Posts about josh hanfling

“Not a Beer” Also “Not Hard to Fool” Apparently

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  by: Colorado Pols October 12, 2012 at 7:57 PM MDT

We’ve discussed on several occasions the fascinatingly weird background of Republican Joe “Not a Beer” Coors, particularly his self-proclaimed hobby of biblical prophesizing. With that in mind, we found this story from Al Lewis of FOX Business News to be particularly ironic.

You don’t need to have any special ability to see into the future to have known that this “investment opportunity” was not going to work:

Brewery scion Joe Coors gave millions in 2002 to con artists who promised him a 75% weekly return.

That is not a typo. Mr. Coors was pitched a 75% WEEKLY return, and he bought it. Now he’s running for Congress, touting credentials as a “common sense” businessman…

… In 2002, Joe Coors ran across a couple of seemingly obvious crooks who were offering one heck of a deal–75% weekly returns for investors big enough to put down at least $10 million. Mr. Coors and a partner put $40 million into a Merrill Lynch account with the potential to borrow another $20 million on the margin. They then gave the crooks access to the account.

This is all according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Denver in some civil and criminal cases, as well as a complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against the perpetrators.

The entire article is well worth the read, in part because Lewis goes to great lengths to explain that he tried to get the story in Coors’ own words but was rebuffed by the campaign. We can’t say we blame Michelle Yi, Coors’ communications director, for not making the candidate available for questions. After all, there really is no explanation for how you fell for a scheme with a promised 75% weekly return on investment.

The idea that any responsible businessman adult would realistically expect a 75% per week return on their investment, and not have it be some kind of scam, is very difficult to comprehend, well, by any responsible businessman adult. This is a story that will be severely injurious to Coors with pretty much everyone who hears it–limited only by the fact that fewer have heard about it, and the full wackiness may not be as clear to voters without investment experience.

We suppose it could be worse. They could have promised Joe Coors the Brooklyn Bridge.

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“Not a Beer” Goes Below the Belt

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  by: Colorado Pols September 29, 2012 at 12:19 AM MDT

TUESDAY UPDATE: The big Denver newspaper chimes in with an editorial calling the ad “despicable” and saying that Coors should be “embarrassed.”

—–

Republican Joe “Not a Beer” Coors is up on TV with a new ad attacking Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter in their battle in CD-7. But this ad goes wayyyy over the line (more after the jump).

The “Mrs. Perlmutter” mentioned in the ad is Ed’s ex wife, Deana, who did indeed lobby for Solyndra. But Deana and Ed divorced in 2008, before Barack Obama was President and long before the 2009 stimulus bill passed by Congress that “Not a Beer” references in the ad. If this ad were true, Ed might be the first man in America to go out of his way to help his ex-wife make money.

Mind you, this is the same Joe Coors who believes that God speaks to him on the golf course and lists biblical prophecy as a hobby. But it doesn’t take prophetic vision to know that this ad was going to blow up in his face.

Oh, and remember back in August when Coors released numbers from an internal poll showing him with a ridiculous 9-point lead over Perlmutter? We said at the time that those numbers were nonsense, and that seems to be the case now. You don’t put up a muckraking bullshit ad like this on TV if you think you’re ahead in the polls.

Joe Coors: He’s “Not a Beer,” “Not All There“, and now, “Not Opposed to Flat-Out Lies.”

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Second Perlmutter Ad Takes on Outsourcing

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  by: Colorado Pols September 21, 2012 at 7:28 PM MDT

Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter released a new ad last night that takes on Republican challenger Joe “Not a Beer” Coors for outsourcing jobs:

This ad isn’t as strong as his first ad, which has won plaudits for being one of the best in the country this election cycle, but the point Perlmutter is trying to make is different. The ad was announced along with a series of talking points; full release after the jump.

Joe Coors Outsources American Jobs, But Not the Truth

“Joe Coors still embraces outsourcing American jobs and feels outsourcing their jobs to Asia is the only way a company can stay ‘viable'”

In 1999, while Joe Coors was Chairman and CEO of CoorsTek, his company founded and started CoorsTek Korea.  For more than a decade, his company embarked on a strategy of low cost manufacturing creating jobs in Asia, which otherwise could have been here in the United States.  [CoorsTek 2002 Quarterly Earnings Conference Call discussing the success of the company distributed by FD (Fair Disclosure) Wire on July 26th, 2002]

“Clearly given his own admittance and statements, Joe Coors still embraces outsourcing American jobs and feels outsourcing their jobs to Asia is the only way a company can stay ‘viable’,” said Perlmutter spokeswoman Leslie Oliver.  “With this lack of faith in American workers, Joe Coors will continue to push for tax breaks for companies like his who ship jobs overseas. At a time when Coloradans need jobs here at home the most, Joe Coors and his company sent them to Asia.”

[In response to the Denver Post, the Coors campaign said “the decision [to outsource] kept an American company “viable in a global economy.”]

Republican Joe Coors continues to blindly follow the national Republican talking points and agenda, by saying what he thinks people want to hear for his own political reasons.  But his actions and the facts reveal the truth behind this story.  He says he created jobs, but he and his company outsourced Colorado jobs to send them to Asia.

“Ed Perlmutter has a different idea and is working to protect jobs here in Colorado,” said Oliver. “Ed has faith in American workers and is fighting to make things here in America. He has a record of bipartisan work with Republicans and Democrats to protect and grow jobs here in Colorado and America, and boost our nation’s manufacturing sector.”

See below for the full script of “Different Idea” and the fact check that accompanies it.

###

“DIFFERENT IDEA”

This Company employs Colorado workers to make American Products.

Walker Component Group is an Electronic Component Distributor located in Denver, CO (7th CD). They supply cabling systems to Vestas, as well as other electronic component distribution to companies throughout the United States.

I’m part of a group of Democrats and Republicans working to pass make it in America laws to help more businesses like this create more American Jobs.

Examples include:

HR 5542 — Co-sponsor Bring Our Jobs Home Act — Provided tax incentives for companies to bring their overseas jobs back to the U.S.  Allowed companies to deduct 20% of the cost of bring jobs back to the USA

HR 639 — Co sponsored the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act.  Levels the trade playing field by holding accountable countries that create an unfair trade advantage by manipulating their currency.

HR 4380 – THe U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act — Supported this bill that was signed into law in 2010.  It reduces cost for US businesses and increases competitiveness of their products by increasing US production and support tens of thousands of American job.  It was  supported by business groups like the US Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers. It passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support 378-43.

But Joe Coors – he has a different idea.

