GOP cheers Cheney

EVERETT – Vice President Dick Cheney dropped by an Everett hotel Monday to energize the faithful and pad the congressional campaign coffer of Republican Doug Roulstone.

In a 75-minute stop at the Holiday Inn, Cheney sat for photos with some donors and met privately with others before delivering a 17-minute speech that began with a strong endorsement of Roulstone to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash.

Dan Bates / The Herald

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Vice President Dick Cheney (right) shakes hands with congressional candidate Doug Roulstone on Monday after addressing a crowd of Republicans during a fundraiser for Roulstone at the Holiday Inn in Everett.

“In Doug, you’ve got one of the finest candidates you possibly can have,” Cheney told 280 people who each paid at least $250 to attend the fundraiser. “He is a man of principle and a man of his words.”

Cheney’s speech focused mostly on the Bush administration’s handling of the economy, the war in Iraq and national security. He drew applause when he called for making permanent President Bush’s tax cuts and not retreating in the fight against terrorism.

Cheney said the administration’s much-criticized surveillance program “has protected American lives and maintained the security of the United States” against terrorists whose organizations are “weakened, fractured, but still lethal.”

And he earned his loudest cheers when he said troop levels in Iraq would be “determined by our military commanders on the ground,” not politicians in Washington, D.C.

Cheney praised Roulstone, a retired and decorated Navy captain, as the type of person who would not back down or be swayed by polls in dealing with the issue.

Roulstone served 27 years in the Navy, retiring in 1999 after commanding the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier. He now is a partner in Damar Machine Co. in Monroe.

Roulstone said he was honored by Cheney’s appearance. There is a possibility his ties to the vice president could cost him votes, because national polls show Cheney’s approval ratings sinking around the country.

While Cheney remains wildly popular with GOP loyalists, polls show he is detested by Democrats and losing favor with independents, who make up the decisive bounty in the 2nd Congressional District where Roulstone is running.

“We will see if it is good politics,” Roulstone said of the visit. “You don’t worry at this point in the campaign. You just go out and work as hard as you can.”

Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Bellevue, attended Monday and joked about Cheney’s popularity.

Reichert, citing news reports that he might attend the event, said he brought it up with the vice president. Cheney’s reply, according to Reichert, was, “I will come out to Washington to campaign for your opponent if it will help you win.”

Roulstone faces a tough challenge in defeating Larsen, of Everett, who was first elected to Congress in 2000. Money is one of his needs.

Federal campaign finance reports released Monday showed Roulstone’s campaign had $282,666 on hand as of March 31; Larsen’s total was $820,277.

Tickets for the Everett fundraiser Monday cost $250. Photos with the vice president were available for $2,100 a couple. Fifty photos were snapped, said Roulstone campaign manager David Hoffman.

Dullain Ehrlich of Mill Creek did her part: she got two photos with the vice president.

“I’ve had an opportunity to watch Doug and his progression in politics. He will be an activist for us and the state of Washington,” she said. Larsen has “done an all-right job, but he’s not done an outstanding job.”

Also Monday, Cheney met privately with Roulstone and seven other Republican leaders for a free-ranging roundtable discussion.

Andy Valrosa, chairman of the Island County Republican Party, was one of those in the room.

“I thought it was awesome,” he said. “It was very casual, nothing rehearsed.”

The primary topic was immigration reform – a subject Cheney did not bring up in his speech to the full crowd.

Valrosa said several people stressed the need to control the borders.

“We have to address how to stop more illegals from coming, be it from the north or the south,” he said.

National security was another topic. Valrosa said he agreed when the vice president said the public might slip into a comfortable complacency about the nation’s security because there have been no attacks on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

“There are still a lot of people out there who want us dead,” he said.

Monday marked Cheney’s 48th political fundraiser since January 2005 and his 26th for a House of Representatives candidate.

After the luncheon, Cheney returned to Air Force Two and flew from Paine Field to Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane for a public rally.

Monday evening, Cheney attended his 49th fundraiser, headlining an event for Republican Mike McGavick, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.