Not an Expensive Winter

That's too bad...

...because Tancredo has barely anything in the bank as well ($626K).  With that and the poll Winter put out earlier in the year, Tancredo had to be vulnerable.

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be fixed by what is right with America"

---

by: EZMak19 @ Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 15:47:23 PM CDT

Not bad at all

For Winter to even be respectable he has to go on TV and he has to attack on TV.  Since that is not a possibility Tancredo is fine.  That poll you speak of is crap.  If I remember right Tancredo was up by 15%?? before they pushed his negatives.  That is safe territory folks.  Just because after the negatives are pushed Winter moves up means nothing, this is because Tancredo is gonna show off Winters negatives as well evening things out in the end.  I'll say it now that Tancredo wins by 14%.

---

by: John Galt @ Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 18:30:04 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Good

Glad he isn't taking money from those who can win.  He has never had a chance.  See Martha Ezzard, Joan FitzGerald and Joanna Conti before him.  This district just isn't winnable for a Democrat - ever.  AS I told Joanna the last time when she ran, you need to be running for the right reasons.  To irritate Tancredo, to make him stay home, to make him make outrageous statements and to have some fun.  Unfortunately, Joanna drank the kool-aid and thought she could win.  Winter did the same thing.  My advice is regroup.  Hire a writer, fire everyone else and go on the road to goad and irritate and piss of Tommy Tancredo and have some fun at it.  Anything else is simple wasted breath and wasted money.

---

by: Craig @ Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 16:30:36 PM CDT

Unfortunately, you're right

I'm one of Tancredo's unfortunate constituents, and I'm afraid you're absolutely right: this District is a "lock" for Republicans, or at least as close as one comes. The GOP candidate would have to be caught "with a dead girl or a live boy" to lose. The only hope we have of getting rid of Tancredo is for a Republican challenger to topple him in the primary.

Tancredo has no shame and no integrity. He has latched onto the issue of illegal immigration because he knows it's a wonderful hot-button topic that'll keep his name recognition high. He has every incentive to AVOID getting a reasonable compromise on the issue passed in Congress, because were that to happen he would lose his only excuse for not honoring his previous term-limits pledge.

It's instructive that Conti in 2004, for all her hard work and great background, managed to poll only a sliver better than the "space case" before her in 2002. When you as a Democrat sink tons of money and effort into a campaign and do only marginally better than a guy who, I kid you not, wore a COLONEL SANDERS KFC STRING BOWTIE for his official campaign photo, you know you're in a "Republican lock" district.

---

by: Tancredo Watch @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 02:09:50 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sounds like a plan!

I'm sure I could find a willing "live boy", who wants to set up the hotel room?

Just kidding...sort of.

Want my vote? Put in some time with your party first!

---

by: Dan Willis @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 12:10:49 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

tancredo rolls on

Bill Winter has no money, no organization, no volunteers, no support and no chance. The Be The Change group is nothing but talk.

---

by: Something Is Brewing @ Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 16:30:57 PM CDT

Make your time useful.

Just because you don't like Democrats, doesn't mean you should post useless blather.  Shouldn't you be volunteering your time in Arizona building a large, expensive brick wall?

---

by: ZaBlanc @ Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 21:34:55 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Ooohhh

Somebody touched a nerve...

Is that you, Mike Miles?

---

by: Pompeius Gnaues Magnus @ Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 21:58:26 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

You are so wrong

While Craig is right that a Dem almost surely can't win in the 6th CD, you're full of it. Winter has money, an organization, plenty of committed volunteers who are willing to "fight the good fight" even though it's close to a hopeless cause - and they are ultimately in the right. Just because Tancredo is powerful doesn't mean he's right. Tom Delay was powerful too.

Tancredo is a closet white supremacist and a dishonorable "chicken hawk." He has accomplished absolutely nothing of substance for his district, or for the country for that matter. He's effective at getting his name in the papers, that's all. When your official website lists, as your first and biggest accomplishment, getting an anti-bullying hotline created, you know you're pretty much an ineffective, marginalized placeholder in Congress.

I'll bet you'd give money to Tancredo for his quixotic "Tancredo for President" campaign, wouldn't you, SIB? Yet of course Tancredo has "no chance" in that race.

