lisa murkowski. he was a conservative republican. more conservative than mitt romney. but he believed part of the job description of the senator was trying to find agreement with the other side where it was possible to make progress for the country. and i think that is what has significantly eroded, the belief that part of your job, whatever your ideology is to try to find ways to reach agreement. and he certainly embodied that to good effect at critical points in his career, which i believe was the longest serving of any republican senator ever. dana. yeah, we were just looking at images of senators hatch and kennedy hugging. and senator hatch wiping a tear from his eye. i mean, that kind of spoke volumes. and ron is of course right. and ryan s piece was just spot-on when it came to senator hatch s legislative record and his legacy, which is one of very
iowa senator chuck grassley tweeted sad to learn of the passing of my friend orrin hatch pip i worked closely with him on the judiciary committee plus 20 years on finance committee. we had a very good relationship, friendship he has contributed much to public policy and people of utah. barbara and i send our sympathies to his family. cnn senior political analyst ron brownstein joins us now. what is your reaction to the news of orrin hatch s passing and the legacy he leaves behind, ron? obviously start with condolences to his family and friends and those who work with him over the years. but orrin hatch is a really interesting figure, pam. because he in many ways tracking the evolution of the republican party over the last five decades. when he was elected originally in 1976 into the early 1980s he was considered part of what what was called the new right, the van guard front tier of
in the senate 42 years passed the most legislation into law than any other senator and known for working across the aisle. he was he was in the senate the same time as now president joe biden. we just found this video right after the 2015 election when there was a ceremonial swearing in of orrin hatch by joe biden, vice-president, let s watch this moment. raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and you will well and faithfully zmarj the duties of the office upon which you are about to enter so help me god. no doubt. doesn t have any doubt. the that was a ceremonial swearing in for all of those elected to the senate and re-elected to the senate.
premiers tomorrow night at 9 eastern on cnn. you were you are in the cnn newsroom. up next the death of a longtime utah senator orrin hatch, former show senator max bach us joins us live with his reflections after this quick break. simply irresistible applplebee s irresist-a-bowls are back. now starting at $8.99. now that s eatin good in the neighborhood.
point out, dana is like that. not all politicians are like that. in fact most of them try to run airway from us. but he did not. he was so nice. such a statesman, had an incredible life of public service. if you would, ron and dana, stay with us we are going to take a deeper look at his life. senator hatch retired from the senate in 2019 after 42 years. cnn ryan nobles looks back at his life and legacy. do you solemnly swear. he was one of the longest serving republican senators in the chamber s history. orrin hatch spent more than four decades crafting a legacy of unwavering conservative ideals. the grandson of mormon settlers hatch grew up in a poor mill town outside of pittsburgh. tragedy struck his life early when his older brother died in world war ii. i have a white streak in my hair right here because it affected me so drastically. in the late 60s hatch moved