A Republican fundraising letter offering pictures of President Bush taken on Sept. 11 has drawn both ire and contributions.
The direct mail solicitation included a personalized three-page letter from Vice President Cheney, a one-page note from Sen. George Allen (R-VA), an engraved invitation to the dinner, a buckslip touting a triptych of photographs of Bush and a reply card offering both seats at the dinner and the photographs.
At issue are the photographs. One is from his inauguration, one from his first State of the Union address and one of him calling Cheney from Air Force One on Sept. 11. The photographs, which are matted into a single frame, are sent to donors giving at least $150.
A separate solicitation invites recipients to a $2,500-per-person dinner. Funds raised would benefit the Republican National Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Democrats immediately challenged the idea of using the attacks on Sept. 11 within a political fundraising effort.
“For the Congressional Republicans to sell an historic picture of President Bush talking to Vice President Cheney on September 11 is nothing short of grotesque,” Terry McAuliffe, Democratic National Committee Chairman said in a statement.
“The White House was generally aware of the fact that they wanted to use pictures for fundraising purposes, and no objections were raised,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said during a May 14 press briefing. Fleischer added that the specific pictures chosen by the Republican committees were not run by the White House before the solicitation was mailed.
Steven Schmidt, communications director for the Republican National Committee, said that the party would not comment on the scope or the results of the mail campaign until after the November elections. He would not speculate on what outside lists, if any, were used.
But the mailing went to at least one registered Independent, who speculates that Republicans may have used a list from The Wall Street Journal or Conde Nast Traveler.
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