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| The girls in our campaign beat up the boys in their campaign |
| 2006-05-18 |
| The increasingly tense Republican gubernatorial primary between Marc Holtzman and U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez led to a physical standoff Wednesday between rival campaign workers during a forum at a posh country club. The surprising dustup came at the beginning of a forum at Plum Creek Golf and Country Club in Douglas County that featured Holtzman and Democrat Bill Ritter. Beauprez was in Washington, but was represented by state Sen. Shawn Mitchell. An intern for the Holtzman campaign, Laura Mendenhall, tried to block a Beauprez staffer, Jory Taylor, from videotaping the event. That outraged the Beauprez campaign, which says it routinely tapes such forums. "They were shoving him out of the way," said John Marshall, a spokesman for Beauprez. "They totally accosted him. This is just junior high school stuff. It's disappointing and juvenile and not befitting a campaign for the highest office in Colorado." A spokesman for Holtzman said Mendenhall had made "a rookie mistake" and gotten carried away. "She's very protective of Marc," said Jesse Mallory. But Marshall said it was Holtzman political director Laura Teal who first grabbed Taylor's arm and told the intern to block his camera. "Laura ordered the intern to stand directly in front of the camera," said Marshall. Teal, however, said she had simply touched Taylor's arm and asked him why he was filming when Beauprez wasn't present. "I nudged his arm and said, 'Hey, what are you doing?' " said Teal. "If I'd shoved him and smacked him, I think people would have noticed." Mallory said the Holtzman campaign apologized for the incident. "We're sorry the girls in our campaign beat up the boys in their campaign," he said. The antics overshadowed the debate sponsored by the Castle Rock Economic Development Council. In it, Ritter assailed Holtzman's call for a $1.2 billion tax cut, saying it would gut education in the state. He said Colorado already suffers from a lack of adequate funding for community colleges and vocational education. "We need public dollars to have a world-class educational system," Ritter told the audience. The confrontation between the two Republican campaigns came just days before a showdown at the party's state convention in Colorado Springs on Saturday. Delegates will vote on the candidates for governor, providing a crucial test of support for both campaigns. Holtzman began broadcasting his first television ad earlier this week. He said he would be running ads from now until the Aug. 8 primary, and indicated that future spots will target Beauprez's record. Holtzman's parents, Seymour and Evelyn Holtzman, attended the forum. Seymour Holtzman's company, Jewelcor Inc., was a major funding source of TV ads Holtzman ran last fall opposing Referendum C. Those ads were the subject of a trial earlier this month, in which the Holtzman campaign was accused of violating Colorado campaign finance laws. An administrative law judge has not yet ruled in the case. Seymour Holtzman said he would not be involved in funding his son's gubernatorial campaign, including any so-called 527 political groups that might run ads attacking Beauprez. "Marc has asked me not to make any contributions to any 527s," he said. |
| Posted by:DarthVader |
| #4 After reseraching his disctrict, Beaurprez needs tio stay in Congress -why the hell is he running for Governor? His district is a gerrmandered all to hell and could go to a Democrat this time, making even more possible that we woudl lose the house. On top of that, Beauprez woudl get reelected handily, and he is sitting onthe ways and means comiottee, not something you walk away from. Beauprez sounds like a greedy POS country club Repub to me. Who cares if he wins the Gov of Colorado if we lose the house? |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2006-05-18 19:58 |
| #3 "We're sorry the girls in our campaign beat up the boys in their campaign." Snark attack! |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-05-18 16:59 |
| #2 Oooooooooooh..."Rumble at the Country Club"! Were the chauffers duking it out in the parking lot? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-05-18 13:24 |
| #1 "We're sorry the girls in our campaign beat up the boys in their campaign," he said You got to love this guy! |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-05-18 13:09 |