As CEO of CoorsTek, Coors outsourced manufacturing jobs to Asia

·      Joe Coors was the architect of the CoorsTek plan to outsource jobs for years to come. http://www.denverpost.com/poli…

·      CoorsTEk Korea was founded in 1999 while Joe Coors was Chairman and CEO.

o   “”CoorsTek Korea was founded on December 17, 1999 and currently has 55 employees. The company has increased its revenues by 300% over the past 3 years. CoorsTek Korea is an ISO 9001 certified facility with Class 100 cleanroom capabilities.” [CoorsTek Press Release distributed by CoorsTek on July 1st, 2003: Accessed through company website on 6/8/12 http://coorstek.com/news/Korea…

o   Golden, Colorado, July 1, 2003 – CoorsTek COO Derek Johnson today officially announced the opening of a recently completed 8,900 square foot building addition to its Gumi City, Korea facility. With this addition, CoorsTek Korea now has over 20,000 square feet (1858 square meters) of manufacturing space available in Korea.

·      In 2000, while Joe Coors was Chairman and CEO, CoorsTek executives continued growing their low cost manufacturing practice which added manufacturing jobs in Asia of products to be sold to US customers [CoorsTek 2002 Quarterly Earnings Conference Call discussing the success of the company distributed by FD (Fair Disclosure) Wire on July 26th, 2002.

o   First, our facility in Korea provides strategic foothold for servicing the growing Asian market and also allows us to manufacture low-cost product in Asia for our U.S. customers. To enhance our position further, we’re expanding this facility by more than 50 percent.”

o   “Finally, we continue to look for partners and acquisitions in low-cost regions to expand further our low-cost capability. We’re very pleased with the progress we have made with our low-cost roadmap.”

·      Joe Coors Jr. Retired From CoorsTek on October 31, 2000 [CoorsTek Press Release distributed by PR Newswire on 10/10/2000].

o   “CoorsTek, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRTK) announced today the retirement of its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Joe Coors, Jr., effective October 31, 2000.” [CoorsTek Press Release distributed by PR Newswire on 10/10/2000.

I’m Ed Perlmutter and I approve this message, because if we make it in America, we will make it in America.

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Perlmutter Props for “Best Political Ad of the Season”

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  by: Colorado Pols September 21, 2012 at 12:17 AM MDT

From The Atlantic online yesterday:

But every once in a while, amid the lies and the drama, you come across a political ad that is transcendent; not because it makes some great point, or savages an opponent, or evokes an angry response from the viewer. Sometimes, you see an ad that simply, and eloquently, captures one of the ways that elected officials do help their constituents, directly, on both a human and an official level, in a manner that neither the constituent nor the official are ever likely to forget.

I’m not here to endorse Ed Perlmutter in Colorado’s 7th District. I’m here simply to praise his ad as welcome relief from the rest. It’s a timely reminder that politics isn’t all about the filibuster, or the angry speech on Capitol Hill, or fundraising dinners, or the slick appearance on the cable show. I don’t know if the folks in this ad are going to vote for Perlmutter or not, but that’s almost besides the point. These Republicans came to their Democratic representative seeking help and they got it. On a day when we celebrate the 216th anniversary of George Washington’s Farewell Address, in which he decried partisan political bickering, it’s truly a comforting story.

If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the ad that has garnered such praise.

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Perlmutter Up with First Ad of Cycle

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  by: Colorado Pols September 10, 2012 at 6:32 PM MDT

Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter is up today with his first television ad of the cycle, and it’s a very strong message:

Wheat Ridge — Today, Ed Perlmutter’s campaign starts airing its first TV commercial on broadcast and cable stations.  The ad features Deanne and Navy SEAL Chad Stodden talking about how Perlmutter helped Deanne in an emergency situation obtain the necessary documents to travel to Germany to see her husband who was critically injured while serving our country in Iraq.  In 2007, Chad Stodden was shot in the chest and airlifted from Iraq to Germany for emergency surgery.  Deanne, was in Colorado, caring for their children, and was informed by the military that her husband was critically injured and she needed to get to Germany within 24 hours.  Deanne was in the process of moving, and her passport and military ID were packed away.  Over a Sunday night, Perlmutter was contacted to help. Perlmutter immediately went to work and helped Deanne get the documents she needed to travel.

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In My Spare Time, I’m Into Golf and Prophesying and Stuff

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  by: Colorado Pols September 6, 2012 at 9:26 PM MDT

Republican congressional candidate Joe “Not a Beer” Coors has a new ad on television that shows him driving in a car and only kinda watching the road. But nevermind all that, because we’ll never be able to picture Coors in any other way after re-reading this article from The Los Angeles Times.

On Sept. 18, 1988, the Times ran a long profile story on the Coors family titled “Brewing Controversy: Coors Clan: Doing it Their Way.” Featured in the story, of course, is the then 45-year-old Joe Coors, Jr., who comes off as…well…see for yourself:

All five of Joe Coors’ sons, inspired by their mother, Holly, 67, are self-described, “born-again” Christian fundamentalists. Hard core.

The oldest son, Joe Jr., 45, for instance, even lists “Biblical Prophecy” as a hobby, along with golf, on his company resume, and the whole family is awaiting Armageddon, which Joe Jr. believes will occur around the year 2,000.

We know what you’re thinking: Did I just read that correctly?

You did, but here it is again:

The oldest son, Joe Jr., 45, for instance, even lists “Biblical Prophecy” as a hobby, along with golf, on his company resume, and the whole family is awaiting Armageddon, which Joe Jr. believes will occur around the year 2,000.

We were skeptical about recent news from the Coors campaign touting a 9-point lead over incumbent Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter, but perhaps it wasn’t polling — maybe ol’ “Not a Beer” was prophesying and God told him that he had a big lead in the polls.

Perhaps Coors’ prophesying on the 2012 election will be more accurate than his prediction that the world would end in the year 2000. He better hurry up and get elected just in case the Mayans are correct and the world ends in December. Joe Coors may be “Not a Beer,” but there’s also a decent chance that he’s “Not All There.”

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Coors Poll Update Shows Him Beating Perlmutter 98-2

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  by: Colorado Pols August 20, 2012 at 8:08 PM MDT

Releasing selected pieces of internal polling is a time-honored tradition in politics, but some campaigns are better than others at the spin.

The campaign for Republican Joe “Not a Beer” Coors announced today that their internal poll shows Coors beating Democrat Ed Perlmutter by 9 points. Of course, the poll was done weeks ago and the campaign isn’t releasing any information about the methodology, as Fox 31 reports:

But Democrats aren’t taking the poll very seriously.

