At this point Beauprez is joking, right?

The Beauprez for Governor campaign has joined The Trailhead Group in pursuing a futile line of attack against Bill Ritter. They're attempting to smear his record as Denver's district attorney. A Beauprez press release, launched today on his website (figure out the link yourself), claims Ritter went easy on illegal immigrants. This is what's known as a "lie." Please go back and read this post, where I compare and contrast Ritter and Beauprez's actions on illegal immigration.

Tancredo squeezes CD6 debate into his busy schedule

According to a comment posted on this blog yesterday, Tom Tancredo has given in to demands for a debate with Bill Winter. A spokesperson for the Winter campaign confirmed that the two will meet on October 24, and the debate will be broadcast on Channel 12 on October 25.

Voters from both sides have been requesting a debate, but Tancredo had been hiding behind his book tour and trips to South Carolina, Oklahoma and Arizona. My guess is that phone calls from angry CD6 constituents finally convinced him that he had to stop ignoring his district.

Note that the debate will take place two weeks after absentee ballots go out. And according to the Rocky, Arapahoe county clerk Nancy Doty has asked residents to vote by mail instead of casting ballots on election day.

Tancredo has the newspapers and the radio stations in his pocket. But Winter has the truth. It appears that on October 25, the voters of CD6 will finally get to hear it. Let's hope it's not too late.

Get out the vote tomorrow with America Votes

Three of the last four polls have showed Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill Ritter with a lead of at least 16 points. He has already earned the endorsement of at least one of the major dailies and a few Western Slope newspapers. He's won the support of bipartisan coalitions of businesspeople, law enforcement professionals and veterans, in addition to all of the the normal Democratic-leaning organizations.

So is this thing, like, totally over?

I once wrote that the Beauprez campaign's only hope is to step back and let Trailhead/Coloradans for Justice spread lies about Ritter. But there's a second part of their gameplan that should have been obvious when I read this story a few days ago:

A self-described Republican "attack dog" credited with the GOP's remarkable voter turnout in 2002 has joined Bob Beauprez's gubernatorial campaign... Republicans have 172,566 more registered voters than Democrats, and Truebner wants to make sure the GOP turns out in force, as it did in 2002.

The GOP has a formidable GOTV machine. And as conservative commentator Michael Barone wrote in US News:

[O]ne thing the polls can't measure is turnout. In the 2004 election, turnout proved to be crucial. Total turnout was up 16 percent from 2000 - a historic increase. John Kerry received 16 percent more votes than Al Gore did in 2000. George W. Bush received 23 percent more votes than he did four years before. The mainstream media devoted much attention to Democratic turnout efforts - a legitimate story - and in fact the Democratic turnout drive was very successful. But the Bush Cheney '04 turnout drive, to which the mainstream media gave very little coverage, was even more successful. In my view, the big question about the 2006 and 2008 elections will once again be turnout.

"One thing the polls can't measure is turnout." Ouch. If we don't turn out our base, we will lose.

Visit America Votes to learn about tomorrow's national day of action and their GOTV efforts in Colorado.

Have you endorsed Doug Lamborn?

Are you sure? Like, 100% positive?

O'Donnell: "Rumsfeld should resign. Unless..."

According to TakeBackTheHouse, last night Republican Rubber Stamp Rick O'Donnell joined Democratic CD7 nominee Ed Perlmutter in calling for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld. O'Donnell added, "Unless he's willing to come raise money for me like Bush, Cheney, Johnson and Mehlmen did. Then we're totally cool."

Rocky endorses Bill Ritter for Governor: Part 2

The Rocky also had some cold words for Both Ways Bob:

To be blunt, Beauprez's performance during the past 15 months has not been reassuring. It began with his taking an unconvincing stand against Referendum C, one seemed designed to secure his right flank rather than satisfy personal conviction. It continued with his mysterious embrace and then repudiation of Amendment 38, and a couple of verbal gaffes. And for a long time it wasn't clear why Beauprez even wanted to be governor.

And on a different page, the paper revealed one group that's still firmly behind the GOP nominee for governor:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez has more of the [4x8 hillside] signs than Democrat Bill Ritter because, "We know all the big landowners," said Beauprez's campaign manager, John Marshall.

