Colorado Politics, News and Inside Information

Owens, Schaffer Back Beauprez

Congressman Bob Beauprez has received the endorsements of Governor Bill Owens and former Congressman Bob Schaffer in his run for governor in 2006.

The Owens endorsement isn't a major surprise, though the timing is curious in that it came so early. Beauprez has now tied up most of the big names, and while endorsements don't guarantee much, it doesn't help Marc Holtzman if Beauprez cleans up all of the big names.

Click below to read the full press release:

Good Press for Bridges

Democrat Rutt Bridges got some good press for his forays into Southern Colorado over the weekend.

From The Cortez Journal:

Bridges, an entrepreneur from Littleton, spent 90 minutes Sunday afternoon sipping beer and talking politics with a handful of hearty Democrats at the Main Street Brewery in Cortez. He said job creation, affordable health care and education are keys to his campaign.

From The Telluride Daily Planet:

Colorado gubernatorial hopeful Rutt Bridges sat with a small circle of citizens and local elected officials at the Coffee Cowboy in Telluride Sunday morning, answering questions and introducing himself.

He had some particular insight to questions about the oil and gas development that is gaining momentum all over the state, particularly on the Western Slope. Bridges, a Democrat, worked in the oil and gas industry for two decades.

Bridges is getting the press, now where's Bill Ritter?

Does Everybody Else Get a Canyon?

According to The Rocky Mountain News, former Congressman Scott McInnis has formally had a wilderness area named after him. Here's the scoop on McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area:

This 122,300-acre expanse of sandstone canyons, high desert wilderness and 24-mile stretch of the Colorado River west of Grand Junction has been renamed for a former Colorado congressman who sponsored the bill to create it five years ago.

If McInnis does decide to run for governor, how will this affect campaign laws? Could the other candidates claim "equal time" and require that they get their own wildlife areas named after them? Rutt Bridges Canyon? Marc Holtzman River?

Holtzman Screws Up, Sort Of

Republican gubernatorial candidate Marc Holtzman screwed up this week, not once but twice. According to The Rocky Mountain News:

In a mass e-mail sent Tuesday, Holtzman and his staff made faux pas on two fronts: campaign finance reports and a mailing list that included state employees. First, Holtzman urged supporters to overnight a campaign donation to make Thursday's contribution deadline for the second quarter of 2005. "Checks received before July 15, but dated prior to June 30, will still count," the e-mail read.

Not according to state campaign finance regulations. Documents from the Secretary of State's Office specify that a contribution is "considered made or received as of the date that it is accepted by the committee or party." Checks are considered received on the day of their deposit, according to regulations. Holtzman's staff acknowledged the error.

Beauprez Gets Hefley Endorsement

It looks like we were wrong on this one. Earlier this week we had heard that Congressman Joel Hefley was leaning towards endorsing Marc Holtzman for governor, but he must not have been leaning that far. Congressman Bob Beauprez announced today that Hefley has endorsed his candidacy for governor. From the press release:

"I'm disappointed to see Bob leave Congress because he has done a fine job and I enjoy serving with him," said Congressman Hefley. "However, he has the background, experience and ability to win the election and to be a first-rate governor."

"It's incredibly encouraging to see the Party coming together," said Beauprez. "I'm humbled by the confidence of Congressman Hefley and I'm working day and night to make sure I earn the Republican nomination. I'm in this race for the long haul and not taking anything for granted."

This is a good pickup for Beauprez, more because it prevents Holtzman from getting the endorsement than anything else. If Holtzman had picked up Hefley, it would have been a big help amongst the party faithful in El Paso County.

This also comes as something of a surprise, because by most accounts Beauprez didn't do much to help Hefley earlier this year when the latter was removed from his post in the House Ethics Committee. Hefley's endorsement speaks more about how he feels about Holtzman than how he feels about Beauprez.

Bridges: Beauprez Hates Big Bird

Perhaps emboldened by his successful attack last week on Congressman Bob Beauprez over the latter's "Mexican Time" statement, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rutt Bridges today took another swipe at Beauprez, this time over a 'NO' vote for PBS.

