thedrifter
05-24-06, 06:37 AM
Cheney Addresses Thousands Of Marines, Sailors
Vice President To Headline Bilbray Fundraiser
UPDATED: 4:57 pm PDT May 23, 2006
SAN DIEGO -- A large crowd of Marines and sailors assembles for a speech by Vice President Dick Cheney, who is also in San Diego for a $2,100-a-plate fundraiser for Congressional candidate Brian Bilbray.
Cheney is visiting California to provide a boost to three Republicans -- including Bilbray -- who are facing tough challenges in their races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Cheney is concluding his fundraising tour on at a $2,100-a-plate luncheon for Bilbray, who is running in a special election runoff June 6 against Democrat Francine Busby to serve the remaining seven months of jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's term.
Bilbray, a former congressman, lost his seat in 2000 to Democrat Susan Davis, D-San Diego.
Cheney arrived at the event at Sheraton Harbor Island at a little after 11:30 a.m. Before the 12:30 p.m. luncheon, Cheney gave a speech at a rally for the Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group One aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard at San Diego Naval Base. An estimated 3,500 Marines and sailors listened to the vice president's remarks on the deck of the amphibious assault ship.
The troops are part of a strike group that was deployed from July 2005 through February 2006 to the Arabian Gulf and other regions. The vice president said 250,000 Iraqi forces have been trained to fight on behalf of the Iraqi people.
Cheney said that as those forces gain strength and experience, and as the political process advances, the U.S. will be able to decrease troop levels without decreasing our capacity. But, the vice president, said decisions about troop levels will be driven by conditions on the ground and the judgments of our military commanders and not by artificial timelines set by politicians in Washington, D.C.
Cheney is expected to be joined on the dais at the luncheon by San Diego-area Republicans including Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, and former Gov. Pete Wilson, all part of a Southern California GOP establishment that has endorsed Bilbray to replace Cunningham. Among the other Republicans attending the event are County Supervisor Ron Roberts and Harley-Davidson dealer and unsuccessful mayor candidate Myke Shelby.
Cunningham resigned in November amid a growing corruption and bribery scandal. He pleaded guilty to accepting more than $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors and was sentenced in March to eight years in federal prison.
Bilbray has been attacked in the campaign for working as a lobbyist since he left Congress for a variety of interests, including an anti-immigration group and an Indian tribe. On Monday, in advance of Cheney's visit, Busby also accused Bilbray of lobbying on behalf of oil interests.
"The American people are still waiting for answers from Vice President Cheney on which oil company lobbyists wrote our energy policy," Busby said in a statement. "While Cheney is here raising money, Bilbray should stand up for consumers and demand answers from the vice president."
San Diego County Democratic Party Chair Jess Durfee said a group of protesters would be stationed outside the hotel Tuesday to stage a "visibility demonstration."
Cheney's stop in San Diego followed a private luncheon Monday in Sacramento for Rep. John Doolittle of Roseville and a fundraising cocktail hour in Stockton for Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy -- the two veteran California Republican congressman who took the most money from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients.
On Monday, Cheney's luncheon for Doolittle drew a small protest in Sacramento.
Across the street from the downtown hotel where the luncheon was held, about 100 protesters marched with signs, tambourines and drums to criticize the Bush administration. The group was led by the California Nurses Association, which was promoting its initiative for the November ballot that would create a voluntary system of public campaign financing.
In Stockton, police SWAT teams blockaded downtown streets with buses and prepared a park for hundreds of protesters, but none materialized.
Cheney's speech Monday night brought in over $200,000 for Pombo, an eight-term congressman, who faces a surprising primary challenger. Pete McCloskey, a 78-year-old war hero and former congressman, has challenged Pombo on his environmental record and by tapping into voter unrest.
A moderate, McCloskey has cast Pombo as complicit in the Bush administration's deficit spending and abandoning of other core Republican values.
Cheney painted a different picture for 200 Republican donors at Stockton's Bob Hope Theatre, calling Pombo a powerful, respected lawmaker.
"Your congressman is part of a team that has gotten the economy rolling again and has protected the nation in a time of danger. ... He has earned another term in the House of Representatives," Cheney said.
He called the midterm election a referendum on how the two major parties view the war on terror. As he has in the past, Cheney said he welcomed that debate.
"There's a reason we have not been hit again," he said.
McCloskey, who said he used to be friends with Cheney when he served in Congress from 1967-82, said he was surprised by the vice president's swing through California.
"The Dick Cheney I knew would have been appalled at Pombo and Doolittle and the whole Abramoff scandal," McCloskey said. "You have to ask if power has corrupted Dick Cheney."
Pombo received $31,250 from Abramoff and his clients, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group that analyzed political contributions. Pombo has donated to charity the $7,000 he received directly from Abramoff. Doolittle received $56,250 from the former lobbyist and his clients, according to the group, and has kept the money, saying there was nothing improper about it.
