[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 119 (Thursday, September 19, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8915-S8916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MICKIE PAILTHORP

 Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today to share with the 
Senate a tribute to Mickie Pailthorp, a leader in my home State of 
Washington who passed away on July 31, 2002. On August 8, I was honored 
to speak at a memorial service for Mickie, and today I want to

[[Page S8916]]

share her accomplishments with my colleages.
  I will never forget my first meeting with Mickie Pailthorp. It was 
early in 1992, and I had just announced that I was running for the U.S. 
Senate. Many in the established political community had written me off. 
They said I hadn't paid my dues. They said I couldn't raise the money. 
They even said I was too short.
  Many dismissed me sight unseen, but Mickie decided to find out for 
herself. Shortly after I announced, Mickie called my campaign office. 
She said she was thinking about supporting me because I was a woman 
candidate, but she absolutely had to meet me first. I thought, ``No 
problem.'' We met at a restaurant for what I thought would be a casual 
dinner.
  Instead, Mickie grilled me for over an hour. She wanted to know very 
specifically what I was going to do about this issue and that issue. 
She wanted to know why I thought I could win, and she wanted to know 
that I would work hard. To be honest, by the end of our dinner, I 
really wasn't sure whether she was going to help me.
  But before I knew it, she was one of my strongest behind-the-scenes 
supporters, and her support made a difference. Mickie quietly opened 
doors for me. She got me into places that I couldn't go on my own.
  When I won the election, she didn't come after me seeking favors or 
demanding credit, but I knew she was watching. Every year at Joel and 
Mickie's Christmas party, she would come up to me and say very quietly 
either: ``I was really proud of what you did here.'' Or more sternly, 
``Now you've got to be careful about this.'' So I knew she was 
watching.
  When I think about Mickie, I remember her as whirlwind of passion and 
energy. She was there fighting the good fight for women on the ERA and 
so many other issues before it was popular and before it seemed 
possible. One of the things that made Mickie so unique is that she 
didn't seek any credit. She was happy to work behind the scenes. Mickie 
never needed to be the ``picture'' for the cause, but she clearly 
painted every line.
  Some leaders climb up to the top and when they get there they pull up 
the ladder behind them and leave everyone else stuck below. But 
Mickie's whole purpose was to help other women make it to the top, and 
she did that well. So today, while a generation of young women might 
not know Mickie's name, they know the women she helped elect. And they 
know that they can make a difference, too.
  Mickie Pailthorp was not a visible women's leader, but she made a lot 
of other women leaders visible. And because Mickie didn't trumpet her 
own accomplishments, it's up to us to make sure that others know about 
this remarkable woman and carry on her legacy. So I invite Mickie's 
friends and fans in Washington State to tell their children and 
grandchildren about an energetic, passionate woman named Mickie 
Pailthorp, and the opportunities she gave all of us.

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