Heidi Alexander: “I heard a lot about Doug Jones before he got here from another courageous former U.S. attorney, Hal Hardin from…”

“I heard a lot about Doug Jones before he got here from another courageous former U.S. attorney, Hal Hardin from Nashville. I was not disappointed when he arrived. Doug Jones reminds me of another former Democrat who was very effective in the Senate, Ted Kennedy. Ted Kennedy would come on the floor and make the most--well, no one could ever say he abandoned his principles, based upon his speeches. He would stand back there in the back, and the things he would say would rally any Republican Lincoln Day Dinner. In fact, all I had to do back in Tennessee to stir up the Republican crowd was to mention Ted Kennedy. I did that on a regular basis. However, when I made my maiden address, without my knowing it, Ted Kennedy went around and got 20 cosponsors for the legislation I introduced that day, and I got a good dose of what it means to be an effective U.S. Senator, somebody who sticks to his or her opinions but, at the same time, who knows we are here to try to work on some sticky issues and get a result that most of us can vote for and that the country can accept. In his time here, Doug Jones did that. I got to watch him because he was a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Senator Kennedy used to chair that committee, working with Senator Enzi, Senator Gregg, Senator Hatch, and others to produce a lot of legislation. He used to say that committee has one-third of all the jurisdiction in the Senate. Maybe that is about right.…”