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Edited on Sun Jul-27-08 12:32 PM by MBS
So, yesterday, I took the afternoon off to go to a Kerry-for-Senate fundraiser in West Harwich, a mid-Cape town, east of the horrible strip mall-district of Hyannis, and just west of the Cape's "elbow" at Chatham.
Neither the time nor the money to do this (and with all the summer traffic, it took 1 1/2 hours to drive 25 miles!!), but it was worth it. I took no notes, so this is all from memory. No guarantees on accuracy of quotes (but I feel confident that I got the general gist right).
Just the setting alone was a treat. The fund-raiser took place at the home of a prominent MA activist (I'm withholding most of the names here, not being quite sure what's kosher to mention; I can supply the missing names by PM on request), in a gorgeous setting. It's on a spit of land in the middle of a salt marsh estuary, surrounded by conservation land on both sides, and their own private dock: their family essentially has a 1000-acre backyard (granted that about 800 of those acres are under water, but truly gorgeous).
the guests all reminded me that there are a lot of good, committed, compassionate Americans among us, working hard to get our country back on track. Some of the people I met, most of them year-round Harwich residents:
-a Vietnam vet and activist who was in DC with JK the day of the big gathering in DC in April 1971. He's currently working to help us get Obama elected, and JK reelected, and to get us out of Iraq just the way he worked to get us out of Vietnam. . .the kind of guy who sported unusual buttons for both JK and Obama, buttons which he had custom-made. The kind of guy who will never stop fighting to bring our country back to its highest ideals.
-the manager of the conservation trust for the neighboring marsh; needless to say, saving that marsh was a big political fight, and thanks are due to the selfless people who made that happen.
-a congenital political activist, once mayor of a town in California, and only 7-8 years after he and his family moved to MA, already a selectman in his adopted town. Watching him work the room, I thought, "A born politician". In the best and warmest sense. And his wife was not too shabby in the easy-friendliness dept. either.
Tom O'Neill (Tip's son, now head of a political consulting outfit in Boston) was also there, in an electric-lime shirt.
Maybe he's a summer resident??
There were several JK staffers there, most of them college students, and post-college 20-somethings working on JK's campaign. They were poised, knowledgeable; I found them impressive.
And there was, of course, JK, just arrived from DC (after the morning's vote. .). He first circulated among the 100 or so guests before he made his formal speech.
The selectman's wife (I told you she was good) made sure that JK met me. I introduced myself (wildly exaggerating my contributions, but I had to be terse) as "one of your bloggers". I don't think he was able to read my name tag, and he didn't seem to recognize me from past campaign events. But he did catch my single phrase. And in response, he put his arms on my shoulders and said,clearly meaning every word (though these in fact might not be his exact words), "Thank you for what all of you do.It's a big help" That's from JK to all of YOU, guys.:toast:
Later, one of JK's staffers made a similar comment. (Tay must make a mean batch of Kool-Aid in that office :))
In the formal part of the afternoon,several people spoke, attesting to JK's contributions to, and help with, their various causes. A Brockton (MA) native who now heads the 9/11 fund in DC (and-- what a life, sigh -- apparently summers on Martha's Vineyard) testified to Kerry's effectiveness as a senator, not just on the national scene, but in real help to real people in MA. The hostess talked about a project she started in 1995, helping women start their own businesses.
She said that she went to JK, who was key in helping her get the program off the ground. Another woman came up to say that she had gone to JK in the early 90's, with a project to help people get out of poverty.(It involves helping people finish high school and get into the job market) A DC operative, Bruce Katz (sp?) told her (again, I'm paraphrasing) " More power to you, but no one in the Senate cares about poverty. They might put their name on a bill around election time, but they won't really work to do anything about it. If you want to ask Sen. Kerry, go ahead. But if he's like the other 99 senators, nothing will happen." But, she said, Kerry really came through, and helped her get the money to fund the program. She said that, unlike a lot of politicians, Kerry didn't call her to brag that he'd done x and y for her. (Kerry interjected (paraphrase again), "Teddy has taught me I need to do that", which elicited a lot of chuckles in the audience).
But, even without the bragging, JK's fingerprints were everywhere she went. She recalled that when she went to HUD, the administrator there told her, "Tell Sen. Kerry I talked to you" .
This seems so typical of him. The obituary for a favorite colleague of mine, who died a few months ago, recounted my colleague's "unheralded generosities and kindnesses". That characterization applies to JK, too.
He talked about the marsh behind him (the group had moved out to the patio, as the house had gotten stuffy with the heat and the crowd), and about conservation . How he wanted President Obama to take on energy issues as his first big, tough problem. Reminded people about Project Silent Spring on Cape Cod(mentioned in TMOE), the problems with phtlates, the disgrace that people in US were still dragging their heels on outlawing phthalates and other toxic chemicals.
A member of the audience asked JK about Tibet (JK: "Their culture is being destroyed; I cry for Tibet", and went on to talk about the importance of careful diplomacy, building relationships among the Chinese, and suggesting solutions that allow them to save face, the way JK did in his decade of work with Vietnam to identify POW and MIA's). The same guy also asked about Pickens and energy. In my conversation with the same guy, later, I found out that, incredibly, he didn't know about Pickens and the SBVT stuff! But clearly others in the audience did, as a wave of chuckles rippled throughout the crowd. Classic, classy JK: he referred obliquely to his beef with Pickens, but said we should encourage anyone who wants to work for alternate energy, while noting mildly that Pickens has a financial interest in natural gas, etc., and that we should keep that in mind. He mentioned that he "had a call into Pickens" but that Pickens hadn't yet returned the call. I think there was another round of chuckles at that point. Later, a staffer told me that JK had said, when he heard Pickens' line about not being able to drill our way out of the gas crisis, "That's MY line!!"). I really, REALLY want JK to do something clever , stealthy, but lethal re Pickens.
Yes, I've got wardrobe details: JK was wearing a navy-blue blazer, khaki-colored pants (with texture of microfiber or something like it), a pale blue shirt, and a Vineyard Vines tie (pink background, with lots of flags: American flags, plus others I couldn't identify. One looked vaguely Swedish, another was half-yellow, and half-blue. The rest were pennant-style, from which I deduced that these might be yacht-club flags. I tried very hard to get more details, but for obvious reasons (I would have had to get nose-to-nose with Sen. Kerry to do so!), I couldn't get a close-up view! I tried to ask the senator at the end, but his state director was pushing JK along, trying to get him onto a plane, so it was too late
. Oh, yeah, he was wearing loafers. (As a west-coast transplant, looking around at this crowd, O'Neill's lime-green shirt, JK's duds, JK's college intern in blue blazer, the women's summer dresses, etc., I was suddenly struck with the realization, GOD this is SO East-Coast . . . ). .
Despite a day with humidity that turned my straight hair frizzy, JK was crisp, impeccable.(How does he manage to do this? I would love some advice)
BTW, no glasses, for those who follow such details:)
Lovely sunset on the marsh as I left. Wow, what a spot. I wonder if the family would consider taking on boarders. :)
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