Bush's campaign office in Spokane burglarized, vandalized
By David Postman Seattle Times chief political reporter
Offices that house President Bush's re-election campaign in Spokane were broken into and vandalized last night, the latest in a string of crimes at Republican offices across the country. Workers arriving this morning found a hole smashed through the wall from an adjacent, vacant office. Bush campaign officials say a small amount of petty cash is missing and a computer and television had been moved and left near the hole. Left computer behind? fear of Trojan horse virus? Oh, landlord! What kind of dodos are you renting to...
"They must have gotten spooked because they ultimately left the computer and TV," said Bill Hyslop, the campaign's chairman for the Fifth Congressional District. The computer and the TV had recently arrived in Spokane and the computer was loaded with information from the Republican get-out-the vote program. Spokane police responded this morning and took the computer's monitor and the TV, Hyslop said.
Fingerprints only, I hope.
"We obviously have no idea who did this and are not going to cast aspersions," said Hyslop, who served as U.S. attorney in Spokane under President George H.W. Bush. In Bellevue last week , computers that stored the Republican get-out-the-vote database were stolen in a burglary at the Republican headquarters there . Bush campaign officials believe the break - ins are part of a broader attack on the president's re-election offices around the country, including a burglary in Canton, Ohio, last night, gun shots fired in West Virginia, Florida and Tennessee and union protestors storming offices in three Florida cities and Minneapolis.
Geez, Canton OH too!?!?!?!?!?!
There are no suspects in the burglaries or shootings and no injuries were reported. Because the protests at campaign offices that were stormed were part of organized union demonstrations, Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot wrote a letter today to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney asking him to call off any future protests. "In addition to the injuries, property damage and disruption associated with these acts, these events have created a threatening and intimidating atmosphere abhorrent to our democratic process," Racicot wrote.
| I'm sure he'll get right on that... |
Security Guard?
They also discovered that a hole appeared to have been kicked through the drywall separating the vacant space from the Bush offices. The computer and TV were found near the hole.
Uh-huh