Senate pays another tribute to Kennedy

By Joseph Williams, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Senators from both parties spent more than five hours today paying bittersweet tribute to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, recalling their late colleague as the chamber's generous elder statesman, a passionate liberal, and a fierce, well-schooled politician who never shied away from a tough political fight.

But when the legislative skirmishing was over, his fellow senators recalled, Kennedy never held a grudge and knew the difference between a political adversary and an enemy. And, they noted, he had nearly as many close friends among Republicans as he did among his Democratic allies.

A day after President Obama invoked Kennedy's memory in a forceful address on health care to a highly-charged joint session of Congress, however, some tributes to Kennedy were tinged with politics.

Several Democrats echoed the call to fulfill Kennedy's vision of accessible, affordable healthcare, while Republicans mourned him as perhaps the last Democrat willing to negotiate with them in good faith on difficult legislation.

Still, nearly all lionized a man they described as a one-of-a-kind lawmaker, a Senate legend whose good humor, leadership, selflessness, and encyclopedic knowledge of the chamber in which he served for nearly a half-century may never be replaced.

"The impact he etched into our history will long endure," Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said. "The liberal lion's mighty roar may now fall on deaf ears, but his dream shall never die."

In his tribute, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut proposed that the caucus room in the Russell Senate Office Building -- just down the hall from Kennedy's office -- be renamed in honor of the Kennedy brothers. The historic room was host to the Watergate hearings and more recently where the Senate health committee, which Kennedy chaired, wrote the health care bill in his absence; it's also where both John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy announced their presidential candidacies.

"This was Teddy's wish and desire. I asked him,'' Dodd said on the Senate floor. "He said, 'I'd like you to recognize my brothers as well.' ''

Kennedy, 77, died Aug. 25 after a 15-month battle with brain cancer. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery beside his two slain brothers.

The heartfelt, at times emotional tributes began shortly after 9:30 a.m. and were scheduled to end two hours later, but the session was extended to 2:30 p.m. so more colleagues could speak. By the end of the day, 23 Democrats and 10 Republicans had taken the floor to hail Kennedy, representing the ideological spectrum that Kennedy had often bridged since taking office in 1962.

Senator Jeff Sessions -- a conservative Republican from Alabama whose nomination to the federal bench Kennedy helped scuttle in 1986 -- paid tribute to Kennedy's passion for civil rights. Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, recalled Kennedy got a hero's welcome during a layover in Ireland on an overseas Senate trip, and Irish passers-by followed him through the airport like the Pied Piper. A frail Senator Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who at nearly 92 is the longest-serving member, eulogized his good friend with a reading from a book of poetry the late senator gave him years ago.

After hailing Kennedy as a civil rights champion who changed history and "touched lives," Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, walked to Kennedy's desk, draped with a black velvet shroud, a vase of white flowers and a copy of his favorite poem, "The Road Less Traveled." Levin stood at Kennedy's chair, bowed his head for several moments and left the chamber.

Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, a Democrat, recalled a loud shouting match with Kennedy, their apology, and a quip the late senator made to a worried aide afterward: "That's just the way two Irishmen celebrate St. Patrick's Day."

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee remembered his freshman term, when Kennedy offered to find sponsors for Alexander's very first bill. Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, said she donned a Jackie Onassis costume for one of Kennedy's renowned costume parties, then asked him if she could pass for his late sister-in-law.

"He said, 'Nice try,' " Mikulski said.

Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and a close friend, said Kennedy was skilled in political infighting, and knew how to use his bluster and booming voice to good effect to pass a bill. But "he had a sixth sense of when the time was right" for a compromise in the best interests of the nation.

"He was almost always effective, but rarely very quiet," Hatch said. "There were always adversaries, never enemies."

In Kennedy's memory, Hatch said, "I hope that more of us adopt his approach to the legislative process."

Susan Milligan of the Globe staff contributed to this report.