H.J. (Heinz) tries to keep name out of presidential race

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04087/292308.stm

Seeking to keep itself from getting entangled in the presidential election campaign, the H.J. Heinz Co. insists that there should be no political considerations in what kind of ketchup you put on your freedom fries.

Reacting to agitation and speculation carried on conservative talk radio and the Internet, the Pittsburgh-based food firm issued a press release this week emphasizing that Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry, has no role in the management of the firm that is the source of her inherited wealth.

A variety of Web-based forums and talk shows have spotlighted the Kerry-Heinz connection. Several Web logs have featured debates over whether Heinz products should be boycotted to make a statement about presidential politics.

"In light of some misleading speculation,'' the company said in a news release, "The H.J. Heinz Co. would like to make it clear that neither Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry, Sen. John Kerry, nor any member of their family is involved in the management or the board of the H.J. Heinz Co.

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On an Internet forum, Blogforbush, for example, is this posting:

"It is interesting how Kerry gets a free pass on the fact that his wife's company has operations around the world. H.J. Heinz Co. has 79 factories of which 57 (how ironic) are located in places like Poland, Venezuela, Botswana, Thailand, China, and India. Think of the American jobs lost to those countries.''