That’s because the survey was done nearly a month ago – and because Coors campaign, which commissioned it, isn’t releasing any crosstabs, more fine-grained results based on different demographic groups…

…Perlmutter, who walloped Republican Ryan Frazier by nine points in 2010, amidst a national GOP tidal wave, doesn’t buy Coors’ poll either.

The Coors campaign might have gotten some real traction if they had just tried harder to make their “internal” numbers a little more believable. Coors beating Perlmutter by 2-3 points? That’s possible. Coors beating Perlmutter by 9 points? Uh, no.

If you’re going to go public with a number that nobody will take seriously, you might as well go BIG — tell the world that your polling has Coors beating Perlmutter by 90 points!

It’s particularly absurd to think that Coors could be beating Perlmutter by 9 points in a poll conducted in July, given that voters are barely informed about candidates for President at that point. Lynn Bartels at the Denver newspaper blog lists the three questions that the Coors campaign made public, and it seems likely that the “who would you vote for” question came after a battery of positive statements about Coors and negative spin on Perlmutter.

Look, Coors is trying hard to portray this as a winnable race by spending a ton of his own money on early TV ads. But we doubt the NRCC will take this poll any more seriously than local media.

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Perlmutter Raises Big Money, Coors Writes Big Checks

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  by: Colorado Pols July 16, 2012 at 10:26 PM MDT

The most expensive congressional race in Colorado is shaping up to be in CD-7, where Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter is being challenged by Republican Joe “Not a Beer” Coors.

Perlmutter raised $504,131 in Q2, raising his total cash-on-hand amount to about $1.1 million.

Meanwhile, Coors brought in $390,479 from people not named Joe Coors, Jr. Technically his campaign can report a total of $787,014 in Q2 contributions, even though $396,735 came from Coors himself. Coors has been spending a ton of money on television ads already this cycle, leaving his campaign with $120,506 cash-on-hand at the end of Q2.

Coors seems willing to spend plenty of his personal fortune in order to win the seat in CD-7, but how much will be too much for “Not a Beer”? If all of his early TV advertising hasn’t significantly raised his poll numbers (and we haven’t heard one way or the other on this), then Coors will have to spend exponentially more money once a well-funded Perlmutter goes up on the air.

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

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  by: Colorado Pols January 31, 2012 at 9:56 PM MST

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.

—–

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.”

—–


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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Boehner, Republicans Roll Dice on Middle Finger to Middle Class

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  by: Colorado Pols December 20, 2011 at 9:51 PM MST

Republicans in the House today rejected a Senate-approved payroll tax deal. As Politico reports:

With a tax hike looming for 160 million Americans on New Year’s Day, House Republicans rejected a Senate plan to extend the payroll tax holiday for two months and instead called for a conference committee to hammer out the differences between the House and Senate.

The 229-193 partisan vote capped a wild few days of legislating and sends a message that Congress has chosen partisan stalemate over finding a quick solution before taxes go up and unemployment benefits go away for millions.

House Republicans, who were taken aback by the overwhelmingly bipartisan 89-10 Senate vote on the two-month extension, are trying to force the Senate to convene an old fashioned conference committee and somehow forge agreement on a full one-year extension of the payroll tax cut. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he will not negotiate until the House passes a two-month extension.

Democrats quickly cried foul over the House rejection of the proposal. Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter issued the following statement:

“Once again, Tea Party Republicans are playing games with Americans because they want to block the President’s agenda.  Because of their irresponsible actions, 160 million Americans face a tea party tax increase in the New Year, and 48 million senior citizens may lose access to their doctors.  This is no way to run a business, a family and certainly not our nation.  Every day Republicans engage in these kinds of games is a lost opportunity to create jobs.”

Yesterday our friends at “The Fix” questioned the political logic of House Speaker John Boehner on an issue that is very popular with middle class voters — and we don’t disagree:

What House Republicans are doing amounts to a political high wire act without a net. In a recent Associated Press-GfK national poll, nearly six in ten Americans said they wanted the payroll tax cut extended including 54 percent of self-described conservative Republicans.

“As sloppy as things look so far, House Republicans believe their arguments about job creation will win out over Democratic talking points on process and Reid’s refusal to even negotiate,” said Eric Ueland, former chief of staff to then Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

Owning that failure, however, could be a devastating blow for a party who is still adjusting to its new majority in the House – and hoping to take control of the Senate and the White House next November.

Already, the public seems inclined to blame Republicans for the lack of major accomplishments by this Congress. In a recent Pew poll, 50 percent of people said this Congress has accomplished less than previous ones; of that group 40 percent said Republican leaders were more to blame while 23 percent blamed Democratic leaders more.

It seems to us that House Republicans are badly overplaying any hand that they think they have here. They can argue about the logic of a two-month reprieve over a longer-term proposal, but those are details that will be lost to the average voter. The message that will be received is that House Republicans blocked a Senate plan to cut taxes for the middle class. Slice that up any way you like — there’s no version where it comes out looking good for the GOP.

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EXCLUSIVE: Joe Coors, Jr. Exploring Run for Congress in CD-7

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  by: Colorado Pols December 6, 2011 at 11:17 PM MST

There’s big news on a big name from out of nowhere.

Republican Joe Coors, Jr. is actively exploring the idea of running for Congress in CD-7 against incumbent Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter.

This one surprises us, to be frank, but apparently Coors has been making high-level phone calls about the race since well before yesterday’s redistricting ruling was made final. The allure of a potential Coors, Jr. candidacy is obvious for Republicans: They really need someone who can self-fund a campaign to some degree if they hope to make a serious run at Perlmutter in 2012, because they have too many other national races to worry about than to spend resources going after a popular Democratic incumbent.

While the allure for national Republicans is clear, we really can’t see why Coors, Jr. would be serious about running for Congress. He retired in 2000 as Chairman and CEO of CoorsTek Inc., and he’ll turn 70 in February — is he really interested in being a 70-year-old freshman Congressman? His current elected office is as President of the posh Rolling Hills Country Club in Golden.

It’s no secret that Joe’s brother, Pete Coors, really didn’t like running for the U.S. Senate in 2004, when he lost to Democrat Ken Salazar, and surely they’ve spoken about this on more than one occasion. But at least Pete was seeking a bigger prize in the Senate; we have a hard time understanding why Joe Jr. would be interested in a House seat. Furthermore, the Coors family and business were absolutely hammered during Pete’s 2004 campaign, but the intensity of the attacks on the Coors clan would be exponentially greater in 2012. With all of the talk about the “99%” and Occupy Wall Street, we can’t imagine a worse year to run for public office with such a high-profile last name. Joe Coors isn’t as bad a name as “Joe Citibank,” but it’s not far behind. The guy owns his own helicopter, for crying out loud.

