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November 20, 2005 09:00 AM UTC

Owens Drinks The Vodka, Norton Sweeps Up

  • 22 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Mark Couch, of the Denver Post, has his own event wrap-up today.

The Colorado Republican peace summit Saturday turned into a war of words between the party’s gubernatorial candidates – revealing that a deep rift remains in GOP ranks over Referendums C and D.

In separate interviews and speeches at the state Republican Party central committee meeting, U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez and former University of Denver president Marc Holtzman traded jabs over how they handled the campaign and its aftermath.

According to Beauprez, He’s trying to create a wedge where there isn’t a wedge. But Holtzman contended, “I was going to take a leadership stand, and he hid in the tallgrass.

Aside from the jabs made by Holtzman and the reactions of Beauprez (attendees were a bit surprised he seems to be taking the race so personally)  Republican insiders were heard to be singing the praises of their second in command, Lt. Governor Jane Norton. 

With Owens vacationing in sunny and balmy Russia (who does that in November?), State Chairman Bob Martinez commanded the weekend, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman defended the Big Tent, while Norton tempered frustrations.

Speaking about Party values and principles, Norton echoed the sentiment of Holtzman and his supporters  the rift Couch refers to might no longer be about C and D, but instead seems to be forming around the take our Party back and power for the sake of power factions.

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22 thoughts on “Owens Drinks The Vodka, Norton Sweeps Up”

  1. Holtzman is right that Referendum C was a leadership issue, but if Bob Beauprez was hiding in the tall grass, his fellow Republicans Wayne Allard and 7th CD candidate Rick O’Donnell were slugs hiding underneath the tall grass soil.  Ricky went all the way to Europe to avoid the election and even though he is allegedly in charge of Colorado’s higher ed commission had the gall to say that referendum c was a “state issue.”  Allard told Araon Harber that he had friends on both sides and would not take a stand.  At least Beauprez took a stand.  Hurrah for Holtzman for calling him out.

  2. Good to see the Dead Govs are getting the same clue that a lot of GOPers have already gotten: the division over C&D was never the disease in the GOP, it was just the symptom.

    The disease has been a Party dominated by leaders who practice Politics of Power, using the power of their offices, not to promote the principles of the party and its membership, but just to keep power. They don’t ask if something is right or wrong, they just ask “can we win or not”.

    Anyone who heard Beauprez’s speech yesterday, knows that he is just a part of this cancer that is killing the GOP here in Colorado. Holtzman and very surprisingly, Lt. Gov. Jane, however are carrying the torch for the rest of us, who could care less which party is “in charge” if the GOP abandons the principles we believe in and just becomes the conservative wing of the DNC.

  4. Aluminum Mike,

    Give it a rest already, dude. You are worse than Holtzman himself – always looking to take a cheap shot at Beauprez. Anyone who has been paying attention knows the real cancer is MH, who sprung up out of nowhere to play Howard Dean/Pat Waak to the Republicans. Granted, he might have been productive to the GOP if he hadn’t take himself out of the “electable” category so quickly.

    I really hope you’re a Dem just trying to play along with the Govs here, but if you’re a Republican you ought to be ashamed. Mark Hillman was awesome yesterday. Maybe take a look at his speech before you spout off the latest Holtzman whiny points.

    You act like MH is running an original campaign. Hardly. It’s just Dean ’04 all over again…

  5. I think the fundamental problem with Hillman’s speech was that is was all style with no substance. It just had no meat.  And really, Hillman lost a little bit of credibility with me over the summer. He was supposed to be the seat holder for Coffman, instead – he decided to look out for his own race down the road rather than look out for our interests. Coffman would be dissapointed in Hillman. I know I am. Come on – did you READ that editorial he wrote about C and D? He should have been out front. He wasn’t.

  8. Holtzman is the one totally lacking in principle.  He will say anything, do anything and betray anyone in pursuit of his personal power. He can never lead a united party.

