[Fedora]

He called his friend Walinsky, who had run unsuccessfully for New York attorney general and had excellent financial connections. Walinsky arranged a meeting of potential donors at the Seagram Building in New York City. Among those present were Seagram chief executive Edgar M. Bronfman Sr. and about 20 other New York businessmen who opposed the war. Kerry delivered a low-key speech about the importance of having veterans attend the protest. Then the businessmen were each asked to stand and declare how much they would contribute.

"We raised probably $50,000," Walinsky recalled. "It took an hour."

http://www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/061703.shtml

Did Democrat Fat Cats Make John Kerry Famous? [Including Seagram's Bronfman]

So Bronfman was supporting Kerry already way back then in 1971? Very interesting. Bronfman's associate Meyer Lansky had supported Humphrey against Nixon in 1968. Meanwhile that same year Lansky's partner Santos Trafficante, Jr. made a trip to Hong Kong to make an arrangement with some Asian businessmen regarding the prospect of replacing the Turkish supply base for the French Connection with a new supply base in Southeast Asia; related high-level meetings were conducted over the next 3-4 years. The supply route then in use ran through territory controlled by the Union Corse (Lansky's French business partners) in Montreal, which was also the center of the Bronfman Seagram's empire. Curious that in light of that Bronfman should decide to come down on the antiwar side of the political fence by supporting Kerry in 1971.

[gaspar]

There is a long Kerry quote in "Who Spoke Up: American Protest Against the War in Vietnam 1963-1975" by Zaroulis and Sullivan. That quote is taken from "Dewey Canyon III; Kerry and VVAW", appearing in The New Soldier (Edited by Thorn and Butler, Macmillan 1971.) Does anyone know if the article by Kerry in the New Soldier is on line anywhere?