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July 27, 2005 08:00 AM UTC

Thursday Open Thread

  • 61 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Hurrah!

Comments

61 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread

  1. The stragest thing has happened.  When Judge Roberts was nominated I thought he was a right wing reactionary.  But having looked at the advertisment on the main page for three days – I am now convinced that he is a thoughtful conservative who will interpret the constitution and not legislate from the bench!

  2. so i’m FINALLY getting through “The First American” – a terrific biography of B.Franklin by HW Brands.  Anyone else checked this out?  A bit tough to get through because so much of it is actual correspondence and dialogue, which in the manner of speaking at the time, takes some getting used to.  But it is well worth it; the book paints an incredible tapestry of the times and places he lived, the characters, the politics, the drama, etc.  Truly an amazing life and a look inside the tumult that gave birth to this country.  Those of us getting caught up in partisan politics would do well to read this book and remember how we got here; and why this country is worth fighting for. 

    As Franklin and co. left the Constitutional convention after 4 months of secrecy, a matron of Philadelphia asked him “what have you produced sir?” to which BF answered “A country madam – if you can keep it.”

  3. Speaking of Holtzman, has anyone else noticed that Laura Teal gave BB a campaign contribution ($100, 5/11/05)? Didn’t find any record of her contributing to MH. Looks to me like she couldn’t get a job with BB first and settled for MH.

  4. Has anyone seen any polling in OH-02?

    Paul Hackett, an Iraq war vet and a Dem, faces a big uphill battle in a heavily Repub district–but, as may be the case in Colorado next year, the campaign debate is largely a referendum on Bush.

    The outcome on Aug. 2 could hint at what’s to come for our state and others in ’06. I’d be interested in a link to poll numbers if you’ve got ’em.

  5. Yesterday someone asked how much money MM had raised this year.  In the 2005-06 cycle ending 6/30/05 she has $826,861 in receipts, $120,000 carryover from 12/30/04, spent over $300,000 and has $634,361 on hand.

    watcher

  6. I’ve been hearing from activists that there must not be an RV tour with Holtzman anytime soon. Seeing as how they advertised it would begin around the end of July, first of August (right now?) and no one knows anything about it. It would be near impossible to drum up supporters at a moments notice for photo ops around the state.  Maybe they also figured out that during the doldrums of mid-summer a year and a half before the election, they aren’t likely to attract anyone who cares.

  7. Yeah,  MM has lots of money and a Prez willing to come to town to help her raise more…doesn’t change the fact that she is going to need it to hold her seat.

    The D-trip is looking hard at 4. They (everybody) know it will take lots of cash to knock off  MM.  Duh,  why else would the R’s put her on their own endangerd list?

    They know it, too!

    But,  it can be done.

  8. I am not thoroughly convinced that the D-trip is going be spending alot of dough in the 4th CD.  I think the Dem candidate up there will have to be within the margin of error towards the end of the race for them to consider throwing $$ in. They have been notoriously fickel about CO candidates in the past.  Although, I think that they are going to open their check book like none-other when it comes to 7th District (as long as the D candidate stays competitive).  Overall, the DCCC is well known for promising candidates large sums of cash to get them into the race and not delivering when their races hit some bumps in the road.

  9. Benedict,

    Is this the same Laura Teal that is mentioned in 7/8 and 7/1 articles in the Rocky listing her as the MH campaign spokeswoman/political/organization director? She seemed quite eager to defend her candidate’s disdain for the “establishment’s” candidate (ie Beauprez). But she gave money to him?  It’s the little things that can truly paint a candidate’s credibility.

  10. Candyraver:

    Amen: I carry a reference book around with BF quotes. A great man, great thinker, true patriot! We need more Ben Franklin’s today!!

  11. gl,  I agree about the D-trip.  However, I did see their communications dir…quoted in Roll Call as saying they were players this cycle in the 4th….and their endorsement means something to fund raising,  don’t you think?

  12. The DCCC said they would help SM the last two times in the 4th and they didn’t do sh*t.  Whoever the D is there should know he/she is going to be fending for him/herself.

    The only reason SM had a shot was b/c Colorado Families First had the best ads of the ’04 cycle.

  13. Glad to see the BB staff posting here… you guys must have nothing better to do, then, but to post on the other staffers.

    All fair in love, war, and politics then?

  14. Laura tried to get on the Beauprez Campaign, but they wouldn’t hire her so she went to millionaire Holtzman?  Weak, Laura, weak. Especially after her show of distain for Coors in 2004.

  15. wow – guys – you really want to go there? Laura is very clear to everyone, she was a BB supporter until she met Mark. Seems to me there is no better sell than that – if Mark continues to pull away BB’s base of support, he’ll have a chance after all.