Rocky endorses Bill Ritter for Governor: Part 1

The Rocky did the right thing:

We're betting the real Ritter is the political moderate we've seen on the campaign trail. And if he holds true to that vision and his pledges, he'll make a fine governor. He'll ensure Referendum C revenue is spent as voters intended it; he'll pursue a balanced transportation plan that doesn't shortchange highway improvements; he'll be a strong supporter of higher education but refuse to give a green light to state schools that seek to raid parents' pocketbooks with impunity; he'll function as a sober-minded check on most of the wilder legislative schemes that would stifle economic growth and job creation; he'll appoint mostly moderate judges in the mold, say, of former Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Love Kourlis, whom he has pointedly praised; and he'll bring in smart managers who'll pay attention to the nuts and bolts of administration...

Photo courtesy of Ritter for Governor.

Bill Winter has Tancredo running scared

From an open letter the Winter for Congress campaign just sent Tom Tancredo:

I understand that you told a local chamber of commerce that you will not be in town between now and the election. I also understand that you will be paying Colorado a visit for a fundraiser in Greeley and that while on your book tour, you may even stop by CD-6. I urge you to take the time to engage in a direct debate with me.

Photo of Joe Rice, Morgan Carroll and Bill Winter courtesy of Winter for Congress.

New 9News poll confirms Ritter way, way ahead

Remember that Zogby poll from this morning? Well, forget it. From a new 9News poll released today:

In an election for Governor of Colorado today, 9/28/06, Democrat Bill Ritter defeats Republican Bob Beauprez 55% to 38%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KUSA-TV Denver.

Four reasons not to panic

Zogby's latest poll shows that Both Ways Bob has gained substantial ground on Bill Ritter. But should we believe a poll that flies in the face of everything we've seen in the last couple of weeks? Consider:

1. Since June 1, 2006, Zogby has showed Bill Ritter with an average lead of 6.675 points. All the other polls in the same time frame combined give Ritter an average lead of 9.85. From this, we can probably assume that Zogby simply trends conservative.

2. As a commenter on ToTheRight suggested, "Zogby does online, interactive polling, hardly a random sample..."

3. The last two polls have showed Ritter with 17 and 16 point leads. Let's see if any other polls come out with numbers similar to this Zogby poll before we give it any credence. It's too early to put stock in these numbers.

4. "It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile."

Joe Rice turns HD38 into a top pickup opportunity

ColoradoPols highlighted HD38 as perhaps the top pickup opportunity in the State House:

On the pickup side, Democrats think they have a shot to take Joe Stengel's former seat in HD-38 (Littleton) with Joe Rice, a former military man, running against Republican Matt Dunn.

Have you had enough of Tom Tancredo?

Thanks to Zappatero for the YouTube link. If you enjoyed the video, please read this post on DownWithTyranny.

Colorado Media Matters, a poll, some video and so forth

Thanks to Colorado Media Matters for letting me drop by their open house last night. Also good to see Jeralyn Merritt from Talk Left and 5280; Colorado Luis, now blogging at Square State; the genius behind Muskrat Hunt; and pretty much the whole staff of Colorado Confidential.

I had planned to write more about the event, but instead I've found myself perplexed by the latest gubernatorial poll, which indicates Both Ways Bob may have gained some ground on Bill Ritter. I need some time to look at it.

In the meantime, here's a video of the walk I blogged here.

Where is Tom Tancredo hiding from Bill Winter now?

And the winner is Oklahoma, where he's going to campaign for Republican gubernatorial nominee Ernest Istook. Istook recently got in trouble for claiming that thousands of Oklahoma students were missing out on financial aid because it was being used by illegal immigrants. Officials investigated and found the number was a lot closer to 37. In fact, it was 37. (Source: Tulsa World via Pajamas Media.)

Tancredo ought to repay his constituents for all the time he spends pursuing his own celebrity. And he owes the voters of CD6 a debate.

Both Ways Bob gets his hands dirty

5280 tells us that for the first time in history, the League of Conservation Voters has put a gubernatorial candidate on its Dirty Dozen list. A round of applause for our very own Both Ways Bob Beauprez.

I have a moment of terror about '06

Supposedly, this is a great time to be a Democrat in Colorado. The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy is swamping the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. And Jay Fawcett is positioned to pull an upset in Colorado Springs.

