( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right -)
(Cross posted at http://thejeffcrankshow.blogspot.com/)
Newt Gingrich once admitted that when he was in High School, he decided that he wanted to be Speaker of the House. When Joe Lieberman was in college, his friends used to refer to him as “Mr. President”, because even back then, he had a strong interest in politics. I completely understand why someone would decide early that politics was something they wanted to pursue; climbing the political ladder is not a quick process. It can take years to develop the engaging personality, the personal contacts, and the mindset necessary to be successful both as a candidate and as an office holder.
But sometimes we dream. We dream that somewhere out there there is a candidate who can and will burst suddenly onto the political scene. They’ll have solid policy proposals, a sharp wit, and a firm handshake. They’ll be charismatic, full of energy, and people will instantly love them. Sure, they’ll start out small-but once people get to know them the crowds will grow larger. Their standing in the polls will increase and conventional wisdom will be confounded until alas! they are elected to the office in which they were seeking. And all of this is accomplished without the slow and methodical rise to power that so many others have painstakingly subjected themselves to.
Yesterday a gentleman named Cleve Tidwell announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in Acacia Park. Was this unknown businessman from the Denver area to be the candidate we dreamt will swoop in and save the day?
No.
Not just “no”, but seriously…..NO!
Where to start?
When I first heard about Mr. Tidwell’s announcement, I started by googling his name. I found some interesting posting on blogs from people obviously trying to generate excitement about the campaign. The jewel was this one left at Bendegrow.com:
“So yesterday I receive this verbatim email message from a mysterious “Victorila Rasheem” (all errors of spelling and syntax preserved):
“I think taht your website should do a think on Cleve Tidwell. Most say that he has the support of most if not all of the major donors in the state. Also much of the grassroots is excited for him and is backing him to be the senator for colorado. I do not know if Dick Wadhams found him or not but if he did it was a good find because he is a good candidaet and wiill win. He is a very good speaker and will be at most events when he is senator because he will represent people in Colorado. Also, he has not spoken with the press so whatever you might hear if anything is probably just their way of trying to create a story or gossip. He has wonderful friends in the news media and when the time is right he will discuss with them. He is a very busy man but he will get the job done because that is his way.”
Uhm, yeah.
I don’t want to cast stones here-I frequently misspell words or use prepositions or commit other atrocities that would make my former English teachers cry-but my writings haven’t been bad enough to where people wonder if my attempt to make someone look good isn’t actually a thinly veiled attempt to make them look bad.
Needless to say, it’s not a good first impression.
Then there was yesterday’s announcement….
According to my source, it was an interesting announcement-if you like train wrecks.
First there was Mr. Tidwell’s staff. According to my source, some of them were perfectly nice, cordial, and professional, while others apparently don’t understand that their actions speak for their candidate. A couple of pointers: it’s a campaign, not a bar. Staffers hitting on other staffers at a campaign event are displaying incredibly poor taste. And while neither my source nor me are entirely clear on the context of this one, the words “Hey, did you know that the Star of David is really a swastika?” should never be uttered by a staffer at an event-even in jest. In fact, let’s put that under the category of “should never be uttered by anyone at any time”, shall we?
Secondly, my source and others seem to think that Mr. Tidwell is a nice enough guy, but he doesn’t seem to have a lot of direction in his quest for the U.S. Senate. His “announcement” at Acacia Park contained no real speech, so no one could come away with a cohesive message as to why he or anyone else should think that he is the best candidate for the office he is seeking. How is that supposed to make me feel comfortable about our prospects of taking out Senator Bennett if a candidate can’t even convey a cohesive message?
Finally, Mr. Tidwell’s invitations referenced the fact that they would be serving food (BBQ pork) in protest of the Federal government’s penchant for pork. Does anyone else see the irony of protesting an entitlement system that gives people something for free by giving them free…pork? Wait, what?
So for each of you out there, I have a simple proposition: save your time and effort. As it stands now, Mr. Tidwell is not the unknown untested candidate with the skills to break away from the pack and save us at the end of the day. He is simply the unknown and untested candidate who if he is our nominee will only prove that the Colorado Republican Party is indeed in a sad state of affairs.