You people who equate raw power with being on the right side of the issues make me sick. If everyone believed like you, there'd still be a Third Reich.

---

by: Tancredo Watch @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 02:20:34 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thank you.

Tancredo isn't powerful at all outside his own district.  His only power comes from having a stranglehold on the district.  I think it is interesting that we are looking to Colorado Springs for change now with the CD5 race and some of the state house and state senate races down there, but in the south suburbs and exurbs of Denver Metro, nothing.  Or close to nothing.  I have met Bill Winter and helped him numerous times.  He is a tremendous candidate and a tremendous person.  I can scarcely think of anybody more deserving of holding office.  Anywhere else and he would likely win.  He does have the support base, contrary to what people on here say.  It is to bad that this race is such an uphill battle.

---

by: CO Democrat @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 08:31:38 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Hold on Tex!

Uhhmmm ok.  Making the statement that Bill has no volunteers is flat out wrong.  He has A LOT of volunteers, plenty of support (except from the DCCC, snobs that they are), and a HELL of a lot more money than Fawcett has raised!  PLUS Tancredo Tom is not running a campaign AT ALL.  Not smart.

Some questions need to be answered before you all jump the gun.

1.  Where has the money gone?  I've heard that he already made is TV buys, hence the lack of money.  You all might want to get your information right before you post this crap.

2.  He has not even filed is Q3 yet!  Don't you think you otta wait until that comes out?  C'mon!

Does someone have an issue with this campaign all of the sudden? 

You have Jay Fawcett at 8-1?  How much money has he raised?  Take a look yourself, it is MUCH less than Bill Winter.  That call makes no sense, IMO.

"undraising in Q3 reportedly isn't going too well"  <--- This remains to be seen folks.  I have heard the opposite.

Lets wait for the Q3.

"Thousands are sailing, across the western ocean, to a land of opportunity, that some of them will never see . . ."

- The Pogues

---

by: Druid @ Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 17:28:08 PM CDT

Bill Winter's a joke...

The dude wastes every dime that comes in.  He's been through 10 campaign managers to date.  All his good volunteers are now working for Perlmutter.  And all his "hard work" is spent energizing the 2 left-wing liberals that live in CD6 rather than reaching out to the moderate Republicans who could bring him from No Shot to Long Shot.  If your name is Stryker, Gill, Polis, etc, what has Winter done to make you think he'd be a worthwhile investment?  The man's public speaking skills are exceptional...unfortunately for Winter, politics is more than a pep rally.  His remaining cash would probably be best spent on some Prozac.

---

by: Colorado Insider @ Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 20:53:41 PM CDT

making conti look good

Bill Winter had a real chance.
The chance was squandered. The only question is if he will get more votes than Conti.

---

by: Something Is Brewing @ Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 00:47:41 AM CDT

So Genuine!

I think that anything that you are going to say on this S.I.B looks more like you have a chip on your shoulder about this campaign than any thing else.

Still NO ONE has answered the question on what the money has been spent on.  This "rumor" that Bill is not going to get onto TV is pure BS.  And whoever is spreading it is either:

a.  Stupid
b.  Misinformed
c.  Has a chip on their shoulder.

The real joke here is that the Big Line has Fawcett's chances higher than Bill's!  For some odd reason money does not seem to count for Fawcett.  With the amount of money Fawcett has raised I would be stunned if he got on the air.  But that is a fact that is being convieniently overlooked.

To much double standards going on here.

"Thousands are sailing, across the western ocean, to a land of opportunity, that some of them will never see . . ."

- The Pogues

---

by: Druid @ Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 12:23:35 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Who wrote this piece o' crap?

"Some people say..." and "he has quietly said"...can we get some quotes?  Can we get some facts?  Trash.  Utter trash.

> Bill Winter has no money, no organization, no volunteers, no support and no chance. The Be The Change group is nothing but talk.

Ummm, I just got back from volunteering on distribution today.  So what are you talking about?

Sounds like someone is just trashing a candidate with no facts, no quotes, no nothing.  If you love Tancredo so much, go volunteer for his missing campaign.  Let the voters decide.