For months, I've been congratulating the CDP for finding moderate candidates like Bill Ritter, John Salazar, Bill Winter and Joe Rice. And wondering if the GOP was committing suicide by purging moderates and nominating extremists like Mike Kopp, Matt Dunn and Doug Lamborn.

But what if the voters don't pay attention to the candidates or the issues? What if they just check the name with the (R) after it? What if we run our best against their worst and still lose?

We'd be left with a Colorado much redder than the state of even a few years ago. Welcome back runaway deficits, chickenhawk leaders and Big Brother-government.

They say that every crisis is an opportunity in disguise. But the reverse is also true. If we can't seize the opportunity presented in 2006, our state will be plunged into a crisis from which it might never recover.

Keep the hammer down.

Media determined to get Beauprez back into governor's race

I spent last night writing about the AP's pro-Both Ways Bob spin. And today, I wake up and have to deal with this:

On a CBS4 "Reality Check" analyzing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter's campaign ad responding to attacks against his record as Denver district attorney, reporter Raj Chohan declared that accusations that Republican candidate "Bob Beauprez was behind the TV ads attacking Ritter" are "false."

I'm pretty excited that CBS has decided to broadcast the news live from lollipop land. But they completely missed the substance of the accusation. Yeah, the evidence is circumstantial, but observers on both sides believe that the Beauprez campaign must've either illegally coordinated with the Trailhead Group (er, Coloradans for Justice) or developed psychic abilities.

I wish I could've watched this one

Tvert vs. Suthers.

Washington Post misses on gubernatorial race: Part 2

The AP quickly changed the headline of the story in question. But Colorado Media Matters reports that a false headline wasn't the only problem with the story:

The original version of a September 26 Associated Press article by reporter Steven K. Paulson about the "problems dogging" the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez uncritically quoted Beauprez's false claim that Democratic candidate Bill Ritter "declared himself pro-life, then said he'd make exceptions for anomalies. I asked if that included Down syndrome and he said yes."

Beauprez apparently was referring to an exchange from an August 11 debate that he previously has misrepresented. In fact, at no point during the debate did Ritter mention Down syndrome...

Want more? Colorado Confidential has also picked up this story.

Washington Post misses on gubernatorial race: Part 1

Today's Washington Post has an article headlined "Colo. Governor's Race Looks to Be Tossup." Which is true, if by "tossup" they mean "landslide." Because the most recent polls show Democratic nominee Bill Ritter with a 16 to 17-point lead.

Where did the Post get such a misleading article to print? Colorado-based AP reporter Steven Paulson, who has been called out before by Media Matters for his slanted coverage of the governor's race.

I emailed The Washington Post's national news editor to ask if the paper is aware of just how far off base its story is. I'll let you know if I hear back.

Boyd calls on both sides to stop with the smear tactics

SD21 Democratic incumbent Betty Boyd is asking 527s on both sides to quit dragging her re-election campaign down. From a press release:

State Senator Betty Boyd has called for new rules requiring full disclosure of funding sources for all political organizations, including currently unregulated 527 groups. "I have been and continue to be dismayed by the level of rancor and ugly partisanship during this important election season," Boyd said. "It's time we bring real accountability back into the political arena, and exposing the money behind the messages is a critical first step."

While I'm on the topic of ethical campaigning (in a cut-and-paste sort of way), I want to recommend HD38 representative Morgan Carroll's blog. Carroll has been out in front of nearly every issue, engaging voters with her frankness and vision.

The echo chamber gets echoier every day

Let's see here. Tom Tancredo is crazy? Nah, that's old news. Jay Fawcett's campaign is shaking up the Springs? I already knew that. Ed Perlmutter is whupping Rubber Stamp Rick? Yup. The GOP is being run by corrupt party hacks? For quite awhile now. The 2006 election is already highly suspect? Yeah, where have you been? Is there a quarterback controversy in the Beauprez campaign? Yawn.

I'm gonna go dream of tornadoes.

Tancredo sends in the surrogates against Winter

Tom Tancredo is too busy campaigning in South Carolina and patrolling in Arizona to actually concern himself with CD6. So he's smearing Bill Winter through his GOP press secretaries.

