Posted on 08/30/2004 5:06:52 PM PDT by 4.1O dana super trac pak
A crowd of 65 Republicans packed into a Canon Inn conference room Thursday morning to cheer for U.S. Senate hopeful Pete Coors at his first campaign appearance in Fremont County.
The brewing magnate has been chosen by his party to challenge Colorado's Democratic Attorney General Ken Salazar for the seat being vacated by Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Ignacio) who sparked a race that is drawing national attention when he declined to run for re-election.
Coors spoke for about 45 minutes on issues ranging from federal budget priorities and health-care costs to illegal aliens and the war in Iraq, leaving about 30 minutes for questions from audience members, many whom were older voters.
"I really enjoy what I do. I don't need a job," said Coors, Chairman of Coors Brewing, a company with $4 billion in sales for 2003.
And though Coors is pro-life and against gay marriage, he said he disagrees with President Bush on budget issues.
Coors said Bush has allowed federal spending to get out of control.
Earlier this year, Bush presented a 2005 federal budget asking congress for a deficit of $364 billion, according to the Government Accountability Office, a non-partisan federal accounting agency.
"We're burning up the credit card," Coors said. "If you own a business, if you did your accounting like the federal government does their accounting, you'd be locked up."
However, Coors said he would vote to keep the president's recent tax cuts in place and fight to extend the estate-tax reprieve that is set to expire in 2011.
The estate tax applies to transfer of property or businesses after death of the owner and only applies when the value of assets reaches $1 million or above, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Coors did not specify federal programs or services he would cut to reign in deficit spending but said his experience as chairman of Coors Brewing would be useful in making those decisions.
"We have the least efficient health-care delivery system in the world," which results in higher costs, Coors said.
Although he didn't know how to make the American health-care system more efficient, Coors said reforming the tort system and reducing the number of plaintiff and class-action lawsuits could lower costs.
During the question-and-answer session, several Fremont County residents said illegal aliens are draining federal programs, such as welfare and Medicaid and asked Coors about his position on illegal immigrants.
"The vast majority of them are working," Coors said. "They are doing jobs that Americans don't want to do;" but immigrants should be documented, and he would be in favor of increasing penalties for companies that hire undocumented aliens.
To keep illegal immigrants out of the country, "my plan is to put military on our borders," both north and south, Coors said, receiving a round of applause from the crowd.
"I'll be an advocate of increasing our military budget," Coors said, pointing out military expenditures were 50 percent of the federal budget 40 years ago, when President John F. Kennedy was in office.
Addressing the war in Iraq, Coors said, "Our young men and women didn't go over there to pick a fight," but the war was a decision of Congress and the President, which American troops are bound to uphold.
"We need to support them when they come back home," he said.
Unless your dad is one of those who experiences a gag reflex at the mere mention of PJB's name how about 'The Death of the West'...
"Mr. Huntington argues that immigration represents a cultural threat not just because of the pressures from immigration itself but also because of the absolute refusal of our elites—not only in culture but big business and politics also—to resist cultural deracination, slow or halt immigration itself, or even enforce assimilation of newcomers into traditional American civilization."
Why should Mr. Coors differ from his peers? If he doesn't go along with them now it's almast a certainty that they'd make him cave sooner or later.
Awww...rats!
Why should Mr. Coors differ from his peers? If he doesn't go along with them now it's almast a certainty that they'd make him cave sooner or later.
I agree. Coors' position on immigration seems a bit Clintonesque (i.e., waffley). I definitely would like to hear him take more of a stand before I feel okay about casting a vote for him in November. (I know it's one more Senate seat, but this isn't my only problem with the man. Given his generosity toward the homosexual subculture as head of Coors Brewery, I strongly feel that he's an opportunist who has no principles and who sees the world as a reflection of the bottom line--or the ballot).
I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive my governor from switching endorsements from Schaffer to Coors.
What he means there without actually coming out and saying it is he supports the temporary guest worker program. Make all the illegals legal and presto, problem solved. That is until the next 10 million slip across the borders and we have to do it all over again.
Apparently Mr Coors isn't yet aware that most of the country considers this cliche a parody.
The easiest way to prove the nonsense of that statement is to look at those areas that haven't been invaded with illegals yet. All the work is getting done with no problems.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.