February 13, 2007 01:07 AM UTC

Everybody Loves Wadhams

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• by: Colorado Pols

Well, everybody in the press, that is.

Political consultant Dick Wadhams, who will likely be approved as the next Republican Party Chair in Colorado, is showing why he is the right choice to lead the GOP. It was Wadhams who led the conservative misinformation machine on HB-1072 which ultimately pressured Gov. Bill Ritter to veto the bill. It was Wadhams who patrolled the state capitol charming reporters into offering up innacurate facts in their stories about the bill – information that became gospel to many in the misinformed media.

Wadhams is well-known for his tireless courting of the press and for developing personal relationships with reporters that he plays like puppets. Like Jeri Clausing of The Denver Post, for example:

“This is a huge victory for the Republican minority and the people of Colorado,” Wadhams said.

“The Democratic majority in both houses absolutely fell in line when labor asked them to and they passed a bill so out of the mainstream even the Democratic governor had to veto it,” he said.

And this bill was just the first round in what promises to be an arsenal of ammunition for Republicans trying to get the Democrats on the record as often and as publicly as possible. Also moving through the legislature are bills that would allow gay workers to sue for employment discrimination, abolish the death penalty, and raise the caps on awards on wrongful-death lawsuits.

So while Ritter is trying to bridge partisan divides, Wadhams expects to see a lot more public battles like those that sunk the union-shop bill.

The strategy, he said, is to “illuminate the fundamental public policy difference between Republicans and Democrats.”

If the coverage of HB-1072 is an indication that reporters in Colorado will just dance to the strings that Wadhams pulls, the GOP is going to enjoy a quick recovery.