McCain in Seattle to help raise money for McGavick

Though their party holds the power in Washington, D.C., Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Senate hopeful Mike McGavick of Seattle portrayed themselves as peacemakers and reformers at a $250-a-plate fundraiser last night.

The event at a downtown Seattle hotel was expected to bring in about $300,000 to McGavick's campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, and it also provided an opportunity for McCain to reconnect with local operatives who worked on his failed 2000 presidential campaign.

Both McCain and McGavick, former chief executive of Safeco insurance, cited the cross-the-aisle legislative style of the late Democratic Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson as an inspiration to end what McGavick termed "mean-spirited partisan bickering."

Besides Democrats in general, it was not clear whom they were targeting, and both men refrained from drawing sharp distinctions with Cantwell.

Indeed, McCain and Cantwell appear to have a functioning relationship.

Both senators signed a letter urging the Bush administration to participate in international global-warming negotiations. Together, they toured the prison at Guantánamo Bay and traveled to Iraq. Like Cantwell, McCain opposes oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which McGavick said he would support.

"We have worked together, Senator Cantwell and I, on a number of issues, and we have opposed each other on a number of issues," McCain said before his speech to around 600 party faithful. "It's not a matter of criticizing Senator Cantwell. It's a matter of supporting Mike McGavick."

Without mentioning President Bush's stewardship of the federal budget, McCain said fiscal discipline was one of his highest priorities.

"We have failed to control spending," he said. "Mike's experience in the private sector would be valuable in tackling this issue."

Last week, the Republican-controlled Senate voted to raise the debt limit by $781 billion to nearly $9 trillion.

McGavick said the deficit was a concern, and the president "should have used his veto power more to force the Congress to focus on reform."

He also said the White House has been slow to address global warming, but, like Bush, he would reject the Kyoto Protocol on limiting greenhouse gases.

During his speech, McGavick said earmarks, special spending items inserted into larger legislation, were "junk," and the practice had to stop.

McCain, too, took a swipe at earmarks, citing an Alaska bridge dubbed the "Bridge to Nowhere" by its critics. The bridge would connect Ketchikan to an island where there is an airport and about 50 people.

It received $223 million in the highway bill that Congress passed during the summer.

The project was heavily pushed by Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, an early ally of the McGavick campaign.

"My dear friends, next time you're stuck in traffic, think about where the dollars you paid in taxes when you filled up your gas tank went," McCain told the donors.

"It's time for a change, and I'll have an ally in the fight" if voters send McGavick to Washington in November, he said.

McCain earlier appeared at a fundraiser to reduce the debt incurred by the state Republican Party during the 2004 governor's race.

The state Democratic Party put out a news release several hours before the dinner, contending that McGavick would be a "rubber-stamp vote" for the Bush administration.

Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com