Tag: Dick Wadhams

On Friday, Sen. Tom Daschle was in Denver to talk of the paralyzing effects of a failed health care system. Among the realities: “One half of all bankruptcies, one half of all home foreclosures are related to medical costs.” Daschle’s appearance was a reminder of the sharp-tongued Dick Wadhams, who made his name known on the national stage by unseating the former Senate Minority Leader from South Dakota, employing, among other things, nasty name-calling. Sound familiar?

The blogs are having a field day this week, speculating as to which lucky Joe will emerge the winning plumber who will flush out the old and usher in a new winning majority for Colorado’s down-and-out GOP. And yes, current Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams is still in the mix.

As predicted, the Republican bloodletting has begun. Over the weekend, the Associated Press quoted anonymous “influential Republicans” striking out against GOP Party Chairman Dick Wadhams and. Predictably, Wadhams, responded in kind, calling such anonymous attackers cowards who don’t even have the guts to criticize him publicly. Even former state Senate President John Andrews has weighed in on the disarray of his party, going so far as to recommend radical intervention.

Two things jump to mind when thinking about the outcome of the Colorado vote: 1. Rep. Doug Lamborn — two years ago a freshman trying to find the Capitol bathroom — is now the Dean of Colorado’s Republican delegation in Washington. 2. Dick Wadhams’ threat to shove a bunch of 30-second ads up Democrat Mark Udall’s ass over a missed vote might just have marked the Macaca moment of his failed effort to get his old pal Bob Schaffer elected to the United States Senate. Such trashy talk underscores what went so utterly wrong for Republicans in Colorado on Tuesday.

Colorado Republican Chairman Dick Wadhams has pre-emptively conceded both houses of the state Legislature to the Democrats in what looks like an effort to drastically lower expectations for Election Day Tuesday. Leading off a Thursday interview with Channel 4, Wadhams said of his party's chances this year: "We've recruited some great candidates ... and I'm very optimistic about our chances. I don't believe we will win either house." Instead he said the goal has always been to "win control in 2010."

Democrat Mark Udall leads Republican Bob Schaffer 51 percent to 38 percent in the race for Colorado's open Senate seat, amassing winning margins among both sexes and all ages in a Rocky Mountain News-CBS4 poll released Sunday night. Udall trounces Schaffer among the state's unaffiliated voters — 62 percent to 20 percent — surpassing Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's 58 percent support among the group, according to the same news organizations' poll released late last week.

Taking a cue from Talking Points Memo, the Obama campaign put up an interactive map on Friday to track "some of the most toxic attacks" from the McCain campaign in the form of robocalls and printed material in Colorado and other battleground states.

The chief strategist and co-founder of a pro-Iraq war organization scheduled to endorse Republican Bob Schaffer in his run for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday was paid to promote investment in the Kurdistan region of Iraq at the same time Schaffer had a hand in securing an oil contract in Kurdistan—despite warnings the deal could prolong the war.

As reported by the Rocky Mountain News today, ProgressNow Action unveiled a new website within minutes of Jack Abramoff’s sentencing that shows clear links between the disgraced lobbyist and Colorado Senate candidate Bob Schaffer. The site, SchafferScandals.com, has an inviting front page with neat sound effects, like the sound of gunshots for Shaffer’s war profiteering and sewing machines (operated by small children, I’m sure) for information about the Marianas.

Read more of Jeff's commentaries: • We did this to Joe Lieberman • Oh, the tangled webs we weave • DNC protests fall flat • Congratulations Colorado

State GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams told the Wall Street Journal's Kim Strassel that women — particularly "security moms" in the suburbs south of Denver — are the critical swing voters in Colorado this year.