Last night, there was KHOW's Caplis and Silverman, who ostensibly brought Winter on their show to discuss Winter's contention that "at a time when President Bush is reaching out to Muslim leaders such as Pakistan's President Musharraf in an attempt to create worldwide resolve to fight terrorism, Mr. Tancredo is trying to create an irreparable divide that will undoubtedly lead to more attempts at violence towards our country and this district."

You see, Winter understands the need for a war that takes out Islamic terrorists without further inflaming moderate Muslims. Tancredo doesn't understand the distinction, and seems intent on turning every Muslim against the United States. But Caplis and Silverman were too busy accusing Winter of trampling Tancredo's right to free speech to concern themselves with any actual ideas.

Today, there's Independence Institute wonk Dave Kopel, with whom I've had a past exchange. Kopel dug up a heated email debate he had with Winter and made part of it public in the Rocky. To Kopel's credit, he accepted Winter's apology. But the implication was clear.

Well, guess what? It's true that Winter is a fiery, unrestrained speaker. It's one of the things that made him a star in the Colorado Democratic Party. His opponent is known for shooting his mouth off on occasion, too.

Winter has the courage to stand up for the truth. Let's see if Tancredo has the same sort of courage. We want a debate - and we want it now.

Want more on this story? Check out Tancredo Watch and Square State and Square State again.

Ritter agenda provides a blueprint for all candidates

Bob Beauprez once said he cares more about electing Republicans than Colorado. Rick O'Donnell thinks that we need to stop illegal immigration before we address any other issues. And this weekend Marilyn Musgrave told the Coloradoan that "protecting traditional marriage is the most important issue Americans face today."

Are there any Republicans who have a grasp of the multitude of issues facing the people of America? Like say, the debt, the economy, the healthcare crisis, Iraq, environmental devastation and national security.

If they need to see how it's done, they can check out Bill Ritter's Colorado Promise. (Large PDF here.) The comprehensive 52-page policy book takes on every issue facing Colorado, from healthcare to the economy to the environment to illegal immigration.

Check out page 38 for instance, where Ritter outlines six ideas for reducing the cost of government. Or page five, where he puts forth several ideas for improving teacher performance.

This is the type of leadership Colorado needs. But all it's getting from the GOP is single-issue candidates pursuing their own celebrity. And all over the state, analysts are beginning to sense the fallout. Post columnists are seeing an upset in Colorado Springs. And the Rocky reports on how the suburbs are going purple.

The Democratic party is running on the issues. Let's see if the GOP even tries to keep up.

Beauprez editorial falsely links Iraq to 9/11

Pacified at Square State has found an editorial Both Ways Bob penned in 2003, in which he falsely links the war in Iraq with 9/11:

While we mourn the tragic loss of life [in Iraq], we must not lose sight that we are at war. That war began on Sept. 11, 2001.

I think someone needs to ask Beauprez whether he still believes that the war in Iraq and the war against Al Qaeda have anything to do with one another.

Beauprez can't make up his mind about Bush

In today's Post, Beauprez's campaign manager admits, "We're pulling a concrete sled... Republicans are having a hard time with Republicans. It's the war in Iraq, it's the President, it's a whole series of things..."

Uh, is it really smart to blame the President for your sinking campaign at the same time that you're planning to bring him in to campaign for you? If I were the President, I'd cancel. And if I were Beauprez, I'd quit trying to have absolutely everything Both Ways.

Beauprez's debate surrogate [heart] Ritter

Both Ways Bob Beauprez sent yet another surrogate to debate in his place and hilarity ensued, according to today's Post:

...Greg McKnight, a Greenwood Village businessman, was knowledgeable on the issues, but at times his positions - including support for Referendum C last year - seemed more in tune with Democrat Bill Ritter's.

"It's been a pleasant exchange today," Ritter said at the end of the forum, noting how much he agreed with McKnight and differed with Beauprez, who opposed the referendum that will funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to transportation projects.

"He could be my boss," a smiling McKnight said, nodding at Ritter...

Yeah, it's kinda funny that even Beauprez's supporters have such respect for Ritter. But the bigger point here is that Ritter has the ability to build consensus across party lines.

More on the Coloradans for "Justice" ad

CBS weighs in, calling portions of the ad "false" and "misleading." ColoradoPols makes the case for illegal coordination between the Beauprez campaign and Trailhead/Coloradans for Justice. And you can join Progress Now Action in asking the TV networks to stop broadcasting lies.

