Michigan News
| George W. Bush Fundraises for Tim Walberg |
| Posted by Karen (karen) on Jul 09 2008 at 8:27 PM |
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - The Associated Press
IVONIA, Mich. (AP) — President Bush may be a lame duck, but around 300 Michigan Republicans still paid $1,000 a plate for a dinner this evening with the president.
Bush was to be the keynote speaker at the Max M. Fisher National Republican Award Dinner at Laurel Manor.
The dinner was to raise money for the state Republican Party. Michigan is expected to be a battleground in the presidential race between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
Democrats also are expected to hotly contest seats held by two GOP congressional incumbents, Joe Knollenberg of Oakland County’s Bloomfield Township and Tim Walberg of Tipton. The Republican Party is expected to use the money to help candidates and turn out voters.
Around a dozen protesters gathered across the street to protest the president’s visit. They held signs that said, “We need jobs” and “Fair trade, not free trade.”
Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said in statement that the beleaguered state has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs during the Bush presidency.
“Bush is here to try and help save the ailing campaigns of Joe Knollenberg and Tim Walberg, two congressmen who have rubber-stamped Bush’s failed policies that have shipped our jobs overseas and left us in a mismanaged war," Brewer said. “The Republicans are completely out of touch if they think the Bush-McCain policies that put Michigan in this mess will be helpful for our state, regardless of the millions they may bring in today.”
But Chuck Yob, who’s helping with McCain’s Michigan campaign, said the state would do well with McCain in the White House.
“He knows Michigan,” Yob said while attending the dinner. “He understands the problems and he knows what’s going on, and he’s committed to helping us.”
He said the Arizona senator would campaign in eastern Michigan on July 10 and in western Michigan on July 17.
“We’re one of the targeted states, and he’s going to come here as much as we need him,” Yob said.
Some donors paid $5,000 for dinner and photo reception with the president.
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