Rehberg rallies local Republicans

U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg defended President George W. Bush and took aim at the two Democratic presidential candidates at the Sanders County Lincoln-Reagan Dinner Friday.

“President Bush, I think, is a victim of his own success,” Rehberg told the nearly 150 people sitting in the Sanders County Fairgrounds pavilion. “He’s taken upon his shoulders the responsibility to see that we have a safe America. That we haven’t had another attack on our shores since Sept. 11 of 2001. He gives us the peace of mind of knowing that we can sit here in Sanders County tonight and we can talk to you as candidates about health care and about energy and about immigration and taxation … because George Bush has taken it upon himself to see that we don’t have to worry about terrorism.”

When speaking about health care, the keynote speaker at the Republican fundraiser attacked U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s health care plan. “Her government-ran universal health care will destroy our health care opportunities,” Rehberg said. “It’s going to cost us our ability to see a doctor of our choice, a hospital of our choice, prescription drugs of our choice. Government-run means rationing, because ultimately the taxpayer will pay the price.”

Rehberg questioned U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s direction for the country. “Do you really listen to what he is saying? What he is really saying? What are his plans for the future? They all entail some kind of government involvement in our life,” Montana’s lone congressman said. “He’s nothing but an empty suit in Washington,” Rehberg added. “When you’re the single most liberal senator in the country and you’re running for president, don’t you think he’s probably going to try to run and govern with a regulatory perspective and that is a government perspective and I don’t think that is what America wants.”

Rehberg said there is a distinct contrast in philosophy between the Republicans and Democrats when it comes to energy. “Clearly, the Republicans understand what it takes to have energy independence. It’s an American solution and it isn’t just going to be conservation and it isn’t going to just be wind, and solar and geothermal,” Rehberg said. It’s going to be things like technology and protecting our ways of energy production, and it is also going to be the traditional fossil fuels.”

“Why can’t we talk about oil and gas and coal as long as it’s there? Why can’t we talk about a nuclear solution?” Rehberg asked. He said the Democrats don’t want to talk about these opportunities. “All they want is you to do less with less … We want to do more with less,” Rehberg said.

Rehberg, who is running for his fifth consecutive term in the U.S. House of Representatives, said that he has been doing the Lincoln-Reagan dinners across the state since 1979 and has attended over a 1,000 of them. “I can tell you, I have never traveled with such a good crew of candidates. You have a crew of candidates here that are going to be able to take their message to the local level, the Helena level and hopefully to Washington, D.C. with me to build a more secure future for the people in Montana,” said Rehberg.

Mike Hashisaki, the chairman of the Sanders County Republican Central Committee, said the 148 prime rib dinners served at the event was the most in the dinner’s history in the county. “That was a record for us,” he said. Hashisaki said that the dinner usually brings in about 60 to 100 people. “There is an awful lot of interest in politics this year, on both sides. People who normally would just sit back, are taking an interest this year,” he said.

Hashisaki said the dinner serves three purposes: to introduce the statewide candidates to the county’s Republicans, to raise money for the party and to energize the Republican base. He said some key races for Montana Republicans this election were the U.S. Senate and the Montana governor and secretary of state and the candidates for these offices were given the chance to give five-minute speeches to the audiences.

Four of the five Republican candidates challenging U.S. Sen. Max Baucus this fall were at the dinner; St. Regis truck driver Anton Pearson, Billings engineer consultant Kirk Bushman, Missoula accountant Patty Lovaas and the Billings pipefitter Michael Lange. Hashisaki said whoever the Republican’s choice in the primary election will have a tough time unseating Baucus, but he would like to see it done. “After 34 years in Washington, D.C., what has he really accomplished in his 34-year stint for Montanans,” he said. “It’s time for a change. It’s time for Max to comeback to Montana.”

Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson thanked the audience for electing him in 2004 and said he was optimistic for the upcoming election. “On that first Tuesday in November, I am absolutely convinced that we’re not only going to have a very, very, good day for Republicans, but more importantly we’re going to have a very, very good day for Montana,” Johnson said.