Rossputin.com: Rational Thinking About Our World

Following recent reports that Delta County Commissioner Wayne Wolf may challenge former Congressman Bob Schaffer for the Republican nomination in the election for the US Senate seat being vacated by Wayne Allard, I sent this letter to Mr. Wolf:

Dear Commissioner Wolf,

While I certainly appreciate the effort (and risk) that a person takes when running for office, especially an office as important as US Senate, I would like to suggest to you that unless your goal is to assist Mark Udall you should pick a different battle than challenging Bob Schaffer.

I do not intend to sound unkind, but I truly believe there is no chance you could beat Schaffer. On the other hand, you could cause him to waste time and money that could end up being the difference in a very close general election.

Mark Udall is a guy who has one of the least distinguished records in Congress I've ever seen. Whereas Schaffer would be a highly effective representative of our state, and someone who would fight to preserve the sorts of liberties, p roperty rights, and limited taxes that I presume you support, Udall would do just the opposite, sacrificing our freedoms and our money to various liberal, union, and tree-hugging causes.

Is Udall the guy whom you really want to help get elected?

ColoradoPols.com ran a note a few days ago quoting the Sentinel about your possible run. You might find it instructive to read the comments posted by the site's readers. Keep in mind that the site tends substantially liberal. Here's the very first comment, for example: "Yay! Now as long as Moveon.org or somebody doesn't do something stupid and recruit a challenger for Udall, this will only increase Udall's chances (even if only by a tiny bit)."

Here's another: "Who? Seriously. Wolf starts out with a Name ID deficit that is so deep he'd have massive issues overcoming it. But I'll still thank him and wish him well, because it will take money away from Schaffer's general election campaign and divert it to fighting of an internal party struggle."

You can read more at
http://www.coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4131

While I don't want to overstate your influence on the race, because I think it will be quite small, I still believe that in these days of very close races, a small influence might end up making a difference. If you want to spend the next 6 or 12 or 18 years wondering whether Colorado is suffering through Senator Mark Udall because you chose to create an unwinnable distraction within the GOP, you're certainly free to do so with what liberty we have left in this country. But if your goal is good government and having an exceptionally talented Senator representing Colorado, I would suggest that you don't run and that you try to help Bob Schaffer get elected.

Most respectfully,

Ross K