CO-04 (Special Election)
See Full Big Line
(R) Greg Lopez
(R) Trisha Calvarese
90%
10%
President (To Win Colorado)
See Full Big Line
(D) Joe Biden*
(R) Donald Trump
80%
20%↓
CO-01 (Denver)
See Full Big Line
(D) Diana DeGette*
90%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
See Full Big Line
(D) Joe Neguse*
90%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
See Full Big Line
(D) Adam Frisch
(R) Jeff Hurd
(R) Ron Hanks
40%
30%
20%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
See Full Big Line
(R) Lauren Boebert
(R) Deborah Flora
(R) J. Sonnenberg
30%↑
15%↑
10%↓
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
See Full Big Line
(R) Dave Williams
(R) Jeff Crank
50%↓
50%↑
CO-06 (Aurora)
See Full Big Line
(D) Jason Crow*
90%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
See Full Big Line
(D) Brittany Pettersen
85%↑
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
See Full Big Line
(D) Yadira Caraveo
(R) Gabe Evans
(R) Janak Joshi
60%↑
35%↓
30%↑
State Senate Majority
See Full Big Line
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
See Full Big Line
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
September 25, 2010 01:15 AM UTC
43 Comments
“House Candidate, low mileage, for sale to the highest bidding lobbyist, PAC, or special interest group. Name your own price.”
Or maybe just writing “for sale” on his forehead would be better.
He’s just offering a two-year lease.
Why should special interests buy politicians when these rental rates are so much more reasonable?
No one buys anymore when leasing is so attractive. And then, with term limits, you just turn your legislator in and get another one with that “new legislator” smell. Brilliant!
The Koch brothers can lease your legislator for tax issues while the coal industry leases him for clean air votes.
Leasing, time sharing. All so much more cost efficient athan the old fashioned practice of buying a legislator.
Plus I’m not too sure the the citizens are going to want a sell-out representative who won’t have too much time for legislating since he’ll mostly be in court for tax evasion.
Nothing like corruption up-front and in the open.
More candidates should send out letters like this one. The way it panders to lobbyists is quite reflective of the legislative experience. Boswell is clearly ready for the Capitol.
“A vote for me is a pro-business vote.
I need money.
Send money.
Tell your friends to send money.”
This seems straight forward to me.
Nothing illegal nor immoral here.
This was a political mistake – he’ll learn – and he’s going to be a terrific State Rep
Your mileage might vary.
Apparently he doesn’t learn–or at least, he doesn’t learn the right lesson.
He’s a whore–but at least he admits it.
If Boswell is old enough to run for office he’s old enough to know better than to make blatant demands of payment for access. This is the worst kind of pandering I can think of. I’m a professional lobbyist, for thirty years, and I have never given money so someone selling access. If he wins I’ll be avoiding him permanently. There are enough ethical legislators that we can ignore a few cretins.
You have clients that dictate your agenda, not yourself, 30-year-lobbyist
A lobbyist giving me a ‘holier than thou’ speech….. righhhhhhht….
Bob is a great guy – he ran the Western Sizzlin in Greeley for years, and the entire community knew, if one was hard on luck and without a meal, Bob would feed your family for free until a job came back in your grasp
Was this letter a misstep? Yes – definitely
But Bob is gonna win this district because people there love him like crazy and he loves them
And believe me – one less lobbyist sucking up to Bob will be fine for the good people of Greeley…
How’s this for fair turnaround?
One less playboy trustfunder pretending to care about the people of Colorado, while he and his politically pandering family dump big bucks into job killing initiatives, would be great for this state.
For all your enlightened statements on not stereotyping others, it is evident you continue to be full of it and yourself.
if Sizzlin’ Bob gets elected, he’ll quickly learn that listening to folks like hobbylobby will benefit him much more than listening to you.
Like it or not, lobbyists in Colorado hold the institutional memory in the Captiol and protect against bad bills, on both sides of the aisle, from becoming law.
….and they’re also hired to say anything and do anything
Lobbyists will do anything… ANYTHING… for a price…
I don’t think defending the ‘integrity’ of lobbyists, in any way, validates any of your points against Bob
(thanks for playing! Try again later)
Try this one, see if it works any better for you:
Muslims will do anything… ANYTHING… for a price…
I don’t think defending the “integrity” of Muslims, in any way, validates any of your points against Car 31.
Still want to paint entire groups of people with the same broad brush?
In return for agreement.
Sorry Ali, but if I am going to consider you a man of principle, I need better.
Huh?
…that will turn down a million dollars, defending corrupt big oil interests… and I’ll show you a unicorn
The truth hurts
Of course big oil would pay more, but I don’t do it for the money. I do it for the causes I believe in. And that’s the case with the dozens of lobbyists, both citizen and professional, that I work with on a daily basis. We all drive old cars and live in small apartments and do God’s work for little money.
