Republican Campaign Rip-Off!

When Cheney campaigned here in Washington State, he took money out of the pockets of King, Snohomish and Spokane county citizens as well as spending Federal tax dollars. Seventeen minutes! A whole 17 Freaken minutes, that's how much time Cheney devoted to 'The Troops' and that's how they wrote off the whole partisan trip.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

POLITICS WATCHDOG
Taxpayers subsidize Cheney GOP rallies
Roulstone, McGavick's $15K covers fraction of trip's cost

JON GAMBRELL
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

For two Republican congressional candidates, Vice President Dick Cheney's April visit to Washington state was a bargain.

For $15,000 apiece, the campaigns of Mike McGavick and Doug Roulstone received media exposure, rallied their supporters and raised money for their races challenging incumbent Democrats this fall.

But that bargain was balanced on the backs of both federal and state taxpayers.

... The airplane used by the vice president, the Boeing C-32, costs between $9,000 and $14,000 an hour to operate, according to estimates in a 2000 U.S. Government Accountability Office report. ...

... The costs also came down on state taxpayers. For the two campaign stops, a total of 15 Washington State Patrol troopers on motorcycles accompanied Cheney, said Sgt. Monica Hunter. She said the State Patrol avoided any overtime costs by adjusting troopers' schedules around the event but received no reimbursement.

The Sheriff's Offices of King, Snohomish and Spokane counties also provided motorcade security during Cheney's visit. ...

[snip] David Hoffman, Roulstone's campaign manager, said the event gave Cheney an opportunity to hear from voters.

"At any campaign event you hear concerns through protesters and supporters," Hoffman said. "He did have one official event for the troops at the Air Force base. That's important during a time of war."

[snip] Cheney's April visit to Washington state included a 17-minute speech to troops at Fairchild Air Force Base. The rest of the time was spent appearing with former U.S. Navy Capt. Doug Roulstone in Everett and former Safeco CEO Mike McGavick in Spokane.