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« A solemn ceremony for a Dorchester soldier | Main Friday, September 8, 2006A rare Cheney visit to the Bay State, with an eye on $By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent When Vice President Dick Cheney lands at Logan International Airport this afternoon, it will only be the third time he has set foot in the Bay State since he took office in 2001. Cheney's schedule today puts him in Massachusetts for 2 hours and 45 minutes, zipping from the airport to a fundraiser at the Harvard Club, and right back on a plane. (Both previous trips were fundraisers.) His boss, President George W. Bush, hasn't spent much more time here, making only four stops in Massachusetts since his administration took office. (One funeral, an education speech at Boston Latin High School and two fundraisers.) In a state where less than 13 percent of the voters are registered Republicans, it comes as little surprise that a GOP White House would not relish spending time here. Add that Bush's 2004 Democratic challenger, Senator John F. Kerry, calls Boston home, and it might make sense for the president and vice president to avoid the state entirely. Almost. "While Massachusetts has tended not to be a fertile area for mining votes for Republicans, it has been very lucrative for mining dollars for fundraisers," said Paul Watanabe, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. In the 2004 presidential election, less than 37 percent of Massachusetts voters punched the Bush-Cheney ticket. However, the last time Cheney breezed through town in June 2003, he helped collect $1.2 million at a Hopkinton fundraiser at the home of Richard Egan, founder EMC Corp. In 2002, Cheney helped Republicans grab $650,000 during three receptions in the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel. Tonight's event at the Harvard Club may not be much different, with tickets fetching $2,500 apiece at a closed-door event honoring Egan. "This has nothing to do with his affinity of disdain for Massachusetts," said Watanabe of Cheney’s lightning visit. "It's about him trying to collect some cash and get out of town. "Democrats do the same thing," he said. Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 03:26 PM
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