UPDATE: Mike Littwin calls the ad sloppily disingenuous. And the Ritter campaign has a nifty slideshow with the facts about Ritter's record here.

Read my earlier posts on the first Coloradans for Justice attack ad here, here and here.

Ritter campaign refuses to be Swift Boated

A week ago, the Rocky reported Bill Ritter's "remarkable" 17-point lead in the governor's race. Now I'm told by someone with a premium membership to Rasmussen Reports that the non-partisan polling service released a poll today confirming that Ritter has a big lead of 16 points.

In other news, an ad has already popped up on YouTube refuting the smears I wrote about this morning here and here.

Firefighters for Winter cook a mean chili

I just checked out the 19th Annual Firefighters Chili Cookoff down at Larimer Square. You better believe I bought a bowl from these guys.

Tancredo running against the wrong Democrat

I just love how Tom Tancredo is whining about one of John Salazar's staffers when he doesn't even have the courage to debate Bill Winter. You can't distract the voters forever, Tom.

UPDATE: Bill Winter's response to this situation is posted in the comments.

Ritter campaign strikes back at misleading ad

An update on my post of just a couple minutes ago. The Ritter campaign is already in the Rocky:

[Ritter said,] "With the evidence we had and the sentencing laws on the books, we took the strongest steps possible to get this woman off the streets and out from behind the wheel of a car."

It turns out that Coloradans for Justice is an offshoot of Trailhead, which I believe switched identities partially because of the investigative reporting of Colorado Confidential, which has run several stories over the past week detailing the group's financial misdeeds.

GOP gubernatorial strategy gets odder still

One of Bill Ritter's greatest strengths is his record as district attorney. He has been endorsed by victim's advocates and a bipartisan coalition of law enforcement professionals. He has even been praised by the Republican nominee for attorney general John Suthers. Now consider this train of events:

1. The Beauprez campaign announces that they will attack Ritter's record as district attorney on Sept. 19. But the promised information was never released.

2. Instead, yesterday a new 527 called Coloradans for Justice launched a misleading attack ad on Ritter's record as district attorney.

So what's up? Did the Beauprez campaign collude with the new 527? If not, where is Beauprez's ever-so-shocking "cold case file"? And why is it three days late in appearing?

I'll be following up on this over the next few days, I'm sure. But I can confidently say that this strategy is a loser for the GOP. And that something smells fishy with Coloradans for Justice.

UPDATE: Here's a video of law enforcement professionals from both parties endorsing Bill Ritter for Governor.

Feingold to visit Colorado to campaign for Winter

Senator Russ Feingold has announced he will step up his support of Democratic CD6 nominee Bill Winter:

The Senator will be traveling to Colorado to headline a fundraiser hosted by Rutt Bridges on October 9th and has supplied the campaign with a trained staff member to expand its ground efforts.

Winter said, "Senator Feingold is dedicated to bringing people into Congress who will work to unite the American people. I am proud to have such a strong bi-partisan leader believe I am one of those candidates and come out to Colorado to help me win this race..."

Winter said that his respect for the Senator runs deep. Winter was first exposed to Feingold's work when he served as a legislative assistant for Senator John McCain on the Senate Commerce Committee. Winter said, "When I was a staffer for John McCain, I had the pleasure of watching Senator Feingold and Senator McCain work across the partisan divide... I am going to Washington to work with leaders like Senator Feingold, Senator McCain and Senator Salazar, all who have a vision for a greater, stronger and more united America. At a time when there has never been a stronger partisan divide in America, we need leaders like them to bring us back together."

The Winter campaign has drawn the support of national Democratic leaders like Feingold, General Wesley Clark and Gov. Mark Warner, and has begun to catch fire over the past few days, buoyed by new radio spots and continued missteps by Winter's Republican opponent.

Winter is one of the best potential congressmen Colorado has ever seen. He deserves CD6's support on election day.

Photo courtesy of Winter for Congress.

Perlmutter to give Democratic radio address

The Democratic party has asked CD7 nominee Ed Perlmutter to deliver its weekly radio address this Saturday. Expect Perlmutter to highlight Social Security, which his Republican opponent has advocated eliminating or privatizing.

