Republicans Fret Over Hickenlooper Run

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 10:23:46 AM MST

While no public decision has been made as of yet regarding the race for Governor, Colorado Republican Party Chair Dick Wadhams seems to think that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will be the Democratic candidate. We've written before that we think Hickenlooper will eventually enter the race, and the state GOP is already trying to get out in front of any potential announcement.

In a press release sent out today, Wadhams calls Hickenlooper "Hickenritter" and speculates that Hick would be identical to Gov. Bill Ritter in several ways. Republicans are obviously concerned about a potential Hickenlooper candidacy, because when he was passed over for Michael Bennet when the latter was appointed to the U.S. Senate last year, they openly stated that Hick would have been tough to defeat in 2010.

From former Rep. Bob Beauprez in The Colorado Statesman last February:

I'm guessing John Hickenlooper has name ID that rivals the governor's, maybe exceeds the governor's. I'm guessing that John Hickenlooper has 4:1 favorable/unfavorables statewide. There isn't enough money in the world to peel that down to 1:1 - to where you could maybe beat him.

John Hickenlooper could claim - he won't do it because he's got enough humility to not do it - but he could claim that the DNC was successful in large part because of his efforts to raise the money. He not only has a Rolodex with names in it, they are successful names.

John could raise more money and be more easily elected. His appointment would have taken that seat almost completely off the table. I don't know what John could have done to make it truly competitive. [Pols emphasis]

Here's what Wadhams had to say about Hickenlooper in December 2008, when Hick was being considered as a replacement in the U.S. Senate for Ken Salazar:

Dick Wadhams, the state GOP chairman, conceded that Hickenlooper "is immensely popular as the mayor of Denver" but said "he'll look a lot different after two years of votes in the U.S. Senate."

These two quotes highlight exactly why many observers, including Colorado Pols, see Hickenlooper as such a strong potential candidate. As we wrote in The Big Line, Hickenlooper has great name ID and is a prolific fundraiser, which are probably the two most important qualities you could have as a candidate for statewide office. That doesn't make him a shoo-in for Governor, but at the very least he would enter the race with an advantage over Republican Scott McInnis on both fronts.

Wadhams Reportedly off to Nevada for 2010

by: the_spaces_between

Tue Sep 08, 2009 at 07:18:16 AM MDT

According to The Associated Press:

State Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams says he's not leaving Colorado to try to unseat Democratic Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada.

A blog run by Reid opponents reported that Wadhams was in Las Vegas recently and was considering moving there to help former Nevada GOP chair Sue Lowden oppose Reid, the Senate majority leader.

Wadhams said Tuesday that he isn't moving to Nevada to help Lowden. However, he said he did visit with Lowden and her supporters recently to talk about his success unseating former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota in 2004.

"McLobbyist" In Or Out?

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 08:41:13 AM MDT

A couple of days ago, word circulated of a letter sent by McInnis to lots of registered Republicans, asking for "advice" solving the "problems" facing the GOP and Colorado in general. This letter didn't explictly say "I'm going to run for Governor," but it was clearly intended to plant his name in people's minds.

This morning, the Denver Post reports:

An "enthusiastic" supporter of Scott Mc Innis has registered six political domain names for the former congressman, including ScottMcInnisforGovernor.com.

Another name is ScottMcInnisforColorado.com.

McInnis told friends and supporters he is running for the GOP nomination for governor in 2010 but has yet to make a formal announcement.

The domain names were registered by Joshua Green of Colorado Springs. Green and McInnis' former chief of staff, Mike Hess, last year worked together on Bentley Rayburn's congressional campaign...

We don't know about you, but do you buy the "enthusiastic supporter who just happens to be a seasoned campaign worker" bit for a moment? Didn't think so. Because you're not stupid.

This is where we turn it over for discussion--kind of like Bob Schaffer's endless stalling of his "formal" announcement that he was running for Senate--how long do they get to "unofficially" set up their campaigns, when everybody knows that's what they're doing, before they have to file papers and report donations like everybody else? When does that clock start ticking, or more to the point, when should it?