Comments
One lonely Blogger looking for the attention
Is this some Liberal blog? WoW I thought this was the Rocky Mountain Right. I was hoping to find words of encouragement to any Candidate that would have the balls to stand up for Colorado and its Citizens.I am just curious where you People find such Reporters at? Here is a guy telling a story about a Candidate, which in my mind seems like he is an average American trying to do the right thing only to get slammed by some two bit blogger giving his political viewpoint. Haners? are you sure this isn't your disguise name? I think you are Naners Pelosi being a Liberal Infiltrator.Hey clown the Republican Party is far from being in a "sad state of affairs" in which you will see in 2010. I am an American and the only thing in a sad state of affairs is your ridulious story above. Conservatives by the way do not say "Uhm yeah" only stuck up Limosine Latte sipping Libs like you do. Also who are you to be giving pointers out Naners are you some political genuise or something? I like how you Liberals will stoop to any level to spread your lies around the spectrum."Uhm yeah" right out of the Liberal Playbook play that race card when all else fails. You should be ashamed of yourself people like you disgust me the Rocky Mountain Right should seriously consider taking your propagandizing off its website your a disgrace.
Haners a lib???
I wouldn't categorize Haners as a lonely blogger who needs attention. He's a well known conservative blogger who has recently started posting on local conservative sites.
I'd like to point out that the original post criticized Tidwell's campaign for its lack of professionalism, not Tidwell's views. Furthermore, it was an interesting and thought provoking post that questioned the real potential of a campaign run in such a manner. To date, none of the campaign hacks who have been trying to berate Haners have even begun to assert that the campaign or candidate is of the caliber needed to win the primary or the general election. Instead, you have launched personal attacks on Haners for simply stating his views about the mechanics of a campaign. Yours is the methodology of the liberal left, not his.
On a side note, I think it is great that we finally have some conservative blogging down here in EPC; but you Tidwell people are not giving yourselves or your candidate a good reputation. You are more than welcome to continue discussions and disagree with other people, but I suggest using your intellect rather than your emotions. I'm sure Haners offended some people with his post, but you would look a lot more professional if you could prove his assertion wrong rather than launching personal attacks.
How well known is he?
First of all Sir,
You are seriously flawed in your broad generalized statements. I do not even know who Tidwell is until I read this story.So do not make up facts as you go along please its very unbecoming of you. How well known can he be?If you stated that he just recently started posting on conservative sites thats a pretty bold statement. You are right I do attack wannabe bloggers that do not have a clue about what real journalism is. I read from his story a reporter making up unbacked accusations about a Candidate that is simply trying to work his way into government. Also this Haners seems to make bold accusations on a Candidate and his Campaign staff who is his source? Some columnist at the New York Times? Its people like you and this Reporter that put our once united party in a "sad state of affairs" by attacking Candidates and their staff members on base less claims. You show me proof or you need to shut your mouth period. You wouldn't know anything about professionalism if it smacked you across the face.
Is this for real?
I am almost speechless, but I find it strangely entertaining to read your post. I am also torn on whether you are serious or actually trying to make your candidate look amateurish (fyi, use the grammar check before hitting post next time). I'm going back and forth as to the legitimacy of your post and wondering if you are a Frazier or Buck plant. However, given that neither of the aforementioned candidates seem to be particularly active on the blogs, I'm going to assume that this was actually a real response.
Haners has blogged for years at ColoradoPols... if this is the same Haners. He recently quit blogging there and showed up on the local sites. He is a known commodity, you can probably read his work on the archives of ColoradoPols by doing a simple search. He is also a blogger, not a reporter, just so you know. A blogger goes online and expresses their opinion and debates ideas while a reporter is supposed to be reporting facts for a news source.
Finally to clarify, I have not made any "base less" claims about Tidwell. I find it interesting and entertaining to read blogs, and Haners seems to have hit the nail on the head with his conjecture. Our party will only be great when we allow real debate and honest feedback, not when we fall in lock step behind candidates who are not ready for prime time. I look forward to a spirited primary between the candidates, but I hope that the winner has a more professional campaign than Tidwell's current effort.