I also wouldn't be too shocked if Perlmutter mentioned ethical campaigning or his efforts to prevent the expansion of radioactive waste dumping in Adams County.

Photo courtesy of Perlmutter for Congress.

Tancredo tells the Pope what time it is

Tom Tancredo has hurt himself recently by offending minorities and offering unwanted advice to the Pope. Go Bill Winter!

Questions for Bob Beauprez about Bob Ney

Yesterday, I got an email from the Democratic Party. You know, one of those bulk fundraising things. It began:

Millions of dollars will be spent this campaign season. No, I don't mean the bribes that Republican Congressmen have been jailed for taking (Rep. Duke Cunningham of California), or the pork barrel spending they're going to be jailed for pushing in exchange for lobbyists' gifts (Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio).

And I thought to myself, "Hey, those are two of Bob Beauprez's favorite people!"

Beauprez accepted $6,000 from Ney's PAC and $3,000 from Cunningham's PAC in 2004. (And let's not forget the $30,000 he got from Tom Delay.)

Ney is still a congressman for the next few months. I wonder if Beauprez thinks his corrupt buddy ought to resign immediately from the House. I also wonder if Beauprez, Marilyn Musgrave and Tom Tancredo plan to return Ney's money, as the DCCC requested six days ago.

UPDATE: The Post calls for Ney's resignation in this editorial.

Bush coming to town to aid Beauprez

Progress Now Action broke this story moments ago. Pacified has posted their email at Square State.

Beauprez goes into hiding?

This blog and others (and others and others) have wondered what Both Ways Bob is doing with himself these days. According to The Washington Post, Beauprez has missed more votes in DC than any other member of Colorado's congressional delegation. By far.

He missed votes to outlaw the slaughter of horses for human consumption, lower the costs of prescription drugs for veterans, and re-authorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Act - all issues that have major implications for Colorado. In fact, he missed every vote in congress until Sept. 13 and 14, when he popped in to toe the GOP party line on 12 straight votes. And then he took off again.

In fact, all of Colorado's Republican delegation is slacking in DC. Musgrave and Tancredo have also missed more than 40 votes. While DeGette, Salazar and Udall have all missed fewer than 40.

Denver Post: The lion in Winter

From today's Post:

"I believe we are going to see some very historic changes as to what happens with the congressional elections this fall," [Bill] Winter said. "I think we need to go in a new direction."

Bill Ritter launches second TV spot

The elephant in the room looks like Gigi Dennis

In this morning's post, I ad libbed a few ways that Bill Ritter could still lose the governor's race. But there was one I missed.

The entire thing could be rigged.

Today, the Rocky and the Post both ran articles on the vulnerability of Colorado's voting systems. From the Rocky:

Some computerized voting machines approved by Colorado officials for November's election can be reprogrammed over the Internet, according to expert witnesses for the group trying to prevent their use... [R]ules set by Secretary of State Gigi Dennis indirectly require all of the computerized voting machines to be connected to a network.

Um, that wouldn't be the same Gigi Dennis with a penchant for writing and rewriting election rules to help out her Republican cronies, would it?

In Denver, the situation isn't a whole lot better. Both parties are fond of nominating candidates in cowboy boots. But Colorado's biggest city matters. High turnout there could doom the Beauprez campaign. And a so-so showing could hurt the chances of statewide candidates like Ken Gordon and Steve Ludwig. That's why it's worrisome that Heartbroken Tiger has uncovered irregularities at the Denver Election Commission.

For now, this is all just conspiracy theorizing. But the GOP has shown a preference for bypassing the democratic process. (See Bush, George W.: warrantless wiretapping, signing statements, secret prisons, torture, giving the finger to Congress.) A little vigilance may be called for on election day.

Or you could just vote via absentee ballot.

Bill Winter on national security

Beauprez "cold case file" still not as cold as his campaign

So what's in Both Ways Bob's "cold case file" on Bill Ritter? Well, the Beauprez campaign doesn't exactly include me on its mailing list. But I'm not all that worried about it. The whole ploy feels like a desperate move by a campaign that has been disavowed not only by GOP leadership, but by a good portion of Colorado's rightwing blogosphere. (See ToTheRight or Mount Virtus, for instance.)