By a vote of 284-120, the House voted to restore $100 million in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, helping to save such shows as "Sesame Street" and "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" in addition to National Public Radio. But it seems that Beauprez cast a vote against Bert and Ernie, so Bridges took another shot:

Final Reminder for Bill Ritter Q&A

Today is the final day to submit questions for former Denver District Attorney and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter. CLICK HERE to ask Mr. Ritter a question. 

Was "Mexican Time" An Intentional Statement?

Colorado Luis has an interesting take on Congressman Bob Beauprez's "Mexican time" comment that has gotten him into so much trouble this week. Could this be an echo of former California Governor Pete Wilson's 1994 strategy to make a run for a higher percentage of the "white" voters by going hard right on this issue?

I think we need to consider the possibility that this so-called "gaffe" was part of a very intentional political strategy for 2006, which I'll call the Pete Wilson strategy after the governor of California who won re-election in 1994 in a campaign that was viewed as virulently anti-Latino and anti-Asian-American.  That campaign was based on the idea that if Wilson could pick up 60% of the white vote, he would win no matter what.  He picked up 61% and won.

We're not ready to say that we agree with this idea, but it is an interesting take. And in a state where immigration reform looks to be a huge issue in 2006, maybe it would work.

More on Immigration and the Governor's Race

The Denver Post gets all of the gubernatorial candidates to weigh in today on the immigration debate, sparked by Congressman Bob Beauprez's "Mexican time" comments:

While Congressman Bob Beauprez strives to put his perceived anti-Mexican comments behind him this week, he and his fellow gubernatorial candidates expect the immigration debate to follow them through their campaigns. The two other Republicans and two Democrats who have expressed early interest in the November 2006 governor's race say Beauprez stumbled this week with comments he used to express his frustration about how long it could take to extradite suspected cop-killer Raul Gomez-Garcia from Mexico.

We've already heard from Democrat Rutt Bridges regarding Beauprez's comments and the issue. Here's what the other candidates had to say:

Republican Scott McInnis, a former 3rd Congressional District congressman, slammed Beauprez for intervening in Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey's "delicate" efforts to extradite Gomez-Garcia out of Mexico for prosecution.

Outgoing University of Denver president Marc Holtzman, a Republican, said, if elected, he would use the bully pulpit of governor to "vehemently oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants" and press the federal government to "better protect our borders."

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Bill Ritter - the former longtime Denver district attorney - said he fears that comments like Beauprez's and those from immigrant firebrand Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, are triggering a backlash against Mexicans who are here legally and "trying to be a part of the American dream."

He's Alive! Bridges Blasts Back at Beauprez

It looks like Rutt Bridges has found his speaking voice. This afternoon Bridges issued a statement condemning Congressman Bob Beauprez for his awkward statement to The Rocky Mountain News that at best was a poor choice of words and at worst an insinuation that Mexicans are lazy:

"I've vacationed in Mexico before. I know exactly what 'Mexican time' is," said Beauprez in regards to the timeframe it might take to extradite accused murderer Raul Gomez-Garcia from Mexico. Here's the statement issued today by Bridges:

Upon reading Mr. Beauprez’s comments in The Rocky Mountain News, Rutt Bridges said, “Stereotypes and slurs don’t represent Colorado values. To build consensus on common-sense solutions you need to bring people together, not drive them apart—I don’t see how Mr. Beauprez’s offensive comment helps those working to see that justice is done.”

While the statement could have been stronger, this was nevertheless the right move to make politically. If Bridges makes it out of a primary, Beauprez could very well be his opponent in the general election, and it certainly helps to try to keep any of his missteps in the public eye. Democrats in Colorado have long done a poor job of jumping on opportunities to make Republicans pay for mistakes, but it looks like Bridges is trying. We'll find out tomorrow if it works.

UPDATE: It looks like it's worked already. 9News.com has the story, with a response from Beauprez's office...