As the Laxalt-Masto senatorial race comes down to the wire in Nevada, I'm thinking of another US senator from Nevada: my cousin Chic Hecht
It was a big one for our big family back then; we suddenly had a US senator in the family
I was a bit distracted in the Fall of 1982. I had a new baby; and unlike today, I wasn’t all that interested in politics. My husband Paul was. “Did you know your cousin is a right wing Republican?” he asked me one Fall morning as I sat on the couch nursing Molly.
No, I didn’t. And I’m not even sure I grasped the concept all that well at that time.
Chic Hecht was one of my mom’s many first cousins around the country, many of whom were outstandingly brilliant and successful. They were all very close, too. It started when they were all growing up. Their parents saw to that. And after they grew up they all stayed close. And so did many of the cousins of my generation.
Chic had moved to Las Vegas from Cape Girardeau, Missouri as a young man with his father, who was a widower. He ran a retail clothing business, and a bank, and ultimately landed a position in the Nevada State House.
My maternal grandmother ended up moving to Las Vegas, too, as Uncle Louis (Chic’s dad) was one of her favorite siblings. There were 10. And my immediate family spent a lot of time there visiting her—and going to Chic’s house for visits, too. There was always something interesting going on there, like when famous singer Keely Smith moved into the house next door to Chic and his family. I always had my eyes on the window facing her home, so I could perhaps get a look at her.
In 1982, Howard Cannon was the US Senator from Nevada. He’d been there for more than two decades. And he became embroiled in a Teamsters’ scandal.
Chic was drafted to beat the wounded democrat. And he did.
He got to the senate the same year John Kerry did. They were freshmen together. And something profound happened.
One day in the senate dining room, Chic choked on an apple slice that was in his fruit salad. Republican senator Kit Bond from Missouri tried to help but did not succeed. But Democrat Kerry, who had suddenly and fortuitously arrived in the dining room succeeded in administering the Heimlich.
And Chic was forever grateful. In fact, he was so grateful that he and his daughters worked their tails off in 2004 to help Kerry get elected president. Chic got a ton of publicity for doing that. He was even featured in a hilarious segment on the Daily Show that has gone down in history. Everyone appreciated the wonderful gesture of bipartisanship.
Chic was beaten in 1988—but President Reagan appointed him ambassador to the Bahamas!
In 2006, Chic passed away at the age of 77.
Yesterday, my cousin Nancy from Miami texted me, wanting to know if Chic had ever run against Adam’s grandfather Paul Laxalt—an iconic pol from Nevada. I told her no. They served side by side for the six years Chic was there—as the two senators from Nevada. If Adam wins, he will be in the seat his grandfather once held. Senator Jacky Rosen is now occupying the seat Chic held.
I had a chance to meet Rosen a few years ago at a party hosted by US Representative Jan Schakowsky. And I told her who I was. “My cousin once held your seat,” I explained.
“Oh, yes,” she said—a little coolly. “I know of him.”
I guess she was thinking of his right wing roots. Of his being a Republican.
Recalling that story for my cousin Nancy yesterday, I thought to myself, it’s a good thing Kerry was the one who was there that day to save Chic. Not so sure she would have used the Heimlich, even if she knew how. Or that any Democrat would today. Or vice versa.
Politics these days being thicker than water. And blood.
As the Laxalt-Masto senatorial race comes down to the wire in Nevada, I'm thinking of another US senator from Nevada: my cousin Chic Hecht
Thank you for a fun history lesson. Cousins are marvelous, aren't they?