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Schaffer backs Ritter on the Roan
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer was disappointed with the Bureau of Land Management’s recent decision to largely disregard Gov. Bill Ritter’s development plan for the Roan Plateau, according to Schaffer adviser Dick Wadhams.
Wadhams said Schaffer believes Congress should move to embed the governor’s proposal is federal law before the year is through to prevent his opponent, Congressman Mark Udall, D-Colo., from attempting to shut down all development atop the gas-rich Roan.
“It’s instructive to note that before this Ritter came out with his proposal that Mark Udall was solidly opposed to this development, and only after Ritter released his proposal did Udall make one of his patented U-turns and decided to support it,” Wadhams said.
(It is worth noting that Schaffer’s surrogate’s response — and attack on Udall — came five days after Political Notebook first posed the question and penned this posting.)
In all fairness, Udall did not say in his response to the BLM’s decision if he plans to block Roan development. No, Congressman John Salazar, D-Colo., made this statement: “I will join with Senator (Ken) Salazar and Congressman Udall in introducing legislation to protect the Roan when Congress returns in April.”
Tara Trujillo, spokeswoman for Udall’s congressional office, said her boss plans to do exactly what Schaffer (via Wadhams) is proposing: to codify Ritter’s plan for the Roan.
Taylor West, spokeswoman for Udall’s Senate campaign, said she was surprised Schaffer (via Wadhams) responded at all to a press query.
“I do think we’ve seen a pattern of him avoiding answering questions and taking positions on major issues,” West said.
*Schaffer, Udall photos from The Daily Sentinel archives.
Comments
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By e u
March 18, 2008 11:04 PM | Link to this
‘Tis funny how puppet-master Wadhams does not allow Schaffer to think or speak for himself. There are dark and shady reasons why the Wad is giving up his Colorado GOP reins and now taking control of Schaffer’s campaign himself. Wadhams learned his lesson when he could not control George “Macaca” Allen. So now he knows if he allows Schaffer to say anything or take a stand on any issue he is taking a gamble in exposing Schaffer for what he is. Thus, Colorado should expect more song and dance, nuanced flip-flopping and yet another “Both-Ways-Bob” campaign. Does anyone remember Schaffer supporting Governor Ritter’s proposal? How can he reproach Udall when Schaffer never came out in support of the plan to start with?
I find it ironic and more than a little amusing that the Colorado GOP did not support John McCain in their caucuses. IF NOT FOR WADHAMS’ mishandling the Allen campaign, while most uber-cons were touting Allen as their man for the Republican presidential nomination, McCain probably would not have been the GOP nominee. Do you wonder if McCain sent Wadhams a thank you note in appreciation of Wadhams’ incompetence?
After losing the Allen campaign and losing at his opportunity to lead the Colorado GOP out of their self imposed exile, Wadhams has just one strike left. And when he whiffs in the losing Schaffer campaign, I believe the umps will tell him to take a permanent seat on the bench.
By Joe
March 19, 2008 8:15 AM | Link to this
Udall never proposed banning drilling everywhere on the Roan Plateau. Just Federally-owned areas, and only those above the rim of the plateau. There was never any question about impinging on private property rights, never an issue with stemming the flow of natural gas (they can’t drill fast enough in the areas that are already leased), and given advancements in directional drilling technology, never an issue at getting at the gas under the proposed ban area.
What we see here is Schaffer, who never met a drilling proposal or an oil company he didn’t like, pandering to the Western Slope to get votes. It’s an easy pander, because he’ll never have to back it up. Udall and the Salazars will do their thing, Bush will veto, Congress won’t have the votes to override, leases will be sold, and drilling will already be happening by the time anyone can do anything about it in 2009.