Cheney swipes at Kerry during fund-raiser
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Cheney spoke to about 175 supporters who each paid at least $1,000 to attend a reception at a downtown hotel, kicking off a busy week of fund raising by the Bush-Cheney ticket in Tennessee.
First lady Laura Bush was scheduled to attend a fund-raiser Friday in Memphis.
Cheney prompted applause as he described “tremendous progress” in the Bush administration’s aggressive strategy against terrorists and its approach to reviving the economy with tax cuts.
The vice president also took several verbal swipes at presumed Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and his voting record in the U.S. Senate, including what Cheney described as Kerry’s vote against an $87 billion military spending measure. He said Kerry has claimed he voted to appropriate the money.
“These are not times for leaders who shift with the political winds,” Cheney said. “I leave it to Senator Kerry to explain his votes. It is not an impressive record for someone who aspires to become commander in chief.”
Cheney left the reception without seeing about 30 sign-carrying protesters outside the hotel, including some who shouted profane insults at departing Cheney supporters as they walked to a parking garage.
Bob Swansbrough, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga political science professor, said that while “the historic role of Tennessee has been a swing state” in presidential voting, the 2000 election showed it could shift in surprising ways.
Although Tennessee is Al Gore’s home state, George Bush claimed the state’s 11 electoral votes in 2000. Some analysts said Gore did not give enough attention to Tennessee voters during the campaign.
Swansbrough said a Mason-Dixon Poll in February showed a close race when Tennessee voters were asked about a matchup between Bush and John Kerry.
“It’s too early to take Tennessee for granted,” Swansbrough said. “As Gore found out, that is a dangerous proposition.”
After Cheney campaigned in the state in 2002, Tennessee voters elected Democrat Phil Bredesen governor and Democrats claimed a majority in the state’s congressional delegation.
Cheney scheduled no other Tennessee stops during the short visit to Chattanooga and Hamilton County. He campaigned in Roanoke, Va., earlier Monday.
Swansbrough said the Bush-Cheney ticket is “attempting to try to consolidate Southern states generally.” The weak economy and disputes over Iraq “have the potential for eroding support Bush built up in 2000,” he said.
J. Wayne Cropp, chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party, said he has energetic volunteers who are not taking the election for granted. He said Bush and Cheney also should not.
“Certainly, I would encourage them not to take Tennessee for granted,” he said.
Bush last campaigned in Tennessee in January, when he visited a Knoxville inner city school to tout his No Child Left Behind education initiative and attended a fund-raiser.
Kerry appeared at a campaign event in Memphis on Feb. 9.