Governor’s Race Chatter and the RMA
Posted on November 6th, 2005 in Colorado Politics, General | Written by Ben | 3 Comments »
Who knew our meeting with Marc Holtzman would create such a stir among political insiders? First, the honest observations of Mike, Joshua, and myself get quoted in the latest release from the Holtzman campaign. Then the Dead Governors feature us as the leading topic of weekend chatter.
(I haven’t always seen eye to eye with the anonymous, center-left proprietors of ColoradoPols, but I am grateful to them for providing a link to my site.)
As for my comments? They’re all real, folks. Take them for what they’re worth. No detriment to Congressman Beauprez, just my genuinely positive impressions of his opponent’s campaign.
The three of us who met with Holtzman don’t speak for the entire Rocky Mountain Alliance, but we represent a highly informed element of Colorado’s center-right Republican community. And we share our honest opinions and assessments. That’s all.
Be sure that I will post more on this topic as the race unfolds, including an endorsement announcement that is becoming increasingly imminent. (For whatever an endorsement from this Web site is worth.)
And a final note to my fellow Colorado Republicans – let’s learn a lesson from last year’s Schaffer-Coors campaign. Whether it’s Ref C and D or the governor’s race, we can disagree with the party but let’s emerge united in the end.
Gov. Owens has let us down, but we need to support him and our legislative leaders to make sure they fight vigorously to protect taxpayers’ interests. Let’s conduct a vigorous and persuasive primary campaign for the gubernatorial candidate of your personal choice, but let’s all rally behind the winner next year.
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You wrote, “let’s learn a lesson from last year’s Schaffer-Coors campaign. Whether it’s Ref C and D or the governor’s race, we can disagree with the party but let’s emerge united in the end.”
Do you mean that the party came out of the campaign unified and we should emulate that, or do you mean that the party wasn’t unified after the campaign and we should do things differently this time?
I certainly don’t remember any party unity during or since last year’s campaign, and that is primarily Bill Owens’ fault. He was the one who basically stabbed Bob Schaffer in the back and, from what I understand, helped convince a totally inept and unqualified candidate (Pete Coors) to run against Schaffer. Also, it was the Coors campaign that ran attack ads against Schaffer, not the other way around. I finally held my nose and voted for Coors only because I figured he had to be better than Salazar.
Not long after that, Owens set aside his vaunted fiscal conservatism to endorse Referenda C and D. This year, Owens, Norma Anderson, and Katy Atkinson (a purported Republican) have lied about the ballot issues and personally attacked their opponents. They and their ilk are the ones who need to make amends to rejoin the party faithful.
interesting comments on the dead governors site too. Good job on sitting down with Holztman. Hopefully when I finish school I’ll be able to actually join you on a few of these outings.
Politigal, my reference to the lesson from last year is that the party did not unify enough after the Schaffer-Coors primary. Cast blame where you will (and I largely agree with you), it never does us any good to devour each other over smaller, petty issues. I will also say that there were plenty of other factors working against us in the last election, most of which Bob Schaffer himself has cited in numerous presentations he made across the state after last November – redistricting, outside funding, coordination, to name a few. There is no reason to be defeatist or give up, though. I agree with Marc Holtzman that the state is ours to lose. So let’s not lose it!