The boundaries of CD-7 changed somewhat in redistricting, but this is still a Democratic-leaning seat with a popular, entrenched and well-funded incumbent in Perlmutter. In 2010 Perlmutter defeated GOP challenger Ryan Frazier by 11 points; Coors is a bigger name than Frazier, of course, but it can’t be overlooked that Perlmutter won a blowout victory in what was a huge wave year for Republicans.

Coors would no doubt try to play off his business experience in a campaign against Perlmutter, but even that comes with problems. He made headlines in 2002 for reportedly being swindled in an investment scheme in which he invested family money in a program that promised a “100% return per week”  (seriously, he thought “100% per week” was realistic?) but which turned out to be a “Prime Bank” scheme in which investors are tricked into believing their money is being placed in well-known institutions.

Again, Coors has been making serious inquiries about running in CD-7. We’re surprised that he’s even considering a run, but we’d be even more surprised if he ultimately jumped in the race; there are just too many reasons for him to not run.

Joe Coors, Jr. is the son of Joe Coors, and the great-grandson of brewery founder Adolph Coors. His father, Joe, Sr., was well-known for his conservative political leanings; he was a founding member of the Heritage Foundation and was also involved in the creation of other conservative think tanks.

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Down Goes Frazier. Again. Probably for Good.

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  by: Colorado Pols November 2, 2011 at 11:39 PM MDT

We’ve always been mystified by the interest in Aurora city council member Ryan Frazier, who seems to get a lot more credit than he deserves. But after losing his bid for Aurora Mayor last night to Steve Hogan in a race that wasn’t really close (Hogan won by 10 points), Frazier should be pretty well done in Colorado.

Frazier was touted as a rising star among Colorado Republicans when he tried running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2009. He eventually dropped that race to take on incumbent Democrat Ed Perlmutter in CD-7…and promptly got the crap kicked out of him. Perlmutter beat Frazier by 11 points, yet for some reason Frazier was widely praised by local and national media for having been a strong candidate.

Here’s what we wrote about Frazier following the 2010 mid-term elections, when we named him one of the “Losers” of the cycle:

Sometimes a candidate will lose a big race but do well enough that he or she is considered a rising star. Frazier? Not so much. He got bullied out of the Republican Senate primary to run in CD-7, where he proceeded to get the absolute crap kicked out of him by Rep. Ed Perlmutter. Frazier is a good fundraiser and is decent at delivering a prepared speech, but his campaign was amateurish at best and he otherwise proved to be immature, vacuous and just plain silly in unscripted moments. In one debate, he repeatedly demanded that Perlmutter tell him the page number of something in the health care bill; when your big attack is that your opponent can’t recall page numbers, you’re running a student council campaign.

It’s not losing the race that hurts Frazier, but the fact that he couldn’t even be competitive in a Republican year. Frazier lost by 11 points to Perlmutter and received about 13,000 fewer votes than 2008 GOP candidate John Lerew, a guy whose own yard signs said “John Who?”

Ryan Frazier has now lost high-profile races in consecutive years by double digits, and there’s now no denying the fact that he’s just not a very good politician. Sure, he’s a good speaker (even if he sounds like he’s doing an impression of Barack Obama) and a decent fundraiser, but his campaigns have been downright ridiculous at times. Whether traveling to the Mexico border to stare at the fence, or claiming in a recent robo-call that the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd was out to get him, Frazier was less statesman than used-car salesman. And voters have noticed; it’s worth repeating that Frazier hasn’t just lost — he’s lost in a landslide in consecutive elections.

If the shine wasn’t completely off of Frazier after 2010, surely it is today. Donors aren’t going to back him a third time, not after that performance record, so we’ve probably seen the last of Frazier as a candidate for public office.  

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Gardner and Tipton vs. Perlmutter on Medicare Privatization

40
  by: Colorado Pols May 26, 2011 at 6:51 PM MDT

Discussing the surprise victory this week by Democrat Kathy Hochul in New York’s CD-26 special election, for which credit is broadly being attributed to the Republican 2012 budget proposal and its replacement of Medicare with a voucher system in ten years, we posted video clips of Colorado freshman Reps. Cory Gardner and Scott Tipton defending it for posterity.

Tuesday, reports the Colorado Independent’s Scot Kersgaard, Colorado Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter responded to the GOP budget proposal, and attacks on Medicare generally.

“Americans know Medicare didn’t get us into this financial pickle, yet the Republicans in Congress want to pick on Medicare because they’ve never liked the program. Medicare is not harming the financial success of this country, so why are we blaming a program that is working and helping seniors have healthier, longer lives?”

Like we said yesterday after the Senate rejected the “Ryan Plan” with five GOP defections, it’s a very easy choice for us which of these two positions we’d rather run on in 2012. Fortunately for our two freshman Republicans, we haven’t seen any redistricting maps that would pit either of them against Perlmutter–but we expect their challengers will know what to say too.

And now there’s evidence it might really work, like 2010’s “death panels” but based in reality.

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The VEEP is Coming to Golden Tomorrow

10
  by: Colorado Pols May 20, 2011 at 1:42 AM MDT

According to a press release from Rep. Ed Perlmutter:

Tomorrow, Congressman Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) will host Vice President Joe Biden, and members of the Colorado delegation at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) located in the 7th CD in Golden, CO.

“Vice President Biden’s visit showcases the importance NREL, the crown jewel of renewable energy research labs, has in transforming the way we power our nation and achieving energy independence,” stated Perlmutter.  “The best way to move our nation forward toward long-term economic security and stability is to ensure a solid infrastructure allowing innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship to flourish. The important research work from the dedicated scientists at NREL means about 5,500 private and public sector jobs here in Colorado.  Investing in our long-term energy independence will help us afford to fill up our gas tanks in the short term, and quite simply, is good for jobs, our national security and our climate.”

This event with Vice-President Biden launches Perlmutter’s Innovation Tour scheduled for June 28 – 30th.  Each of these days, Perlmutter will highlight local small businesses spawned by the growth in the alternative energy, aerospace and bioscience fields.  Details of the tour and media availability will be released in the days preceding the tours.

“Small businesses are the engines of our economy,” said Perlmutter. “Our commitment to helping small businesses in these industries succeed will mean good paying, stable jobs for now and into the future.  They will help our district, state and nation lead the way toward ensuring the United States’ remains competitive and we achieve long-term security and prosperity.”

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Perlmutter Announces $277k Raised as Redistricting Looms

1
  by: Colorado Pols April 15, 2011 at 8:54 PM MDT

Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter easily dispatched Republican challenger Ryan Frazier in 2010 despite Frazier (and the RNCC) spending a good deal of money on what turned out to be a rather weak campaign. But Perlmutter isn’t sitting back and hoping that he scared off a potential 2012 challenger — not with redistricting looming and potential changes to CD-7 making his re-election tougher.

