Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
May 30, 2008 By Nicholas Confessore
At a Midtown hotel ballroom on Thursday, Vice President Dick Cheney declared that the United States was “succeeding brilliantly” in Iraq and assailed Democrats on taxes, gas prices, and national security.
As the keynote speaker at the annual dinner of the New York State Republican Party at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, Mr. Cheney predicted victory in November for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona. He also criticized Democrats in Congress for refusing to extend President Bush’s tax cuts.
Reprising language from a speech he gave at the Coast Guard Academy this month, Mr. Cheney said of the war in Iraq that the “only way to lose this fight is to quit — but that would be an act of betrayal and dishonor, and that is not going to happen on our watch.”
Mr. Cheney made no mention of two controversial issues: Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary who recently published a book sharply critical of his former colleagues in the Bush administration, and the topic of the day in New York, Gov. David A. Paterson’s decision to order state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
Joseph L. Bruno, the Republican majority leader in the State Senate, did not address the issue in his speech, but he did call for party unity as the fall elections approach with Republican control of the State Senate at stake.
Speaking with reporters outside the ballroom after the dinner, Mr. Bruno said he believed that the Legislature should play a role in allowing the recognition of same-sex marriages in New York.
George E. Pataki, the most recent Republican governor of New York, was a notable absence. A spokesman for Mr. Pataki said that he was speaking at the annual dinner of the state Conservative Party, also being held on Thursday evening.
The State Republican dinner featured a long list of officials and dignitaries, including former New York City mayor and presidential candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani; Representative Peter T. King, of Long Island; and John J. Faso, a former minority leader of the State Assembly and the Republican candidate for governor in 2006.
Though both the Bush administration and the Iraq war remain deeply unpopular among New Yorkers, those elected officials and party activists gathered at the dinner seemed grateful for Mr. Cheney’s presence.
“It’s the vice president of the United States,” said Dean G. Skelos, a senior Republican state senator from Long Island. “I’m sure Jimmy Carter will be at many Democrat fund-raisers.”
May 30, 2008 By Nicholas Confessore
At a Midtown hotel ballroom on Thursday, Vice President Dick Cheney declared that the United States was “succeeding brilliantly” in Iraq and assailed Democrats on taxes, gas prices, and national security.
As the keynote speaker at the annual dinner of the New York State Republican Party at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, Mr. Cheney predicted victory in November for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona. He also criticized Democrats in Congress for refusing to extend President Bush’s tax cuts.
Reprising language from a speech he gave at the Coast Guard Academy this month, Mr. Cheney said of the war in Iraq that the “only way to lose this fight is to quit — but that would be an act of betrayal and dishonor, and that is not going to happen on our watch.”
Mr. Cheney made no mention of two controversial issues: Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary who recently published a book sharply critical of his former colleagues in the Bush administration, and the topic of the day in New York, Gov. David A. Paterson’s decision to order state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
Joseph L. Bruno, the Republican majority leader in the State Senate, did not address the issue in his speech, but he did call for party unity as the fall elections approach with Republican control of the State Senate at stake.
Speaking with reporters outside the ballroom after the dinner, Mr. Bruno said he believed that the Legislature should play a role in allowing the recognition of same-sex marriages in New York.
George E. Pataki, the most recent Republican governor of New York, was a notable absence. A spokesman for Mr. Pataki said that he was speaking at the annual dinner of the state Conservative Party, also being held on Thursday evening.
The State Republican dinner featured a long list of officials and dignitaries, including former New York City mayor and presidential candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani; Representative Peter T. King, of Long Island; and John J. Faso, a former minority leader of the State Assembly and the Republican candidate for governor in 2006.
Though both the Bush administration and the Iraq war remain deeply unpopular among New Yorkers, those elected officials and party activists gathered at the dinner seemed grateful for Mr. Cheney’s presence.
“It’s the vice president of the United States,” said Dean G. Skelos, a senior Republican state senator from Long Island. “I’m sure Jimmy Carter will be at many Democrat fund-raisers.”