January 31, 2012 09:56 PM UTC

Joe Coors, Jr. Launches CD-7 Challenge To Rep. Ed Perlmutter

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #2: Colorado Independent:

The Perlmutter campaign responded in the wake of the announcement with a release that underlined Coors’ wealth and his support for strict anti-abortion personhood laws, which would make illegal abortion in all cases and would even outlaw some of the most popular contraception, such as the pill.

“Ed looks forward to a spirited debate with Joe Coors. There couldn’t be a more stark contrast. You will have an ultra-wealthy, highly partisan candidate who fights for billionaire tax loopholes and Personhood Amendments against a man who holds meetings in local grocery stores, fights to create and save thousands of jobs in the 7th CD and has the least partisan congressional voting record in Colorado,” Perlmutter spokeswoman Leslie Oliver was quoted to say.

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UPDATE: Colorado Democratic Party chairman Rick Palacio gives Coors a volley:

“If Mr. Coors thinks he can connect with the mainstream voters of Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, and Thornton, he has a lot of questions to answer. Ultimately, he won’t able to connect to people’s daily concerns when his focus has lately been on country clubs and his helicopter. No working family in Colorado can relate to such a removed existence when they are thinking about this month’s mortgage, groceries, and the bills that never stop coming.

“Add that to Mr. Coors’s personal support of the radical anti-abortion ‘Personhood’ movement, and he will have a hard time explaining how he plans to work for the benefit of regular Colorado families. Even a cursory glance at his record shows that Joe Coors is nowhere near the reality that most of us live in. And in the Seventh Congressional District, Colorado voters won’t support someone who has nothing to do with their needs and interests.”

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Photo via Kirk Siegler, KUNC

Excerpts from Joe Coors, Jr.’s CD-7 candidacy announcement speech, delivered moments ago at Red Rocks Community College (a campaign, remember, that was first reported here at Colorado Pols):

Most of you know my family name but you may not know me.  To start with, I am the oldest of the fourth generation of Coors family members – with deep roots here in Colorado. Throughout my career, I have concentrated on my family, work and community service. This is the first time I have ever run for public office…

My wife Gail and I got married as sophomores, when I was twenty and she was eighteen.  And this year, we are celebrating our fiftieth wedding anniversary.

At the time of our marriage, my family – like a lot of other families – had certain unwritten rules, and one of those rules was that Coors children weren’t supposed to get married until they graduated from college – and – frankly my comfortable life style was something I had to consider.  Family money versus love.  Gourmet meals versus fried bread! But love won out…

Then in 1973, I felt called to come back to the family business so we moved to Golden and started my career at Coors Porcelain Company – now called CoorsTek.  This company produces ceramics for high technology purposes and because of my study in ceramic engineering – this was the perfect fit for me. Over the next thirteen years, I rose in management to become the President and CEO…

My Great Grandfather’s story is a classic American story.  He came to this country as a stowaway on a ship.  Our family still wonders how he heard about the American dream way over there in Germany in the mid-1860’s.  My Great Grandfather’s life is similar to millions of immigrants like him.  It is with pride and humility that I was allowed to carry on his American dream.

I am running for Congress so these stories are not just from the past, but remain in the present and are part of our future.

I am running for Congress because the American dream is rapidly vanishing as government expands its intrusion in our daily lives…

Wasn’t it John F. Kennedy who said:  “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country?”

What Obama and the liberals do not understand – but what I believe Kennedy understood – is that business owners do a lot for their country when they make their payrolls – and pay their taxes – month after month – week after week.

We’ll update with coverage and statements as they come in–since we don’t believe that Mr. Coors can or even necessarily intends to win this race, Republicans can at least take comfort knowing Coors can pay his own way through the campaign. And as in 2004, either way you come down, your taste in beer should never dictate your choice in the voting booth. Not to mention the CoorsTek spinoff makes high-tech ceramic products, not the beer.

Beer snobs among us understand we’re trying to help Mr. Coors by clarifying that.

Colorado Democrats React to Joe Coors’s Campaign Announcement

Denver – As Joe Coors announces his candidacy for Colorado’s Seventh Congressional District today, Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio offered the following comments on Mr. Coors and his compatibility with Colorado voters:

“It isn’t exactly easy to point to something at 770,000 people have in common, but in the case of the communities that make up Colorado’s Seventh Congressional District, there’s a common set of characteristics: people work hard and sacrifice so that their children and grandchildren have a better education, more opportunities, and a greater chance at prosperity. They seek to live the American Dream, and they’re willing to put in the effort needed to achieve it.

“It’s no wonder that Congressman Ed Perlmutter has connected with the people who live in CD-7. He tirelessly seeks out each constituent to hear their opinions, concerns, and hopes. Then he boards a plane to Washington to fight to make their lives better. Week after week, year after year, Ed does this for the communities he serves. Colorado is lucky to have such a dedicated public servant.

“If Mr. Coors thinks he can connect with the mainstream voters of Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, and Thornton, he has a lot of questions to answer. Ultimately, he won’t able to connect to people’s daily concerns when his focus has lately been on country clubs and his helicopter. No working family in Colorado can relate to such a removed existence when they are thinking about this month’s mortgage, groceries, and the bills that never stop coming.

“Add that to Mr. Coors’s personal support of the radical anti-abortion ‘Personhood’ movement, and he will have a hard time explaining how he plans to work for the benefit of regular Colorado families. Even a cursory glance at his record shows that Joe Coors is nowhere near the reality that most of us live in. And in the Seventh Congressional District, Colorado voters won’t support someone who has nothing to do with their needs and interests.”

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