The same Haners
Yes, I'm the same one who blogged at Pols for a little less then three years. You had asked me on another post why I left. Without getting too much into it (out of respect for pols and what they allowed me to do there), it was a combination of factors that made me feel that it was best to find another avenue in which to blog.
We all knew who he was
Having watched the Colorado blogosphere for some time; yes, Haners is a fairly well known blogger and well known as an El Paso County blogger. Just because you don't like what he had to say about Tidwell's "campaign" doesn't make him some sort of liberal infiltrator.
Sorry, but no one here is going to pretend that Tidwell is a good candidate or that his staff knows what they're doing in the name of "unity." Let's just get that straight right now. Fronting bad candidates that distract from the good ones is detrimental to the party as a whole.
That's a little strange to me...
I've never thought of myself as a "well known blogger" and I'm having to wrap my mind around that one...but thanks none the less. Also, I think you hit the nail on the head-there is nothing unifying about pretended that bad candidates are good candidates. Candidates become better by recognizing their weaknesses and fixing them, not by hoping that people gloss over them and pretending that they don't exsist.
You care to eleborate on a bad candidate?
Seems you have it all figured out. What makes a bad candidate? Oh I guess an average American Veteran doing something for his State because he actually cares about his State and Country. Not sure I fully understand your "unity" accusation right now can you straighten that out for me? I am at a loss for words because your reply was incoherent. Seems you know the man so well back up your position please I am an interested voter. Straighten me out thank you.
A bad candidate
A bad candidate is one that does not know what he is doing. Regardless of his background, Tidwell (by appearances and I would love to be proved wrong), has no idea about politics. Politics are their own arena and one can not simply jump in without any training or preparation. If a successful businessman tried out for the NBA would we expect him to succeed? If an NBA player tried to argue a case in court, do you think he would win? Of course not. So why do you think politics are any different? It is a different language, a different set of rules, and a different performance standard than business. As much as it would make a great movie, it's not realistic for an unknown to jump into a US Senate race and impress people. Especially when he limps out of the gate as has apparently happened.
I love everything this guy stands for, but let's get real. Great ideas and being right on the issues are a good start. Running a campaign that can win is what gets you into office. Tidwell appears to have one of these locked up, but remember that being right has never won an election. If it did, Mitt Romney would be president and Bob Schaffer would be a Senator. Mechanics matter, and they matter a lot.
Good explanation
I like your response Hobbes on the mechanics of politics. Senate Watch I am not a Tidwell person please stop referring to me as that. Senate Watch please do not throw around your Administrator badge. I am trying to voice my opinion and have spirited debate. Hobbes I do like how you said you believe everything Tidwell stands for. You can have all the professional campaigns in the World like the one we just had for that idiot President some just elected. I am tired of these same fly by night Politicians not doing squat and lying just to get elected. I disagree with you Hobbes on that point. I think the charachter of the man is most important not putting up a show. Thanks for the grammar lesson as this is not my full time job and do not really care about the grammar.
Fair Enough
But back to the original post, Haners was commenting on the professionalism of the campaign as it relates to electability. Don't underestimate how important that is. I can not think of a single candidate who has jumped into a major race as Tidwell has and won. The problem is not with people like me or Haners, its with the fact that no one knows them enough to support them. Working on or donating to an election is a bit like making an investment. You look at all the factors (do you like the candidate, does he/she have similar views, can they win, are they going to behave once in office, etc.), and you can see that it is a complicated decision process to "invest." Because a race like this involves a major investment of people's time, money, reputations, and political capital, they need time and comfort with their decision. It is a very hard sell for someone who has not been engaged in politics to convince those who "invest" in politics that he can win. Guys like this are a dime a dozen and they don't realize that they are not the first or the last candidate who will walk into politics and expect to be carried on their previous accomplishments and views. Again, nothing against the man himself, I'm just don't see a winning effort here.
By the way, Haners is a very reasonable guy. If Tidwell appears to get his act together, I would guess that you will see a blog about that also. He calls it like he sees it which is why people enjoy his work.
Happens all the time look at Obama or Al Franken
I believe it is to early to be calling out any Candidates personally and their professionalism or lack there of. I will tell you I would embrace any Candidate that is more in line with up holding the Constitution and its values then some Liberal set out to undermine everything that it stands for. I like your argument of the "unknown" and you really have your mechanics of running a election process down.
