Bush in town to stump for Kennedy campaign
12/09/2005
Dane Smith and Rochelle Olson,
Star Tribune
Last update: December 9, 2005 at 11:37 AM
President George W. Bush landed at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport at 11:17 am this morning, on his way to speak at a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kennedy at the downtown Minneapolis Hilton. Kennedy flew to the Twin Cities with Bush aboard Air Force One, and the two waved together to a crowd of well wishers as they left the plane.
Protesters were expected near the hotel. At least three groups were organizing protests—Veterans for Peace, Youth Against War and Racism, and the Twin Cities Peace Committee/Focus on Iraq.
DFL Senate candidate, Ford Bell, president of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, plans to buy lunch for military veterans at the Market Bar-B-Que near the Hilton and intends to draw attention to Kennedy’s votes for reductions in veterans programs.
DFL Party Chair Brian Melendez has rented a room on Hilton’s 20th floor, where he will be available to personally deliver his party’s reaction to the fundraiser.
Taking note of a recent St. Cloud State University Survey that shows Kennedy, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Sen. Norm Coleman and President Bush with low approval ratings, Melendez said Thursday that “three of the most unpopular people in Minnesota” will be taking the stage with Bush. ... “And they’re unpopular for a reason. They all vote the same way and Minnesotans don’t like their policies.”
Bush’s visit comes as his national approval ratings are beginning to rise from record lows amid intensifying debate over the war in Iraq and critics’ calls for a timetable for American withdrawl.
Former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, chairman of the fundraising effort, said Thursday that he’s confident of reaching a goal of collecting about $1 million from 800 to 900 donors. Boschwitz said he thought that the protests and counter-events were “just fine” but that protesters eventually will be perceived as on the wrong side of history.
“There were protests outside every time [President Ronald] Reagan came to town, and after the end of his second term, the world was a better and safer place,” Boschwitz said. “We’re making progress in Iraq. It’s not all blood and guts.”