John Kerry's wife was a republican once

[JI7]

what do you all think of john kerry being married to a woman who was once a republican ? personally, i think teresa heinz kerry is a wonderful woman, if you have seen her speak she is amazing and kerry is very lucky to be with her. she has a good record on fighting for human rights, the environment and many other issues. she is very opinionated and does not let anyone prevent her from speaking.


Democratic presidential candidate Massachusetts Senator John Kerry whispers to his wife Theresa Heinz Kerry

[Dookus]

1. I'm pretty sure everybody knows this...

she was famously married to a republican Senator before she married Kerry.

And I agree she's a great woman - she's smart, articulate and really stands her ground. I like her a lot.

[RafterMan]

2. I really, really, really

don't care.

[JI7]

4. i don't either

but some seem to think it's a secret.

[Syrinx]

23. nice picture I hadn't seen before

[oasis]

5. Look around there may be a subject that you'd fell more comfortable with.

[oasis]

3. Arriana Huffington also saw the light.(n/t)

[readmylips]

6. Where's Kerry's first wife?

She's never mentioned and little is mentioned that Kerry was diroved. He divorced his #1 to marry his #2 billionaire. I would too chit!

[isbister]

52. Where's Kerry's first wife?

He divorced his #1 to marry his #2 billionaire.

It would be more accurate to say he divorced his 1st wife and married a millionairess.

He and his 1st wife were already done before he got together with his current wife and his current wife isn't a billionaire.

[mouse7]

7. I have a real problem with Kerry marrying into GOP dynasty

Kerry has 700 million more reasons than anyone in this campaign to be potentially influenced by special interests. Teresa Heinz wasn't a Republican once, Teresa Heinz was married to a GOP US Senator.

In the CNN Paula Zahn interview with the Kerry's Teresa Heinz would not give a blanket endorsement of the Party nominee. She said (to paraphrase) that she would need to have a long talk with Howard Dean. That's not good enough.

Is a wife supposed to do as her husband does? Absolutely not. However, when there is a 700 million dollar fortune from a GOP dynasty involved, THEN it is reasonable to question just how influenced a person may be by a wife that has access to 700 million dollars to sway you.

Teresa Heinz is the one who put herself in the position of refusing to say she would support the Dem Party nominee. That put the Heinz fortune in the table as an issue.

[Dookus]

8. Sorry...

but that's BS. She's her own woman with her own opinions and she's made it abundantly clear that nobody's going to change that. That's what I admire so much about her.

She doesn't owe the party anything. She can say whatever the hell she wants. She was asked about Howard Dean and she replied that she doesn't know him.

She's not a shill for her husband, the Democratic Party, or anybody else.

Did I mention I really really like her?

on edit: Teresa Heinz-Kerry is NOT by any stretch GOP Dynasty. Look into her personal history a bit.

[mouse7]

9. Teresa needs to decided between Bush and Dean, then we...

...need to decide if it's reasonable for someone with access to 700 million dollars of influence over a potential Presidential nominee.

Teresa is free to support who ever she like. We are free to decide if her freedom of choice and access to 700 million dollars of influence over John Kerry is a situation we are willing to have in high office.

[JI7]

12. teresa is opposed to bush

and she does not play the "with us or against us" crap that bush plays.

[mouse7]

13. She refused to say she would endorse Dean over Bush

Enough said. Anyone as close to power as Teresa Heinz is that could even have a shred of public doubt about supporting a Democratic nominee vs. Bush is already playing "with us or against us."

[JI7]

15. she doesn't owe the party anything

she happens to be married to a man who is a democrat and who also i'm sure has to work hard to earn her vote. she immigrated from a country without freedom and she isn't going to allow some party to force her into anything she doesn't want.

[mouse7]

18. She doesn't "owe" anything, but she better freely give it

This is a free country. Teresa Heinz is free to andorse or support anyone that she want.

That said...