But your prejudice against lobbyists (what is it you suppose your parents do with their money?) has led you to believe that all lobbyists are corrupt based on the reputations of the few.
You, sir, are a bigot. And a moron.
lobbying is God’s work? You’re proselytizing to the perverted prostitutes in politics in the name of which God?
Check your hubris, cause although he/she’s regularly asked to do so, God doesn’t take sides in American politics.
I work on behalf of people who are poor and have no voice and whose rights are disrespected by people like you.
Fuck you very much.
…that will turn down a million dollars, defending corrupt big oil interests… and I’ll show you a unicorn
The truth hurts
I am a registered lobbyist as well, and I wouldn’t lobby to defent corrupt big oil for a BILLION dollars, let alone a million.
Just like every Muslim isn’t trying to destroy America, not every lobbyist is just in it for the cash regardless of the client.
I’ve given you too much credit.
Sizzlin’ Bob is just another candidate. I could care less what he does and what he says – you know why? Because if he wins, he’s going to realize that giving out free dinners from his Sizzler didn’t teach him shit about government.
Ali, let me make this easy for you.
Lobbyists in Colorado represent people and industries – animal shelters, pot growers, small businesses, nonprofits, hospitals, teachers, cities, homeless people, oil and gas… Do you really believe that these people say anything for a price, as if they had no conscience at all?
If you had half a brain under your $300 hairstyle you would understand that without integrity, your word can’t be trusted. If your word can’t be trusted, your persuasion is useless. If your persusaion is useless, no one will listen to you.
So tell you what, instead of funding economy crippling ballot measures and defending crappy Republican candidates, why don’t you come down to the Capitol sometime during the session and see how real people with integrity actually work to get things done in this state.
Unless you’re too busy talking outta both sides of your mouth…
If you want to criticize Bob from the perspective of a private citizen, then I’m fine – what he did was a mistake
But again – I stand by my words – trying to elevate lobbyists above Bob, in a holier-than-thou manner….?
Really?
Again, Ali lat me say Sizzler Bob is just another candidate. I could care less what he does and what he says.
I disagree with your statement that lobbyists will do ANYTHING for money. Its a common belief among people who don’t know shit, so I wouldn’t blame you, except you are so vocal about people stereotyping Muslims.
…then why are you debating the point so much, chieftain?
In passionate pleas on this blog and other media outlets, you have argued that Muslims should not be judged based on extremists within the religion.
Yet in this thread you stereotype an entire group of people because it suits your purpose. In my eyes, that makes you little better than the man who threatened to burn the Quran.
Lobbyists and politicians are easy targets for lazy people looking for easy targets.
And I guess you need to show me a unicorm since I know two people who have turned down big money from the oil and gas industry.
Your assumption is that everyone would be willing to sacrifice morality and integrity for money.
That isn’t true, Ali.
I do not think this was as sinister as Pols is trying to portray it. Inept and inartful? Without a doubt. Not nearly as extreme as the Deanna Hanna debacle.
I fear this is where we have come because of term limits and all the Puritan ethics reforms – new candidates and officials never get the chance to really understand the mores and folkways of the political arena – and there is no one to teach them.
Twenty years ago this would never happen because seasoned veterans in both parties would pass on the rules of decorum.
Now we are in a situation where no one really knows the mores and cannot teach the new generation.
I had seen the letter – it was sent to me by a client who had received it. Tacky indeed, inappropriate to a fault, but not that big a deal.
“You can support me now and be on my good side, or…”
And anyone that can’t figure out the ethics of what essentially amounts to a “pay if you want to play” letter doesn’t deserve to be elected. It doesn’t take a 5-term legislative pro to figure out that this is not the kind of letter you send if you want to be an honest representative of the citizen of this state.
I doubt it. “Polls are showing me leading my opponent” could mean that his mom told him he’s going to win.
However, Riesberg and a few other House races are going to be serious bellwether races for the Democrats. The Republicans only need to flip 6 seats to get a majority, but this one is basically a requirement for that to happen.
Or is Team Boswell telling the lobbyists to pay up or get their nuts cut off?
the “nut cutting” part had something to do with Dan Maes… heh.
I don’t think the phrase “nut-cutting” should really ever be used in a fundraising letter. It took me ahwile to get past the first paragraph because I was trying to figure out what that could possibly mean. So besides being overtly “pay me now for access for me later” it is just horribly written!
From Wiktionary:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/…
(Note–before anybody chastises me for posting the whole article–this text was free to distribute under the Creative Commons license as long as attribution was made.)