We'd say the question is worth asking any time these guys try to pull this "shadow campaign" stuff, a seeming favored tactic of nervous Republicans these days--but in the case of McInnis and his history of questionable campaign fund expenditures, we'd say it's doubly worth asking. Because as we've said repeatedly, we'll believe McInnis is running only when he starts a formal campaign for governor, starts raising money, and starts going around the state as a candidate. Until then...this is just another in a long list of races that McInnis has "strong interest" in running for.

McInnis Makes His Move?

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 08:57:37 AM MDT

The battle for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010 could be a Western Slope affair, pitting former Congressman Scott McInnis against his onetime aide, Josh Penry.

McInnis, who retired from Congress in 2004 after six terms representing the 3rd District, is interested in the job, as is Penry, now the minority leader in the state Senate.

Penry served for a time as McInnis' spokesman in Washington, D.C., before returning to the Grand Valley to run for the state Legislature.

Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, said he was aware of interest by both men in the opportunity to run against incumbent Democrat Bill Ritter of Denver.

"They're both terribly formidable people," Wadhams said...

The thing is, they're not--at least one of them isn't. Handpicked by Wadhams, Josh Penry's brief tenure as Senate Minority Leader has nevertheless been an unqualified disaster, from mismanaged public embarrassments to an "opposition" strategy that gained his party no sympathy--if anything the opposite of sympathy--with either the public or the media. If this was supposed to be the big test of Penry's mettle, paving his way to a Bobby Jindal-style meteoric rise, well, spectacular fail.

On the other hand, as the Sentinel continues:

McInnis said Tuesday he still has political ambitions and, "My focus is more on the governor's seat."

...he's not interested in the Senate seat occupied by Denver Democrat Michael Bennet, McInnis said.

"My interest is not there," he said. "I came home (to Colorado), and I'm staying home."

Nobody can forget the moment of high drama one week before the last election, when McInnis broke his silence about the way he was forced out of the Senate race in favor of Chairman Dick Wadhams' pal and GOP insider-anointed candidate Bob Schaffer. You'll recall that Wadhams "strongly disputed" McInnis' accusations, and within a week every Republican elder statesman in Colorado was penning guest editorials denouncing McInnis with eerie Mao-style unanimity.

Well, dear reader, a few days from the GOP state party reorganization, Wadhams has a credible challenger and Scott McInnis just might have enough backlash behind him to make people forget all about that paying the wife to run your fictional campaign thing and seriously consider him for governor. Until Marc Holtzman reminds them in a big glossy mailer, of course. We digress.

Bottom line: If the last few weeks have proven anything, it's that Josh Penry is not anywhere near ready to head up a ticket. What he needs is several more years to mature and a more statesmanlike haircut--we're serious about this, it's unelectably bad, a mullet kept in check with a beard trimmer. And what Wadhams needs, assuming he survives the weekend, is to realize that he's no longer the kingmaker of the Colorado Republican Party--and the choice of who will top the 2010 ticket is no longer his to dictate.

As for McInnis, what he needs is to stop talking about races he might possibly one day perhaps potentially consider. Because he's starting to look more than a little silly "expressing interest" in virtually anything.

BREAKING: Wadhams Will Be Challenged After All

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Feb 27, 2009 at 10:04:35 AM MST

Subject: "Save Our State" sent you a message on Facebook...

Tom Stone sent a message to the members of Save Our State.

--------------------
Subject: An opportunity to serve

I have officially announced today that I am running to be the Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party.  My interest in Saving Our State is sincere.  During these turbulent times we must all put our shoulders to the wheel and put our talents to their best use.

Thank you for your support.

Tom C. Stone

http://tomcstone.com

This is for real, folks--Tom Stone is a former Eagle County commissioner and, though less-known than some other candidates whose names surfaced a few months ago, can certainly be considered a credible challenge to current chair Dick Wadhams. That being the case, it's a major development--our first thought is that the last few weeks of disastrous message management by GOP leadership may have shifted the dynamic, where Wadhams had previously more or less suppressed his critics.

