The celebration of Senator Kennedy's legacy continues


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The celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Senator Kennedy’s inauguration as a member of the United States Senate continues on September 20, 2022 at 1:00pm with “Balancing Powers,” an examination of how Senator Kennedy worked across the aisle and the branches to shape the judiciary.

For 46 of his 47 years in the Senate, across 10 presidential administrations, Senator Kennedy served on the Judiciary Committee, chairing it from 1979-81. In that role, he helped confirm—and reject—hundreds of federal district and appellate judges, led the opposition to the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, voted to confirm the Court’s first two female justices—Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg—and saw his beloved longtime aide Stephen Breyer gain confirmation to the high court.

At our Sept. 20 event, a panel of former members of the Judiciary Committee, Department of Education, and Staff counsel to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary will discuss the decades-long successes of Senator Kennedy working with Senators and presidential administrations from both parties to shape public policy through collaboration and impact the make-up of the judicial branch.

Moderated by Kim Atkins Stohr, Senior Opinion Writer and Columnist for The Boston Globe, the conversation will include:

• Jeff Blattner, Special Assistant Attorney General, Colorado Dept. of Justice; former chief counsel of Senator Kennedy’s staff on Judiciary Committee

• Judge Patti Saris, US District Court Judge; former Staff Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee

• Secretary Margaret Spellings, President & CEO of Texas 2036; former Secretary of Education

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Program Recap: Working Across the Aisle
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On Tuesday, September 13th, 2022, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate hosted a virtual conversation highlighting Senator Kennedy’s unique approaches to serving his constituents and his nation with the help of bipartisanship and consensus building.

The panel for "Working Across the Aisle" was moderated by Bob Shrum, Director of the USC Center for the Political Future and Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics ([link removed]) who served as Senator Kennedy’s speechwriter, press secretary, and political strategist, and included Melody Barnes, Executive Director of the UVA Karsh Center of Democracy and Senator Kennedy’s former chief counsel on Judiciary Committee; Patricia Knight, Owner of Knight Capitol Consultants and former Chief of Staff to Senator Orrin Hatch; Michael Myers, former Managing Director of Policy, the Rockefeller Foundation and Senator Kennedy’s former chief counsel and staff director; and Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY).

The virtual program included historical context and first-person accounts reflecting on Senator Kennedy’s accomplishments as the fifth-longest continuously serving member of the U.S. Senate. In remembering Senator Kennedy’s work and relationship with Senator Ronald Reagan, Senator Alan Simpson said, “They were both public servants, and they wanted to get something done. They knew that if they found places where they could agree, they could move the ball forward."

“Just because you’re coming together to get something done doesn’t mean you put aside your beliefs,” said Michael Myers. “But you reach that compromise to make progress on what you believe in. Senator Kennedy did this in a variety of ways.”

Patricia Knight remembered the work Senators Hatch and Kennedy accomplished on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) bill: "We were very careful to get a lot of cosponsors on the legislation. That was part of our strategy: to keep pushing with this cadre of centrists that wanted to advance the issue.”

On how to move closer to bipartisanship in the current climate, Barnes said, “Ultimately, the decision gets made at the ballot box. It is the beauty and challenge of democracy – we citizens get to make a choice as to whether we want to continue down this path, or we want to break the fever.”

You can read additional details of the conversation on our website ([link removed]) and watch the full program on the Kennedy Institute's YouTube channel ([link removed]) .

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