GOP might skip Bush's visit to state
2006-09-08
Source: The Detroit News
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rss feedPresident Bush sprints through southeast Michigan for a three-hour visit today to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Republican Senate candidate Michael Bouchard -- and to raise a tough question for other GOP politicians.
Do you stand beside the standard bearer of your party, a president still popular with his conservative base? Or do you maintain a distance from a politician to whom most of America -- and Michigan -- gives a failing grade?
With the president's approval ratings hovering around 40 percent, GOP candidates around the country have stayed away when Bush visited their districts -- U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake of Virginia didn't even attend a Bush fundraising event for her campaign, and Senate candidate Thomas Kean of New Jersey showed up at his fundraiser after Bush had left.
Today in Clarkston, where Bush could raise $1 million or more for Bouchard, the candidate will be there. So will Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers and Joe Knollenberg.
Other Michigan Republicans say they have previous events they can't reschedule to attend the president's visit, which was announced last week. Rep. Dave Camp of Midland will be in his hometown at an event for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a 2008 presidential contender and son of a former Michigan governor; Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Holland will be in Minnesota campaigning with Rep. Gil Gutknecht.
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