[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 63 (Friday, May 7, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E791-E792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MARY McGRORY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 2004

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mary McGrory. 
Mary McGrory was known for her strong opinions, which were liberal 
without equivocation or apology. But when I think of Mary, I will 
always remember her as a newspaper reporter, who gathered facts the 
old-fashioned way: by watching events and taking notes, staking out 
meetings of congressional leadership to be the first to get an 
interview, and relentlessly working the phones.
  When she received a press club award in 1998, Mary said, ``I should 
confess that I always felt a little sorry for people who didn't work 
for newspapers.'' We shared a deep love of both politics and print 
journalism, and I think her commitment to reporting is what set her 
work apart from her peers. At a time when commentators often try to 
substitute spin and

[[Page E792]]

second-hand analysis for the hard work of original reporting, Mary 
stood out for offering fresh insight backed up by her own interviews 
and observations.
  Over the course of more than 50 years in Washington, Mary covered 
every major story in American politics, from McCarthyism to the Kennedy 
era to Vietnam to Watergate to the September 11 attacks. And because 
she formed opinions based on her own reporting, Mary didn't have to try 
to tell anyone what to think to be effective--she let us inside her 
mind to see just how she worked through the events. The result was far 
more powerful than what passes for ``analysis'' among the talking heads 
and pundits who now dominate political journalism.
  An early example was her work covering the Army-McCarthy hearings for 
the Washington Star in 1954, when she found the telling details to 
describe the investigation led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. ``For eight 
days,'' she wrote, ``the Army secretary has been having his honesty 
questioned, his motives impugned and his patriotism challenged. He has 
been bullied, baited and patronized. He has been treated like a 
stubborn and not very bright child. Throughout his ordeal, moreover, he 
has been subjected to the rather jostling familiarity of Senator 
McCarthy, who calls him `Bob.' ''
  Mary was a star attraction at my annual legislative seminar, where 
she entertained and educated my constituents with a lifetime of stories 
about Washington and the political figures that have shaped the nation. 
She spoke at the event in 1998, 1999 and 2001.
  But even though Mary knew the leading figures on Capitol Hill--and 
watched generations of congressional leaders come and go--she was 
always more interested in writing about the underdog, the long shot, or 
the worthy cause that seemed to have no chance of success. ``If you 
want to abolish land mines, if you want to reform campaign spending'' 
or ``if you want to save children from abuse, or stupid laws, or 
thickheaded judges, you have my telephone number,'' she once said. 
``All the places of little hope, that's my constituency.''
  I am proud to have been part of her constituency, and when I look at 
the picture on my desk of her with my son, Bobby, I will remember her 
deep sense of compassion.
  As Bobby gets older, I will show him that picture and tell him about 
what made Mary one of the greats of her profession--her remarkable 
commitment to everything that makes newspaper reporting a noble 
calling.

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