June 21, 2005--DNC Chair Gov. Howard Dean and
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) were among many speakers to address the crowd
at the DNC's "Paint the Nation Blue" fundraiser held at the National
Museum of Women in the Arts. At the time Durbin was at the center
of a mini- controversy over a remark he had made about the detention
facility at Guantanamo Bay. The RNC research department issued a
one-pager headlined "Red-in-the Face Democrats try to 'Paint the Nation
Blue.'" "It Will Take More Than A Coat Of Blue Paint To Cover-Up
Sen. Dick Durbin And The Democrats' Wild-Eyed Rhetoric," the release
stated. However attendees at this event were enthusiastic; one
man waved a yardstick with cardboard sign taped to it that read, "Give
'Em Hell Howard." The DNC reported that 1,000 people attended and
the event brought in $700,000. |