UPDATE: From the Vail Daily this afternoon:

Former Eagle County, Colorado Commissioner Tom Stone announced Friday he will run for the state Republican Party Chair.

"I've been very alarmed and concerned about the path that Colorado has been on for the last three cycles - that Republicans have continued to lose people in representation throughout the state," Stone, of Gypsum, said. [Pols emphasis]

Stone has been a real estate broker for the last 32 years, except for the eight year period he served as a commissioner from 1998 to 2006.

He and his wife, Henri, have lived in Eagle County for the last 25 years.

Could Republicans Actually Hold the SOS Office?

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Aug 15, 2008 at 10:45:29 AM MDT

Some Colorado Republicans want Secretary of State Mike Coffman to step down in the next two weeks so another Republican can run for that office this November.

Their strategy is to stop Democrats from controlling the office for the next two years.

But Coffman, the Republican candidate in the 6th Congressional District race, said Friday that he will stay in office through the November election or beyond...

Coffman's decision to run for Congress prompted opposition by local Republicans who don't want the Secretary of State's Office, which has long been occupied by Republicans, to go to a Democrat.

Some Republicans want Coffman to step down before Aug. 28. That would prompt a special election in November between a Republican candidate and the Democratic appointee named by Gov. Bill Ritter to run the office until then.

Obviously, the possibility of retaining the SoS in November beats the certainty of losing it--Coffman's swift resignation would be the right thing to do if his interest was in party over principle. But that's kind of the point, Coffman is the moral and strategic victor now over the would-be kingmakers who tried to stop his run for Congress. He doesn't have to quit on a schedule that accommodates them, and we seriously doubt he will--it would be a violation of his sacred Marine honor or something. He intends to finish the job of managing the 2008 elections and then go to Congress in January. If you can also interpret that as a fat middle finger directed at the party insiders who lined up to endorse his vastly inferior pipsqueak of an opponent, we expect Coffman is cool with your interpretation.

In fact, we would bet money that the lavishing of praise on GOP chairman Dick Wadhams seen in yesterday's appeal for Coffman to resign (original post below) only increased Coffman's resolve to tell Wadhams which orifice he can shove his proxy-delivered "suggestions" up.

--

We've gotten some strange and interesting emails in our time, but this one may take the cake.

The email below appears to have come from Dan Kopelman, the same Dan Kopelman who got Secretary of State Mike Coffman into trouble for a variety of reasons.

The email below was forwarded to us, and it seems to outline a plan for how Republicans can hold onto the SOS office despite Coffman's pending resignation once he is formally elected to congress in CD-6 in November. According to the email, Republicans could convene a vacancy committee before August 28 and...well, we don't really follow exactly, so we'll leave it up to the bigger brains in the room to figure this out.

But what makes this email a double-doozy is the weird deification of GOP Party Czar Dick Wadhams. Click below for the email...

Big Oil Bob's Biggest Blunder?

by: ClubTwitty

Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 20:41:26 PM MDT

An oil contract Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer helped negotiate in Iraqi Kurdistan is one of several production deals the U.S. State Department has flagged as problematic for Iraq and its attempts to establish a national oil policy.

Poor Mr. Wadhams, he sure does know how to pick 'em!

More details after the fold...

Dick Wadhams reaches...and comes up with Macaca

by: ClubTwitty

Mon Jun 16, 2008 at 18:26:50 PM MDT

Congressmen like Mark Udall have essentially shut down domestic oil exploration for the last 20 years.

20 years?  

But Udall was first elected in 1998.

Shut down?  

But drilling permits have QUADRUPLED in Colorado over the last several years, and natural gas reserves in the U.S. are at an all-time high.  Since 1998, tens of thousands of acres in CO have been leased for oil shale, mining permits (many for uranium) have spiked 400% (just since 2003).  

mas...

