Mr. President, yesterday morning in Las Vegas Chic Hecht died. Chic Hecht was a former Senator and a fellow Nevadan. On behalf of the entire Senate family, I extend condolences to Chic's wife, Gail,…
Mr. President, yesterday morning in Las Vegas Chic Hecht died. Chic Hecht was a former Senator and a fellow Nevadan. On behalf of the entire Senate family, I extend condolences to Chic's wife, Gail, and their daughters, Leslie and Lori.
Chic was a man very small in stature, but his life has left a big shadow on the State of Nevada and the entire United States. Chic's political career was outstanding, and I consider it a privilege that I could serve with and know him.
When I was Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, Chic served in the Nevada State Senate. When I was elected to the Congress in 1982, he was elected to the Senate. A few years later, I had the good fortune of joining him here.
Chic was someone who had no guile. He made it through his political career recognizing that he was never going to be a dynamic speaker. He spoke with a distinct lisp. But this is something that people in Nevada came to admire and appreciate. People had great affection for him, as you can tell from his first Senate race.
Chic's election to the Senate is described as being the biggest political upset in the history of the State of Nevada. He beat a man who had served in the Senate 24 years, Senator Howard Cannon, a man who had been chairman of the Rules Committee, Commerce Committee and Armed Services Committee. It was a tremendous upset.
Chic was rightfully proud of that election. ``Only in America could this happen,'' he said the night that he beat Howard Cannon. ``Put that down. That is what makes America great.''
Even Chic's opponents liked and respected him.
In 1988, Chic was beaten by Senator Richard Bryan. But as Senator Bryan said, they were good friends during the race and continued being good friends after. That was Chic Hecht.
As successful as he was in the political field, he was even more successful as an entrepreneur. He made his money in a number of different ways. One was selling women's clothing. The other was in the banking business. He was extremely successful.
But public service called him. In addition to his Nevada legislature and Senate experience, he also served as Ambassador to the Bahamas from 1989 to 1994.
During the 1950s, Chic was a member of the Army. At that time, Chic was an undercover person--a spy. He was known for this his entire life. During some of his campaigns, people checked to find out if, in fact, this man of small stature really was a spy because if that was not the case, they planned to use it against him in the campaign. But they couldn't, because it was true. He served with distinction in the military.
Here's another example of the kind of man Chic was.
We had today, as we have for many decades, our Tuesday caucuses. During the time Senator Hecht served in the Senate, he attended the Republican Tuesday caucus. Well, one Tuesday, John Kerry was late coming to the Democratic caucus, and he came across Chic Hecht, who was in a state of distress because while eating lunch with the Republican caucus, he had some food lodged in his throat. He couldn't breathe. He staggered out of the Republican conference and, fortuitously, John Kerry recognized that something was wrong. Senator Kerry applied the Heimlich maneuver, and the food came out. Chic Hecht was told by the doctors that he had a matter of a few seconds to live.
Now, to show the kind of man Chic Hecht was, every Christmas, even though he was proud of his Jewish faith, every Christmas thereafter, recognizing that that was a day of celebration for Senator Kerry, Senator Hecht called John Kerry to tell him that he appreciated his having saved his life.
And what a life it was.
Nevada has had a great loss. I hope that Chic's family recognizes the greatness of this man. I know there are many in Nevada who do.
As strongly as I feel about Chic Hecht, his friends run deep in our state. My good friend Art Marshall, who is a good, strong Democrat and has helped me on everything that I have ever done, spoke with admiration of his deep friendship with Chic Hecht. They were from different political parties, but always had a very good relationship. Art called me nearly every day to tell me how Chic was doing while he wrestled with cancer.
Today, Chic's suffering is over. He will be missed.
In time, the pain of his loss will pass, but never our memories and appreciation for this man. Chic Hecht, Senator from Nevada.