IF she supports or endorses anyone but all the other Democratic Party nominees, then she is a "special interest" like anyone or anything that isn't loyal to the party.

If she chooses to be independent over being loyal to party nominees, her 700 million dollars of special interest money influencing Kerry is NOW AN ISSUE.

Either she supports Party nominees, or we discuss the amount of influence the Heinz fortune has over a US Senator and Presidential candidate.

[JI7]

19. funny

you seem to be the one who wants her to use her money for influence of a special interest(a major party) rather than let her do as she wants. she will support, endorse, etc whoever she wants. nobody, not even john kerry tells her what to do.

[mouse7]

28. Then Kerry has $700 million of special interest money to answer for

IF Teresa Kerry can do or say whatever she wants, it's then legitimate to ask whether the Democratic Party wants a candidate that has $700 million dollars of special interest money swaying his decisions.

[JI7]

32. teresa is his wife, not a political special interest

teresa happens to be his wife, and some special interest.

[mouse7]

35. If Teresa has interest other than Party, they are special interests

Teresa can sway John Kerry with her money just like a contractor might influence Wesley Clark, or a energy company might influence Howard Dean.

Kerry is the one throwing grenades. If Kerry can throw grenades, Kerry better expect grenades back.

[JI7]

42. teresa's interests are the environment and human rights

and the democratic party is not always on the side of those, although individual politicians are like john kerry. although he was on the right side before marrying teresa. i'm sure it's one of the reasons they got along well.

[Clark Can WIN]

24. Who are you to tell Kerry's wife that she NEEDS to decide between

Dean and Bush? Or anyone else for that matter when not a single primary is past?

[mouse7]

33. Teresa Heinz has $700 million to sway Kerry's decisions with

If she refuses to support the Party and the Party's nominees, then Teresa Heinz becomes a special interest outside the Democratic Party with $700 million dollars in special interest money to sway her to her "independant" views.

Teresa Heinz has every right to be independent, but if she is independent of the party, then the $700 million she has is a huge special interest question.

[Dookus]

36. do you know how much Teresa kerry

has dumped into his campaign?

C'mon guess.....

give up?

$2,000 - the legal maximum. It's her money, not his.

[mouse7]

38. If you believe Heinz money won't be paying off loans, you're silly n/t

[Dookus]

40. you're changing the subject....

she's given his campaign $2,000

That's it.

You're accusing Kerry of committing a crime by saying his wife is bankrolling his campaign. It simply isn't true.

[mouse7]

44. And she WILL be paying close to 8 million...

...once the campaign is over.

[Dookus]

46. can you provide any indication that that's true?

Because you're accusing them of a felony.

Kerry has money of his own, you know.

[mouse7]

51. Can you provide any indication it's not?

It's way too easy (and legal) to transfer assets from one partner in a marriage to community property in a marriage.

It IS NOT illegal for Teresa Heinz to transfer capital from her accounts to community property.

Teresa Heinz can pay every dime of Kerry's campaign loans legally.

[Dookus]

54. I don't need to prove anything...

you're making the assumption that they're engaged in campaign finance fraud.

You're on a silly mission here, mouse. You're not convincing anybody of anything.

And no, she can't pay off his loans legally. She's given him $2,000. Deal with it. It goes against your prejudice, but you should acknowledge the possibility that you're just plain wrong.

[mouse7]

57. I'm not. Future interest income from assets can pay the loans.

The money recieved in the future from a chunk of the Heinz fortune can be re-routed to community property. That money can be used to pay the debt.

It's completely legal, because that's what's allowed in marriage law.

[Clark Can WIN]

61. So according to you, you are not wrong because

future SUPPOSED income from SUPPOSED assets MAY pay the loans? The smallest spider in th world would have trouble weaving something that thin.

[mouse7]

64. Not when the income is based on 700 million is assets

When the money is sitting in the bank, future interest income is not "supposed." It's coming. You can count on your interest payment like clockwork.

