Cheney rallies troops, woos voters in 1-day visit to state

By Warren Cornwall, Ralph Thomas and Leslie Fulbright
Seattle Times staff reporters

	ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES Cheney's presence in Bellevue drew a mixed response at the corner of Northeast Eighth Street and Bellevue Way Northeast, where supporters and protesters competed for honks and waves from passengers stuck in traffic.
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A victory for Republican Congressman George Nethercutt in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Patty Murray would help President Bush get Senate votes on judicial nominees and buttress the administration's war against terror, Vice President Dick Cheney told a cheering Bellevue audience yesterday.

His appearance at a $500-a-plate fund-raiser for the Spokane congressman capped a one-day trip to Washington state that was part pep rally for military personnel and part campaign stop for Nethercutt as well as the 2004 Bush-Cheney ticket.

State Republican leaders cast the visit by Cheney, preceded in August by President Bush, as evidence that the national Republican leadership has its eyes on Washington in the 2004 election.

"What I've been told clearly is we are an important state," said state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance.

The settings of Cheney's two stops differed dramatically. At McChord Air Force Base in Pierce County, where he landed, the vice president dined with several dozen soldiers in the base cafeteria on fish, succotash and salad. At the Hyatt Regency Bellevue, supporters dined on lamb kabobs and stuffed prawns.

But in both settings Cheney focused on promoting the administration's response to terrorism as farsighted and necessary.

"We always have to remember, we do everything we can to defend ourselves here at home, build as strong as possible defenses," Cheney told military personnel gathered at the base, "but if we're 99 percent successful, the 1 percent that gets through can still kill you. Defense isn't enough. We also have to go on offense."

His comments drew applause from both audiences.

	STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Vice President Dick Cheney greets families and members of the military at McChord Air Force Base in Pierce County during yesterday's one-day trip to Washington state.

But in Bellevue his presence drew a mixed response at the corner of Northeast Eighth Street and Bellevue Way Northeast.

There, several hundred Bush supporters and protesters competed for honks and waves from passengers stuck in the evening commute.

"Four more years," shouted the Bush supporters. "No more years," responded the protesters.

Peggy Hotes, a 53-year-old Bellevue teacher, held a sign that read "Liar's Club Meets Today." She said she worries about what will happen to the world if Bush is re-elected.

"He is spreading evil and corruption everywhere — on the homefront and the international front," she said. "They told lies to go to war and are now causing death. The war in Iraq was not about Saddam (Hussein), but about control. Sept. 11 was their excuse to try and take over the world."

Across the street, Peter Cardin of Renton joined about 100 others in showing support for U.S. troops and the president. He said he is glad Saddam was captured because the United States can achieve peace only with strength.

"No one messes with the biggest and baddest guy on the playground," said the 40-year-old unemployed aero-machinest. "Bush and Cheney are making America that guy."

Cheney's presence in Bellevue could give a financial boost to Nethercutt's campaign. The event brought in more than $300,000, Nethercutt campaign coordinator Mary Lane said.

Yesterday's dinner offered people the chance to be photographed with the vice president at a pre-reception dinner, along with membership on the campaign's steering committee and admission to future events, for $4,000 for one person, or $8,000 for two. A ticket to the dinner cost $500.

Cheney's presence demonstrates the importance Republicans place on wresting the seat from two-term Democrat Murray, Vance said.

"It shows without a shadow of a doubt how committed the national Republican leadership is to the George Nethercutt campaign," Vance said of Cheney's appearance.

	JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES Vice President Dick Cheney attends a $500-a-plate fund-raiser in Bellevue yesterday for Rep. George Nethercutt, a Spokane Republican who wants to unseat Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.

The event came just before the filing of the campaign's end-of-the-year financial statement, a closely watched indicator of a candidate's viability.

"Having more funds coming in right now will help raise his (Nethercutt's) profile with fund-raisers around the country," said Jim Keough, a Bellevue-based Republican political consultant and past campaign staffer for former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton.

A September report, the most current available, shows Murray with more than $3.3 million of cash on hand. Nethercutt had $619,000 in September, Lane said.

A top state Democrat, however, cast Cheney's visit as evidence of a weak Nethercutt candidacy in need of outside help.

"They begged Nethercutt to get into this race because they were going to be faced with an embarrassment of no one running. So they are essentially trying to prop him up by raising money for him," said state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt.

Nethercutt, first elected to Congress in 1994, dismissed Berendt's comments.

"I've just gotten started, and we're doing really well," he said.

Nethercutt's election would aid the administration because another Republican vote would help derail Democratic tactics that have stalled Senate votes on Bush judicial nominees, Cheney said.

But the war and terrorism figured most prominently in his comments.

At McChord, he said the nation's switch Sunday to "high-alert" security status serves as a reminder that Americans face a "very serious long-term threat" from terrorists.

Cheney said it's the military's job to "take out the bad guys before they can launch further attacks." And he reiterated the Bush administration's definition of bad guys.

"Those who provide safe harbor and sanctuary to terrorists who launch attacks against the United States will be deemed just as guilty as the terrorists themselves," he said. "That's why we went into Afghanistan. That's why we went into Iraq."

Nethercutt linked himself with the administration's policies on terrorism and the Iraq war and said his differences with Murray on those subjects are key. Nethercutt voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq, while Murray voted against it.

"She would apparently rather have Saddam Hussein be still there, I don't know," Nethercutt said in an interview after Cheney's speech.

A representative from the Murray campaign could not be reached for comment. At the time of the vote on the Iraq war, Murray said she considered Saddam a menace but said the Bush administration had failed to make its case, and that military action should be backed by a U.S.-led coalition.

"I cannot support sending our men and women into harm's way on an ill-defined, solo mission with so many critical questions unanswered," Murray said in a written statement at the time.

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