Wadhams Goes (Seriously) Crazy

by: Colorado Pols

Fri May 09, 2008 at 13:27:59 PM MDT

As the editor of The Grand Junction Sentinel writes in his blog:

Newspaper editors and political reporters don't need a calendar to tell them that it's an even-numbered year. Even-numbered years are election years. We can tell that because those are the years when we get complaints from politicians and their handlers. It's as predictable as Rick Wagner staking out a position to the right of just about everybody else.

We got a couple this week, and I think they are instructive. One was nothing more than a political handler trying to bully a reporter, the other a legitimate question about why we failed to do something. One was ugly, the other a genuine discussion between people who saw the same thing differently.

First the ugly.

Early in the week Democratic Senate candidate Mark Udall proposed the government quit stockpiling gas in the strategic petroleum reserve.

Reporter Mike Saccone, as any good reporter would do, called Udall's opponent to get a response. Republican Bob Schaffer is very seldom available. He called Dick Wadhams, Schaffer's campaign manager. I don't think he ever even got to tell Wadhams why he was calling. The minute Wadhams got on the phone he launched into Mike, telling him he was a biased reporter, that he's taken cheap shots at Schaffer and asking when we were going to do the same thing to Udall. I listened to the tape of the conversation. Mike seldom got to complete a question. Every time he tried Wadhams interrupted with yet another complaint about Mike and/or our coverage. He did manage to ask Wadhams for specific instances of biased reporting or cheap shots and Wadhams provided none.

The exchange was amusing. I don't know what Wadhams was trying to accomplish other than to try to get our reporter to go easier on his candidate in future stories. Whatever it was it will have no effect whatsoever on how we cover the Senate race. We'll continue to cover it as completely and fairly as possible.

This has always been a part of Wadhams' repertoire - to attack reporters either directly or through a surrogate in attempts to shame them into reporting more on his opponent than on his own candidate. It worked well when he did it through the use of bloggers in the 2004 South Dakota defeat of Tom Daschle, but it doesn't appear to be working in Colorado, where conservative blogs don't really have the reach or the respectability that they may have had in other states.

There's a fine line between strategy and flat-out rude bullying, and Wadhams has definitely crossed that line. Here's hoping reporters around the state don't fall into the trap of Wadhams' intentional belittling and end up turning over their lunch money to him.

Schaffer Stays Silent

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 14:02:02 PM MDT

As nearly every major political figure in Colorado sounded off Thursday on the Bureau of Land Management's decision to disregard Gov. Bill Ritter's widely praised plan to develop the Roan Plateau, Senate candidate Bob Schaffer as silent on the issue.

Multiple messages Political Notebook left with Schaffer's chief campaign adviser, Dick Wadhams, have gone unanswered...

...We have written before, Schaffer's silence has been a largely strategic coup for Schaffer. In October, we wrote: "For Schaffer and the GOP, his silence is - to use a tried and tired cliche - golden. Schaffer's silence while he works to build up his base ahead of what is certain to be an intensely competitive contest should be frustrating for Democrats and political reporters. Nonetheless, it's a good idea if you want to keep free from early inning errors."

That said, the November election is less than nine months away. ... We'll leave it to others to say when Schaffer's silence becomes a liability, but at some point the silence will wear thin, if not on the public than on the press.

We're not knocking the strategy here. When you're the 14th most conservative congressman of the past 70 years in a state that has elected moderates in each of the past two elections, it certainly doesn't help to speak out about anything. But Saccone's point at the end is sound: "At some point the silence will wear thin, if not on the public than on the press."

Schaffer campaign manager/czar Dick Wadhams  has used the silent treatment before in statewide races in Colorado (see: Allard, Wayne), but the dawn of online media makes it harder to do that in 2008. This strategy is probably fine for now, so long as the media doesn't start really focusing on the fact that Schaffer isn't saying anything. But at some point, Schaffer is going to have to choose between staying silent and being labeled as someone who won't stand up for his beliefs.

Eggs, Meet Basket

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 16:28:40 PM MDT

To no one's surprise, Republican Dick Wadhams is now officially campaign manager for Bob Schaffer's U.S. Senate bid.

