[dropcap]C[/dropcap]olorado Congressman Mike Coffman is running for re-election this year in one of the tightest districts in the nation, the recently redrawn 6th district, which wraps around Denver to the east, is evenly split among Republican, Democrat and unaffiliated voters and is home to suburban white and working-class ethnic-urban populations. Coffman, a Republican, needs every vote he can get.
So, last night, he visited The Cherry Hills Country Club to rally the support of young professionals.
Why not? Young professionals have money and youth to recommend them. All candidates need to collect cash, and Republican candidates really need to find more young people to vote for them.
For review: In 2012, Americans aged 29 and younger voted for Barack Obama by an historic margin over Mitt Romney, 60 percent to 36 percent. That margin paled only in comparison to the landslide Obama notched among non-white voters. As pundits noted in post-election reviews, the tilted numbers were likely only to get more lopsided in elections to come, as U.S. voting populations become more racially diverse and socially liberal.
“Republicans could lose an entire generation,” Paul Beck, an Ohio State professor, told the Huffington Post.
The Coffman event last night, however, is probably not the kind of event you plan if you’re trying to shift the stereotype of a Republican party that’s irredeemably stuffy or out of touch and hopelessly biased toward the wealthy. To describe the impression produced by the event announcements as “white shoe” doesn’t do them justice.
A young professional named Reginald Quinn Washington, selection committee chair for the Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance, sent around an invite. Another young man named Parker Rothammer, Coffman for Congress young professional chair, hosted the event.
The Cherry Hills club — site of “Championship Golf Since 1938” — is a tony establishment. But, again, “tony” seems not quite up to the task of conveying the effect. The club’s website does a better job:
[blockquote]Cherry Hills Country Club was born in 1922 from wealthy businessmen in the city and carved from the earth by well-known designer William Flynn, who charged the princely sum of $4,500 for his architectural services….
As anyone knows, you can’t just buy tradition. This intangible is earned over time, stamped with the seal of approval by those who have walked its fairways and become champions under the most challenging of conditions.[/blockquote]
Coffman likely raked in a lot of dough last night among the Reginalds and Parkers. He also likely delivered strong campaign ad material to his Democratic opponent.
At least Coffman does his high end fund raising at home. Romanoff seems to spend an awful lot of time in Washington, DC chasing big bucks, while keeping a remarkably low profile here in Colorado. I guess that’s what Nancy Pelosi has told him to do.
“Romanoff spends his time in DC chasing big bucks”? That’s about as asinine a statement I’ve read anywhere. No matter.
Coffman can cozy up to his wealthy friends begging for money. He’s in a real battle this time. The Hispanic vote will put him out of a job in November. Good riddance to PAC man Coffman and his teabagging agenda.