Posted on 09/15/2003 12:27:24 PM PDT by .cnI redruM
WASHINGTON -- While most of the nation was stooped in silence Thursday morning to commemorate the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Sen. Patty Murray was holding a $1,000-a-plate fund-raising breakfast in the nation's Capitol.
The event, which raised $10,000 for Murray's campaign against George Nethercutt, was denounced by Republicans as tawdry. Even some Democrats privately questioned the wisdom of holding a fund-raiser on what is still a mournful day.
"I think this says a great deal about Senator Murray's judgment and priorities," Washington state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance said.
A senior Republican strategist in Washington, D.C., expressed disbelief that anyone would hold a fund-raiser that day. He said he knew of no Republicans who held events.
POLL Do you agree with Sen. Patty Murray's decision to hold a $1,000-a-plate fund-raising breakfast on the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks?
30.1% Yes
69.9% No
Total Votes: 143
A Democratic strategist said he would have strongly recommended against holding any event -- either fund-raising or political -- on Thursday because of the public's sensitivity to the anniversary.
"It's hard to believe that anybody could forget the two-year anniversary when there were so many remembrances being held to mark the solemn occasion," the Republican strategist said.
But Murray defended the event, pointing out that she attended a candlelight ceremony in Seattle Thursday evening and stressing that she has worked hard to improve the nation's security in the wake of the attack.
"I woke up (Thursday) morning with a sense of sadness of what happened two years ago," she said in an interview. "Certainly I weighed everything I did (Thursday) against that, as I'm sure every American did.
"Every American works through that day in their own way. I think any attempt to try pinpointing this as something else is politicizing the day."
The fund-raiser took place at the Monocle, a restaurant frequently used by senators and lobbyists because it is only steps away from the three Senate office buildings. An aide to Murray would not provide a guest list, but said it was a small group of supporters and that $10,000 was raised.
The breakfast was reportedly held from 8:30 to 9:30, which spanned the time two years ago when the two Boeing jetliners crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center.
Whether the episode will harm Murray is impossible to know. Democrats said they doubt it will register with voters.
"This is an issue that plays in Washington, D.C., but it's just not playing in Washington state," said Cathy Allen, a Democratic strategist in Seattle.
"With all due respect to the tragedies, there is a saturation point where the heart can't bleed any longer. I think most people are trying their best to move on. Most people now, when it comes to news of fund-raisers, most people's eyes just glaze over."
Critics, she said, "will find 150 reasons for calling disrespectful attention to Patty Murray. Most people out here are likely to think it's all in the game of the people who are against her anyway."
Others, however, aren't as sure. As well as the timing of the fund-raiser, they point out the comments Murray made in December in which she suggested that Osama bin Laden was popular in some countries because he was building schools, roads and other needed facilities while the United States and its allies were not.
Although the remark triggered an uproar, political analysts said Murray could survive it unless subsequent missteps created a pattern, which could raise doubts among voters.
Republicans also have been involved in controversy over raising money and the terrorist attacks. In May 2002, Democrats bitterly complained about a plan by the Republican National Committee to sell pictures of President Bush making a phone call during in the hours after the Sept. 11 attacks. Democrats said the idea was "grotesque."
The photo of Bush calling Vice President Dick Cheney from Air Force One just hours after the terror attacks is part of a three-picture set the National Republican Senatorial Committee and its House counterpart promised to anyone who donated $150 or more.
The controversy over Murray's fund-raiser also spilled into the state's Republican apparatus. Murray supporters condemned Vance for making telephone calls on Thursday to sell tickets to an awards dinner that doubles as a fund-raiser.
A spokeswoman for the party dismissed the criticism, saying the few calls made by Vance Thursday afternoon do not compare to Murray holding a formal fund-raiser in the morning.
How can we not? They're all over the place, and stinking up the air.
Patty Mohammond dug her own political grave. Let her rest in it.
"Potomac Watch: Murray tries to fend off criticism of her 9/11 fund-raiser."... implying a lack of success in doing so.
Plus the fact that the body or the story would be prominently calling for her resignation, arrest and dismemberment.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.