  16. easykelley,

    You just made a great point. If Laura Teal typifies the type of supporter that MH is able to steal from BB then it’s going to be a short race for her candidate. There may be tens of voters who feel the same way she does but it won’t reflect the sentiment of Republican primary voters. Just ask Bob Schaffer.

  17. No Easy, she was a BB supporter until he wouldn’t give her a job.  If she really didn’t meet Holtzman until this spring then she is even further out of the loop and even more poorly connected than I thought.

    Holtzman will be done soon, and Laura will go back to being unemployed and unemployable.

  18. Laura is committed to the candidate that best represents her values…unless they are not willing to pay her, then she will work for whoever gives her a check, no matter what they stand for.

  19. You all have no clue what you’re talking about – got over it. LT is on board with MH because she believes in him. To say anything else is a lie, and Sharri, Julie, and John should be dissapointed that their supporters are bringing the level of debate down to this stuff.

  20. After having met both BB and MH, my Joe Lunchbucket pick is for MH.  I think he best represents my views, and I know I will work my a$$ off for him to help him win the primary over BB.  Just my humble everyman opinion.

  21. LT is a convert. Just like Stengel, Cotterell, Topelnicki, Correy, and everyone else that is lining up behind MH. They ALL were with someone else (Coffman) and are now on board with Marc. And LT is being perfectly clear with anyone who asks her – in fact, she volunteers it – when she gave to BB, she really thought he was her guy. And now she doesn’t anymore.

  22. Yea, Laura is a real convert all right, she has converted herself from a conservative to a moderate for a paycheck.  She is a hypocrite, plain and simple.

  23. Zip – just up on DailyKOS, linking to the Swing State Project: an internal NRCC poll shows Hackett behind Schmidt by only 5% in a district that normally swings 70-30 to the GOP.

    The NRCC is pumping $285,000 into the race to counter Hackett’s sudden Blogosphere-based funding spike (ActBlue.com reports over $292,000 in blogosphere donations averaging just over $50 per person, as of right now).

    Hackett appears to be getting inadvertent help from an Independence Institute-style organization (COAST) calling for a boycott of the election, because they don’t believe the GOP nominee is really a cut taxes/limit spending kind of politician.

  24. Ouch.  How many sugar beets are grown in the 4th CD?  I’m sure she’s not the only “deciding” vote; how many other Congresscritters voted against their district’s interests after an hour of arm-twisting?

    Just as an aside, since when does the House approve treaties?  Or isn’t this really a treaty…

  25. According to the Coloradoan there must be lots….cause they had an article on the beet farmers being more than a little upset with Musgrave…not to mention the rest of the Colorado farm community that asked her to vote against it.

    And I guess they started approving treaties now.

  26. Easy there guys, with CAFTA the squeaky wheel gets the grease or in this case the press.  Most of the Colorado ag community supports CAFTA, including the corn, cattle and dairy industries.  Although it was a hard vote for MM I am sure, it was the right one none the less.  Had MM voted ‘no’ my guess is that the corn and cattle people would have went nuts.  Looked like a no win situation to me.

  27. Musgrave supports CAFTA, no suprise I guess but does she really think she can continue to ignore her constituents concerns and focus solely on fringe social issues?

    Thanks to Musgrave’s vote* Sugar Beet farmers now have to worry about making ends meet and feeding their families. If you polled her district where would same-sex marriage rate in relation to basic economic issues?

    At some point her preoocupation with fringe social issues will cost her. The people of the 4th now have real economic worries because their own Representative sold them up the river.

    *Reo. Charles Taylor’s vote was misrecorded and CAFTA will most likely pass by just a single vote now

  28. Phoenix and Tommix – here’s some data on the size of the sugar beet industry from a 2004 article that is linked off of my blog

    “The sugar beet crop in Colorado has generated an average annual income of $37 million for farmers over the past 15 years. The state is a top 10 beet producer, despite a lingering drought.”

  29. I don’t remember seeing any ag groups openly begging Musgrave to vote For CAFTA…and I saw several articles written on behalf of farmer’s in the 4th that were against….MM is like W…she is for special interests period.  And really doesn’t care what anyone in her district thinks about that.  As long as she doesn’t upset Tom Delay…..  Maybe Tom will come to Weld to help her explain her positions.

  30. The sad truth is that LT’s reputation will most likely hurt MH’s campaign rather than help it.  She has already done a good job of alienating volunteers for fear any mistake will be publicly identified as she did during the email fiasco.

    From what I hear, she did a pretty good job of alienating volunteers on the Schaffer Campaign and we can all see where that got her candidate….

  31. The sad truth is that Joe has obviously never volunteered for or with Laura, and has yet to even set foot in the MH hq.

    duh. Susan Green had the email writter, anyway. Would you suggest Laura lie about who really sent it out? then you don’t know Laura. As proven by your post.

  32. I think Marshall will hurt Beauprez more than help. He burnt a lot of bridges up here in the primary and has yet to demonstrate his willingness to be a team player.

