For the Kennedys: The End of an Era

Jan. 1, 2011 -- The sun has set on the Kennedy era.

When Congress reconvenes next week, it will be the first time in 64 years that there has not been a Kennedy in office.

"I think it is sad," Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert Kennedy and a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, told ABC News. "I think we need a Kennedy."

The last Kennedy -- Patrick, a congressman from Rhode Island -- has officially left the building, saying, "my life is taking a new direction and I will not be a candidate for reelection."

His father, Sen. Edward Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate, died in 2009. Now, the new frontier on Capitol Hill has a distinctly Republican flavor. Replacing the Kennedys as the only father-son team on the Hill are Rep. Ron Paul and Senator-elect Rand Paul, both Tea Party Republicans. Where the Kennedys focused on civil rights and expanding Medicare, the Pauls emphasize fiscal responsibility and limited government.

The symbolic change on Capitol Hill is hard to escape. Patrick Kennedy's House office will go to a Republican. Ted Kennedy's coveted third-floor corner suite -- a 3,500 square-foot space with a prime view of the Capitol -- initially went to the man who won his Massachusetts Senate seat, Republican Scott Brown. But there wasn't much chance a junior senator would hold on to such prime real estate for long. Now Brown is getting kicked out by the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who will bring a new set of family photos to the same walls.

John F. Kennedy launched the family franchise in 1947 when, at age 30, he joined the U.S. Congress. He spent 6 six years as a congressman and eight years as a senator, fighting for civil rights and social welfare.

In 1961, he moved to the White House, famously calling on Americans to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

He brought with him his two brothers in to the political fray: Robert became attorney general and then senator, and Ted would be elected to the Senate too.