Reflecting upon the death of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy last week, a number of members of the Massachusetts’ business community noted that the liberal icon was friendlier to their interests than one might suspect.
Indeed, Kennedy’s record reflects how national legislators often work on parallel tracks — supporting broad policies that might negatively affect large classes of constituents while passing legislation that benefits a smaller group with those classes.
Such was the case with the Massachusetts’ business community, which benefited from Kennedy’s ability to bring home the bacon — from Big Dig construction dollars to money for medical research. Kennedy protected Medicare reimbursements for Massachusetts’ hospitals and fought for federal funding for colleges and universities. The Boston Globe noted that Kennedy secured millions of dollars to help Massachusetts fishermen hit by the red tide outbreak and restrictions on cod fishing.
Paul Guzzi, president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, told the New England Cable Network that Kennedy’s legacy as an anti-business liberal is inaccurate.
“I think there’s a misperception about Ted Kennedy. Part of what he was about was job creation,” Guzzi said. “He was an ally to the business community.”
If nothing else, Kennedy’s record should be a reminder that special interest groups should look hard at a lawmaker’s record before making generalizations. It also reminds us that governance at a national level has many layers and the public-service aspect often gets overlooked through all the ideological bluster that permeates our nation’s politics.
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