Protesters Greet Cheney at DeLay Fundraiser

By Juan A. Lozano
The Associated Press

Houston - Protesters bearing signs that read "The GOP is in an ethics free-fall" and chants of "Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, Dick Cheney Has To Go," greeted Vice President Dick Cheney as he stopped in Houston on Monday to speak at a campaign fundraiser for embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay.

Cheney spoke to more than 300 Republican supporters, many local political leaders, who paid anywhere from $500 to $4,200 to attend the private fundraiser. GOP heavy-hitters like Texas senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, who were scheduled to attend, stayed in Washington, D.C., to attend the White House Christmas dinner.

The media was not allowed to attend the event and nearly 200 protesters were kept several hundred feet away from the hotel where it was held.

Protesters lined the street in front of the hotel, located inside the Galleria mall, holding up signs for passing motorists and used a bullhorn to lead chants criticizing Cheney and President Bush for their handling of the war in Iraq. Others had signs critical of DeLay's legal problems.

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