[Clark Can WIN]

74. Do you have proof of these assertions? or is it just

cheezwhiz in the wind? Why don't you just come clean with everyone and tell us EXACTLY what it is that you find so unacceptable about her? I hate head games among "friends".

[mouse7]

76. Ask any tax lawyer or accountant. It's legal.

Teresa Heinz can pay off John Kerry's campaign loans if she transfers some of the Heinz trust to their community holding and they use the income from the Heinz assets to pay off the campaign loans.

The problem I have is that Teresa Heinz can basically wave her hand and John Kerry's campaign debt can disappear, and she won't guarantee her support of the Democratic Party nominee. The Kerry marriage is just to complex for me to trust John Kerry is his own man any more.

[JI7]

49. so her money goes toward a democratic candidate

so if she does pay it off it means her money went towards paying off the loans of a democratic candidate. good for her. she is helping a democrat, and one who has a good history of supporting issues important to her such as the environment, human rights,openness in government, etc.

[JI7]

37. the democratic party includes special interests

not always positive.

[Clark Can WIN]

58. You said she NEEDED to DECIDE between Dean and Bush

while her husband is running for president. Defend your original statement please.

[mouse7]

60. Teresa was asked if she would support Howard Dean if he became the nominee

She wasn't asked if she would support Dean now, She was asked if she would support Dean if he ended up winning the nomination.

She would not say that she would support Dean vs. Bush if Dean were the party nominee.

[Clark Can WIN]

66. It was a ridiculous question for anyone to ask

talk about "gotcha" politics (that Dean complains about). If my husband were running for president and someone threw that question at me I would not be as nice as Teresa. I would graphically tell them in great detail what they could do with their microphone.

[JI7]

68. notice she only asked about dean, and not other candidates

also notice the question was only asked about howard dean. why not ask if she would support edwards, clark, kucinich, gep etc ? it reminds me of ted koppel asking them all about dean only.

[mouse7]

72. Agreed, but of course corporate whore Zahn didn't ask that

Teresa Heinz should have said she would support whoever the party nominee is. That would have ended the mess.

[mouse7]

70. Yeah, too bad John Kerry treated Zahn better than fellow Dems

Kerry's more that willing to trash his fellow Dems, but won't defend his own wife from a corporate whore.

[nightperson]

67. She's a spouse.

This is a very slippery slope. What about James Carville, or people frequently seen having lunch with known Republicans? Are loyalty oaths next? You're not exactly exploding a hidden issue. If anything it makes Kerry seem more accessible/able to appeal to a wider audience, able to perhaps, ahem, "convert" fiery Republicans:evilgrin:.

[mouse7]

73. Carville isn't running for President

Carville has stated he won't run for any office.

[nightperson]

10. Two articles on her

people may have seen before-http://slate.msn.com/id/2092399/ and (this one's also on Dean's wife) http://www.andrewsullivan.com/main_article.php?artnum=20030914. They're funny and interesting but hardly "puff pieces" :puffpiece: :puffpiece:. I dunno, is she "angrier" than Dean? Could it work for us? }( :evilgrin: :mad: :grr: :nuke: :shrug:

[Mattforclark]

11. Ahhhh!

John Kerry is a Republican :crazy:

[mouse7]

14. Teresa would not say she would support Dean over Bush

That's a public admission she could potentially work against a Dem nominee for Bush.

[JI7]

16. dean must have some serious problems

if not getting the endorsement of the wife of another candidate for the democratic nomination for president hurts him against bush.

[mouse7]

20. I'm not a Dean supporter. I'm not a Clark supporter.

I just got accused of being a Clark supporter on the Kerry attacks Clark thread.

I'm glad I'm doing a good job of being unbiased. I'm against all this "circular firing squad" politics. If Kerry hadn't used vicious attack language against Clark when Clark never had attacked Kerry, I wouldn't be here pointing to ALL THE REASONS Kerry needs to stop attacking others.