Today, Perlmutter’s campaign announced that he had raised $277,617 in Q1, the highest total amount reported by Perlmutter for this period since 2006. Full press release after the jump…

Congressman Ed Perlmutter’s campaign filed its first financial report of 2011 with the Federal Election Commission showing $277,617 in fundraising since January 1. It is the highest total reported by Perlmutter’s campaign for this period since he was elected to Congress in 2006. The campaign ended the reporting period with $247,177 on hand.

Perlmutter stated, “I am humbled by the support my campaign continues to receive. We received contributions from all across the 7th Congressional District and in amounts from $5 on up. It’s an honor to represent the hard-working people of the 7th district and it’s an honor to have their support. I look forward to continuing to talk to my neighbors in grocery stores and elsewhere about how I can best represent them.”

“To have such a strong showing in the first quarter of a new election cycle means a lot,” said Perlmutter campaign spokeswoman Julie DeWoody. “Ed has hit the ground running in his third term and he never takes a single vote for granted. The widespread support of his campaign reflects that.”

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Colorado Election Results Open Thread

258
  by: Colorado Pols November 3, 2010 at 4:25 AM MDT

UPDATE (11:25): The big Denver paper and many of the other big TV stations have some major problems with their reporting. The Denver Post, for example, had Buck ahead of Bennet 48-46, on the strength of a 52-45 advantage in Boulder. A quick check of the Boulder Clerk and Recorder’s website has Bennet leading Buck 67-29. There are a lot of somebodies who should have caught this immediately — there’s no way Boulder County would go solid red for any Republican.

We recommend sticking with the results from Fox 31, which not only has a page that seems to actually load correctly, but isn’t making any obvious errors that we can see.

—–

UPDATE (11:16): It looks like we may be headed for at least one state legislative recount. In HD-29, Democratic Rep. Debbie Benefield trails Republican Robert Ramirez by 148 votes (50.34% to 49.66%).

—–

UPDATE (11:12): That didn’t last long. With 56% of ballots counted, Bennet and Buck are now tied at 47-47.

—–

UPDATE (11:00): Buck has pulled ahead of Bennet for the first time tonight, leading 49-46 with 49% of precincts reporting.

—–

UPDATE (9:50): It’s looking like the race that will have the biggest impact from an ACP candidate will not be the one anybody expected. The Secretary of State race is neck-and-neck, but the ACP candidate is already pulling 6% of the vote. Buescher may well win this seat by virtue of the American Constitution Party.

—–

UPDATE (9:44): The percentage of precincts reporting continues to rise, and Michael Bennet continues to hold a 50-45 lead over Ken Buck. This is not good news for Buck, because early returns should have favored him (Republicans voted in higher numbers than Democrats in early and absentee voting). Given Buck’s numerous gaffes in the last two weeks of the campaign, it’s not likely that late voters are going to choose him over Bennet, so it’s hard to see how Buck is going to make up 5 points with 27% of the vote already tallied.

—–

UPDATE (9:08): It’s always fun to see those really early returns that show absurd numbers. In HD-22, Democrat Christine Radeff is pummeling Republican incumbent Ken Summers 7,875 to 12. Yes, 12. For a few more minutes, anyway.

—–

UPDATE (9:05): Republican Cory Gardner is being declared the winner in CD-4.

—–

UPDATE (9:03): The Secretary of State race is coming down to the wire, and may be decided by the number of votes pulled in by the American Constitution Party candidate. Meanwhile, the race for Attorney General seems to be widening in favor of incumbent John Suthers.

—–

UPDATE (9:00): Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter has been declared the winner in CD-7.

—–

UPDATE (8:38): The old adage that Jefferson County decides statewide elections is largely holding form. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, unofficially, are doing better in Jefferson County, as is John Suthers. Cary Kennedy and Walker Stapleton are neck-and-neck in Jeffco, while Scott Gessler leads Bernie Buescher in the large west Denver suburb.

—–

UPDATE (8:35): Ladies and gentlemen, your next Governor…John Hickenlooper! The race has been called for Hick. Now the excitement turns to whether or not Dan Maes can cross the 10% threshold. From a Hickenlooper press release:

Colorado voters on Tuesday elected John Hickenlooper, a brewpub pioneer turned Mayor of Denver, as the 42nd Governor of Colorado.

“I am humbled and honored by the decision Colorado’s voters have made, and I accept the challenge you have entrusted to me to lead our state as Governor,” Hickenlooper said. “This is not the end of our journey. This is the beginning. And it starts with bringing people together.”

—–

UPDATE (8:20): Here’s a couple of developing stories to watch. All of this can change, of course, but as of right now…

  • Bennet maintaining early lead on Buck

  • Hickenlooper holding early lead for Governor

  • Tipton well ahead of Salazar in CD-3

  • Kennedy surprisingly strong in Treasurer race

  • Buescher may be saved by ACP candidate for SOS

  • Third party turnout not yet playing role in CD-4

  • Attorney General race staying close

  • Every major ballot measure getting crushed

  • Both Rep. Diana DeGette (CD1) and Jared Polis (CD2) have been declared winners already

    • —–

    We’ll update results as we can. In the meantime, please keep them updated, with links, in the comments below.

    *NOTE: Candidates in bold and italics have been declared the winner by at least one local news outlet.

    U.S. SENATE

    Michael Bennet (D): 47%

    Ken Buck (R): 47%

    56% reporting

    GOVERNOR

    John Hickenlooper (D): 51%

    Tom Tancredo (ACP): 37%

    Dan Maes (R): 11%

    48% reporting

    STATE TREASURER

    Cary Kennedy (D): 51%

    Walker Stapleton (R): 49%

    44% reporting

    ATTORNEY GENERAL

    John Suthers (R): 57%

    Stan Garnett (D): 43%

    44% reporting

    SECRETARY OF STATE

    Bernie Buescher (D): 44%

    Scott Gessler (R): 50%

    Amanda Campbell (ACP): 6%

    44% reporting

    CD-3

    John Salazar (D): 45%

    Scott Tipton (R): 50%

    63% reporting

    CD-4

    Betsy Markey (D): 41%

    Cory Gardner (R): 53%

    Doug Aden (ACP): 5%

    Ken “Wasko” (I): 1%

    69% reporting

    CD-7

    Ed Perlmutter (D): 53%

    Ryan Frazier (R): 42%

    16% reporting

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    9News Pulls Frazier Attack Ad Off the Air

    24
      by: Colorado Pols October 26, 2010 at 10:39 PM MDT

    An attack ad by Republican Ryan Frazier that goes after Rep. Ed Perlmutter for “allowing convicted rapists to receive Viagra” — a claim that has repeatedly been found to be untrue — has been pulled by 9News and will no longer run on the station.

