Ithaca 37
New member
"She sees tourism as key to Idaho's future. "You can look at extracting natural resources, but you can also look at what the Swiss have done with their natural beauty. Think of the great wealth of beauty in Idaho. It is a mine not for extraction, but for invitation.""
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040725/NEWS010702/407250333/1002/NEWS01
Teresa Heinz Kerry could change the balance of Idaho politics.
Should she become first lady, the depth of her commitment to Idaho would accelerate modest Democratic gains. Heinz Kerry is boisterously engaged, close to House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet, and would have real power to help.
Last weekend, she headlined a fund-raiser that raised a record-breaking $300,000. Before the event in Ketchum, I interviewed Heinz Kerry. She is a credible advocate who would bring Democrats real money and access to the immense power of the White House.
Heinz Kerry is no clueless two-weeks-a-year Ketchumite. She understands Idaho issues, and has close friends and a lifetime of warm memories here. She's even named her jet "Flying Squirrel," after the Sun Valley ski run.
Four of the women who accompany Heinz Kerry on the campaign as personal anchors have Sun Valley-area homes: Time magazine photographer Diana Walker; film producer Allyn Stewart; hotel owner and decorator Peggy Grossman, who led the massive renovation of the Arizona Biltmore in the 1990s; and Melinda Blinken, the daughter of famed producer-director Howard Koch, wife of 2002 U.S. Senate candidate Alan Blinken and herself a growing force in Idaho politics.
The Blinkens hosted the fund-raising lunch, which drew 400 people — four times what they expected — on just 10 days' notice.
"This is bigger than Idaho Democrats," Alan Blinken said. "Sen. Kerry and his wife love this state, and they're going to pay attention to it. Part of their heart is here."
Heinz Kerry has a record of giving in Idaho, politically and philanthropically. She has visited since 1966. In 1988, she built a house with her first husband, GOP U.S. Sen. John Heinz, who died in 1991. The Blinkens are neighbors. She talks of the small Christmas brunches with Swedish pancakes, and the big New Year's Eve parties with 10 o'clock toasts for the three kids so they could ski first thing in the morning.
"We started the New Year's parties to keep the kids from getting into trouble," she said. "We told them, 'You're not bums, you're not hobos. You don't take a bottle on the street.' We let them get tipsy here. And they're still coming back. It's all about family."
But she's uncomfortable with talk of a Western White House here, saying she loves her farm near Pittsburgh and Kerry likes the Nantucket house and the ocean. My guess is Idaho would be her deep retreat, as it was in June when she snuck into Ketchum and treated her Secret Service agents to a meeting with a moose at the Blinken home.
"This is a place that I regain my bearings," Heinz Kerry said. "It's peaceful. It's comforting. It's honest. I love the mountains, summer and winter. It's the treat I give myself. I would never want to give that up."
But it's more than that. She's concerned about Idaho and has given more than $1 million to local efforts to improve emergency medical services, save the Galena Lodge and register voters.
A Kerry administration would assess the safety and future of the INEEL, support alternative energy, boost small-scale and organic farming, and reform forest and mining policy, she said.
She's heard the arguments on breaching the four Lower Snake River dams. "I know enough that the dams have caused a lot of harm. I also know the salmon are coming back. I need to know more."
She's familiar with the fight to protect the Owyhees and Boulder-White Clouds, but isn't ready to urge creating any national monuments by executive order.
"I don't know that I would tell John to create a monument," Heinz Kerry said. "But I would say we should respect and protect the integrity of the land."
She sees tourism as key to Idaho's future. "You can look at extracting natural resources, but you can also look at what the Swiss have done with their natural beauty. Think of the great wealth of beauty in Idaho. It is a mine not for extraction, but for invitation."
Heinz Kerry is no ally of traditional industry, but she is a moderate who speaks of balance. Remember, she was a Republican until last year, and was hotly recruited by the Pennsylvania GOP to succeed her late husband.
"She boils it down to people," said Jaquet, the Democratic leader from Ketchum. "She wants science to drive decision-making."
Jaquet has a real in with Heinz Kerry.
"I trust Wendy's judgment," said Heinz Kerry, who has relied on Jaquet's advice on political giving since 1998. "I would probably do some dinners for them, some fund-raisers."
Heinz Kerry is optimistic about helping make Idaho Democrats relevant. "When people say, 'No way,' I say, 'Excuse me. There used to be someone called Frank Church. There used to be Cecil Andrus. There used to be Richard Stallings.'
"We now have a mayor in Boise. We have increased our numbers in the Legislature and found moderate Republicans we didn't even know existed. Little by little, we're making progress."
Jaquet said she hadn't given the prospect of being a power broker much thought — until the fund-raiser. "I hadn't really looked at it, but it's huge," Jaquet said. "The energy of the luncheon made me begin to realize that."
Jaquet would instantly become very powerful should Kerry win, with access to the White House and its influence over federal jobs, spending and policy.
