Bush's Forum on Economy Is to Feature G.O.P. Donors
The New York Times
August 9, 2002
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
CRAWFORD, Tex., Aug. 8 - The speakers at a
White House economic forum next week near President's
Bush ranch will include major corporate donors to
the Republican Party and a labor leader whom
the administration is courting for
support in the 2004 presidential campaign.
The White House is billing the forum, which President Bush,
Vice President Dick Cheney and at least seven members of the
cabinet are to attend, as a diverse policy gathering of more than 200 economists,
government officials, small investors, teachers,
workers, corporate executives, small-business leaders and professors.
White House officials said the participants would discuss
the president's "agenda to increase economic growth."
Three of eight speakers announced by the White House today are chief
executives of companies that have given generously to
Republicans, said the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group.
The three are Charles Schwab, the chairman and
chief executive of Charles Schwab Inc., which, with its executives, gave more
than $406,000 in unrestricted soft money donations to the Republicans
in 2000, and nothing to the Democrats;
Glen A. Barton of Caterpillar, which gave $255,000 in soft money
to the Republicans in 2000 and nothing to the Democrats; and
John T. Chambers, the chief executive of Cisco Systems,
which gave more than $435,000 in unrestricted party contributions to the
Republicans in 2000 and $255,000 to the Democrats. A fourth speaker
will be Douglas J. McCarron, the general president of
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
The union has often backed Democrats, including Al Gore in
the 2000 presidential campaign, but Mr. McCarron has developed warm
relations with Mr. Bush, and White House advisers are
pursuing his support for the president's re-election.
A White House spokesman said this evening that no political considerations
were involved in the invitations to speak. "The
speakers were selected because of their expertise and knowledge,"
the spokesman, Scott McClellan, said. "And the attendees
and participants represent a diversity of views."
Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, also defended Mr. Bush,
saying the three executives were invited because of
their background in investments, technology and manufacturing.
"I would doubt that the president would know who contributes to his campaign,"
Mr. Grassley said. "I would imagine he called
people from Charles Schwab because of the necessity of increasing
confidence in the stock market."
But other Republicans and conservative economists expressed skepticism
today about the gathering. They said it appeared to
be a show forum and public relations vehicle.
"It's purely political, purely P.R.," said Bruce Bartlett, a conservative
economist who worked in the administrations of President
Ronald Reagan and the president's father, President George Bush.
"There are a lot of times when really, quite frankly, there's
nothing the president can do. But nobody wants to hear the president get on TV
and say, `I'm sorry, we're just going to have to
tough it out.' This was something they planned out, and it looks good."
Mr. Bartlett added, "The people selected for this event are going to be very,
very carefully chosen to make sure that nobody gets
in there to start ranting and raving about how the Bush tax cut
caused the recession. They'll tell the president what he wants
to hear, and reaffirm his policies."
The other speakers are Charles M. Vest, the president of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, a Republican who has
contributed to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of
Massachusetts; Tom Donohue, the president of the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, a Republican who has donated to Senator Robert G. Torricelli,
Democrat of New Jersey; Michael Novak, a Democrat
who is the director of social and political studies at the American Enterprise Institute,
a conservative research organization; and
Karen Kerrigan, a Republican who is the president and founder of the Small
Business Survival Committee.
The half-day forum is scheduled on Tuesday at Baylor University in Waco,
about a half-hour's drive from the president's
1,600-acre ranch near Crawford, where he is spending a month.
White House advisers, concerned about the economy's effect
on Mr. Bush's political future, announced the gathering last month.
Much of the forum was planned at the last minute. Some invitations went out
as late as last Monday, leaving those invited to
decide whether to abandon vacations for a day in Central Texas.
Many decided to come.
"Are there perhaps P.R. effects that flow from an event like this?" said Dirk Van Dongen,
the president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and a leading
Republican lobbyist. "Sure. But that doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. I
think it is worthwhile enough that I'm going down myself, and it's not because of Waco's climate."
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