Nevada Republicans to 'party for the president' today

By Scott Moyers

Nevada Daily Mail

Vernon County Republicans will gather for President Bush today, along with thousands of other groups across the country in a so-called "Party for the President" that truly is about gaining momentum in what is shaping up to be another close election.

"It's a kick-off party for Bush and Cheney to get re-elected," said Carl Johnson, the Vernon County coordinator for the Bush-Cheney campaign. "We're going to get together, socialize and have a good time."

Tonight's event will take place at Greenfield's Harvest House Restaurant, beginning at 7 p.m. The group will participate -- along with the other parties across the country -- in a conference call with Vice President Dick Cheney at 7:30 p.m.

"The vice president is going to be taking questions," Johnson said. "Whether we'll get to ask one or not is going to be the luck of the draw."

Johnson said he expected between 25 and 50 people to attend.

For months, the Bush campaign's Web site, www.georgebush.com, has invited supporters to organize the parties. But it is stressed that the parties aren't fund-raisers, just an early way to galvanize support. Those who attend will get bumper stickers and T-shirts, and some parties will feature a video presentation from the president.

The Bush campaign had set a goal of 2,004 parties nationwide. As of Tuesday, it had more than 5,000. Ohio had the most of any state, with 433, according to Kevin Madden, spokesman for the Bush campaign. Missouri will host 198 parties across the state.

Darlene Sheridan, the vice chair of the Vernon County Central Democrat Committee, said the parties seem like a gimmick.

"The way the last election went and with what's going on, there's a lot of uncertainty in the country," Sheridan said. "If they want to meet, that's their privilege. But time would be better spent talking about the issues."

But Johnson said gaining momentum early will be crucial, especially in Missouri, which is considered a crucial battleground.

"Last time, Bush won it, but it wasn't by a large margin," Johnson said. "To win the election, Missouri is one of the key states."

Several Democrat spokespersons have called Bush's event tonight a gimmick. But an official with Bush's campaign, pointed to John Kerry's Web site, which promotes a "house party" to support Kerry on May 22.

"We're having 200 of these parties for Bush in Missouri and we expect more than 80,000 people to participate nationwide," said Danny Diaz, Bush's regional spokesman. "That's not a gimmick. That's grass roots."