Bling Tour It Is--Romney Abandons Springs "Wildfire Rally"

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by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: AP’s Kristen Wyatt reports on Romney’s avoidance of the Denver area:

So far, Mitt Romney is taking an unexpected approach to campaigning in the battleground presidential state of Colorado…

Romney hasn’t been to the Denver area since clinching the Republican presidential nomination. Instead, he is visiting lightly populated parts of the state where he is likely to encounter friendly crowds.

Is Romney avoiding the suburban Denver independent voters who could make the difference in November? Or is he wisely firing up the base in a state where conservative Republicans handed him an unexpected defeat in presidential caucuses?

Neither of those sound very positive, do they?

—–

After a week vacationing in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney headed back to the fundraising circuit Sunday appearing with his wife Ann at three private residences in the Hamptons.

One of the high-dollar events was held at the shorefront estate of billionaire David Koch, whose Southampton compound was tightly secured in part because of roughly 150 protesters in the area…

The Koch fundraiser cost $50,000 a person to attend, $75,000 per couple. One of the protesters on an adjacent street to the property held a sign that read “Your $50,000 ticket = My yearly salary.”

From the Long Island Hamptons to equally-glitzy if more remote Aspen, local reporter Sandra Fish writes for the Washington Post:

The Daily News noted that the hosts, Susan Crown and William Kunkler, are on the opposite side of Crown’s brother Jim Crown, one of President Barack Obama’s campaign bundlers. Jim Crown also hosted First Lady Michelle Obama and the Obama daughters on a ski vacation.

Romney will spend the night in Aspen (more mountains, fewer yachts than the Hamptons or New Hampshire), then hold a rally in Grand Junction on Tuesday morning. Mesa County is a traditionally GOP county, with almost 49 percent of active voters registered Republicans as of June, and fewer Democrats than unaffiliated voters.

The Denver Post reported that the presumptive GOP nominee might add a second stop, and some are wondering if he’d fly into Colorado Springs, home to the state’s worst wildfire ever…

The word today is that Mitt Romney’s campaign will not be holding a “wildfire themed” campaign rally in Colorado Springs Wednesday, and tomorrow’s event in Grand Junction may steer clear of the subject of our recent wildfires and focus on energy instead. After today’s fundraising events in Aspen, Romney will hold his town hall in Junction Tuesday, and then out–once again avoiding both the pivotal Denver metropolitan area and populated regions of the state in general.

There are a few theories about Romney’s abandonment of a widely-rumored campaign stop in Colorado Springs. We’ve heard credibly that it really might be a political consideration–based on blowback potential over statements Romney has made in favor of “cutting back” on firefighters. Romney campaign will never admit to that, of course, but we’re told an energetic response to any Romney event in the fire-ravaged Springs was in the planning stages.

The “bling tour” press from the Hamptons this weekend wasn’t great, and Aspen keeps that meme going–but as we’ve said, a hypocritical grandstand would have been much worse.

10 thoughts on “Bling Tour It Is–Romney Abandons Springs “Wildfire Rally””

ArapaGOP says:

July 9, 2012 at 9:59 pm

Do you have any proof that:

1. A town hall was ever planned for Colorado Springs?

2. Romney ever intended to talk about wildfires?

Don’t get me wrong, I think there is a lot to talk about with Obama’s failure to rebuild the aerial tanker fleet and other neglect. Why couldn’t tankers have been paid with stimulus money?

But first you should prove that any/all your supporting details are true.

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1. Fidel's dirt nap says:
  
  July 9, 2012 at 10:06 pm
  
  you asshole ideologues want to cut everything in the government as a solution to the problem, then when it dosen’t work and you’re caught with your pants down, you want to cry for help and blame Obama at the same time.
  
  Most of us pay attention and know what is going on. Fuck you.
  
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2. harrydoby says:
  
  July 9, 2012 at 10:32 pm
  
  Do you have any proof that:
  
  1. A town hall was ever planned for Colorado Springs? Did you fail to see the quote from the Denver Post above?
  
  2. Romney ever intended to talk about wildfires? Agreed — Romney never intends to make a fool of himself, it just kinda happens when he least expects it. So I suppose it is a good idea for him to dodge the hard questions whenever he can.
  
  BTW, regarding the fleet of heavy tankers — did you already forget?
  
  Fleet grounding
  
  In the United States, most of these aircraft are privately owned and contracted to government agencies, and the National Guard and the U.S. Marines also maintain fleets of firefighting aircraft. On May 10, 2004, The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that they were cancelling contracts with operators of 33 heavy airtankers. They cited liability concerns and an inability to safely manage the fleet after the wing failure and resulting crash of a C-130A Hercules in California and a PB4Y-2 in Colorado during the summer of 2002. Both aged aircraft broke up in flight due to catastrophic fatigue cracks at the wing roots. After subsequent third-party examination and extensive testing of all USFS contracted heavy airtankers, three companies were awarded contracts and now maintain a combined fleet of 23 aircraft.
  
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3. Aristotle says:
  
  July 9, 2012 at 10:51 pm
  
  This one is a good one to start with.
  
  You take care of this first, and then no one will think of what a hypocrite you are when you demand others to prove it.
  
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ellbee says:

July 9, 2012 at 10:02 pm

I remember when Pols lamented Obama raising so much money in 2008.

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1. harrydoby says:
  
  July 9, 2012 at 10:54 pm
  
  It can be a real pain having to answer to millions of supporters, much less represent all Americans.
  
  Romney’s job will be much easier:
  
  But that leaves a little more than 34,000 responsible for the rest of the $83.8 million, the AP found. That’s about $2,400 on average per person.
  
  Not to mention the 30-odd billionaires who really get Mitt to stand up and salute!
  
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IndyNinja says:

July 9, 2012 at 11:56 pm

The far-right version of this site, Colorado Peak Politics, seriously turns me off with their use of photo-shopped pictures of politicians and others. It lowers the credibility of the message and turns any point you are trying to make into a fourth-grade level spitting contest. I would hate to see Colorado Pols reduced to that level. I like it here because the debate usually (though not always) stay relatively elevated.

So please keep on message and leave the face-pasting to the high school student council races.

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1. ClubTwitty says:
  
  July 10, 2012 at 12:22 am
  
  What are you referring to?
  
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  1. IndyNinja says:
    
    July 10, 2012 at 1:07 am
    
    If they found an actual picture of Romney next to a giant pile of money (or perhaps his family inadvertently spelling the word “money”), that would be one thing. But the “bling” is just childish. You don’t need made-up stuff to attack Romney, he has plenty of real-life flaws.
    
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    1. DavidThi808 says:
      
      July 10, 2012 at 6:25 am
      
      http://cdn3.standard.net/sites…
      
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