Bush Helps Steele to A Quick $500,000

Washington Post ^ | Dec 1, 2005 | Robert Barnes

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BALTIMORE, Nov. 30 -- President Bush choppered into town Wednesday on behalf of Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, leaving behind a fatter campaign treasury for Steele's U.S. Senate bid and demands from Democrats that Steele spell out where he stands on the president's agenda. Bush made it a quick stop on his third fundraising event in as many days for 2006 Republican congressional candidates. He posed for photos with supporters who paid $5,000 and gave an approximately 15-minute pep talk to those and others who paid $125 for a "stand-up" lunch of stadium fare at M&T Bank Stadium, where the Baltimore Ravens play. The total take should be about $500,000, said campaign spokesman Leonardo Alcivar, who quickly added that it was inappropriate to compare it with fundraising events Bush has done for candidates in the region that raised much more money. For instance, Bush pulled in more than $2 million for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore at a McLean event this past summer, and Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. raised about $1.8 million at an event with the president during Ehrlich's successful 2002 gubernatorial campaign. But Alcivar noted that those events came in the thick of an election -- Steele's is more than 11 months away -- and with different fundraising rules from those that govern a federal campaign. "We're happy with both the dollar amount of contributions we received and the number of attendees," said Alcivar, who added that about 800 tickets were sold, although far fewer people were at the lunchtime event.

[Coop]

I just find $500,000 for a Presidential fundraiser to be a frighteningly low $$ haul and I hope it isn't a sign of trouble for Steele.

I don't. It's a year out and held between the holidays. And the last I checked, a half million bucks helps in any state -- even Maryland.

Your exaggerated rhetoric is definitely making me question your sincerity. Are you friends with MD4Bush?

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No idea who MD4Bush is, I just follow the fundraising #'s pretty closely, and I believe Steele is the only Senate candidate so far this year to not net over $1 Million from his event with Bush, and I'm curious why, your holiday explanation might be relevant. The bottom line is for the good of the country and the Bush agenda, we have GOT to hold the Senate this year, so I want to make sure we are as diligent as possible about focusing on holding existing Republican seats and using our resources as wisely as possible.