    According to a press release from Perlmutter’s campaign:

    In a rare move, KUSA – Ch. 9 decided to pull the false and misleading ad against Ed Perlmutter which asserted that because he voted for the new health insurance reform law, he supported the ability for convicted rapists to access Viagra.  Adam Schrager from KUSA did the fact check on this ad, declaring it completely FALSE and stated “Perlmutter never voted for it.”  Furthermore, the new health insurance reform law does not contain any provisions in it concerning this assertion.

    CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ENTIRE FACT CHECK

    This is the second attack ad run against Perlmutter that Schrager and Ch. 9 declared false.  The ads, were funded by the shadowy, Republican-operative run American Action Network, which sunk more than $1 million into the false advertising.

    “KUSA did the right thing,” said Perlmutter spokeswoman Leslie Oliver.  “These kinds of false and distorted ads are examples of what happens when these outside shadow groups aren’t required to disclose their donors.  This is an abuse of our political system and a disservice to voters who should be able to make a decision about the future of our country based on the truth – not lies.”

    According to the Denver Post, one of Frazier’s donors,  Rich Beeson, who is a Republican political operative in Colorado, is connected to the consultants for the AAN, and was involved in the decision to run this ad attacking Perlmutter.

    KMGH and the Denver Post have both declared the ad false as well.

    As we wrote when Cory Gardner’s false ads were pulled in CD-4 for accusing Rep. Betsy Markey of taking votes that actually belonged to Rep. ED Markey, this kind of press is really damaging to the candidates behind the ads. When a station pulls an ad for being false, it leaves voters to question how much of your other assertions are really true.  

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    Perlmutter Wants False Ads Pulled

    34
      by: Colorado Pols October 16, 2010 at 1:29 AM MDT

    The campaign of Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter is asking local television stations to stop running an ad from the American Action Network that Perlmutter’s camp says has been proven false. From a press release:

    Today, the Perlmutter campaign sent a letter asking TV stations in Denver to remove an advertisement attacking Ed Perlmutter  based on the fact that it is “grossly inaccurate…and includes claims that independent news organizations have already declared false.”  Attached is the letter sent to station managers today, as well as a fact check on the entire ad.

    In addition to numerous false allegations, the commercial alleges the health insurance reform bill “spent our money on health insurance for illegal immigrants.”  This is beyond political gamesmanship, this is a blatant lie, and the worst kind of scare-tactics that TV stations shouldn’t be a party to.  The health insurance reform bill signed into  law by the President states that undocumented immigrants are specifically “excluded from receiving any benefits under health care reform.” Perlmutter voted to ensure this provision was inserted in the law.  See the attached letter for independently-verified citations.

    The million dollar commercial is paid for by the American Action Network (AAN) and is funded by the very big Wall Street financial firms Ed voted to crack down on.

    There is precedent, both in Colorado and in other states, for television stations to remove ads that are intentionally misleading or inaccurate. Click here to read the full letter from law firm Rothgerber, Johnson & Lyons.

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    Fun With Press Releases: Buck Bailey Looks Forward to Thursday

    2
      by: Colorado Pols October 14, 2010 at 1:28 AM MDT

    We do our best to share with you some of the more entertaining press releases that we receive here at Colorado Pols, and we got a good one today.

    The release below is from Buck Bailey, the Libertarian candidate in CD-7. There was no headline on the press release, but then, there really isn’t much of a point to the whole thing anyway. Enjoy:

    (Aurora) – Buck Bailey, Libertarian candidate for Congress in CD7 is looking forward to two opportunities on Thursday to highlight the fundamentally different approach to service in the US Congress he offers voters in this election.

    First, he will meet with his fellow candidates as they tape a debate on CPT 12’s Colorado Decides that will air Friday night. Then later, in the evening, he will meet Representative Perlmutter in a debate sponsored by the Jefferson County League of Women Voters.

    Buck has been highly encouraged and energized by the acceptance of his message and his inclusion in numerous forums during this election season.

    More information for Bailey can be obtained at his web site: Votebuckbailey.com

    Buck looks forward to Thursday! But does Buck look forward to Friday? Hmmm…

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    Frazier, Perlmutter Closer Race Than Thought…Not Yet

    41
      by: Colorado Pols August 30, 2010 at 9:16 PM MDT

    According to a recent poll by Republican firm Magellan Strategies, Republican challenger Ryan Frazier leads Democrat incumbent Rep. Ed Perlmutter 40-39, with 11% undecided (MOE +/- 3.4%).

    While the Frazier campaign certainly wants to trumpet this poll as a sign that he can defeat Perlmutter, we don’t see it yet. This is the first public poll on this matchup, and Frazier doesn’t actually do better than generic matchup polls between Republican and Democratic candidates. Since neither campaign has started heavy TV advertising, this poll is essentially a “generic R vs. D” poll.

    The real problem for Frazier is that there’s no reason to think he can expand on this. As of the last FEC reporting period, Perlmutter had a million dollars more cash on hand than Frazier; while that deficit could be made up somewhat by the NRCC, since CD-7 has never made it to the top of the pickup list, there’s no reason to think the NRCC would spend any real money here when they have better odds in CD-4 with Cory Gardner.

    According to the Cook Political Report, CD-7 is a “Likely Democrat” district, and President Obama won the district by 18 points in 2008. Frazier is going to need a lot more than this poll to convince national Republicans to toss real money into CD-7; barring that decision, he’s got nowhere to go but down. There are three potentially vulnerable Democrats in Colorado (Perlmutter, Rep. John Salazar and Rep. Betsy Markey), and it’s extremely unlikely that all three will lose their bid for re-election. Perlmutter has to be considered the safest of the three, if nothing else because he is in a district with a Democratic voter registration advantage.

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    FOP Backs Perlmutter, Unless You Visit Frazier’s Website

    10
      by: Colorado Pols August 20, 2010 at 9:54 PM MDT

    UPDATE (2:12 p.m.): That didn’t take long. Frazier’s campaign website has already been fixed so that the press release with the FOP endorsement is now gone.

    —–

    Yesterday Democrat Ed Perlmutter’s campaign sent out a press release (full release after the jump) noting that he had received the unanimous endorsement of the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). What makes this newsworthy, you say? Well, the fact that Republican CD-7 challenger Ryan Frazier also claims to have been endorsed by the FOP.