From what I understand about Mr. Tidwell going to your investment statement. Here is a guy who left his career to do what is right for the people of Colorado. To me that is a huge investment none bigger especially when he doesn't have a lot of support with a huge warchest of funds at his disposal and what you and Haners are critizing the man about.
Professionalism doesn't come from how much money one can raise but how they conduct themselves in the process. Tidwell is working with what he has at his disposal. If this means un-paid volunteers that believe in his message you guys should really be bigger then that and not go after some of his volunteers on how they are conducting themselves. It really is petty.
As far as a blog about getting Mr.Tidwell's as you say act together. Tonysrants.com did an excellent piece on Tidwell recently at a Thornton event.
I am really starting to like this blog more and more interesting debate.
Obama and Franken?
If you look at both of those examples, you will notice that they are quite different from Tidwell. Obama worked the party machinery for years ahead of his run. Franken had enormous name recognition and virtually limitless money. In both cases, they came in with a form of political capital. If Tidwell were a megamillionaire who was willing to pledge 10M or more to his campaign, he would be taken much more seriously.
You are right that he is investing a lot in the campaign personally, but I think you will see that few others are willing to invest in him. We'll see over time, but that is my prediction.
It's great having you on board with the blog. We need to get spirited (but polite) discussions going on with the Republican party. The left has owned blogging, and we need people like you to get engaged in discussions. Thanks for your contributions!
Jeeze
You Tidwell guys just don't know when to stop pushing, do you?
Here's a few helpful hints for anyone trying to promote their candidate on this site:
Hint #1: If we don't seem to like your candidate, challenging us to explain to the entire world why we don't like them is not going to be helpful to your cause.
Hint #2: Don't pick fights with the administrators of the site.
Hint #3: If you're going to accuse someone of being "incoherent," at least try to be coherent yourself.
Amen to that
And good night.
But on a side note, it's great to see a blog taking off out here. Rockymountianright, whatever you did to land Haners, Kudos to you. This is a fantastic discussion and I hope you are able to create a good blog atmosphere in EPC.
What I find impressive about
What I find impressive about Cleve is that he's generating a lot of enthusiasm from a lot of different groups, particularly the groups that Schaffer seemed uninterested in courting, but voted for Bush in 2004.
zombo09/xerty1971
You're banned zombo09/xerty1971. This site has already made it clear that spam like this will not be tolerated and that registering under multiple user accounts will not be tolerated. Registering a second user account to post the same propaganda verbatim twice in the same thread is not permitted.
what groups?
I saw you posted the same thing earlier on this blog about Cleve generating enthusiasm from different groups. What groups are you referring to?
Seems like Haner is just like
Seems like Haner is just like the rest of the people on this site and is simply in bed with frazier. I haven't made my decision yet, but since right now there are only 2 people who are officially running for Senate, I have kept my focus on them. Even if what you say about Tidwell and Buck are true, which from my experiences with both of them, I would say that it isn't, you are looking really bad for Frazier. I remember when Reagan said "thou shalt not speak ill of another republican." I have noticed on this blog, as well as many others, you guys just talk a lot of trash about other republicans. Frankly, it's pathetic and you should all be ashamed of yourself. Wouldn't this anger and hostility be better used to attack Bennet?
I think Tidwell would make a fine senator. I also think Buck could represent us well. How productive would it be if I just said, Frazier is not a true conservative because he is a social moderate and is trying to be the moderate republican to try and get votes and attempting to capitalize off of being a black man because it worked for Michael Steel and Obama.... yeah...that's stupid. It's doesn't do anything, dispite any truth it may hold. Instead, I give my congrats to Frazier on his big endorsement and hope for a spirited race to find the best candidate to beat Bennett. Right now, at this second, it's not Frazier...He's not even in the race.
Please, stop speaking ill of other republicans and support the team...because that's what we are.
What I love
Is how everyone of the Cleve supporters try to cast my post aside by either assuming that I'm a Democrat, that I support another candidate, or that I'm violating Reagan's 11th Commandment instead of saying something like "Cleve's staffer would never say and/or do that". Nor has the staffer come forward and either apologize or claim that he didn't say it. The attempt at mis-direction is very telling.
