Saturday, May 19, 2007

The Battle of Ideas & Values

Since elections are about contrasting ideas and values and because Colorado is replete with registered Independents, it's crucial for former Rep. Bob Schaffer to aggressively define himself and the ideas he champions to demonstrate that he's in touch with mainstream voters.

This will be a challenge because no sooner had Schaffer announced his candidacy than the liberal media (excuse the redundancy) began stigmatizing him as an arch-conservative. The truth, which has been buried beneath a staggering amount of media falsehoods is that most Coloradoans are moderate to somewhat conservative.

In that regard they subscribe to the virtues of a smaller footprint for government, the economic benefits of lower taxes, the right to bear arms, and an understanding that our security at home is dependent upon the relative stability of geopolitical flash points worldwide.

As always, we can be assured that Schaffer's opponent will be well funded by the 527s which make up for their lack of grassroots fund-raising with fiscal Goliaths such as George Soros. That's why it's so important that Schaffer's message reaches every corner of the state so that early fund-raising can begin.

That stated, it's also vital that the voice of the people be heard in every venue possible, from letters to the editor, to web discussions on the sites of Colorado's major newspapers, and, particularly, in the blogosphere, which is a powerful tool barely tapped by Republicans.

If the sensible people of Colorado have a real opportunity to hear the messages of both candidates we can be confident of victory next year, but make no mistake, the liberals wrote the textbook on message distortion and hyperbole, so the we must rise to the challenge.

Let the contest begin.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Washington Post on Schaffer's Arrival

Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post's "The Fix" blog still ranks Colorado as the most competitive race in the upcoming round of U.S. Senate campaigns, but has noticed the recent encouraging news for Republicans:

Republicans (finally) have their man. Former Rep. Bob Schaffer quietly announced his candidacy last week and all indications are that he will have the Republican primary field to himself. Democrats quickly sought to portray Schaffer as a conservative extremist, citing as evidence some of the positions he advocated during his three terms in Congress in the late 1990s. There's no question that Schaffer is more conservative than the average Colorado voter, but he also built up a grassroots following based on the "straight-shooter" reputation he maintained during his tenure in the House and before that in the state legislature.

Nevertheless, Cillizza also highlights the conventional wisdom surrounding Schaffer's perceived political weakness:

In our mind, Schaffer's biggest problem is fundraising. When he ran in the GOP Senate primary in 2006, he was never able to compete financially with beer magnate Pete Coors in the primary and wound up losing badly. Assuming the party is lined up behind him this time, Schaffer may benefit from a slew of national GOP money.

Even so, Colorado Conservative Project brings forward evidence that suggests Schaffer's opponent, Boulder liberal Mark Udall, is hampered with his own financial management shortcomings. There's certainly a long way to go in this race.

Cross posted at Mount Virtus

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Schaffer Is In

I know there's been some questions about former Congressman Bob Schaffer's status as a candidate for the U.S. Senate now appears clear. Yes, he's in. As he was quoted as saying in today's Coloradoan:

"Republicans have lost elections because our leaders have not been bold enough in proposing innovative solutions in Washington and have drifted from our long-held claim to the mantle of fiscal responsibility," Schaffer said. "Republicans have not fought hard enough for children and public education reform, especially in the inner city where the need has reached crisis status."

The race is on. Republicans can begin to come together now to beat the too-far-Left Mark Udall of Boulder.