Wadhams said today he will remain chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, but he has hired an executive director to run the day-to-day operations.

Wadhams had been performing both the chairman and director roles since being named chairman in March 2005.

Democrats for months have been saying that Wadhams also was pulling the strings for Schaffer's campaign. Just last month, Wadhams responded to the Democrats' charges by saying, "That's crazy."

He said today he wasn't running the campaign before now.

The GOP executive director is Mike Britt, who worked in Boston on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, which ended in February.

That's swell for Republicans that Wadhams is going to head up Schaffer's flailing Senate campaign (and it is definitely a boost), but, um, what about the rest of the elephants? This move isn't going to create a lot of optimism for Republicans hoping to win back some seats in the state legislature. If Schaffer wins the Senate race but Republicans get drilled in every other race, is that really a worthwhile trade-off?

Jim Webb to Keynote Democrats' JJ Dinner

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 15:37:53 PM MST

The Virginia Democrat won his seat in 2006 by beating incumbent Republican George Allen, whose campaign was managed by current Colorado Republican Chairman Dick Wadhams. But Webb speaking in Denver is probably just a coincidence, right?

Click below for the full press release.

That's Waak

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Dec 14, 2007 at 09:57:40 AM MST

"For years, I would have said primaries are great for a discussion of the issues," Waak said. "But when I watched what happened with Ed Perlmutter and Peggy Lamm in the 7th Congressional District and the amount of money that took, we're much better off without primaries in 2008."

The Perlmutter-Lamm Congressional primary in 2006 was not only expensive; it was acrimonious with both candidates using negative attack ads to disparage the other.

[Mark] Benner probably wouldn't have the money to do that to Udall. But Waak fears his attempt to get on the primary ballot might divide her party before a general election in a critical race to maintain and extend Democratic control of the Senate.

It is the job of a Party Chair to try to sort out internal fights - but that is before they become public. Once candidates publicly announce their intentions, Party Chairs should not publicly pick a side. And Waak looks particularly ridiculous here because she rode to power on the cries of wrongdoing about Gates. Gates' so-called interference in the Ken Salazar-Mike Miles primary was her sole reason for running for Party Chair. "For years I have said that primaries are great for a discussion of the issues," she says now. Whatever.

Comparing a potential Benner-Udall primary to the Perlmutter-Lamm tussle is also completely unnecessary. We'll say it again: Benner is not a serious candidate. Benner's candidacy, whether he actually runs or not, is completely irrelevent. Waak says she is worried that Benner might divide Democrats, but Benner can't even figure out where he is supposed to file his campaign paperwork. For all her failures as a candidate, Lamm raised a lot of money and had the ability to get her message out. The only people who will even know the existence of Benner are the most dedicated of the Democratic caucus-goers.  

In fact, publicly trying to dissuade him only gives the appearance that he matters in this contest. Benner will likely have no money, no real campaign and no impact on the U.S. Senate race, so Waak shouldn't even bother with this. Waak is wrong here, as Dick Wadhams was wrong to dismiss Wayne Wolf (and as Bob Martinez was wrong to diss Marc Holtzman), but at least Wolf wasn't a complete joke as a potential candidate. And at least Wadhams never pretended to be impartial.

Coffman Warns Wadhams Not to Meddle

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Nov 08, 2007 at 09:58:40 AM MST

Republican leaders have failed in their attempt to dissuade Secretary of State Mike Coffman from running for congress in CD-6, but Coffman apparently isn't resting easy.

We hear that Coffman has told GOP Chair Dick Wadhams (who led the efforts to talk him out of running) that he will immediately resign from his SOS post if he gets any sense that the state party or other Republican leaders are trying to sabotage his campaign for congress in hopes of preserving his current seat.

You certainly can't blame Coffman for taking a hard stance with party officials. While Republicans are understandably concerned that they would lose the SOS office in the event of a Coffman congressional victory, Coffman himself has stepped aside once before for "the good of the party." As two-term state Treasurer, Coffman had long been positioning himself to run for governor in 2006, and he was briefly a candidate before Bob Beauprez kicked sand in his face and told him to get lost. Coffman backed down and ran for SOS instead, but what is the booby prize this time?

