October 28, 2015 10:17 AM UTC

Boulder Goes Nuts on "GOPalooza Eve"

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• by: Colorado Pols

Tonight’s Republican presidential debate at the University of Colorado’s Coors Events Center in the liberal stronghold of Boulder is the center of the American political universe today, and yesterday into last night saw the beginnings of what is likely to be a series of highly memorable events–most taking place outside the tightly controlled and 90% empty venue the actual debate is being held in. Here’s a roundup of coverage so far, starting with the 7NEWS report you can watch after the jump (below):

While the nation will center its attention on the remaining Republican Party presidential hopefuls in Boulder for their third national debate, those students who run political efforts on campus at the University of Colorado, Boulder, are trying to climb out from the shadows.

Franky Navarrette works with Fossil Free CU. It’s an organization that aims to bring more awareness on the use of fossil fuels in our state and country and works to reduce that dependence on them.

“We’re looking at candidates who are coming to Colorado and not talking about climate change, in an area that’s been ravaged by forest fires and yet, they are not addressing it,” said Navarrette. “We are asking, ‘Hey, if you want us to vote for you, if you want youth to engage, you have to talk about our future, you have to be accountable for what’s going to happen to us,’ and a part of that is absolutely climate change.”

The Denver Post’s John Ingold reports on a gun violence prevention presser at CU’s Farrand Field yesterday afternoon, which focused heavily on Jeb! Bush’s recent “staff happens” gaffe after the recent mass shooting in Oregon:

“I don’t hear them talking about prevention,” [Columbine dad Tom] Mauser said at the news conference. “I don’t hear them talking about the victims.”

While Mauser and others spoke, a 10-foot tall effigy of former Florida governor and GOP contender Jeb Bush — wearing a sign reading, “Stuff Happens” — loomed over their shoulders. Bush came in for extra criticism for his answer to a question about whether to tighten gun regulations following the massacre at Umpqua Community College in Oregon.

“Look, stuff happens,” Bush said. “There’s always a crisis and the impulse is always to do something, and it’s not always the right thing to do.”

“Stuff just doesn’t happen,” said Eileen McCarron, the president of Colorado Ceasefire… [Pols emphasis]

The Durango Herald’s Peter Marcus:

Colorado pro-choice advocates are using the added attention to encourage candidates to shift away from pro-life talking points. In addition to speaking with the media, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado is mobilizing students from Denver and Boulder to rally behind a pro-choice message.

“One of my messages to candidates is to … rethink their positions. Right now, I don’t see any of the GOP candidates being in touch with that majority viewpoint in our country,” said Karen Middleton, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado.

Meanwhile, immigrant-rights advocates say the GOP has no chance of winning next year if the party doesn’t embrace immigration reform. Latino leaders are organizing a large rally Wednesday on the CU-Boulder campus to launch a voter-registration drive.

Meanwhile, the Boulder Daily Camera’s Sarah Kuta reports on some of the worst excuse-making yet from debate organizers on why most of the seats in the Coors Events Center for tonight’s debate will remain empty, further compounding a PR disaster that has dogged this debate from the moment the seating arrangement was announced:

Students first began criticizing debate organizers after they learned that 50 tickets would be given to members of the campus community. The Republican National Committee bumped that number to 100, then last week, to 150.

University officials told the Daily Camera this week that of the 150 CU tickets, 99 tickets are for students, 17 are for faculty and 34 are for event volunteers, the nine members of the Board of Regents, plus a guest each, Chancellor Phil DiStefano and a guest.

The audience size at debates is limited to reduce the number of distractions during the debates, said Sean Spicer, chief spokesman for the Republican National Committee. [Pols emphasis]

Here’s NPR’s similarly damaging story today. After weeks of CU officials, Republican organizers, and CNBC broadcasters essentially pointing fingers at one another over why these seats will be empty, the RNC’s spokesman finally admits that a bigger audience could be a “distraction.” After all of the convoluted excusemaking on this increasingly bitter point of contention, this is the excuse that will, if you will, live in infamy. It confirms the worst suspicions of students who have asked without any prejudice to attend this high-profile event taking place on their campus. They really aren’t wanted.

Perhaps more than any other factor, this preventable PR disaster of denying CU students access to thousands of empty seats sums up the folly of the whole spectacle.

We’ll be updating throughout the day from the People’s Republic as “GOPalooza” rolls to its cacophonous end.