Posted on 01/15/2007 11:04:43 AM PST by Rawlings
WASHINGTON — Sen. Wayne Allard said today he will honor his term-limits pledge and leave at the end of 2008, creating a replacement fight that should turn Colorado into one of the country’s biggest electoral battlegrounds. "I just didn't think I could back away from the (term limits) commitment."
(Excerpt) Read more at rockymountainnews.com ...
I pray that Schaffer runs. I'm told that the national party is pulling for him and the Colorado grassroots is working behind the scenes for Schaffer.
He is certainly the most conservative of the bunch. He'll be facing Latte Mark Udall of Boulder--one of the more liberal Colorado democrats. It should be an interesting test of Colorado's conservative character.
Go Bob Go!!!
And if Udall wins, it will pretty much cement Colorado as hopeless. This is the biggest puzzlement to me -- historically conservative western states creeping inexorably toward liberalism.
Its official. Allard is not running again.
Schaffer and McInnis are the best of the potential Republicans.
The libs are moving out of the Left Coast cities in search of affordable housing.
Dang. He's one of the best conservatives in the Senate.
Either Tom Tancredo or Bob Schaffer will work. Scott McInnis is pro-choice and that will hurt his chances with the states large contingent of social conservatives. Wayne Allard is a good man. Met him several times and he was always a gentleman. Solid conservative voting record. The US Senate will be losing one of its most conservative voices.
Yeah. After they ruined California, they figure that the state is no longer livable, and move on to destroy some other state. They're like locust.
colorado seems to be trending blue. any co freepers out there confident to say the seat will stay in republican hands?
Tancredo would lose the general election in a landslide - his "miami is a 3rd world country" remark has finished him.
Didn't Allard just squeak by in his last election? Or was it the polls that said he was going to squeak by, and yet he won comfortably?
Bob Schaffer would win this seat. Latte Mark is a true liberal from the most liberal part of our state. I just can't see how a liberal wins this state in any way.
Colorado may be trending blue but it's not moving leftward. We have had some very conservative votes lately and we've voted for Bush twice. Anything else is alarmist. This remains a fundamentally conservative state and if Schaffer wants this seat he gets it. There's been soem talk about John Elway running for it but he needs to wait for the governor's seat or our other Senate seat. It's too soon for himl
Colorado holds this seat for the GOP and we still vote GOP in the presidential race. Take it to the bank.
What an insult to locusts! First they move in, then they whine about how things were done back there and then they try to change how the locals live.
They are worse than locusts, flies, frogs, and boils all at once.
Tancredo is a one trick pony who couldnt win statewide if his momma's life depended on it...We better beg Owens to run otherwise we in deeeeeeeeeep trouble
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Allard#Electoral_history
2002 Race for U.S. Senate
Wayne Allard (R) (inc.), 51%
Tom Strickland (D), 46%
1996 Race for U.S. Senate
Wayne Allard (R), 51%
Tom Strickland (D), 46%
1996 Race for U.S. Senate (Republican Primary)
Wayne Allard (R), 57%
Gale Norton (R), 43%
Ugh. Demanding term limits of Republicans but not Democrats (where are the purist GOP-bashers now?) is nothing more than unilateral disarmament.
You're right about Tancredo. He could not win and I don't think we want him to. He'll push Colorado leftward over the abyss. Owens is a dead-duck in Colorado politics.
Bob Schaffer will win. Don't worry about it. Just be prepared to give money and knock on doors. Dick Wadhams will be the new state chair. He's brilliant and he won't let Colorado's conservative ship sink.
Might the state party establishment be craven enough to run Pete Coors again?
The polls, IIRC, had Allard losing last time and he won by 5.
Hes' a good man. He'll be missed. I'm not suprised he honored his term limit pledge.
Terri Schiavo.
Not a chance. Schaffer is the kind of guy who can unite the libertarians and social conservatives. Anyone else--Coors or McInnis would widen the gap. Dick Wadhams, who looks to be the new state party chairman, was at the press conference. I'm almost sure he's looking at Bob Schaffer.
If Colorado is be a conservative state we must first shake off the grim shadow of Bill Owens.
There really is no denying that CO has been trending Dem on just about every level. Udall may be more liberal than the state as a whole, but the '06 governor election shows that the state has no problem electing a liberal. The Udall name is popular, and this is going to be a tight race no matter what (well, unless the Repubs nominate Tancredo).
I'm not trying to be overly negative, and Colorado certainly isn't hopeless, but Repubs have a lot of work to do there.
Republicans need a ballot initiative that will get the base riled up. We've seen this in Ohio. Republican base came out for defense of marriage (2004), but was less enthusiastic about minimum wage (2006). Basically Cleveland controlled last elections here in Ohio because of minimum wage.
I believe that, because majorities are thin on both sides, it's the ballot initiatives that get the vote out, not the candidates or the party machines. Of course you have to have candidates with name recognition, but it's the ballot initiatives that influence elections the most (IMHO).
You may be right about that. Except that Colorado already passed a marriage amendment last year which didn't draw many conservatives. There may be a push for an anti-civil unions vote that couldn't get on the ballot last year.
We failed a domestic partnerships initiative by a decent margin. The gay brigade may try to put another one on the ballot again.
But in the end I don't think you'll see anything big on the ballot in Colorado. So Bob Schaffer will have to win this thing on his own.
That seems from left-field...Care to explain?
This is the biggest puzzlement to me -- historically conservative western states creeping inexorably toward liberalism.
I saw that idiot Howard Dean on TV the other day talking about how Denver has been picked for the 2008 DNC Convention.
