Republican governors visit Maine, tout Bush

WESTBROOK – Republican governors from Hawaii, Ohio and Rhode Island toured a manufacturing plant here Friday to rally support for President Bush as a leader with a consistent vision for the nation’s future.

Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri, Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle visited the plant to cap a two-day push through the nation that involved 20 Republican governors.

“Where I’m from, it’s tough. There aren’t a lot of Republicans,” Carcieri said after a tour of D&G Machine Products Inc. “But you here – it was close during the last election – and you can make a difference.”

The governors began the tour with President Bush in Las Vegas on Thursday. They split into three teams and visited a number of battleground states, including New Hampshire.

Sending governors to campaign for the president mirrored a tactic Bush employed in 2000, said Heather Layman, a Republican National Committee spokeswoman.

The governors spoke of working with Bush on matters such as education, health care, and taxes. “Bush’s opponent has made one of the promises of his campaign to raise taxes on small businesses,” Lingle told gathered metal workers. “If John Kerry gets elected, you already know it will have a negative effect on this company.”

Recent polls show Bush and Kerry locked in a tight race in Maine, and the state’s Democratic Gov. John Baldacci appeared with vice presidential candidate John Edwards at a recent campaign rally in Lewiston.

And while Republican officials say that is reason enough for the governors to visit, Kerry spokesman Jesse Derris said they’re campaigning on mistakes.

“These GOP governors should spend more time fixing the dismal record of failure that George Bush has produced in their respective states and spend a little less time campaigning for the same old wrong decisions,” he said.

While some applauded the governors’ message, others were skeptical of the party sending governors from other states to campaign in Maine.

“It’s interesting. But do I get anything out of it besides it being interesting? Probably not,” said Bryant Oja, the plant’s director of quality control. “If somebody can give me an honest answer of how we’re going to keep jobs in the country, then I’ll be on their side.”