Pressure Builds as Democrats Sign Schaffer Pledge

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Aug 10, 2007 at 07:29:12 AM MDT

Michael Huttner, executive director of ProgressNowAction, chided Schaffer for voting in May on a matter affecting a company owned by a major campaign contributor.

Using Schaffer's own words from a previous meeting of the Board of Education, Huttner suggested a policy that requires members to disclose campaign contributions from officers of companies with business pending before the board.

"We are here today to give Schaffer the opportunity to begin to clean up his act," Huttner said at a news conference.

In response, Republicans launched an attack on Huttner.

"Michael Huttner is nothing but a sleazeball who has engaged in character assassination for years," said Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party.

Walt Klein, Schaffer's top campaign consultant, called Huttner a "bottom feeder."

The level of invective Wadhams and Schaffer are reacting to this story with is helping keep it alive, based on sources we've talked to--the media seems to be as offended by their profane non-answers as the liberals at Progress Now must be.

On second thought, Progress Now shouldn't be too upset, since according to their web site two Board of Education members, Karen Middleton and Evie Hudak (both Democrats) have signed their conflict-of-interest pledge.

Our view: Wadhams and Schaffer apparently thought simple badmouthing of Progress Now with the press would kill this story, but they've seriously miscalculated. If they had just ignored Mike Huttner and his troublemaking crew instead of getting so visibly upset with their accusations, the major dailies may never have written about it. As it happened, they have kept the story interesting with their pissy responses--while failing to respond even once to the actual charges.

Wadhams is screwing up the management of this story in a strikingly similar manner to the way he bungled the response to George Allen's macaca gaffe--refusing to acknowledge any of the facts, profanely trashing the other side. And we saw the result on Election Day 2006...