Beauprez's saving graces were supposed to be his political savvy and the help of the Trailhead Group. But Ritter is crushing Beauprez in every debate. And Trailhead is in trouble for shaky accounting and money laundering. In fact, there is no "Trailhead" anymore, as a quick-thinking Colorado Confidential reporter reserved the name Trailhead Group, LLC.

So is there anything that could happen in the next 50 days that could change the dynamics of the gubernatorial election?

Yes and no.

Yes, Ritter could go so moderate that he angers the Democratic base. No, this ain't Connecticut. Ritter would just win by five points instead of 17.

Yes, Beauprez may drop out. No, I don't think a McInnis, Campbell or Norton could turn the ship around in time to pull out a win for the GOP.

Yes, we could learn Ritter is actually a Martian, beginning his conquest of earth in Colorado. No, I wouldn't vote for a Martian just because he happened to be a Democrat . But it'd be close.

GOP worried about Ludwig, asks Libertarian to step aside

In an unusual move, a Republican regent and the current Republican nominee asked the Libertarian candidate to quit the C.U. regent's race, according to The Longmont Daily Times-Call:

"They just came out and asked," [Libertarian Daniel] Ong said. "It was straight-forward politics." Both Bosley and Davidson acknowledged the conversation, which occurred immediately after a briefing at the university for regent candidates last week, but they downplayed the tenor of the request.

The most likely reason for the move is that the GOP is worried about losing to Democratic nominee Steve Ludwig, who has been campaigning nonstop across the state for months. While it's difficult for a downticket Democrat to win a statewide race in Colorado, anti-GOP sentiment, a hardworking candidate, a moderate Democratic slate, and a Libertarian challenge could set the stage for a Ludwig victory in November.

Perhaps the voters need to start paying attention?

A survey in today's Rocky tells us that voters still cite illegal immigration as their biggest concern, "and those most worried about immigration heavily favor Republican candidate Bob Beauprez over Democrat Bill Ritter, by a margin of 36 percentage points."

Perhaps the voters don't realize that Bill Ritter's record on illegal immigration is much stronger than Both Ways Bob's. Or that Colorado's Democratic legislature is responsible for America's strictest illegal immigration reform.

Want more on this story? Check out Luis' diary at Square State, where he points out, "There is a false assumption that when voters tell pollsters that they believe undocumented immigration is a big issue, what they are saying is that they favor Tom Tancredo-style punitive approaches to immigration." In fact, "61% of Coloradans favor allowing undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship."

Colorado GOP: "All Democrats are always poopy."

To date, the Colorado GOP has been utterly unsuccessful in its attempts to smear the 2006 Democratic slate. Weak on national security? Nope. In the southern suburbs and the Springs, the Democrats are fielding Fighting Dems like Bill Winter, Jay Fawcett, Joe Rice and Keely Marrs. Soft on crime? No way. Bill Ritter was one of the country's most successful district attorneys. Dicey on illegal immigration? Nuh-uh. In 2006, the Democratic legislature passed the strongest anti-illegal immigration reform in America.

Raging liberals? Not even close.

So the GOP has opened up a new line of attack. Call it the All Democrats Are Always Poopy strategy.

First we have Mike Rosen in the Saturday Rocky writing about how Ritter might be a moderate with the support of the business comunity, but he's a Democrat, and that's just not acceptable:

Ritter is no flaming liberal of the Pat Schroeder or Diana DeGette variety. I'd say he's a moderate Democrat. But that's not the point. As I've often explained, party trumps person.

(I admit that the hat-tip here goes to the Beauprez campaign, but I'm not linking because I just can't bring myself to do it.)

Down in the Springs, the Gazette headlined an article about Fighting Dems Jay Fawcett and John Murtha, "Fawcett finds a comrade in Murtha". The Gazette headline for an article about the Springs chapter of Drinking Liberally? "Left-leaners find comfort, comrades in Drinking Liberally group."

What's with the word "comrades"? Oh, right, we're Democrats.

I heard a similar theme emerge after listening in on a conference call with Jay Fawcett's team. It seems that Lamborn's campaign is expected to advance the "A vote for Fawcett is a vote for Pelosi" strategy, which may rile up the Republican base, but won't do much to win the moderate votes you need to win elections in Colorado.