    According to a press release on Frazier’s website:

    The Board of Directors for the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 49 of the Aurora Police Department today announced their unanimous decision to endorse Ryan Frazier’s candidacy for the 7th Congressional District of Colorado. Frazier earned the endorsement for his leadership role as an Aurora City Councilman and his dedication to public safety.

    So how did the Colorado FOP “unanimously” endorse Perlmutter while the Aurora FOP “unanimously” endorse Frazier? Apparently the Aurora FOP isn’t actually permitted to offer an endorsement of its own, and the only FOP endorsement you can get in Colorado comes from the state organization. The Colorado FOP has apparently asked Frazier to remove the endorsement from his website, which obviously hasn’t happened yet.

    PERLMUTTER RECEIVES UNANIMOUS ENDORSEMENT OF COLORADO FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE

    “Representative Ed Perlmutter is a leader of integrity, character, and courage, whose record of supporting Colorado’s law enforcement community is unmatched,”

    -Frank Gale, President Colorado Fraternal Order of Police

    Perlmutter Opponent, Ryan Frazier, Flip-Flops on Support for Cops

    Golden, CO – Today, Ed Perlmutter, Congressman from the 7th Congressional District, announced  he received the unanimous endorsement of the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)  .  The Colorado FOP is the largest representative organization of police in Colorado.

    Perlmutter received the endorsement on Saturday during the regular monthly meeting of the Colorado FOP Colorado based on his long history of support for our local law enforcement officers. (See attached letter of endorsement).

    “Ed’s long record of support for police officers and law enforcement in the 7th Congressional District and throughout the state is unmatched.  From helping us keep police officers on the job and equipping them with the resources they need to protect our neighborhoods, to making CopLink a reality in the metro area, his work on behalf of our community has been tireless.  We couldn’t ask for a better voice, a better champion, a better neighbor, to represent the 7th Congressional District and continue helping us serve and protect the citizens of this area.  That’s why we gave him our unanimous endorsement and support,” said Frank Gale, the President of the Colorado FOP.

    “I am honored to receive this unanimous endorsement,” said Perlmutter. “Our police officers and law enforcement personnel put their lives on the line for us every day, and I want to continue making sure they have the resources they need to do their job keeping us safe and secure. ”

    Ed sat on the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment for the House Homeland Security Committee  (committee that deals with local law enforcement issues). Ed has a long history of supporting local law enforcement and public safety initiatives from his on-the-ground support of the CopLink program to his time in private law practice representing the county sheriff’s association legal matters, and his state senate efforts to help pass the Amber Alert law,

    While Perlmutter consistently voted for more police officers on our streets, his opponent, Ryan Frazier, continues to flip flop and say one thing about how he is supportive of law enforcement officers, while his actions show a different story.

    While Frazier was a vocal advocate of a voter approved mandate to hire two cops per thousand residents during his first city council race, Frazier was the lone city council member who opposed this effort when it came time to vote to send the measure back to the voters for funding approval, stating “‘Who said two officers per 1,000 residents was what we need to go after in the first place?'(Aurora Sentinel Sunday, April 4, 2004).

    Additionally, Frazier, who sits on the Public Safety Committee for the City Council and works for the taxpayers of Aurora has been labeled the most absent councilman in Aurora missing approximately 30% of the last 53 City Council meetings in the past two years. (Colorado Independent, Weds., August 18, 2010).

    Below are some of Ed’s law enforcement accomplishments from law career, from the state senate and in Congress:

    ·         Saving Law Enforcement Jobs: Ed voted to support the bill that will prevent the layoffs of tens of thousands of police officers and firefighters by closing the loophole on multinational corporations who outsource American jobs.

    ·         COPLINK:  Ed secured $587,000 for the North Metro Task Force (which includes Adams County) to purchase COPLINK, a real-time, integrated criminal database.

    ·         Open Source Enhancement Act (HR 3815):  Ed introduced and passed out of the House the Open Source Enhancement Act to provide local law enforcement consolidated reports detailing the latest trends and activity in the world of homeland security and recommendations on how to apply these developments into day-to-day police work.

    ·         Methamphetamine Response Collaborative:  Ed secured $1.052 million for Jefferson County to purchase equipment related to their meth response unit.

    ·         Represented County Sheriff’s Association: In 2003, while in private law practice, Ed represented the county Sheriff’s Association in connection with business and financial transactions.

    ·         See Something, Say Something Act:  In May 2007, Ed broke party-lines to vote for an amendment on the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act which provided legal immunity from any liability an individual might encounter as a result of reporting suspicious activity.

    ·         Sponsored Family Testimony Bill in Murder Trials: In the state senate, Ed sponsored and passed the law allowing families of murder victims to testify during sentencing of the perpetrator.  This was in response to the murder of Officer Mossbrucker in Jefferson County.

    ·         Sponsored Domestic Violence Data:  Ed was the primary sponsor in the state senate of a law making courts help out families more in domestic violence cases.

    ·         Amber Alert:  Ed sponsored and helped pass the law establishing the Amber Alert System to notify broadcast media statewide when an abduction of a child is confirmed.

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    Looking at the US/Mexico Border: The Hip Political Field Trip

    32
      by: Colorado Pols July 21, 2010 at 6:38 PM MDT

    We were going to do a quick Photoshop rendition to illustrate our point, but it turns out that the website for Republican Ryan Frazier (running against Lang Sias for the GOP nomination in CD-7) had the perfect picture already.

    If you think that’s just a picture of Frazier staring at the U.S./Mexico border…you’re right!

    Yesterday, Frazier took part in what has become the coolest, hippest political nonsense move of 2010: Traveling to the southern edges of the U.S. to look at the border and thus show voters how serious you are about illegal immigration.

    Really, look at that picture! Is Ryan Frazier totally serious about illegal immigration or what!? If he wasn’t really, really serious about illegal immigration, then why would he travel hundreds of miles just to look at some dirt and a big fence? Well, what’s your answer to that? Yeah, that’s what we thought. Goddamn right!

    Not only did Frazier travel to the border yesterday, he even held a tele-town hall from the border to discuss illegal immigration. That’s some gen-U-ine commitment to the issue right there! You can’t really talk about illegal immigration until you’ve stood there, in the middle of the day, and stared at a fence between the United States and Mexico! Sure, you could talk about illegal immigration from Colorado, but it’s not the same as doing it from Arizona or New Mexico, now is it?

    Thanks for joining me, Ryan Frazier, on the call tonight. I’m right here at the U.S./Mexico border, talking to you from a place where illegal immigrants are probably not crossing into the country on account of this gigantic fence and the big presence at this particular location. But lemme tell you something — I’m going to do something about illegal immigration! If you elect me to Congress, I might even come back here to stare at the border some more! I’ve seen the border with my own eyes! Has Lang Sias looked at it with his own eyes? What about Ed Perlmutter? I don’t know — maybe they have. But I’m the only one who took time to come down here during this important election season and stare at it. And I really stared at it, my friends! I stared the hell out of it!

