Former Bush Chief of Staff Andrew Card Addresses County Republicans

Former White House Chief of Staff for President George W. Bush Andrew Card urged Anne Arundel County Republicans Wednesday night to work toward making Maryland a more conservative state.

Card, who was Bush's chief of staff from 2001 to 2006 and was the keynote speaker at the Republican State Central Committee of Anne Arundel County's annual Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner at Wednesday night, spoke to the Republicans in attendance about maintaining the positive momentum gained from last year’s elections.

“Maryland is not as red as it should be,” Card said. “But Anne Arundel is. And because Anne Arundel is redder, Maryland looks more like purple than blue. And we have to work very hard to make sure Maryland has a chance to be as red as it wants to be and as red as the country needs it to be, and that’s what we’re going to have to do in the next election.”

Card joked that being a Republican from Massachusetts is almost as difficult as being a Republican from Maryland.

“I was very privileged to be the president's chief of staff, especially a Republican coming from Massachusetts,” said Card.

Card riveted the dinner guests during his recollection of Sept. 11, 2001, with his first-hand account of how he was informed and then how he in-turn informed President Bush of the terrorist attack on the United States.

“I watched George W. Bush become President of the United States and Commander in Chief that day in that classroom in Florida. And what an awesome job he did,” Card said.

He shared about his most memorable day in the White House—September 14, 2001. Card went into great detail of every moment of the day that for him began at 5:30 a.m. on a Friday in the Oval Office and concluded with him leaving ground zero in New York City on a private plane headed to Camp David. He said he sat across from a worn President Bush, exhausted from doing what Card said was "everything that a President could be expected to do, all in one day."

“I would show up early and I didn’t go home until [the president] was safely in bed," he said. "The good news was he wasn’t Bill Clinton, and he went to bed early.”  

The comment got the biggest laugh of the night, but was followed by somber reminders of one of the worst moments to occur on U.S. soil.

“I was proud to serve a president that could face that day, that had the courage to make decisions [and] was grounded in values and practicing of faith,” he said.

The annual Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner is the committe's biggest fundraiser of the year. The evening, which ranged from $75 to $90 per person, and $700 to $900 per table, with sponsorships ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, had more than 300 dinner guests.

“Tonight is an opportunity for the Republican Party to raise the necessary funds to support candidates for the 2012 and 2014 elections,” said Committee Chairman Alan Rzepkowski. “We had a very successful Republican election in Anne Arundel County, and with the funds raised tonight we will build on that success in the next two to four years.”

And county Republicans have high hopes for years to come.

“Each year this dinner has grown larger and larger,” said Delegate Tony McConkey (R-Severna Park). “Andy Card is a legend. It’s exciting to have him here and talk about his experiences. ”