Reichert Camp Mum on Bush Visit While Dems Trumpet

First Lady Laura Bush is coming to Medina today to headline a $500-a-plate fundraiser for Congressman Dave Reichert. The event will take place at the home of longtime Reichert backers Michael and Marybeth Johnston. The event will be co-hosted, according to the Seattle Times, by Pedro Celis, a Microsoft engineer and chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, and his wife, Laura; telecom magnate Bruce McCaw and his wife, Jolene; retired Eastside developer Bill Conner and his wife, Marilyn; Issaquah developer Skip Rowley and his wife, Debra; and former U.S. Rep. Rick White and his wife, Melissa.

However in spite of such a potentially high profile event, the Reichert campaign is doing its best to keep mum on the Bush visit. There is no mention of the fundraiser on Reichert’s website, and calls to his press operation only yielded a “no comment” and the phone number of the White House for inquiries on the public schedule of Laura Bush. The First Lady’s press secretary is traveling and has not yet returned a message left by the Politicker.

While the Republicans remain silent on the Bush visit, Democrats are welcoming the event with arms wide open. Today the state Democratic Party sent out a press release with Party Chair Dwight Pelz hit Reichert on his Bush connections.

“Whether it’s bringing our troops home from Iraq, strengthening ethics rules or restoring fiscal sanity to Washington DC, Republican Dave Reichert has repeatedly sided with George Bush and against the wishes of the voters in his district,” Pelz claimed in the release. “Reichert may collect a lot of money from these repeated Bush visits, but they clearly demonstrate to voters who his real friends are.”

Reichert’s Democratic opponent, Darcy Burner, weighed in on the event, too. Echoing her strategy from President Bush’s visit last summer, Burner used this fundraiser as a call to local Democrats angry with George Bush to donate to her campaign in response. Burner released a video on youtube to make the following plea to her supporters. “This Wednesday another Bush is coming to town for her first fundraiser of the cycle, Laura Bush is coming to do an exclusive lakefront fundraiser with a bunch of big donors for Dave Reichert and it’s time for us to show once again that there are more of us than there are of them.”

According to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, President Bush has a 32% approval rating among Americans, compared with 62% who disapprove of the job he is doing.