I hope that by Allard leaving voluntarily...it doesn't mean yet another GOP seat going to a dem.
Anyway..re: the DNC Convention. The reason Denver was almost NOT the one picked is because their hotels and the place that the convention would be held are NOT unionized.
Howard Dean said that by the time the convention starts they WILL be unionized.
And, he went on to say that they really wanted a western state...so they can use it to start their takeover of Western states' conservative Congressional seats.
I grew up in Boulder...and I know how liberal IT is...but, it makes me SICK to see what Colorado is becoming if Dean is re-making to fit HIS ideas.
any co freepers out there confident to say the seat will stay in republican hands?
Why are you suprised? Do you know how many illegals have moved into Colorado? How many Californian's have been moving there as well as to Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, etc., in droves? The I25 corridor of Colorado is where the voting block is and it's more liberal than the Western slope areas of the state and way out number the Western sloppers.
...run Pete Coors again?
This is neutral news. We are going to be playing defense nomatter what in this seat.
I'm hoping that either Bill Owens runs, or Attorney General John Suthers. Any of Colorado's Congressman is likely to lose to Mark Udall, while I think Owens or Suthers is even money.
The Dems also have their sights on AZ and NV. As PA and Ohio were states that determined the outcome of the '04 election, it may all come down to Colorado in '08.
No. How many?
yeah..when I saw that JD Hayworth lost in Arizona...I figured we are in big trouble.
McCain isn't conservative enough...Kyl is good...but I worry about AZ...and NV.
I have also heard rumblings that Wyoming is even heading in a lib way...do you know?
"I'm told that the national party is pulling for him "
If the RNC is even suggesting Schaffer you might as well as forget a Republican primary in Colorado. It's a done deal. It really doesn't matter what the people want...remember, it's all about the golden boys in the party. They simply want your money and your vote...not your voice.
The intervention by Congress to prevent the murder of Mrs. Schiavo was ill-considered, and exposed many Americans to what looked like them to fanaticism.
It was a serious (political) error not to fold after they lost in court.
I admire their moral stoicism, but in the extensive liberty-loving regions of the country, including my NH and much of the West, they threw away a generation of political gain in about ten days.
There is no way in hell they are winning Nevada. Nevada had an open Congressional seat, an incumbent Congressman that was seen as vulnerable, and a race for Governor in '06, and in spite of the nationwide disaster, all 3 went R.
Not to mention, if the nominee is Mitt Romney, the Mormon thing will help him, if it's McCain, he's from the West and popular in Nevada, and Giuliani couldn't be more perfect for Nevada if he tried. So all three of the likely candidates will win it easily.
As for Arizona, obviously, McCain isn't losing Arizona, the Mormon thing will help Romney, and again, I think Giuliani's appeal in Arizona is probably close to as strong.
Schaeffer?
I can see voters losing confidence in the GOP, but to maintain conservative ideals while voting for the Dems? I don't get that.
In 2002-2004, I was convinced that GW Bush would go down as one of the greatest presidents in US history. Now, I'm thinking under Bush we've seeing the demise of both conservatism and the Republican Party.
"colorado seems to be trending blue. any co freepers out there confident to say the seat will stay in republican hands?"
No, again. Colorado is doomed. Don't move here. If you must move here, please move into Denver itself, and stay away from the mountains.
Thank you.
To the contrary, I don't think Congress did enough to save the life of Terri Schiavo, and if being "conservative" in the 21st Century means standing idly by while the death-lovers push their agenda, you can cram that kind of conservatism up your liberty loving rear end.
"Seems that CO voters are conservative but lost confidence in the GOP."
Exactly! The GOP has lost its spine--especially in Colorado. The Republicans I've talked to here and getting serious and it's about time. Dick Wadhams will be our next state party chair and we are starting to field good candidates. Bob Schaffer will win if he runs for this Senate seat. He is a solid, staunch Reagan conservative. And I have no doubt that Colorado values are conservative.
Run Bob Run!!!
Last year, The RATS recruited candidates who ran to the right of their Republicans on several issues. For example, the RATS picked up 2 House seats in Indiana by recruiting pro-life candidates.
Right now, I don't see any Republican with any chance of winning this seat. Colorado has profoundly shifted to the Democratic Party at every political level, thanks to the Democratic supporters who ended up moving to Colorado.
"Colorado is doomed."
Baloney! Colorado is a conservative state that has gotten tired of lame Republican candidates like Pete Coors and Bob Beauprez. Give us a Bob Schaffer and we'll flex our conservative muscle.
Look, moderate Dems have done well here in the absence of solid Republicans. Just like the rest of the country. Instead of hunkering down into your "Fortress Colorado" get behind a real conservative like Schaffer and let's tip our state back to the right.
We are a conservative state--we just need to vote that way.
McCain could lose Arizona. He wins the senate races because no one opposes him from the GOP and the Dems have put up weak candidates against him. Rumor has it Napolitano will oppose him in 2010.
Schaeffer did not run well against Coors and we have even more Mexicans and more LA liberals here now, so he needs to have a better staff and a better plan than last time.
The big difference may be the party bosses ( Owens, etc. )...this time ?
Based on an estimate of 11 million illegals in the USA they figure 220,000 in Colorado. However, I've seen estimates the national average is more like 30 million. If true then exponentially Colorado could be around 700,000 or more.
You're right to some degree that the Dems have taken over. But liberalism hasn't. Liberals have not proven that they can win here. I highly doubt Latte Mark Udall will win. Bob Schaffer, I think, will run for this seat. He is our best candidate and he's going to win.
Stop worrying about Colorado people! It's not freakin' Vermont--it's still a red state!
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