The seat in CD-6 is highly prized, because the heavy Republican voter registration advantage likely means that the winner will hold the seat for a long, long time. If Coffman skips this opportunity, what does he do next?

Wadhams Throws Down Wrong Gauntlet

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Nov 07, 2007 at 10:51:50 AM MST

During a debate yesterday at the City Club of Denver, Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak and Republican Chair Dick Wadhams really got after it on several occasions. On one of those occasions, Wadhams included a direct challenge that turned out to be completely false.

At one point in the debate Waak brought up the fact that the state GOP party Website is blank and the Website of Senate candidate Bob Schaffer contains no information on issues. In response, Wadhams said:

Bob [Schaffer] has agreed to six debates with the Aaron Harber show. Go back and ask Mark Udall why he refuses to debate.

Wadhams really threw down the gauntlet by accusing Udall of ducking Schaffer, but that apparently isn't true in the least. We asked Aaron Harber if Schaffer had agreed to six debates (and if Udall had declined). "We haven't done anything with either Schaffer or Udall, but I wouldn't say its their fault. We just put it off," said Harber.

"I don't think we'll have them in a debate format. I don't know if we'll have them six times - I don't know if I want to give them six shows. I've never had any communication that I can remember with Dick Wadhams about any of this, so I'm not sure what he's thinking."

In a subsequent email, Harber elaborated further:

Wadhams On Beckman Like White On, Uh, Rice

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Aug 08, 2007 at 08:30:00 AM MDT

We hear that GOP Lord Dick Wadhams is pressuring Arapahoe County Commissioner Susan Beckman to challenge Freshman Rep. Joe Rice in 2008.

Rice was one of the surprise winners of 2006 in picking up a house seat in the predominantly Republican area of Southern Jefferson/Arapahoe County. He is also one of the House Democrats most likely to be targeted by Republicans, but Beckman has been non-committal to Wadhams. She is reportedly reluctant to take a big pay cut while facing a long campaign against an incumbent who will be well-protected.

"Tax & Spend" Message Loses It's Meaning

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Jun 22, 2007 at 16:11:11 PM MDT

Republicans, led by Chairman Dick Wadhams, have been trying hard in recent months to resurrect the old "tax & spend liberal" moniker when talking about Democrats. They called Gov. Bill Ritter's school funding plan to freeze property taxes a "tax increase," although we've heard that message didn't poll very well (perhaps not coincidentally, Wadhams hasn't been as loud about the message of late).

The problem with a "tax & spend" message is that it doesn't really jibe with reality anymore. Under the Bush Administration, Republicans have spent so much money that they'd have to cut back in order to look like drunken sailors; the national debt is astronomically large, even though the nation faced a surplus when Democrat Bill Clinton left office.

In Colorado, meanwhile, a new report shows again just how little money is actually spent on public services in the state (Colorado has one of the lowest tax levels in the country). As The Colorado Springs Gazette reports:

The Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, which works toward financial polices that benefit especially low- and moderate-income populations, did not offer specific solutions on how to fix the problem. But the report, “Aiming for the Middle,” declared that it is time for public discussion about the state’s spending choices.

“Colorado is a wonderful and amazing place in so many ways, yet we continue to lag behind other states when it comes to investing in our future,” senior fiscal policy analyst Carol Hedges said in a statement.

The report found that, among the 50 states, Colorado ranks:

- 49th in covering the uninsured and low-income families under Medicaid
- 39th in state highway spending per capita
- 48th in per-capita spending on higher education
- 34th in per-capita investment in public elementary and secondary schools.

To bring it up to average levels, the state would have to increase spending annually by $1 billion on health care, $139 million on highways, $467 million on public colleges and universities and $672.5 million on elementary and secondary schools, the report states.

How do Republicans respond to a report like this? With nonsense...

