Political operative Dick Wadhams will indeed run for the office of Republican Party Chair, and he apparently plans to get paid for it by eliminating the position of state director. As the Rocky Mountain News reports:
Wadhams said his plan is to serve as chairman full time, thus eliminating the need for a state director…
…Wadhams lived in South Dakota in 2004, managing John Thune’s successful U.S. Senate race. Then he lived in the D.C.-Virginia area for two years working for Sen. George Allen, R-Va. Allen lost his re-election bid in November.
Republicans in Colorado and national took a thumping in 2006, but Wadhams said that’s not going to happen in 2008. “Republicans are going to win,” he predicted.
Wadhams managed both of U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard’s successful campaigns in 1996 and 2002, and ran Bill Owens’ campaign for governor in 1998. Owens leaves office tomorrow.
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I guess by ColoradoPols’ and other folks’ logic, Allard won’t run for sure. Let the games begin.
Suffice to say, but GOP politics in Colorado just got MUCH uglier! Dirty Dick is in the house!!!
What has Mr. Wadhams done to deserve this and similar comments in this thread? Do you have a good link? It sounds like we Dems had better get ready.
His typical operation involves media manipulation, specifically hiring bloggers to promote candidates (and denying the linkage, in the Thune and Allen campaigns at least) and paying staffers to write fake Letters to the Editor. This is commonly called “astroturfing,” the concoction of what appears to be grassroots sentiment in order to manipulate public opinion. He also aggressively works specific reporters he deems too critical of his candidate through a variety of tactics.
That’s what I’ve read.
Every campaign does the very things you just described. They were losing campaigns if they didn’t use those tactics. Dick has more tricks up his sleeve than the usual “suspects”! I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t meeting somewhere tonight with a strong group of Republican Strategists! Dems beware!
I would assume that Lola and Martinez would NOT run if this were the case. Wadhams is a blessing for the Colorado Republican Party! They need every trick Wadhams has up his sleeve.
We won’t be bringing a knife to a gunfight in 2008! Thank God for Dick Wadhams.
Now there is no need to bash my poor literary skills Less! I’m agreeing with you. This is deffinitely the “gun” that could turn the tide.
Let’s see if he turns that gun on his own Republican country club elitist friends like Coors, Benson, Owens, et al. The party needs to cut its losses with the Oil and Booze hounds.
I’m barely literate myself!
you’ll be bringing a blunt instrument…
if we have to go through the process of amending our bylaws for this guy, can we also demand some sort of contract? that he won’t leave after nine months to run a campaign for ’08?
one wonders whether the Rocky took Wadham’s spin or made it up themselves.
So when Thune won, Wadhams “managed” his successful U.S. Senate race. He “managed” both of Allard’s successful campaigns, and “ran” Owens’ campaign.
But when George Allen lost, Wadhams only “spent two years working for” him. No–Wadhams was Allen’s campaign manager and Wadhams lost the race. (Wadham’s best friend and former employer Conrad Burns also took a dive this year.) And statistically speaking, failing to get re-elected is very rare.
At least they won’t be hurting for Kool-Aid in the Colorado GOP. Dick Wadhams is already fully on board with Operation Clap Harder:
…with his current statement the Repugs will win in 2008. He and Pat Robertson must be using the same fortune teller, I mean, chatting with God.
LOL at Operation Clap Harder. A rueful laugh, though.
….Wadhams wasn’t at the wheel when his buddy, Conrad Burns, went off the edge…..he was too busy trying to save Sen. Macaca.
I don’t think Wadhams could have saved Conrad Burns, any more than he managed to pull out a W for Sen. Allen. There was just too much material working against Burns, and a very wide-awake local press covering it all.
Having watched some of their debates online Burns would get continually lambasted by Tester. On top of that, Tester had that salt-of-the-earth, man of the people feel to him that wasnt ham handed in a way that many politicians try to pull it off. Burns tried to say that Tester continually broke the law by butchering elk and deer for his neighbors. While technically he needed a license he did not have, is that really something that would be a successful charge in a hunting state like Montana. Burns had a lot against him, Tester being at the top of the list.
All I know is that Tricky Dick Waddams can change a nine dollar bill in threes. Might I add that was an excellent comment about getting him under contract! Campaigns are in his blood. If the money is right, he is out of the state to run a campaign somewhere else. Dear GOP, don’t say you weren’t warned!!!
After reading a few articles about Wadhams:
http://www.washingto…
http://www.google.co…
why would the State Colorado Republican Party hire one of the most aggressive, ugly campaign managers in the U.S? The tradition of ‘win at all costs’ campaigning is alive and well in Colorado.
Aren’t we lucky…
So what are the chances the national party will give Colorado $$$ to have Wadhams run a recovery effort in 08. He would be like the Repub state campaign coordinator bossing a bunch of little Dicky campaign managers trying to win back the legislature and congressional delegation to bring Colorado home for the R Presidential candidate. That makes some sense. Simply being the Colorado party chair made no sense.
Lock-up the vault…sticky fingers is comin’ to town.
More mean nasty politics as usual I guss 🙁
More mean nasty politics as usual I guess 🙁
Wadhams is a dick. He couldn’t even win a race with a guy who was supposed to be a Republican presidential contender.
Sounds like someone is coming home to lick his wounds.
I would not blame the Allen loss on Wadhams, George’s imploding was his own doing. Had it not been such a rough year for R’s in general they might have been able to pull it off. Wadhams coming to CO plays well across the board and strenghtens, IMO, the chances of Allards running again. I can all but guarantee that Dick would be on Allard’s campaign conference calls from day one.
But let me ask a question: Does Wadhams really have the Midas touch?
