*** A FUN CHALLENGE: CO Senate 2010 ***

18 thoughts on “*** A FUN CHALLENGE: CO Senate 2010 ***”

1. She does an awesome job improving good bills and stopping bad bills. She is easily one of the most influential and respected legislators in the house. She also provides superb constituent service.

   And she’s a terrific mom!

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2. OK, I’ll take your word for it. But I’ll also make it a real challenge: If I were registered as a Republican, which I’m not, I would have no difficulty endorsing Ken Buck wholeheartedly.

   Buck is smarter than he lets on, with a Princeton education and time spent in D.C. working for Dick Cheney (of all people) back in the day, when Cheney was considered a smart young congressman from Wyoming.

   Buck is also true to his principles and isn’t trying to distance himself from any of his stances, no matter how problematic they might be in a statewide general (unlike the other Republican Senate candidates). He’s an unabashed conservative who arrives at his positions honestly, on an authentic intellectual framework, not some focus-group tested set of buzzwords.

   Buck also refused to be pushed out of the race lat fall when Norton was dropped on the party by the McCain machine, the NRSC and state party officials (unlike Ryan Frazier, who did his duty and was amply rewarded with a fat Fourth Quarter’s worth of fundraising). Whether Buck benefits from being an alternative to Norton remains to be seen, but he didn’t throw his supporters under the bus just because national power brokers snapped their fingers.

   And most importantly, Buck listens and learns, at least in some areas. When he prosecuted the killer of Angie Zapata, a transgender woman bludgeoned to death in Greeley, Buck not only listened to the victim’s family and friends, he adapted his prosecution to reflect some of their concerns. He won a first-degree murder conviction and a sentencing multiplier for a hate-crime conviction, the first application of Colorado’s law in those circumstances. He also made sure his prosecutors respected Zapata, both with the thoroughness of their prosecution and the language they used in the courtroom, earning well-deserved praise from the victim’s family.

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   1. I disagree with Buck on many issues, but I respect the guy – a lot.

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   2. It sure will be fascinating if peacemonger’s challenge makes us all realize that we are really for Ken Buck.

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      1. If I wasn’t already booked MArch 16, I’d caucus and canvas for Wiens.

         Tom Wiens doesn’t just talk about the traditions and values of Colorado and The West, he lives them.  He grew to understand the value of a hard day’s work in the family grain and ranching business and learned to love the land.  He worked at a hometown community bank, where he saw firsthand the kind of struggles Main Street businesses go through every day of the year.

         The Tom Wiens story is a Colorado story. It’s a story of successes and setbacks, like so many of our greatest leaders.  It’s the story of a man who knows what it’s like to dust yourself off and get back in the saddle. The kind of man that could only have been forged in Colorado and the kind of man Colorado and ‘Forgotten Americans’ everywhere need in Washington…

         “Here is the way Washington thinks things should work: if you are at the top and from Washington or Wall Street you can get a bailout, if you are at the bottom you might get a handout, but if you are in the middle, like most Coloradans, we just get the bill! It’s as if our representatives in Washington have completely forgotten the people of Colorado. We’ve become the ‘Forgotten Americans.'” Tom Wiens

         Tom is a rancher and small business owner. He has had impressive successes. He also experienced the setbacks that go along with being an entrepreneur.  Over the years Tom has helped create literally hundreds of jobs for our fellow Coloradans. He takes great pride in knowing that his hard work has helped families buy their first homes, or send their children to college and gave them the opportunity to live, work and raise a family in the greatest state in the Union – Colorado!

         “Our government has forgotten all the hard-working Coloradans that are in the middle, the people who are playing by the rules, working hard, trying to make ends meet and keep their families strong. They’re trying to hold onto their part of the American Dream. These Forgotten Americans are what makes our economy work. I’m running for the United States Senate to represent the Forgotten Americans who live right here in Colorado.” Tom Wiens

         Tom sees public service as a duty and an honor. He served us as a citizen legislator in the Colorado State House and Senate.  Tom is a compassionate leader with real world experience. He just plain cares about people.  It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from.  He is an optimistic, leader dedicated to Colorado common sense values. He is a “Get-it-Done” leader who focuses on results and accountability, not excuses!

         “If we don’t put a stop to the waste in Washington and the trillions of dollars of debt Washington is piling on us, the real forgotten Americans will be our kids and grandkids.  It’s time we all stood up and said Enough is Enough!” Tom Wiens

         Tom lives with his wife of 30 years, Diana, on their ranch in southwest Douglas County where they raise horses, cattle, and hay. They have four children, Travis, Sarah Faith, Hannah, married daughter Lauren, son-in-law Joe and granddaughter Blair.  

         Tom was born in Oklahoma, grew up north of Fort Morgan, Colorado where he went to grade school and High School in Kimball, Nebraska.  Tom earned his Bachelor’s degree from The American University in Washington D.C. and also studied the economic, legal and political systems of European countries at the University of Graz, Austria.  He earned his Masters of Divinity from Yale University.

         When he was old enough, he cast his first vote at a Colorado fire station in Pinewood Springs in Larimer County.  Tom’s family has deep roots in Colorado Agriculture, his Grandfather started farming in Eastern Colorado near Cheyenne Wells, in the 1940’s.  Tom and Diana’s Children are the 4th generation of the Wiens family to be involved in Colorado business and agriculture.

         “Colorado has always been a place where if you have a dream and if you worked hard and played by the rules you’d have a chance to make that dream come true.  We can’t let Washington take that away from us and future generations.  I’ll be a different kind of Senator for Colorado… the kind of Senator who will fight FOR you, not take more FROM you.  The people of Colorado deserve a United States Senator who will represent The ‘Forgotten Americans’ that made Colorado, made The West, and made America the greatest nation on earth.” Tom Wiens

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      2. a space-time continuum and am living in an alternate universe.

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4. challenge the Senate candidate supporters to blog for their candidate without attacking the other. Kind of sad that the best we could do was talk up Buck and Wiens.

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   1. I am truly interested in reading only positive posts about the candidates others support and regularly avoid the posts that only slam a candidate.

      I shall recommend this diary and perhaps others will too.

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5. One reason, among many, that I like Bennet is that he is running a positive campaign that he and the people who have endorsed him can be proud of.  He has not bad-mouthed his Democratic opponent.  He has not put out snarky press releases or e-mail blasts.  Messages he and his campaign have put out have been positive, not negative, and they have talked about what he is for.

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   1. like me, who sometimes go all negative on AR and his supporters. Some more than others- but no hard over loons and mostly only when provoked.
      

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6. I may be the only one who still checks this diary for new comments, but I found Bennet’s reform announcement a welcome breath of fresh air.

   No matter what political persuasion you are, this announcement should be welcome news.  I like it all, but everyone should like at least parts of it.

   I like that my candidate is (a) working to DO SOMETHING, and (b) isn’t afraid to take on power brokers with whom he serves.

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   1. the whiners will never be happy because his name isn’t Andrew.  I COULDN’T BE MORE PROUD TO HAVE SENATOR MICHAEL BENNET REPRESENT ME IN THE US SENATE! HE IS DOING AN AMAZING JOB!
      

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      1. Peacemonger — you said you would post, but would wait for others to go first.

         I think it is your turn.

         Peace

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         1. I’m writing it down now. Thanks for keeping me honest.
            
            ; )

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7. It’s a little long. lol

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