WASHINGTON, D.C. — The members of the Ripon Society today expressed their condolences on the passing of Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy. 

“We may not have agreed with Senator Kennedy on every issue,” stated former Congressman Bill Frenzel, the Chairman Emeritus of the Ripon Society, “but we respected his intellect and appreciated his willingness to work across the aisle to find solutions to our nation’s ills. 

“More than anything, though, we appreciate his service, which not only lived up to his brother’s call to ‘ask what you can do for your country,’ but also set the standard for generations of Americans from here on out to do the same.” 

The Ripon Society is a centrist public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was founded in 1854 — Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of the Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s past success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.