The only impressive achievement I’ve read was his role in unseating Tom Daschle, but I’m unfamiliar with the much of that campaign. Was Daschle already losing his popularity? Did millions of out of state dollars all but ensure GOP victory in that race? How about Bill Frist’s campaigning?
In all the other races I’ve seen him tied to, you can make the argument that there were larger trends at work, either in his favor or against it. For example, was it really that hard to elect and re-elect Allard? The country was on a rightward swing those years. Could anyone have managed George “Macaca” Allen to victory in the year of YouTube, esp. at a time when the political pendulum was swinging the other way?
I’m sure Mr. Wadhams is an effective manager and will do good things for the state GOP. But I’m not convinced that he’s such a superior strategist. He strikes me as being more like a good coach with an unfounded reputation for greatness (a la Mike Shanahan, who could coach the Broncos to Super Bowl victory – when he had John Elway and Terrell Davis playing for him).
People like to give credit/blame to one person (look at how the hard right has crucified Owens – like he’s the only reason Dems hold both chambers and the Guv’s Mansion today). But I think there are larger forces at work and I think the state’s GOP needs a lot more than Wadham’s leadership before they take anything back from the Dems.
I guess we’ll see in 2 years, eh?
I do think Wadhams is one of the better political minds in the country right now. Thune was a tough win and I think alot of credit should go to Wadhams for it. Allard was a tougher win then most realize, some people have a passion for campaigning, being out on the stump, parades etc. Wayne is not one of those people. Is Wadhams the saviour that some people make him out to be? No. Will he pick us up a few state seats in 08 and in doing so reelect Allard? Yes, probably so.
That Daschle’s popularity was still high before Wadhams arrived on the scene, and it was Wadhams that painted Daschle as a Washington elitest out of touch with his home state. Also, Daschle outspent the Thune campaign more than 2-1. Wadhams rightly deserve credit for Thune’s win and for defeating the first Senate party leader in more than 50 years.
so I have no idea what the polls in that race said at any point, let alone how the campaign was conducted.
You say polls showed Daschle with a huge lead early on, someone else says he polled very poorly. Which is true? (Hint: if you’re going to answer, please show some proof.)
Anyway, I did say that was impressive either way… just that that was the only impressive victory of Wadham’s that I’ve heard. That may be a feather in his cap but it doesn’t convince me that he’s going to single-handedly solve the Colorado GOP’s woes. That may be a task even more thankless than trying to re-elect a dope like Allen.
I am having a little trouble finding exact poll numbers for South Dakota, but here is a link to a USA Today article about the race (http://www.usatoday….) the day after the election. In true USA Today fashion, they do a decent recap, but nothing too in depth. A portion I would like to highlight: “Daschle needed heavy turnout from Indian voters, who make up about 8% of the population and overwhelmingly support Democrats, for any hope of winning re-election.” To me, this states that he had nominal statewide support and needed his so called base to turn out in a major way for any hope of election.
Daschle was not a magnanimous leader, and since he was made the majority leader in June, rather than the normal January, I dont think he was able to establish himself as well as he could have.
Reading the article, I think Wadhams had less to do with his win than the republican party as a whole, and I am willing to suspect Rove in particular. Old standing rules were broken and 30 million was spent. That is a lot in general, but a huge amount for a state like SD.
for the research. Very interesting reading, esp. with GOP volunteers scaring away voters by writing down license plate numbers. Wonder what that was all about…
The macaca moment wasnt the oft-touted dead boy/live girl scenario. It could have been turned into an “I tried marijuana in college” gaffe. His lead above Webb was laughable even after the macaca moment. It got lots and lots of play that I believe could have been stymied by a skilled campaign manager. Everyone saw it, but the vast majority were people who have no say whatsoever on the outcome of the virginia senate race. Im curious if it was Wadhams decision to try and paint Webb as a child pornographer due to a passage in his book that was acclaimed by McCain.
Wadhams is nothing special. He is no Rove or Begala. In fact, I am more impressed by a neophyte like Marshall than I am by an experienced player like Wadhams. Marshall was hamstrung by his candidate’s stupidity and continuous gaffes. Allen and Wadhams are supposedly experienced politician and kingmaker.
Aristotle makes some great points above me. I agree especially with the marginal coach/sterling reputation allegory. Daschle was done. I think he wasnt a strong majority leader and if I recall correctly he was polling poorly in SD long before the election. In my belief, almost any republican could have run and won. I dont remember Allard’s first run, but the second run was made on the oft-recited lawyer-lobbyist line, which wasnt even their own (similar to BWB).
If Wadhams becomes the chair, which will most likely happen, I fail to see how a cash strapped senator whose staffers are leaving in droves will be able to pull off another win. You may know something that I dont, but Allard has no real legislative record to run on, nor will he have any easy primary. Supposing that there is either no primary or he wins it, he doesnt have as easy a target to pigeonhole.
Allard will back Bush’ request for more troops, I see. Why have a senator when we have the president? Save the money spent on his office.
In 2009 we will see for sale on eBay one set of well worn kneepads.
Are those the ones Monica got from Clinton (along with the blue dress)?
The ones going up for sale say “R” all over them…..
Now we don’t actually need to work anymore. Dick’s here. Forget about walking precincts, going to caucus, pitching in a few bucks here and there. Our savior has arrived. We can all just sit back and relax. Dick will take care of everything. He and Benson will work out everything, eliminate all division, remove all choices, and make us all walking GOP drones. Ain’t life grand?
Thats the least informed comment about Wadhams yet. Anybody who doesn’t recognize that this is the best thing that could have happened for Colorado Republicans is blind.