The following column by Tom Perez was posted on the ABC News website August 28, 2018:
My former boss, Ted Kennedy, died nine years to the day before Sen. John McCain passed away of the same disease. The two were famously close friends —— lawmakers who rose above the petty resentments of party tribalism to respect and love one another based on their shared passion for public service.
Ted Kennedy is not here today to honor his dear friend in the same way that Sen. McCain honored him when he passed away. But as chair of the Democratic Party, I want to take the opportunity to honor Sen. McCain. Not because I agreed with every policy position he took, but because, like Senator Kennedy, he was guided by a loyalty to public service and the American people.
When I was nominated to serve as President Obama’s labor secretary in 2013, Democrats controlled the U.S. Senate by a slim margin. I needed every Democrat and six Republicans to vote in the affirmative to clear the cloture hurdle before I could be confirmed. The rift between left and right seemed insurmountable. But then, there was always John McCain.