But to avoid being accused of such mis-directions myself, let's talk about this.
I have not made my choice of who to support for U.S. Senate, other then I am not voting for Tidwell. If either Buck, Frazier, or Beauprez become the Republican nominee, I will happily vote for any of them.
As for Reagan's 11th Commandment, let's have a frank discussion about that:
Doug Bruce kicks a reporter. Under your version of Reagan's 11th, we couldn't ever call Mr. Bruce's behavior unacceptable.
Mark Foley hits on some male pages. Should we not call him the disgusting pervert that he is and throw his butt out of the party? But under Reagan's 11th, we should never utter a word.
Don Sherwood chokes his mistress. Should we call him a family values candidate and let him stand for re-election? Because under Reagan's 11th, we'd have to. Do you get the picture?
We can't hide behind Reagan's 11th commandment if it means we accept unacceptable behavior from someone. If we don't hold ourselves to a higher standard, we will lose. If the best justification you can come up with for sweeping unacceptable behavior under the rug is "Reagan's 11th", then I'm worried. Mr. Tidwell may be a good guy, but he and his staff are not ready for the prime time. Should I stand by and not shout that from the roof tops? Or should I shut up and let Bennet enjoy a long career in the Senate?
You tell me.
"Capitalize off of being a black man"?
When one is on thin ice, it is advisable not to jump up and down on it.
As for the rest of your comment, myself and the other administrators of this site are confused by your line "Even if what you say about Tidwell and Buck are true." Haners said nothing about Ken Buck in his post, trying to pretend otherwise and that this post was about anything other than Cleve Tidwell's campaign launch is a sleazy and dishonest tactic.
Who said anything about Buck?
I don't even see a mention of Ken Buck in Haners' post. Just because he doesn't like Cleve doesn't mean he's "in bed with Frazier." In fact, I'm kind of glad that Tidwell is in the race. Buck or Frazier will be the nominee and both their camps seem to enjoy using Cleve as a mutual punching bag. Maybe they'll be so distracted by him they'll leave each other alone.
Which of Cleve's staffers are you, Yisrael? The bald kid? The annoying one? You guys need to stop wasting everyone's time on the blogs because it is only a matter of time until everyone gets sick of all your fake names and multiple user accounts and starts matching every last Tidwell spam post to each and every one of you.
Oh, and good job trashing Frazier but claiming it was an "example of what not to do" so it doesn't count. Hypocrite.
Prediction
Cleve slowly morphs into Herb Rubenstein as the election progresses
Good to have you back
Haners, great to see you posting on some conservative blogs! I've read your work before on ColoradoPols and am a big fan. Now that you are gone, there's not a lot of reason to read that blog anymore. I never wanted to post there because it's about 100-1 left wing loons to common sense conservatives (who get routinely ridiculed.)
For those of you who who don't know, Haners has been posting for years on Pols and recently quit (mind giving an explanation?). He always has interesting and straighforward commentary and earned the respect of many readers. He's a great political commentator, and it's good to see him using his talent and notoriety to boost the readership of some Republican blogs. Kodus to you my friend!
As far as this post goes, I think Haners has delivered a great insight into the campaign of Tidwell. I was unable to attend the event to form my own opinion, but this post and the hostile responses are helping me make up my mind pretty quickly. Haners has a history of being a very strong fiscal and social conservative. I'm a fiscal and social conservative as well, and I was hoping Tidwell would prove himself to be my candidate. After reading the hack responses to Haners' post, I think Haners is dead on that this campaign is not ready for prime time. It's too bad, because I'd like nothing more than to see a Ryan Frazier with Bob Schaffer's views and Barack Obama's campaign skills. Looks like I'll be waiting a while for that to happen!
This is why we have lost the last two election cycles
Talk to virtually any of the county Republican central committees and they'll tell you one thing, the Republican primary races are more bitterly contested than the the Democratic ones and that historically the Republicans have disgraced themselves in the process. This article confirms that assertion and Haners does no favors to the RMR or the state GOP cause by using such unfounded and slanderous speech in this "article."