Kerry's nest is JUST as messy as anyone's. He needs to end the viciousness towards other candidates. Goal One for the Primary season as getting a candidate through the process that isn't so damaged that it's impossible for them to beat Dumbya.

[JI7]

26. do you object to

dean's flyers attacking clark ? and if you think what kerry did hurts clark so much that it will be impossible to beat bush with, then he isn't the right candidate. and in any case, it wont hurt him against bush as bush has done worse.

[Clark Can WIN]

27. I think you ARE a Dean supporter

mouse7. I think your post history would prove it.

[JI7]

34. yes

interesting as mouse7 seems to be so outraged at kerry criticizing other candidates, but says nothing of dean. at least kerry isn't running to the dnc chair asking for attacking on him to stop. or claiming to play nice or anything else like that. and post history does show support for dean from what i remember.

[mouse7]

43. I'm outraged because Clark CLEARLY didn't attack Kerry

I can't say as much as I'd like about the Dean/Kerry war because they've tossed bombs back and forth at one another the entire campaign. However, when Kerry went after Clark, it went to another level. Clark did NOTHING to earn what Kerry dumped on him today. Nothing.

Kerry's quote practically accused Clark of bribery.

[JI7]

45. did clark attack dean ?

and kerry never said clark attacked him.

[mouse7]

55. "Dean was skiing in Aspen when..."

Clark had opened the door to Dean statements.

[JI7]

56. that's an attack or the truth ?

? and kerry isn't the one crying to the dnc chair forothers to stop attacking him. and he doesn't claim to play nice and not criticize others.

[mouse7]

59. You just made my case for me.

When it all comes down to it, you do support Kerry even when he's vicious toward other candidates. You don't care whether Kerry damages other candidates and hurts the chances of Democratic Party winning the Presidency.

No-holds-barred, shock and awe rhetoric from Kerry is just fine as far as you're concerned. To hell with whether it destroys the Democratic Party in the process.

[JI7]

62. huh ? the truth hurts the party ?

was what clark said true or not ? if it hurts the party then don't run that candidate. and clark is a big boy, he has seen far worse, as you can tell from what he was doing rather than skiing at the time. i support my candidate and all his viciousness or whatever you want to call it. he doesn't go crying to the dnc chair for attacks on him to stop.

[Clark Can WIN]

71. the Clark and Kerry camps have been getting on quite well

just some people with (perhaps) ulterior motives trying to stir the pot. or call it black. or whatever.

[mouse7]

75. Here's what John Kerry said about Clark today...

“I hope my opponent will tell the voters which special interests were lining his pockets with cash, so that the voters can decide who this candidate really represents,” said John Kerry.

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0110b.html

Oh yeah... the people who are saying Kerry was out of line today are to blame. It couldn't be Kerry, who just said today about Clark "special interests were lining his pockets with cash"

Glad you're so loyal defending your candidate Wesley Clark.

[blm]

88. Opening records is FAIR play. Let Dean open his, too.

.

[mouse7]

90. Lets open a discussion about Heinz GOP fortune, too.

You want fair play, lets have some fair play.

[Clark Can WIN]

69. Once again..................... snore

:boring:

[mouse7]

41. You make this so easy

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=98549

Starting at post #6, I'm all over this thread.
Post #15 slinkerwink asks me why I'm defending Clark but never defend Dean

[Clark Can WIN]

29. No, that's your supposition

without fact.

[JVS]

91. Would that statement get deleted if it were about another candidate?

I ask because it seems the rules have grown a bit lately.

[Clark Can WIN]

17. Well that's it......... Burn her at the stake

she's not pure enough for us...........Right?........... No?

OK, I'll tell the truth. I like Kerry and his wife. I think Teresa is great and I would be happy as hell to have Kerry as a prez.:-)

[mouse7]

25. This all started because Kerry attacked Clark

Kerry was out of control against Clark earlier today. Kerry's been out of control a lot lately.

Kerry needs to focus on positive messages, or we've gonna start pointing to the reasons Kerry casn't be trusted publically, too.

