worked closely with Kennedy on the No Child Left Behind legislation.

Kennedy shares credit in victory, his colleagues say -- not a common trait in a place where many are jockeying for political advantage. And in defeat, Kennedy has been philosophical, ready to try again with another approach.

Kennedy, his colleagues said, is also among a small group whose commitment to the institution of the Senate -- and determination to gets bills passed , even if it means holding all-night negotiating sessions -- trumps personal ambition or party positioning

"No one can do the job Ted Kennedy's been doing,'' said Representative Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who has worked with Kennedy on many health matters over the years. "He guides more legislation than anyone else. We need him back here and well.''

Kennedy "has no equal up here,'' said Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa. "`I'm sure that Ted would be the first one to argue that no one here is indispensable,'' but Kennedy's signature style and unique role are not easily replaced, he added.

But Harkin -- like many of his colleagues -- said he was sure Kennedy would return to the Senate he loves. "I'm counting on having him back for the Obama administration,'' Harkin said.