  33. You are crazy if you think Marshall will hurt Beauprez like Laura will hurt Holtzman.  Laura has the diplomacy of a bull in a China shop. 

    As for Joe Clueless, I think people who have not met Laura should count themselves as fortunate.

  34. “My men, yonder are the Hessians. They were brought for seven pounds and ten pence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it. Tonight, the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!”

    John Stark

  35. Unfortunately I did have the unique displeasure of volunteering with Laura on the Schaffer Campaign.  As a volunteer you should be expected to be treated with a modicum of courtesy, unfortunately for me and many others, LT did not see that as appropriate.  Go figure why Bob had a lot of volunteer support early on, but it petered out quite quickly.

    As far as lying, that is never acceptable, but to publicly name a volunteer for an error that should have been overseen by a “Political Director”.. that is inexcusable conduct which should have had her fired.

    After seeing that display, would you want to volunteer?

  36. Phoenix Rising …

    The COAST info may be very important in the outcome.  During the primary the Club for Growth ran ads against Schmidt, the R candidate, because she wasn’t tough enough on tax cuts and smaller government.  If now an effort is being made to keep the R faithful away from the polls, Hackett,the D, might stand a chance.  However, the district votes 70% R.  That’s a lot to overcome.

    watcher

  37. Watcher – re OH-2:

    With a supposed R-biased poll in the 5% range (and a supposed second poll confirming at “under ten”), this is not a standard race for the area; scandal surrounds the Ohio GOP, John Glenn has come out to campaign for Hackett, and COAST may indeed make a huge difference.  This is the other “activist” faction of the GOP carrying out what SpongeDob threatened to do the other day – withhold support; apparently, they feel better with a Democrat than a “fake” Republican.

    This is a rapidly-developing race.  Since my earlier post, Hackett’s blogosphere campaign pot has grown to $318k, probably in response to reports that the RNC is throwing up to 3/4 of a million into ads for Schmidt.  Gossip is that the NRCC and RNC ads will be very negative, in contrast to Schmidt’s campaign manager’s strategy.  The person leading the charge against Hackett’s military record has retracted his suggestions (good for him), and is in the process of trying to distance himself from the Schmidt campaign (Schmidt said he’s an advisor – oops); meanwhile, Schmidt has taken up the role of minimizing Hackett’s military service…

  38. Scott doesn’t even live in Colorado anymore, he moved to Minnesota a couple of weeks ago.  I doubt he cares about political bickering back here.

  39. First, not to scare everyone away from posting, but let me say the joke is on you.  Anonymity on a Blog is a fallacy.  The webmasters can track and ID you by capturing your IP address unless you know how to mask it.  So that’s why if you’re going to post something, be ready to answer for it.

    With that said, as a Beauprez supporter, I’m hoping that the posts about Laura Teal aren’t from Bob’s staff and volunteers.  I’m sure we all agree that our time would be better spent drumming up support for Bob. 

    The thing we Republicans do poorly is come together after tough primaries to fight the common enemy – the Democrats.  The Dems do it well, they always seem to band together after primaries, even the ugly Miles-Salazar.  That’s because they hate (for lack of a better term) us, and defeating Republicans trumps the purity of the socialist(Democrat).  When we Republicans fight, we alienate each other, the Dems smile, and we win elections by smaller margins and sometime lose.  It’s in everyone’s best interest to focus on the candidates, not each other, and especially not your fellow Republican activist.  There are always winners and losers in life, get over it and move on.  Plus, you never know when you’ll be forced to work together in the future, so it makes no sense to make enemies in your own party.  Stand on principle, vote on principle, and work for the principled candidate, but don’t disparage your fellow activist.

    Let me make a few points.  First, ask yourself this question: is this gubernatorial campaign about staff or about the candidates?  What’s the point with the personal attacks and wrongful accusations about Laura Teal?

    Second, check your facts, talk to Laura (I do quite often).  She’s a good friend, I worked closely with her on Schaffer, we were National Delegates together, and she’s been very supportive of me.  Although we’re on opposing teams, it’s clear she feels passionate about MH, and this is NOT about a paycheck.  Laura never applied for a job with Bob.  Bob picked up the support of Mike Coffman who Laura was supporting, so it was natural that Laura would give BB $$, and I know she likes Bob as well.  It’s a blessing that we Republicans have 2 candidates, 1 great and 1 solid, when the Dems can’t find even 1.

    Laura met MH, was impressed and impassioned, so she signed on with his campaign.  So be it, although I like MH, I like Bob better and I know Bob will win.  But I also know as a Republican that it doesn’t help our cause when we make libelous statements about each other.  Why burn bridges with your friends and allies when you should be focusing your attacks on our true opponents the Dems.

    One more thing, someone called Bob the “Establishment” candidate.  With Musgrave and Schaffer on board, I don’t see how Bob is the establishment candidate.

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