[JI7]

30. uh, no

so you think it's ok to attack kerry's wife because he criticized clark ? do you think it's ok for dean to attack clark with those flyers ? and kerry asked something reasonable of clark although the tone of it may be in question.

[mouse7]

47. Dean campaign says flyering meeting was local decision

I believe that. There is no way a National HQ can track every candidate flyer crew. Cannot be done.

[JI7]

50. did dean condemn it ? how about dean calling clark a gop ?

did dean condemn the flyers attacking clark and ask them to stop it ? how about when dean called clark a republican ?

[mouse7]

53. I seem to remember a certain "Dean was skiing in Aspen" comment

Clark and Dean have exchanged comments. Clark had not said anything regarding Kerry.

You aren't going to distract from Kerry's viciousness regarding Clark.

[JI7]

65. Clark is a big boy

don't worry about big bad kerry going after him. and i believe the dean skiing in aspen is true, so not sure how you can call it an attack.

[Clark Can WIN]

31. *YAWN*

:boring:

[mouse7]

48. Yep... it is

Sorry I ruined your opportunity to yell at me.

[davidinalameda]

21. Senator Heinz was one of the last good Republicans

the Heinz family did a lot with their money, unlike some other rich Republican dynasties (Bushies)

he was a true moderate, unlike that scum sucking senator Santorum

Arlen Specter used to be like Heinz, before he was co-opted by the Bushies and conservatives

[JI7]

39. i know a woman who thought he was a great senator

i was a kid when heinz was serving in the senate, but this woman from pennsylvania is a moderate and she liked him very much. she was also a republican and does not like the current party made up of bush, delay, santorum etc.

[adadem]

84. You are absolutely correct

All this talk about special interest money is a joke...the affiliation she has with the Heinz family is purely philanthropic..for doing good for those in need. Senator Heinz, before he was killed in a plane crash, was one of the few sensible Republicans in congress.

[Hoppin_Mad]

22. Is she running for president ? . . . No ? OK . . . No worries -eom-

[Clark Can WIN]

63. On further reflection

Why would a good and brilliant man like John Kerry want anything less than a spirited, smart and independent mate? Yes, I like them both.

[deminflorida]

77. Teresa Heinz Kerry , is a beautiul woman and beautiful person...

period, and I'm proud to have her as a Democrat...

period..

[adadem]

83. I was lucky

to meet her yesterday...she is awesome. So down to earth and knowledgable on world and domestic affairs.

[Padraig18]

78. Teresa Kerry is a wonderful woman!

I have no problem with the fact that she was/(maybe) still is a Republican. :)

[Jerseycoa]

79. She's a terrific woman

They're a terrific couple. Who cares if she was ever a Republican?

[SayitAintSo]

80. So What ? BFD .... So was I .... I got religion ....

[LuminousX]

81. Hillary was once a Republican also

Hell, I was once part of the Young Republicans. We all have done things we regret.

[adadem]

86. Me, too

I voted for Reagan...back when I was young and not as smart as I am today..LOL.

[JNelson6563]

82. I couldn't care less

and by all accounts, Kerry's wife is a grand lady.

I don't think wives or kids should be dragged into campaign smear stuff anyhow.

Julie

[adadem]

85. You're absolutely correct

That his wife, step-children and biological children have so much faith in Senator Kerry to work so very hard for him...Vanessa even took, at her volition, a year off from medical school so she could campaign for her dad. Being married to a doctor, all through med school, I know how hard a decision that was.

I have met both Teresa and Vanessa and they are both truly genuine, down to earth people who love our country and believe that Senator Kerry has the experience to lead us to a better time...here and in the world.

[dsc]

87. I honestly don't care

I gather some people think we have some proprietary interest in the wives of politicians but I don't care. Ms. Heinz seems like a terrific lady, good for her, but not my concern.

[chocolateeater]

89. It's all right with me.

They love each other and she seems like a good person. Besides I don't think she likes what the Republican Party is doing now.