Bill Owens for Senate?

A Bill Owens for Senate campaign is a possibility I mentioned months ago and which Mike Littwin considered in yesterday's Rocky:

[I]f Udall wins, you could see two Democratic senators in Colorado for maybe the next 20 years. So, you make the call. And you know where it has to go - to [Colorado GOP head Dick] Wadhams' old boss, Bill Owens.

Good advice, if the Colorado GOP decides it would rather not self destruct.

UPDATE: ColoradoPols has more from The New York Sun:

In sum, Mr. McInnis was the Colorado Republican Party's best shot at holding the line in 2008. However, he seems to have been forced out of the race by social conservatives who, in a state that is home to Evangelical leader James Dobson and his Focus on the Family, want a "traditional" Republican (i.e., one of them) to be their nominee.

Assorted snark, mostly Republican edition with a sidebar about an actual policy post

• Tancredo to voters: "You support me!"
• Wadhams to media: "You support me!"
• Club for Growth to Schaffer: "We support you."
• WeatherDem to Udall: "Support the Safe Climate Act."

Help Our Heroes march today

The Sunday Denver Post reports that the Democratic Presidential nominee just can't win in Colorado because the party will surely elect an East Coast Liberal. The paper makes sure to get the obligatory quote from Colorado GOP chair Dick Wadhams:

"They are going to focus on national Democratic platform, not on the Rocky Mountain West," Wadhams said. "They will nominate a liberal nominee, and it will show that they are liberals, not moderates."

Apparently, the liberals Wadhams dreads have hit upon a dangerous strategy: Asking America to work hard to achieve its goals. On Friday, John Edwards spoke in Denver:

He opened with broad assessments of what he described as America's diminished ethical leadership in the world, challenged his listeners to fight global warming and promoted universal health care, easier access to college and higher minimum wages.

And what are our local liberals up to today? A press release that just landed in my inbox states that Democratic legislators Joe Rice and Chris Romer will spend today with the National Guard in support of "Help Our Heroes":

State Representative Joe Rice (D-Littleton), in partnership with elected officials and veterans groups, will be unveiling the "Help our Heroes" legislation package this Sunday, March 4, 2007, during a media event with local National Guard troops. The National Guard will be conducting their training during the event.

The Post has it wrong. The Democrats aren't just going to win Colorado in 2008. We're going to walk away with it.

Staying positive through clenched teeth

I'm not going to violate the spirit of Coloradolib's 2nd All Positive, All The Time Week. But the Rocky really blew it this morning. I melted down at SquareState.

More about the fake blog of the day: I'm not buying it

SquareState, among others, has linked to a brand-new blogger who takes responsibility for the disgusting site I wrote about here and here. The blogger claims to be a left-wing college student who doesn't think Ed Perlmutter is anti-Iraq War enough.

As of this moment, I'm not buying this story. Partially because Perlmutter is anti-Iraq War. Very.

But I may be wrong. I am cynical because the Colorado GOP has a history of using the blogosphere to pull deceptive stunts like this. Starting with Students for Beauprez. Including the Beauprez Witness. And continuing all the way up to Colorado GOP chair Dick Wadhams. (Who, incidentally, I never asserted had any hand in this specific dust-up.)

My guess is that something fishy is going on. If the actual blogger wants to out himself or herself by name, I will post a retraction.

The incident points out a fundamental flaw of the blogosphere. To the unsavvy, anonymous bloggers who post lies and conjecture appear to have the same credibility as pseudonymous bloggers who link to sources, provide analysis, and mark rumors as such.

Even those of us who spend a large amount of time blogging get swept up in the story of the day. Overall, this is a good thing. We jump into the line of fire, so that our candidates don't get Swiftboated. But sometimes we get hit, tricked into perpetuating a story that has no merit.

Perhaps this is one of those days.

UPDATE: Both blogs discussed have either been deleted or made private.

I was wrong about Dick Wadhams

On January 8, 2007 I wrote that Dick Wadhams wouldn't be able to ressurect the Colorado GOP until the party reined in its wingnuttier factions.

Whoops.

For the past month, the credulous Colorado media has been all Wadhams, all the time. You can feel his influence in the papers. In the debate over Amendment 41. In coverage of the HB-1072 veto. In the media's attempts to understand the netroots. I fully expect to see Wadhams popping up on the sports page any day now, giving insight and analysis on the Denver Nuggets.

It's puzzling that Wadhams has been able to ingratiate himself with the mainstream media so easily. After all, this is the guy who paid bloggers under the table to influence media covergage of the 2004 South Dakota Senate race. [Source]

So I tuned into Jon Caldera's show on Channel 12 this morning to see Wadhams in action. And I must admit, he knows how to spin.He got his points across without ever seeming to struggle to stay on message, the way that Tony Snow does everytime sits down with Tim Russert.

So I've changed my mind. Dick Wadhams is, in fact, a problem. And the mainstream media seems to be buying his shtick. The sooner the Colorado Democrats find a voice to counter his, the better.

Dick Wadhams isn't helping the GOP

See: ProgressNowAction, SquareState, and a classic from Raising Kaine

Coloradolib is not financed by Pat Waak

The Colorado GOP has brought in a new chairman with a history of paying political operatives to pose as independent bloggers. I thought I'd take the opportunity to point out that I'm not on the payroll of any VLWC.

Dick Wadhams. Boo.

From the reports, you'd think Jason Voorhees was going to take over the Colorado GOP. Wadhams is obviously a smart political operative. But he couldn't save George Allen from his racist self. And he can't save a state party that considers Bill Owens moderate. When the GOP gets in line with the voters, it'll win back some seats. Until then, Democrat - all the way down the ticket.