[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 58 (Thursday, April 22, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E621-E622]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING MARGARET ``MIDGE'' COSTANZA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2010

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate 
the life of Margaret ``Midge'' Costanza, a personal friend of mine, a 
mentor to women in politics across our country, and a naturally 
charismatic and colorful American treasure. Midge was outspoken and 
altruistic, passionate, witty and direct. You always knew where you 
stood with Midge and, whether you agreed with her or not, you valued 
her perspective and enjoyed being around her.
  During her more than fifty years of public service and civic 
activism, Midge did more than break down barriers. She established new 
patterns. History records her accomplishments as a series of firsts. 
She was the first woman elected to the Rochester City Council. She was 
the first woman with an office in the West Wing of the White House. She 
was one of the first women in politics to grace the cover of Newsweek. 
But being first wasn't what defined Midge; it was what she did once 
there that marked her legacy.
  When President Carter gave her an office in the West Wing, Midge used 
it to be a ``window to the nation.'' She brought constituencies into 
the White House that had never been there before. She met with gay and 
lesbian leaders, the poor, and the disabled. She was particularly 
active in fighting for women's equality, advocating for issues 
including the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and the protection 
of women's reproductive rights.
  Midge championed women in politics, supporting female candidates at 
all levels and working to appoint more women to high office. When she 
worked in the White House, there were only eighteen women in the House 
of Representatives and two in the Senate. Today, seventy-six women 
serve in the House and seventeen serve in the Senate. As a prime 
example of her dry wit Midge once remarked on this subject, ``When we 
start electing and appointing mediocre women--then, and only then, we 
will achieve total equality with men.''
  I attended some of the numerous trainings Midge conducted for women 
candidates of both parties. She coached us in the art of public 
speaking. She was a wonderful teacher who helped women develop 
confidence in their abilities. But she was more than a public speaker; 
she was a storyteller. She could captivate an audience with a story of 
her time in the Carter Administration, boasting that Mikhail 
Baryshnikov flirtatiously asked her to dance at a White House event, or 
she would show a photo of herself playfully sparring with Muhammad Ali.
  Midge's gift for speaking was her ability to move her listeners. She 
could make an audience feel as strongly as she did about an issue, and 
charm them with the force of her convictions and the forcefulness of 
her words. And she could instantly move an audience from heartfelt 
passion to unbridled laughter.
  I learned a great deal from Midge, and I was proud to have her as my 
guest at President Obama's inauguration. Part of her legacy is the fact 
that today, it is not just women working in the West Wing who make the 
cover of Newsweek, but women running for President who do as well.
  Midge was fond of hearing people say to her, ``You've come a long 
way, baby.'' She would coyly reply, ``Gosh, have I come a long way. And 
I love being called baby.'' Because of Midge, our political system has 
come a long way, as well. Many of us in office today owe a debt of 
gratitude to Midge Costanza, our mentor and friend, because she was 
willing to go first.

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