First off, everyone knows that you don't take every blog item seriously and to attribute this "think" letter to a Tidwell staffer is laughable. To even further assert that it's credible is even worse. To also contend a first impression was influenced by this tells me that Haner should probably do a little more homework before attributing every poorly-written message to the Tidwell campaign. This is a tactic directly from the Democratic dirty tricks playbook and reprehensible for being used here.
To present racially degrading speech to readers here without mentioning the name of the staffer is more akin to Democratic tactics and used shamefully in this article. Give us the name of the staffer Haner and maybe we might remotely consider your obviously in-the-tank for another contender heresy accusations.
Obviously Haner hasn't talked to the people that have embraced Tidwell as their choice, a man with REAL conservative principles, real world international business experience, a non-politico, and someone who actually came to rural Colorado first to announce which, by the way, has greatly impressed these people.
This is something I'd expect from the far-left, not an alleged "conservative" organization. This is exactly why we've lost in the state and nationally in 2006 and 2008 by having such bitterly and disgusting dirty primaries.
Let's get some objectivity and not try to manipulate this race and actually conduct ourselves like the conservatives we should be. Shame on Haners and the RMR for even allowing this kind of speech at all, let alone so early in the race.
One last thing, there was a reference to serving pork at the barbeque, I was there and hamburgers, hotdogs and a good congenial time were the only things served. What does that tell you about the truthfulness or objectivity of this piece?
Seriously?
You think primaries are why we've lost over the last couple of cycles? Mark Foley, Ted Haggard, budget deficits, mismanaged wars or hurricane efforts and corruption were all secondary to primaries? Goodness, I hope you're not our shephard leading us out of the wilderness, otherwise we'll be there for a looooooong time.
And thanks for lecturing me on using so-called Democratic tactics in one breath, and condemning Rocky Mountain Right for allowing this kind of speech-silencing your opponents really is the conservative thing to do. Oh wait, the fairness doctorine was purposed by the Democrats.....
And by the way, the staffer apparently was Bob Clark. The bald kid who introduced himself to my source as Tidwell's "e-campaign coordinator". My source tells me that she thinks that he said it to a gentleman wearing a tweed like trousers and a vest, sporting a black shirt and a blue tie. Sound familar?
And if you think that comparing the star of David to a swasitka is a "good congenial time" had by all, I really don't know what to say...
Spare us
Do us all a favor and spare us your self-righteous BS. Virtually all of the comments that I've seen in the Colorado blogosphere trashing Frazier as a "liberal" of Buck as a "slimy lawyer" have come from Tidwell's staff (and we all know that it's his staff because he has no support outside this little band of idiots aiming for a job). Before that, when Cleve was running for Governor, I seem to recall you guys leaving comments about how much McInnis, Holtzman, Hillman, Penry, and other potential candidates sucked next to the Almight Cleve.
Now you're all running around saying that Cleve is the only "real conservative" in the race, implying that Buck and Frazier are liberals. Get the hell out of here. Everyone can tell that Tidwell is going to run a smear campaign and turn this into a damaging primary. Buck and Frazier have been nothing but civil to each other but you Tidwell fools keep running around trashing them. You're the problem in this race and if this turns into a nasty primary it will be because Cleve Tidwell wanted to run a vanity campaign.
Oh, by the way, is the Bob McDonnell campaign aware that you tried to copy their website template? Given how much they payed for their website, I find it hard to believe that they would let Cleve make a cheap knock-off of it. Can you say "copyright infringement"?
Cleve Tidwell
I'm not sure where your source was yesterday. However, the barbecue for Cleve was a wonderful gathering. They served beef, by the way. Are you sure your 'source' was at the right function?
What I find impressive about Cleve is that he's generating a lot of enthusiasm from a lot of different groups, particularly the groups that Schaffer seemed uninterested in courting, but voted for Bush in 2004.
He's not a polished, teflon politician. He's not a 'savior', but I don't think Republicans need a Savior in 2010, they need competent people to step forward and offer policy alternatives. Save the savior stuff for 2012.
Regardless, I like the enthusiasm he brings and he has some good solid business principles.
FWIW, you should hear him out.
My source confirmed-hotdogs
Care to explain the other behavior?