Deconstructing the debate: Beauprez lie #1
One of the many misleading claims Both Ways Bob Beauprez made during the gubernatorial debate on Friday was that Democratic nominee Bill Ritter "spent most of his life in politics" while Beauprez "has been in the private sector almost all [his] life."
There are three good reasons to believe that Beauprez's pants are currently on fire.
1. Ritter was appointed district attorney in 1993 and left the office due to term limits in 2004, so he has 11 years of political experience. Beauprez entered politics as the Boulder County Republican Party chairperson in 1997 and serves as the CD7 congressman today. So he has nine. Seems pretty even.
2. Since Ritter gained his office by appointment, he didn't have to participate in elections until 1996 and 2000. Beauprez has run and won the exact same number of campaigns.
3. The majority of Ritter's "political" time was spent prosecuting criminals, not campaigning. Meanwhile, Beauprez has spent nine solid years engaging in hyper-partisan political bickering. After running the Boulder GOP, Beauprez was elevated to the same post with the state party, where he made an aggressive attempt to redraw Colorado's districts along partisan boundries. He even had to testify in a redistricting case, where he admitted that he was more concerned with electing Republicans than with "the best interest of the state." Then Beauprez was sent to Washington DC, where he spent four years in a bitterly partisan atmosphere hobnobbing with corrupt folks like Tom DeLay and Michael Cherney.
Beauprez is a total political animal. Why is he accusing Ritter, then? Maybe he's projecting.
Reference materials at Ritter and Beauprez's non-partisan Wikipedia entries.
There are three good reasons to believe that Beauprez's pants are currently on fire.
1. Ritter was appointed district attorney in 1993 and left the office due to term limits in 2004, so he has 11 years of political experience. Beauprez entered politics as the Boulder County Republican Party chairperson in 1997 and serves as the CD7 congressman today. So he has nine. Seems pretty even.
2. Since Ritter gained his office by appointment, he didn't have to participate in elections until 1996 and 2000. Beauprez has run and won the exact same number of campaigns.
3. The majority of Ritter's "political" time was spent prosecuting criminals, not campaigning. Meanwhile, Beauprez has spent nine solid years engaging in hyper-partisan political bickering. After running the Boulder GOP, Beauprez was elevated to the same post with the state party, where he made an aggressive attempt to redraw Colorado's districts along partisan boundries. He even had to testify in a redistricting case, where he admitted that he was more concerned with electing Republicans than with "the best interest of the state." Then Beauprez was sent to Washington DC, where he spent four years in a bitterly partisan atmosphere hobnobbing with corrupt folks like Tom DeLay and Michael Cherney.
Beauprez is a total political animal. Why is he accusing Ritter, then? Maybe he's projecting.
Reference materials at Ritter and Beauprez's non-partisan Wikipedia entries.
7 Comments:
Nice polemic. However, it is true that Bill Ritter has been sucking at the public teat most of his adult life. Before being appointed to the top job, Bill worked in the DA's office for years. Don't get me wrong, I support and will vote for Bill. I just detest intellectual dishonesty. I also have a problem with people who spend their entire lives getting a pay check, health insurance and pension from the tax payers and never come out in the cold world of the private sector.
Jim Dodd,
Thanks for commenting.
Your point would be well taken if Beauprez had claimed that Ritter spent most of his life in the public sector. But that's not what he said. He said Ritter has spent most of his life in politics. It's not "intellectually dishonest" of me to point out that lie.
If you think the private sector is cold, I'd suggest you spend some time in underfunded courtrooms prosecuting criminals. I suspect it's pretty darn cold in there.
And don't forget the other half of my argument. BWB says he's spent almost all his life in the private sector, but he's been in politics for 9 years now.
I'm spinning, no doubt. But for "dishonesty," BWB has no competition.
Gee, if Both way bob lived in Boulder, can't we tar him with being some crazy pot smoking hippy.
Ritter also spent many years working on a family farm and working his way through school - all private sector jobs.
At least be honest in commenting - Ritter is a Liberal's Liberal - you dislike conservatives - Ritter has little business or governmental experience - legislative to be specific.
Beauprez may not be the best but he does haf substantial legislative experience - you simply dislike his views on immigration, etc
Be honest - it's OK!
Anon,
Where was I dishonest? I admitted my political bias when I titled this blog Coloradolib. But the only liar in the debate was Both Ways Bob, when he said Ritter has spent most of his life in politics.
Anon,
After reading your post more closely, I am really confused.
The substance of Bob's accusation was that Ritter is a career politician. I refuted that accusation.
You defended Bob by saying that Ritter has little legislative experience. In other words - you agree with me.
What am I missing?
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