Lobbyists who have treated Jaquet with all the respect due a leader of a tiny minority party would suddenly need her. That prospect has enormous implications for Idaho Democrats.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040725/NEWS010702/407250333/1002/NEWS01
Teresa Heinz Kerry could change the balance of Idaho politics.
Should she become first lady, the depth of her commitment to Idaho would accelerate modest Democratic gains. Heinz Kerry is boisterously engaged, close to House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet, and would have real power to help.
Last weekend, she headlined a fund-raiser that raised a record-breaking $300,000. Before the event in Ketchum, I interviewed Heinz Kerry. She is a credible advocate who would bring Democrats real money and access to the immense power of the White House.
Heinz Kerry is no clueless two-weeks-a-year Ketchumite. She understands Idaho issues, and has close friends and a lifetime of warm memories here. She's even named her jet "Flying Squirrel," after the Sun Valley ski run.
Four of the women who accompany Heinz Kerry on the campaign as personal anchors have Sun Valley-area homes: Time magazine photographer Diana Walker; film producer Allyn Stewart; hotel owner and decorator Peggy Grossman, who led the massive renovation of the Arizona Biltmore in the 1990s; and Melinda Blinken, the daughter of famed producer-director Howard Koch, wife of 2002 U.S. Senate candidate Alan Blinken and herself a growing force in Idaho politics.
The Blinkens hosted the fund-raising lunch, which drew 400 people — four times what they expected — on just 10 days' notice.
"This is bigger than Idaho Democrats," Alan Blinken said. "Sen. Kerry and his wife love this state, and they're going to pay attention to it. Part of their heart is here."
Heinz Kerry has a record of giving in Idaho, politically and philanthropically. She has visited since 1966. In 1988, she built a house with her first husband, GOP U.S. Sen. John Heinz, who died in 1991. The Blinkens are neighbors. She talks of the small Christmas brunches with Swedish pancakes, and the big New Year's Eve parties with 10 o'clock toasts for the three kids so they could ski first thing in the morning.
"We started the New Year's parties to keep the kids from getting into trouble," she said. "We told them, 'You're not bums, you're not hobos. You don't take a bottle on the street.' We let them get tipsy here. And they're still coming back. It's all about family."
But she's uncomfortable with talk of a Western White House here, saying she loves her farm near Pittsburgh and Kerry likes the Nantucket house and the ocean. My guess is Idaho would be her deep retreat, as it was in June when she snuck into Ketchum and treated her Secret Service agents to a meeting with a moose at the Blinken home.
"This is a place that I regain my bearings," Heinz Kerry said. "It's peaceful. It's comforting. It's honest. I love the mountains, summer and winter. It's the treat I give myself. I would never want to give that up."
But it's more than that. She's concerned about Idaho and has given more than $1 million to local efforts to improve emergency medical services, save the Galena Lodge and register voters.
A Kerry administration would assess the safety and future of the INEEL, support alternative energy, boost small-scale and organic farming, and reform forest and mining policy, she said.
She's heard the arguments on breaching the four Lower Snake River dams. "I know enough that the dams have caused a lot of harm. I also know the salmon are coming back. I need to know more."
She's familiar with the fight to protect the Owyhees and Boulder-White Clouds, but isn't ready to urge creating any national monuments by executive order.
"I don't know that I would tell John to create a monument," Heinz Kerry said. "But I would say we should respect and protect the integrity of the land."
She sees tourism as key to Idaho's future. "You can look at extracting natural resources, but you can also look at what the Swiss have done with their natural beauty. Think of the great wealth of beauty in Idaho. It is a mine not for extraction, but for invitation."
Heinz Kerry is no ally of traditional industry, but she is a moderate who speaks of balance. Remember, she was a Republican until last year, and was hotly recruited by the Pennsylvania GOP to succeed her late husband.
"She boils it down to people," said Jaquet, the Democratic leader from Ketchum. "She wants science to drive decision-making."
Jaquet has a real in with Heinz Kerry.
"I trust Wendy's judgment," said Heinz Kerry, who has relied on Jaquet's advice on political giving since 1998. "I would probably do some dinners for them, some fund-raisers."
Heinz Kerry is optimistic about helping make Idaho Democrats relevant. "When people say, 'No way,' I say, 'Excuse me. There used to be someone called Frank Church. There used to be Cecil Andrus. There used to be Richard Stallings.'
"We now have a mayor in Boise. We have increased our numbers in the Legislature and found moderate Republicans we didn't even know existed. Little by little, we're making progress."
Jaquet said she hadn't given the prospect of being a power broker much thought — until the fund-raiser. "I hadn't really looked at it, but it's huge," Jaquet said. "The energy of the luncheon made me begin to realize that."
Jaquet would instantly become very powerful should Kerry win, with access to the White House and its influence over federal jobs, spending and policy.
Lobbyists who have treated Jaquet with all the respect due a leader of a tiny minority party would suddenly need her. That prospect has enormous implications for Idaho Democrats.
