GOP Senate candidates aim fire at WashingtonThursday, November 12, 2009 |
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Four seeking to unseat Bennet
by Joe Hanel, Herald Denver Bureau
LAKEWOOD - Everyone knows that Ronald Reagan remains the most popular president with Republicans. But who is No. 2?
For three out of the four Republicans seeking to be Colorado's next senator, it's Theodore Roosevelt.
The four candidates - Ken Buck, Jane Norton, Cleve Tidwell and Tom Wiens - met for their first debate as a group Tuesday night at Colorado Christian University. Asked what president (other than Reagan) they would like to meet, Norton, Tidwell and Wiens all said Roosevelt (Teddy, not Franklin). Buck would like to meet Dwight Eisenhower.
They agreed on most other issues, too, and instead of drawing distinctions among themselves, they kept their fire focused on Washington.
The problem with the economy? Washington.
"The answer is to allow private enterprise to thrive. The biggest problem we're facing in our economy right now is regulatory uncertainty," Wiens said.
Norton agreed.
"What we need to do is let the markets work. We're overtaxed, we're overregulated and we're overspending," she said.
None of the four believes the United States military should leave Afghanistan, although Tidwell called it an unconstitutional war. However, he said, the United States has an obligation to leave Afghanistan a better place than it was before.
Norton and Wiens criticized President Barack Obama for taking too long to decide on a new strategy.
Buck argued for three objectives in Afghanistan.
"We need to define our strategic interests, and we need to define those interests narrowly in Afghanistan," Buck said.
Those interests are ending the safe haven for terrorist groups, disrupting the heroin trade and promoting stability in Central Asia, he said.
Wiens, who entered the race last week, took a subtle dig at Norton, the frontrunner, by bringing up 2005's Referendum C, which suspended the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights for five years.
It caused a major fissure in the Republican Party, and Wiens noted that he didn't support it.
He didn't say that Norton, who was lieutenant governor at the time, did support Ref C, but for the conservative crowd at Colorado Christian University, he didn't have to explain it.
The winner of the primary will face either Democrat Michael Bennet, whom Gov. Bill Ritter appointed in January, or his challenger, Andrew Romanoff.
by Joe Hanel, Herald Denver Bureau
LAKEWOOD - Everyone knows that Ronald Reagan remains the most popular president with Republicans. But who is No. 2?
For three out of the four Republicans seeking to be Colorado's next senator, it's Theodore Roosevelt.
The four candidates - Ken Buck, Jane Norton, Cleve Tidwell and Tom Wiens - met for their first debate as a group Tuesday night at Colorado Christian University. Asked what president (other than Reagan) they would like to meet, Norton, Tidwell and Wiens all said Roosevelt (Teddy, not Franklin). Buck would like to meet Dwight Eisenhower.
They agreed on most other issues, too, and instead of drawing distinctions among themselves, they kept their fire focused on Washington.
The problem with the economy? Washington.
"The answer is to allow private enterprise to thrive. The biggest problem we're facing in our economy right now is regulatory uncertainty," Wiens said.
Norton agreed.
"What we need to do is let the markets work. We're overtaxed, we're overregulated and we're overspending," she said.
None of the four believes the United States military should leave Afghanistan, although Tidwell called it an unconstitutional war. However, he said, the United States has an obligation to leave Afghanistan a better place than it was before.
Norton and Wiens criticized President Barack Obama for taking too long to decide on a new strategy.
Buck argued for three objectives in Afghanistan.
"We need to define our strategic interests, and we need to define those interests narrowly in Afghanistan," Buck said.
Those interests are ending the safe haven for terrorist groups, disrupting the heroin trade and promoting stability in Central Asia, he said.
Wiens, who entered the race last week, took a subtle dig at Norton, the frontrunner, by bringing up 2005's Referendum C, which suspended the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights for five years.
It caused a major fissure in the Republican Party, and Wiens noted that he didn't support it.
He didn't say that Norton, who was lieutenant governor at the time, did support Ref C, but for the conservative crowd at Colorado Christian University, he didn't have to explain it.
The winner of the primary will face either Democrat Michael Bennet, whom Gov. Bill Ritter appointed in January, or his challenger, Andrew Romanoff.
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