DemNotesBlog for Colorado Democrats by State Party First Vice Chair Dan Slater

Lots of things to report today. First, in a very unusual story, it appears that even the staunchest Republican supporters of Bob Beauprez are starting to see the light when it comes to Bill Ritter. At a blog called “Students for Beauprez,” the creator of the site — who had been a Beauprez supporter for several months — has now endorsed Bill Ritter for Governor! I had my doubts about the authenticity of this, until I happened along a link to the Students for Beauprez blog on Bob Beauprez’s own website! (Note that this link might not work for long; as soon as Beauprez’s folks see this, they’re likely to take the link down:
http://blog.beauprezforgovernor.com/2006/04/welcome_student.html

Here’s what Students for Beauprez had to say yesterday:

After a lot of deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer support Bob Beauprez to be the next Governor of Colorado. Instead, I will be supporting a real centrist who will not destroy the state budget and who can unite the state behind his Colorado values. I’m talking about Bill Ritter.

But isn’t Ritter a Democrat? you might be asking. Yes, he is, but this race is about the future of Colorado and it’s about a candidate who will stand for something instead of only against things (Bob Beauprez). Besides, I’m not the only Republican backing Ritter, there are a lot of county commissioners and state representatives (Republicans) who are recognizing that Ritter can cross the political aisle, and he’s pro-life so no problem there.

What really drove me over the edge was two things. The first of those things is Beauprez’s continued vendetta against higher ed funding and his irresponsible endorsement of John Caldara’s HEAT ploy (which will cost $1 million just to distribute according to Treasurer Coffman).

…

The second thing that made me change my mind was the revelations about Beauprez in the Denver Post. Beauprez is revealed not only to not have an agenda (governor needs to stand for something not just against Congressman) but it also reveals he has apparent ties to the Russian mob>!?

I’m proud to join the ranks of Republicans for Ritter. I am looking forward to having a truly bipartisan Governor that we can all unite behind, even if he has the wrong letter after his name (maybe he can switch down the road like Senator Campbell). From now on I will be using this site to show why Republican students should consider voting for Bill Ritter.

Wow. To see for yourself, go to:
http://studentsforbeauprez.blogspot.com/

They’re right: Bill Ritter is the only candidate for Governor who can unite this state and bring us to a better day.

UPDATE 6/18: As I mentioned, I was a bit skeptical about this site, and apparently I had reason to be. The site appears to have been a gag set up by Holtzman all along:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/9384341/detail.html

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In other news, if you haven’t reserved your spot at the Bill Clinton luncheon tomorrow, get on the phone right now and make your reservations. Call the State Party at 303-623-4762; a few prime seats are still available. Tickets start at $100.00. You can also download a reservation form at:
http://www.coloradodems.org

We have heard that President Clinton’s speech is quite an oratory. Reporters from the East Coast are actually coming to Denver just to listen and report on the speech. You DON’T want to miss this event — you will be kicking yourself on Saturday morning when you read and hear about it.

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Finally, site visits are beginning for the DNC as they continue to determine where the 2008 Democratic National Convention will be held. As most of you know, Denver is one of the four finalists for the Convention, along with Minneapolis, New Orleans and New York. Our site visit will take place next week; New York’s is going on today. In an article about New York’s visit, we have a confirmation about what we’ve been hearing for a while now:

The site selection committee will also visit Denver, where Democrats run both state houses and recently recaptured a Senate seat.

Denver is the supposed front-runner, with a seven-year-old arena and a brand-new convention-center hotel.

Sources said Denver also fit in with Dr. Dean’s “50-state” strategy, in which the Democrats attempt ambitious wins in previously hostile territory.

Another source said that the size of the Denver and Minneapolis arenas would allow Dr. Dean to hold a convention that accommodated the largest possible number of people.

We’ll keep plugging away, working to bring the Democrats to Denver in 2008! We should have a website up soon; when we do, I’ll let you all know.