Schaffer or Coors? If you're talking about Coors, I've never seen him debate. I read an political interview with Coors and he was quite good. He ran a lousy general election campaign though... I can't figure out why he ran out of steam since he ran a very disciplied campaign in the primary. Disappointing.
I still maintain Coors was the more conservative -- or maybe more accurately -- libertarian conservative -- leaning candidate in the race. Amazing how freepers blood curl and they scream "NANNY STATER!!!" at Huckabee for restricting tobacco use, but if Schaffer wants "zero tolerance" for alcahol, well now, THAT kind of nanny state is just fine and dandy. George Ryan had the same kind of mindset when he was Sec. of State of Illinois and gave government the power to suspend people's licenses for using mouthwash.
Guess there must be more smokers than drinkers on FR. (Full Disclosure: I'm a non-smoker but an occasional recreational drinker, and never drink to excess.)
Coors. When I saw him in a debate, I was absolutely floored. This was Rove and the White House’s choice. Made me wonder if they ever saw this guy in person. He was barely a step above Jackie Gleason’s Ralph Kramden when they told him he was on tv. It didn’t particularly matter what his ideology was (and as was pointed out, the base grassroots was behind Schaffer), he couldn’t enunciate his vision at all. Salazar absolutely destroyed him in the debates, making Coors look like some wealthy dilettante who thought his name entitled him to high office.
BillyBoy. The reason Coors got nominated was simple. Bush hated Bob Schaffer because Bob wouldn't support NCLB, after the president had let Teddy Kennedy have is way with it. And, Bob wouldn't support the prescription drug medication entitlement, even tho an R president had proposed it.
The reason Gov. Owens reversed his endorsement of Schaffer was because he got an angry call from the White House telling him there was no position for anyone in the next Bush white house for a governor that supported Bob Schaffer. (that has nothing to do with why Owens didn't get a second term appointment--that's another story altogether). The president made the same calls to the Trailhead folks. I know this straight from the horses mouth--that's how it went down.
Coors got all the R money before the primary and the nomination because the President was pretty sure Pete would go along to get along with the President on issues where the President drifted left.
Maybe the President was wrong. As to what Coors said, talk is talk and its cheap. I'm sure Pete intended what he said when he said it. He's a good man whom I would be proud to call friend. But if orders had come down from the White House for Seantor Coors to jump when the amnesty bill came up its my opinion Pete would have followed his President. Doesn't make him a bad man. It just means that loyalty to his party is more important that loyalty to conservative principles.
By way of contrast, Bob Schaffer acted conservative when it hurt Bob Schaffer. He was willing to defy his own president when his own president was making terrible mistakes. We need someone like that in the Senate, especially if John McCain gets elected.
Comparing these two men as conservatives is comparing one good man's talk to another good man's action. It's meaningless.
Bob Schaffer will be one of the great Senators ever, if he gets elected.