Ellie
Vice President To Headline Bilbray Fundraiser
UPDATED: 4:57 pm PDT May 23, 2006
SAN DIEGO -- A large crowd of Marines and sailors assembles for a speech by Vice President Dick Cheney, who is also in San Diego for a $2,100-a-plate fundraiser for Congressional candidate Brian Bilbray.
Cheney is visiting California to provide a boost to three Republicans -- including Bilbray -- who are facing tough challenges in their races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Cheney is concluding his fundraising tour on at a $2,100-a-plate luncheon for Bilbray, who is running in a special election runoff June 6 against Democrat Francine Busby to serve the remaining seven months of jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's term.
Bilbray, a former congressman, lost his seat in 2000 to Democrat Susan Davis, D-San Diego.
Cheney arrived at the event at Sheraton Harbor Island at a little after 11:30 a.m. Before the 12:30 p.m. luncheon, Cheney gave a speech at a rally for the Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group One aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard at San Diego Naval Base. An estimated 3,500 Marines and sailors listened to the vice president's remarks on the deck of the amphibious assault ship.
The troops are part of a strike group that was deployed from July 2005 through February 2006 to the Arabian Gulf and other regions. The vice president said 250,000 Iraqi forces have been trained to fight on behalf of the Iraqi people.
Cheney said that as those forces gain strength and experience, and as the political process advances, the U.S. will be able to decrease troop levels without decreasing our capacity. But, the vice president, said decisions about troop levels will be driven by conditions on the ground and the judgments of our military commanders and not by artificial timelines set by politicians in Washington, D.C.
Cheney is expected to be joined on the dais at the luncheon by San Diego-area Republicans including Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, and former Gov. Pete Wilson, all part of a Southern California GOP establishment that has endorsed Bilbray to replace Cunningham. Among the other Republicans attending the event are County Supervisor Ron Roberts and Harley-Davidson dealer and unsuccessful mayor candidate Myke Shelby.
Cunningham resigned in November amid a growing corruption and bribery scandal. He pleaded guilty to accepting more than $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors and was sentenced in March to eight years in federal prison.
Bilbray has been attacked in the campaign for working as a lobbyist since he left Congress for a variety of interests, including an anti-immigration group and an Indian tribe. On Monday, in advance of Cheney's visit, Busby also accused Bilbray of lobbying on behalf of oil interests.
"The American people are still waiting for answers from Vice President Cheney on which oil company lobbyists wrote our energy policy," Busby said in a statement. "While Cheney is here raising money, Bilbray should stand up for consumers and demand answers from the vice president."
San Diego County Democratic Party Chair Jess Durfee said a group of protesters would be stationed outside the hotel Tuesday to stage a "visibility demonstration."
Cheney's stop in San Diego followed a private luncheon Monday in Sacramento for Rep. John Doolittle of Roseville and a fundraising cocktail hour in Stockton for Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy -- the two veteran California Republican congressman who took the most money from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients.
On Monday, Cheney's luncheon for Doolittle drew a small protest in Sacramento.
Across the street from the downtown hotel where the luncheon was held, about 100 protesters marched with signs, tambourines and drums to criticize the Bush administration. The group was led by the California Nurses Association, which was promoting its initiative for the November ballot that would create a voluntary system of public campaign financing.
In Stockton, police SWAT teams blockaded downtown streets with buses and prepared a park for hundreds of protesters, but none materialized.
Cheney's speech Monday night brought in over $200,000 for Pombo, an eight-term congressman, who faces a surprising primary challenger. Pete McCloskey, a 78-year-old war hero and former congressman, has challenged Pombo on his environmental record and by tapping into voter unrest.
A moderate, McCloskey has cast Pombo as complicit in the Bush administration's deficit spending and abandoning of other core Republican values.
Cheney painted a different picture for 200 Republican donors at Stockton's Bob Hope Theatre, calling Pombo a powerful, respected lawmaker.
"Your congressman is part of a team that has gotten the economy rolling again and has protected the nation in a time of danger. ... He has earned another term in the House of Representatives," Cheney said.
He called the midterm election a referendum on how the two major parties view the war on terror. As he has in the past, Cheney said he welcomed that debate.
"There's a reason we have not been hit again," he said.
McCloskey, who said he used to be friends with Cheney when he served in Congress from 1967-82, said he was surprised by the vice president's swing through California.
"The Dick Cheney I knew would have been appalled at Pombo and Doolittle and the whole Abramoff scandal," McCloskey said. "You have to ask if power has corrupted Dick Cheney."
Pombo received $31,250 from Abramoff and his clients, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group that analyzed political contributions. Pombo has donated to charity the $7,000 he received directly from Abramoff. Doolittle received $56,250 from the former lobbyist and his clients, according to the group, and has kept the money, saying there was nothing improper about it.
Ellie