9News Loves Them Some Dick Wadhams

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Jun 18, 2007 at 15:30:36 PM MDT

The Colorado media's inexplicable love affair with GOP State Chair Dick Wadhams continues this week as the head Republican cheese in Colorado is the featured guest on Adam Schrager's "Your Show" on 9News.

Is 9News really already out of topics to discuss? How else to explain the affection showered upon Wadhams as "this week's newsmaker." Why is he a newsmaker, and why now?

Don't ask why, silly! He's Dick Wadhams!

We've said it before, but it still bears repeating: The Colorado Press absolutely LOVES them some Dick Wadhams. He is featured in more stories dealing with absolutely nothing other than the fact that he is Dick Wadhams - and he hasn't done much of anything since arriving back in town a few months ago.

Wadhams is the Colorado version of Paris Hilton; all he has to do is fart and the press will interview him for an hour about it.

Listen, we're not suggesting that Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak should get equal time; the media shouldn't spend much time interviewing her, either. But does Wadhams have naked pictures of somebody at Gannett or what? There are a lot of other Colorado Republicans the media could talk to - they'd just rather play kissy face with Wadhams.

Suthers Denies Politics of Memo, Claims Ignorance

by: Colorado Pols

Tue May 01, 2007 at 08:40:57 AM MDT

[Colorado Attorney General John] Suthers said his office has a duty to disclose possible constitutional issues with bills moving through the Legislature, including Ritter's proposed mill-levy freeze.

The attorney general's role of advising the governor and lawmakers of possible constitutional conflicts, he said, was galvanized in a 2003 Colorado Supreme Court decision that said Attorney General Ken Salazar was right to challenge the Republican-controlled Legislature's 2003 redistricting plan.

"I think they protest too much in suggesting it was politically motivated," Suthers said of critics who have accused his office of colluding with Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams.

Suthers said Wadhams had no role "ghost writing" his office's opinion.

"Dick Wadhams is not smart enough to write that, let me assure you," Suthers said. [Pols emphasis]

According to Colorado Confidential, a left-leaning political Web site, Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, told a group of Democrats over the weekend he wants to investigate possible coordination between Suthers' office and the Colorado Republican Party.

ProgressNowAction, a liberal Colorado political group, initiated Monday an online petition to call for an investigation of Suthers' office.

Suthers cautioned that he was not calling Ritter's policy apolitical. He said only his office's involvement in the matter was divorced from politics...

You can argue whether or not Suthers' opinion on the matter was politically-motivated, but we find this a little hard to believe:

Suthers said his office's opinion came out so late in the legislative process - the day the House gave its final approval of the bill - because the first he knew of the mill-levy proposal was its introduction April 23.

Does Suthers really want to go on record as saying he didn't know anything about this until April 23? The opinion his office issued cites press releases from weeks earlier than that. And as Colorado Confidential reported last week, Suthers had a conversation about the proposal with Ritter "6-8 weeks ago."

Media Love Affair with Wadhams Continues

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Apr 24, 2007 at 09:54:29 AM MDT

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: The Colorado media LOVES Republican Chair Dick Wadhams. Today the Rocky Mountain News devotes an entire article, complete with a picture, to the fact that Wadhams was at a House Education Committee meeting.

The stocky guy sitting quietly in the back row drew attention Monday as the House Education Committee debated Gov. Bill Ritter's school funding plan.

"I'm trying to learn everything about the $1.8 billion property tax increase by the Democrats and Gov. Ritter," explained Dick Wadhams, the state Republican Party chairman.

Wadhams plans to frame the issue exactly that way in the 2008 election. Republicans will raise the issue even if the plan dies in the legislature, Wadhams said.

Why is this news? Dick Wadhams sits in on a committee in the legislature! So what? Who cares? Dick Wadhams is turning into Jennifer Aniston, with the Colorado media dutifully playing the role of paparazzi.

Dick Wadhams appears at the State Capitol!

Dick Wadhams walks his dog!

Dick Wadhams goes shopping!