Vice president comes to Boise
BOISE – Vice President Dick Cheney flew in Wednesday to raise money for Bill Sali, the conservative eight-term Republican state lawmaker running for Idaho’s 1st District congressional seat.
Sali faces Democrat Larry Grant, the former top lawyer at Boise-based computer chipmaker Micron Technology, in the race to replace U.S. Rep. C.L. “Butch” Otter, R-Idaho, who is running for governor.
“The reason we’re here today is to make absolutely sure that Butch Otter’s seat remains in good hands,” Cheney declared.
Sali said he and the vice president spoke for the first time when Cheney stepped off his airplane at the Boise Airport.
About 150 people attended a $125-per-person reception for Sali at the Boise Centre in the Grove convention center. A photo opportunity with Cheney cost $2,100.
Earlier in the day, the vice president campaigned for U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., in Whitefish, Mont.
After Cheney’s visit to Boise, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, is set to come to Post Falls on Tuesday, also to campaign for Sali.
Though Democrats say these visits are meant to bolster the campaigns of vulnerable Republican candidates, Idaho GOP members argue this big-name push will add to the leads of front-runners. Through June 30, Sali has raised more than $552,000. Grant, from Fruitland, Idaho, has reported $216,000.
During a 17-minute speech, Cheney reiterated President Bush’s stand on America continuing the fight in Iraq. To whoops and hollers, he accused Democrats of advocating defeat and retreat. He said Sali, if elected, would follow in the footsteps of U.S. Congress members from the Rocky Mountains who fought liberal lawmakers from the West and East coasts.
“We were always a little offended by everybody on both coasts who wanted to tell us how to do our business. We thought we could handle it just fine, by ourselves,” said Cheney, a former House member from Wyoming. “(Bill Sali) is going to be exactly that kind of congressman.”
Bush carried Idaho’s 1st District with 69 percent of the 2004 vote. District voters haven’t elected a Democrat since Larry LaRocco, who served two terms in the U.S. House beginning in 1990.
Still, Democrats say Cheney’s visit to traditionally Republican Idaho to support Sali, an ardent anti-abortion and anti-tax advocate, shows the GOP is fearful that its majority in Washington, D.C., is in jeopardy.
“It’s a show of desperation,” said Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Richard Stallings. “They know Bill Sali is in trouble.”
To coincide with Cheney’s visit, Grant announced a group called “Republicans for Grant.”
Led by 11 people including Micron founder Ward Parkinson, it’s trying to undermine Sali’s claim that the GOP in Idaho is united behind him. The 11 leaders have raised more than $22,000 combined for Republican candidates since 2002, according to an Associated Press review of state and federal election contributions.
“Bill Sali has a well-documented history of being a candidate who can’t work with anyone,” said Jim Nelson, a Boise businessman in the group. “I can’t hold my nose and vote for somebody who I don’t agree with. It’s almost un-American.”
Sali, who was nearly stripped of his state Legislature committee assignments in April after a conflict with Republican state House leaders, said it was up to Idaho GOP faithful to ensure they replace Otter with one of their own.
“I need your help to spread my message of a strong national defense, with an effective, efficient, limited government,” Sali said after Cheney spoke. “If we don’t get that done, Democrats have a real chance to win.”