|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
Cheney: 'Battle for the Future of Civilization'
Vice President Dick Cheney returned to the scene of repeated frustration for Republican presidential tickets Monday, launching a spirited defense of the beleaguered Bush administration and promoting GOP congressional candidates. Cheney stumped for U.S. House hopeful Doug Roulstone, a retired Navy commander, and blistered Sen. John Kerry and other national Democrats as weak-kneed on defense. Washington hasn't given its 11 electoral votes to the Republicans since Ronald Reagan was on the ballot in 1984. The Bush-Cheney ticket was swamped twice and has dismal poll standings here. Cheney then flew to Spokane, in more Republican-friendly Eastern Washington, to address troops at Fairchild Air Force Base and to headline a fundraising event for U.S. Senate contender Mike McGavick, who is challenging Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
Story Continues Below During a 17-minute speech inside a giant hanger at Fairchild, Cheney thanked about 500 airmen for their sacrifices in the war in Iraq. "The war on terror is a battle for the future of civilization," Cheney said. "It's a battle we are going to win." Cheney's speech at the base did not deviate much from standard Bush administration defense of the war, saying the terrorist acts of Sept. 11 required a strong U.S. response, and defending the Patriot Act and related measures as essential to the fight.
About 450 airmen from Fairchild are currently deployed overseas, flying the base's KC-135 air refueling tankers.
"We depend on the KC-135s and their crews to support missions around the world," Cheney said.
A reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq will depend on the situation on the ground, "not artificial time lines set by politicians in Washington, D.C," Cheney said.
At the beginning of his speech, Cheney thanked local politicians for attending, including the mayor of nearby Cheney, Wash.
"Sounds like a nice place to visit," Cheney joked.
Cheney also administered the oath of re-enlistment to 16 airmen at the base before leaving for the McGavick fundraiser in Spokane. Some 100 protesters waved signs outside Spokane's Davenport Hotel as Cheney arrived. "This trip says a lot about who Mike McGavick's base is in the coming election," said protester Mike Kress, who held a sign saying "Cheney's Crimes: 9-11, Iraq, Torture." Earlier in the day in Everett, north of Seattle, the vice president was subdued and grim in his 16-minute speech at Roulstone's $250-a-plate luncheon, yet was cheered by the partisan audience repeatedly. Cheney said the Bush administration has helped create full employment and a vibrant economy that is the envy of the world.
But most of his remarks were focused on the Iraq war and global terrorism.
"Our nation is still at risk from attack, but yet the farther we get away from Sept. 11, some in the nation's capital are yielding to the temptation to downplay the threat and back away from the business at hand. That mind-set is dangerous," he said.
Without mentioning them by name, he excoriated Kerry and Democratic national chairman Howard Dean and other Democrats for opposing the president's war effort.
"Our nation has been protected by more than just luck," he said. "It has been protected by sound policies and by decisive action at home and abroad."
He defended the administration's support for the Patriot Act and surveillance, which he called "terrorist surveillance programs," and not domestic spying that violates people's civil liberties.
"Either we are serious (about) winning this fight or we are not," the vice president said. "With George W. Bush leading this nation, we are serious and we will not let down our guard. This is a goal worthy of America's principles and worthy of our history."
The Everett event drew about 300, including some supporters who paid $2,100 for a ticket that included a photo with the vice president. State Republican Chairwoman Diane Tebelius said the event "injected enormous excitement into the Roulstone campaign. It brings total cache to the campaign. He really fires everyone up and this will be a shot in the arm. This is my upset special for a Republican taking out a Democratic member of our delegation."
Cheney, the former secretary of defense, said Roulstone would be an outstanding representative of the 2nd District, an area of Navy installations that is heavily dependent on military and retirement paychecks.
Roulstone, a businessman who is challenging Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. now in his third term in a political swing district - ended his 27-year Navy career as captain in command of the aircraft carrier USS John C. S-tennis.
Roulstone welcomed the attention and the fundraising help, but Democrats mocked Cheney as "the poster child for all that is wrong with this administration."
© 2006 Associated Press.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
2006 Elections Inside Cover Stories
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Print Page 
Forward Page 
|
| All Rights Reserved © 2009 NewsMax.Com |