Posted on 07/01/2003 12:02:37 PM PDT by FourPeas
Cheney pulls in $500,000 for Bush's re-election run Tuesday, July 01, 2003 By Steven Harmon
At an event that raises more than $500,000, confidence is not typically in short supply. With Vice President Dick Cheney in Grand Rapids on Monday raising money for President Bush's re-election campaign, West Michigan Republicans could not be faulted for feeling ascendant. "Things look pretty good, especially today," said Roosevelt Tillman, a businessman who attended the noon fund-raiser at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. "You raise over a half-million dollars at a lunch, it speaks volumes about the president and his leadership." For $1,000 a plate -- $2,000 for some who wanted to max out on their contributions -- 330 Bush supporters were served marinated chicken breast, beef brisket and barbecue ribs, along with redskin potatoes, coleslaw, fruit salad and baked beans. Raspberry shortcake stood in as dessert. Some of those plates were hardly touched. And Cheney, after poking fun at his charisma deficit, spoke for only 15 minutes. But the food or the speech wasn't the main reason supporters paid good money to make the in-crowd. It was to channel their commitment to Bush through Cheney. "He's made people proud again of the presidency," said Betsy DeVos, the Michigan state Republican Party chairman and West Michigan GOP activist. "I think Republicans are very optimistic and energized by the way the president has led." The $500,000 collected at the lunch will be added to the Bush/Cheney campaign finance report, due Monday. The campaign was expected to have raised $20 million in a two-week show of force in which Bush, Cheney and Laura Bush fanned out across the country. In all, the Bush-Cheney team is predicting it will raise a record $170 million to spend during the primary period that ends after the Republican national convention in September 2004. Karl Hascall, an Ada businessman, did his part, selling five $1,000 tickets and buying one each for himself and his wife. "These tickets were not a hard sell," Hascall said. "It reflects people are confident and eager to support the president." With Democrats at least nine months away from settling on a nominee, Republicans believe they have everything going for them, even with a still-sour economy, continued casualties in Iraq, and looming questions about whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. "We're the party that stands for freedom," said former state Sen. Glenn Steil Sr., a member of the Bush-Cheney state finance committee. "We're on the right track, we've got the momentum, and Democrats just like to cater to the masses instead of doing what's right." Cheney, introduced by Peter Secchia, former U.S. ambassador to Italy and Grand Rapids GOP activist, took in a minute-long standing ovation before slipping in his best one-liner of the afternoon. "There's no denying the power of raw charisma," he said. Cheney, speaking of his wife, Lynn, said Grand Rapids has been "an important part of our lives, ever since our friendship with Gerald Ford," the Grand Rapids favorite son-turned president whom Cheney served as chief of staff. In what will likely be a major campaign theme, Cheney stressed Bush's response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. "In the weeks after the attacks, people in every part of the country took great comfort and pride in the conduct of the president," Cheney said. "Enemies began to realize what a grave miscalculation it was to make an enemy of the United States. "Our job is not the rest on our record, but keep adding to it," Cheney said. That included opposing "threats to our freedom and security. This war on terrorism will continue until every enemy who plots against the United States is defeated." Cheney pointed to tax cuts, education reform, Medicare reform, liability reform and filling vacancies on the federal judiciary as key issues. "We will run hard and take nothing for granted," he said.
The Grand Rapids Press
Later on - I caught the local news and the media showed the same 6 people over and over again. Not much of a turnout on their side.
BTW - I waved to the kool-aid drinkers with almost all of my fingers (bwahahah-hahaha)
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