President Bush stopped in Colorado on Wednesday to stump for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez, boosting Beauprez’s coffers but prompting Democratic attacks on his ties to an unpopular president.
The Beauprez campaign estimated 500 people listened to Bush’s 30-minute luncheon speech at the Inverness Hotel. The cost was $1,000 per person.
The event should help close the gap between Beauprez’s lagging fundraising and that of his Democratic rival, Bill Ritter. But Democrats hope the visit will give them ammunition to tie Beauprez closely to Bush in the hope that Republicans unhappy with the president will look elsewhere on election day.
“What it does is makes Republicans even clearer about coming out to vote for Democratic candidates, and it certainly mobilizes our base,” said Pat Waak, state Democratic Party chair. “I think it’s great. Come more. How about having (House Speaker Dennis) Hastert come back? We welcome them all,” she said.
Political analysts say the event was a calculated move.
“Beauprez, in my view, had to weigh the president’s ability to raise money against the obvious negatives of having the president come into your state and be photographed campaigning with the president. It’s a real trade-off there,” said Bob Loevy, a political science professor at Colorado College.
Still, Beauprez praised Bush as a legendary leader. “In the time of great trials, great leaders emerge – Washington, Lincoln, Churchill and Bush.”
Bush returned the compliment.
“I’m proud to be here with Bob Beauprez. I’ve gotten to know him quite well,” he said. “He’s a person who understands that as the chief executive officer of a state … you have to have a vision and the capacity to make decisions necessary to achieve that vision.”
Much of his speech focused on the war on terror.
“I believe that we must achieve victory in Iraq to make sure America is secure. Democrats in Washington believe Iraq is a distraction from the war on terror. These are decent people and they’re patriotic people – they just happen to be wrong people,” Bush said to laughter.
“If you don’t believe me, if people in Colorado are doubtful about whether Iraq is important to the security of the United States, I would hope they would listen to the words of Osama bin Laden, or the No. 2 man in al-Qaeda, (Ayman) al-Zawahiri, both of whom have proclaimed loud and clear that Iraq is essential to their plans. See, they believe America is weak, and if they can kill enough innocent people, we’ll retreat.”
Hastert has come under criticism for his handling of former GOP Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned after admitting to sending sexually explicit messages to teenage boys working as House pages. Bush has said he supports the speaker.
Democratic groups protested Bush’s arrival with, among other things, the launch of the “Both-Ways-Bob Mobile,” which features life-size bobbleheads of Bush, Beauprez and other national Republicans.
Anti-Bush sentiment also reared its head Wednesday at Republican Rick O’Donnell’s campaign headquarters, where officials said vandals spread nails in the parking lot. A tire on his car and that of an intern’s were punctured.
They also spray-painted one of the signs for the 7th Congressional District candidate, putting a slash through a “W,” an apparent reference to Bush’s middle initial. Bush and members of his cabinet have been to Colorado previously to raise money for O’Donnell.
Democrats criticized Republican Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, saying she broke the law by co-chairing the Bush fundraiser.
Dennis said the law prevents her from chairing a campaign, not a fundraiser. The state’s top election official said she was just supporting her party.
“I just don’t see what the big hoopla is over this since, if people don’t want the secretary of state to be a partisan position, then they need to change the constitution.”