  10. What’s ironic and sad are that first Bill Owens screwed his fellow Republicans when he backed C&D, and now he’s turning on his Democrat allies by earmarking most of C’s $440 million a year for roads we don’t need.

    Will anyone ever trust this power-hungry man again?

    As for MH, I still don’t see him winning the primary, but BB’s chances of uniting the party for the general have plummeted because of his lack of a firm stand on C&D and his support for radical social positions backed by Jim Dobson.

    As I said last Spring, It looks like ’06 will be the Dems’ year, and that looks more likely by the day.

    As for me, I’m no longer a Republican, which I’ve been for more than 50 years. I’m a conservative independent nationalist with libertarian inclinations. What this means is that I will support candidates whose election will help prevent any one party from controlling all branches of government at any level.

    Don

  11. Will anyone ever trust this power-hungry man again?”

    How are either of the two things that you noted at all indicative of a man who is “power-hungry”?

    Indeed, I think what you are seeing is a politician who’s public career is over and who is freed to do what he sees a’s right. He no longer has to worry about the next election and is completely focused on the needs of the state and doing what he feels is right.

  12. sorry, I meant to add….

    Whether you a gree or disagree with the Governor’s positions I think that given his present position his motives are more pure than at any other time in his political career.

  13. Well, been voting GOP since I turned 18 in 1986… Grew up here in Colorado though, so let me quote Bob Beauprez on Nov. 19.2005… “I am Colorado.”

    Yeah, he really said it.

  14. then bb better be careful. because as the election progresses, “colorado” might just regret some of those votes, “colorado” might wish he didn’t carry so much water for bush, “colorado” might wish he wasn’t so absent for district seven voters, or to quote owens, “colorado will burn”. on mexican time.

  15. “As for me, I’m no longer a Republican, which I’ve been for more than 50 years. I’m a conservative independent nationalist with libertarian inclinations. What this means is that I will support candidates whose election will help prevent any one party from controlling all branches of government at any level.”

    No, you’re a schizophrenic, Don.

  18. Mesa County Republicans have a problem when their
    own Chair, Lois Dunn-Susuras,
    appears to be supporting Democrat State Rep. Bernie Buescher. 

    Not only was she reportedly embracing him in the newspaper, she was also seen hugging him again the night of the C &  D returns.

    http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/10/25/10_26_C_D_rally.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=7

    Before those ?love fests?, Dunn-Susuras was defending Buescher at the Republican board meeting.  The minutes of the Mesa County Republican board meeting from 9/13/05 follows:

    Chair?s Report:  Lois Dunn

    ?Discussed the latest Bernie Buescher fundraiser and the appeared campaign finance abuses.  Lois is receiving many angry calls stating, ?Why is the local Republican party pushing this against a local elected official?? Lois stated, ?the local Republican Party is not  doing this but  the State Republican party is doing this.? Lois hopes the state party will notify the County Chair from now on regarding Mesa county officials.?

    (This was taken verbatim from the minutes  approved at the October board meeting.)

    When a County Republican Chair is reported in a local paper as publically embracing a Democrat running for elected office, and when that same official is on record for taking offense at the State Party for going after a ?Mesa county official? then, she undermines the stated purpose of the party, locally.

    The State should take a close look at what is happening at the County level and make sure that the chairs are keenly aware that even the appearance of supporting the Democrat candidate is bad for the Republican Party. 

    In Mesa County, there are three parties,  the Republican, Democrat and the good old boys.  The good old boys see neither Democrat or Republican, and they are not party loyal. 

    State Republicans should know, that Lois Dunn Susuras  is a member of the third party and that is why she can support Bernie Buescher. 

    This has been and will continue to be a big problem in Mesa County (and probably other counties throughout the state), until someone is willing to remind Dunn-Susuras and chairs like her, that her job is to get Republicans elected.

    It is my hope that the observations I have made and are sharing here, serves to help state Republicans win in ’06.

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