He has been working damn hard fundraising -- don't you read his event schedule? Where's your credibility, dude?

Nowhere, man.

Stop wasting our time.

---

by: ZaBlanc @ Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 21:33:29 PM CDT

Just did a little checking

And it would appear Winter has spent roughly $25,000 on media buys up to the end of Jun. I didn't whip out the calculator, but just eyeballed it flipping through the DEC reports.

I know from converations with his campaign folks, their principal focus in Q3 was fundraising. I attended a couple of pretty successful fundraising events myself.

I think its too early to write Winter off just yet.

If this was a planned strategy its brilliant: play the part of the underdog until after Labor Day, make the incumbent feel lax enough to not campaign much, and then attack with full force the last 10 weeks of the campaign....it could happen (read that last part with a Judy Tenuta accent).

Want my vote? Put in some time with your party first!

---

by: Dan Willis @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 12:30:44 PM CDT

Stop being a "roll-over and give up" Democrat

You can see my complete comments posted at: http://www.squarestate.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=2340

---

by: fbiots @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 13:13:03 PM CDT

Mailing....

I don't live anywhere near CD-6 but just received a mailing from TT for "a personal appeal for your support".  He says he has "a formidable opponent who still has $177,000 in the bank" ..."much more than one would expect at this point in the race".  I thought conventional wisdom on this site was that Winter was nothing more than a mosquito on Tom "the Elephant" Tancredo's behind.  What's up?  Would someone enlighten me on what's going on in CD-6?

---

by: FarmBoy @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 18:42:32 PM CDT

dat ol' time religion

Enlightenment, yes....I'd say it's in short supply on this particular forum. The old-line pols still haven't grasped the strength of people-powered politics.

It's no longer simple, boys. The guy with the most money does not always win. You should have learned that lesson by now.

What's happening in the sixth district, and in districts across the country, is that people are getting out, meeting their neighbors, talking up their candidates face-to-face - and it's working. Face time with a living, breathing human being beats the crap out of TV ads - always has, always will.

Bill Winter talks about the importance of winning over independents, undecideds, and yes, Republicans. And then he walks the walk, as do his volunteers. I think a lot of you are going to be eating CO-6 crow in about two months.

---

by: nbcouch @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 21:45:55 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I hope you are right.

As a disgruntled CD-6er I can not stand Tancredo. Part of me is optimistic, and hopeful, but really, the odds are stacked against winter. The money issue is an issue, and it is hard to get the name recognition without it. Keep fighting the good fight, and hopefully come november you will be right.

---

by: Mr. Toodles @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 22:26:29 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Too bad I didn't see this earlier..

I mean, I wouldn't have wasted my time along with 6 other volunteers that walked my neighborhood on Saturday. We knocked on over 1,000 doors fo nothing. And now that I think about it, it makes we wonder who those people were. If Bill has no volunteers, then who were they?!?!

Seriously, Bill has a lot of volunteers. On Monday, he is getting a new intern from Gov. Warner's PAC that will help even more.

Sure he needs more money, but it is always an uphill battle for a Dem in this district. But he is picking up momentum, and  he is getting more attention from the press. Did you see the article by Cindy Rodriguez article in the Denver Post last week?

My only wish is that Tom Tancredo would debate Bill, but Tom is so busy campaigning in other states (for 2008, I guess) I know it won't happen.

---

by: lanman2k @ Sun Sep 10, 2006 at 21:11:31 PM CDT

Bill probably needs to raise more funds,

but that's to be expected in the 6th. Paccione has done well in large part because of the built in constituency she engaged early on along with good campaign managment. It appears that Bill has had dificulty in these areas. However, I believe a source of the problem we see in these posts and other criticism of Winter stems from people who don't want to see a past supporter of Mike Miles and Be the Change win, even if it means taking out the most embarassing member of congress in Colorado. There continues to be an aire of 'can't let those progressives from BTC or Miles" advance within the Democratic Party that is a leftover from the 2004 election. Too bad. Because Winter is an excellent candidate and will make a great Congressman. I will be helping any way I can to help him win and I am not even a voter in CD6.

---

by: shadowblogger @ Wed Sep 13, 2006 at 13:58:23 PM CDT