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    So Long, Lang?

    4
      by: Colorado Pols July 16, 2010 at 9:28 PM MDT

    The campaign for Republican Lang Sias, one of two GOP hopefuls in CD-7, reported raising just $74,460 in Q2. Sias now has a measly $102,566 cash on hand (COH), which probably won’t be enough to get him past Ryan Frazier in the primary. Frazier raised $184,316 in Q2, for a total COH amount of $401,292.

    The winner of the Republican Primary is probably a moot argument anyway, since incumbent Democrat Ed Perlmutter $1,391,084 in the bank.

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    Which Colorado Politician Would You Draft #1?

    54
      by: Colorado Pols April 22, 2010 at 10:16 PM MDT

    UPDATE: You can read our Top 5 after the jump. Tomorrow — the “sleeper” picks.

    —–

    The NFL Draft kicks off tonight, with the first round being held in prime time for the first time in history. That got us thinking about how a political draft might play out in Colorado.

    Which Colorado politician, active or retired, would you select #1 overall if your goal was to win a statewide election in 2010? Here’s the scenario:

  • Suppose Colorado was awarded a third U.S. Senate seat, so there is no incumbent and no history of incumbency.

  • You are choosing the best politician to win that seat in 2010.

  • This is not about who would be the best Senator or do the best job in office. This is pure politics — who is most likely to get elected AND who helps you down the ticket? Ideally you want your top pick to be helpful for the rest of your political “team.” You could make your #1 pick an “Independent” candidate, but that wouldn’t help anyone else down-ticket.

  • Ignore current partisan labels. You could choose Gov. Bill Ritter and run him as a Republican if you wanted.

  • Pay no attention to whether or not someone would be putting another seat in danger if they ran for something else (for example, Rep. John Salazar. Pick as though you want the single best chance to win this one race.

    • So, how would you fill out your wish list? Who would you choose #1? Who would make up your Top Ten, in order? Make your picks below, and read about our Top Five after the jump.

    Here is how our Top Five might look, off the top of our collective heads:

    1. Ken Salazar (Democrat)

    Not only is Salazar very popular in Colorado, but the Interior Secretary would have a lot of support from the White House (Salazar and President Obama are close friends). But the real sweetener in this pick is that Salazar would likely have a strong impact on turning out more Hispanic voters, which would help every down-ballot candidate.

    2. John Hickenlooper (Democrat)

    The Denver Mayor is really a nightmare scenario for just about any opponent because he is wildly popular throughout Metro Denver (an area that includes a HUGE chunk of the total number of Colorado voters), but he also has a strong business background that makes him attractive to the state’s swing voters who are essentially Libertarians (they want smart fiscal leadership but don’t care much about controversial social issues).

    We considered whether it would make sense to run Hick as a Republican, given that he is not very liberal, but reconsidered as we thought about how most of his social positions would really alienate a right-wing Republican base (not to mention the fact that he is from Denver, which automatically gives him a stigma with Republicans).

    3. Bill Owens (Republican)

    We can’t think of another obvious Republican to put at the top of this list besides Owens. The former Governor left office in 2007 with decent favorability ratings, and he was always good at playing the insider political game that kept a lot of other Republicans in line (and that lack of leadership has been all too apparent for Republicans in recent years). Sure, Owens is probably a little too much of his own man for many Republicans, including those still mad about Referendum C. But we see his bipartisan leadership on major issues like Ref. C as more of a positive than a negative with the majority of voters.

    4. Betsy Markey (Democrat or Republican)

    A moderate female candidate could really have an advantage in a statewide election, if nothing else because it makes them stand out; Colorado has never elected a woman to the Senate or the Governor’s mansion, and that narrative would get a lot of attention in the last few months of the election (current GOP Senate candidate Jane Norton will benefit from this to a degree if she wins the Republican nomination this year, but it won’t be as effective because she has gone so far to the right on many issues).

    Markey has shown herself to be a good fundraiser and a disciplined campaigner who rarely departs from her message. She’s also the owner of a successful small business, which gives her the “businessperson” cache that is so helpful to Hickenlooper. We just can’t decide whether we would run her as a Democrat or a Republican, because there are some obvious advantages to both.

    5. Cary Kennedy (Republican)

    If you could go back in time and re-invent Jane Norton, you could do worse than making her out to be more like State Treasurer Kennedy (a Democrat). A solid campaigner and good public speaker with a nice-looking family, Kennedy has the financial and policy brains but also a history as a big supporter of public education. She’s like a PTA mom on steroids, and while she’s a little left of moderate, her current elected position has kept her out of the weeds on most of the controversial social issues. Kennedy is a strong candidate as a Democrat, but we think Republicans — particularly women, who have not traditionally been well-represented by the Colorado GOP — would love her.

    5(a). Ed Perlmutter (Democrat)

    We left out Perlmutter at first mention, but he’s got to at least be in the top six. Perlmutter is a great fundraiser with strong political ties (in both parties) across the state, and he’s also a talented natural politician. But perhaps his biggest advantage is the makeup of his district; Perlmutter represents big chunks of two of the most populous counties in Colorado (Jefferson and Adams) and three of our largest cities (Aurora, Lakewood, Arvada), and his district borders Denver on three sides. That’s a huge percentage of Colorado voters that are already somewhat familiar with his name.

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    Rep. Ed Perlmutter Endorses Bennet

    9
      by: Colorado Pols March 13, 2010 at 1:01 AM MST

    Just released today, Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter has officially endorsed Sen. Michael Bennet. From a press release:

    Democrats in Colorado are blessed to have two highly qualified men running to represent Colorado in the United States Senate. One is our sitting US Senator, Michael Bennet, the other is our former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, Andrew Romanoff.

    I have remained neutral in their primary until now, because I believe both men are gifted and talented public servants of whom Colorado can be proud. However, I have decided to endorse Michael Bennet in this primary. Over the past year, Michael’s diligence, determination and dedication to solving problems and moving Colorado and America forward have earned my trust, respect and full support.

    Perlmutter and Denver Rep. Dianna DeGette had been the only Democratic members of Colorado’s delegation to not take a side in the Senate primary, but of the two Perlmutter’s support is definitely more important. Perlmutter’s district boundaries include large portions of two of Colorado’s biggest and most electorally important counties — Jefferson and Adams — and his support will carry particular weight among Jefferson County Democrats who might have been inclined to back Andrew Romanoff.

    More commentary from a Pols diarist here.

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