Republican Candidates Don’t Want To Be Seen With Bush or Cheney…
…but they’re happy to take the money generated at GOP fundraisers.
Bush has scheduled fundraisers Friday for Rep. Mike Sodrel of Indiana at The Murat Centre in Indianapolis and for Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., at a private residence in the Pittsburgh area.
He’s doing another one at a Washington hotel on Monday for Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., where $1,000 will get you in the door, and $10,000 in combined contributions from others will get you a “photo opportunity with the president,” according to an invitation.
Bush and Santorum, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, are not scheduled to appear together publicly on Friday. Santorum, trailing Democrat Bob Casey in polls, broke with Bush on a plan to have an Arab company based in Dubai run terminals at some U.S. ports and has raised concerns about the administration’s conduct of the war in Iraq.
When Bush went to Cleveland earlier in the week to make a major speech on Iraq, there was a noticeable absence of top Ohio Republicans, including Sen. Mike DeWine, who is locked in a tight re-election race.
Cheney went to Newark, N.J., earlier in the week to help raise $400,000 for New Jersey GOP Senate candidate Tom Kean Jr. But Kean showed up 15 minutes after Cheney left. Kean said he got stuck in traffic, a claim critics questioned based on the route he took.
Michael Steele, the GOP Senate candidate in Maryland, skipped Bush’s speech at the U.S. Naval Academy in November, but joined the president later at a $500,000 fundraiser. Last month, GOP Senate candidate Mark Kennedy in Minnesota did not attend an appearance by Bush at a 3M Corp. plant outside Minneapolis, but joined him later at a fundraiser.
Gee, that seems a bit rude. Poor W; he’s like the secret boyfriend who’s great for a little hanky panky but not good enough to take home to meet the parents. It’s almost enough to make me feel a little sorry for him. Almost.