BROOMFIELD, Colo.—Saying his party has made its share of mistakes, former Congressman Bob Schaffer accepted the Republican Party nomination on Saturday to run for Colorado’s open U.S. Senate seat.
“If we’re going to compete successfully against Democrats, let’s face it. We need to have a bit of introspection and look at our own party. We could sustain a little reform,” Schaffer told cheering delegates to the party’s state assembly in a north-Denver suburb.
Schaffer said he stood up against his own party when he thought it was wrong, including President Bush and party leaders who supported education reform that Schaffer thought was ill-advised.
Schaffer was nominated by Republican Sen. Wayne Allard, who is retiring after two terms. The nomination was seconded by former Gov. Bill Owens.
Schaffer will face Democratic Congressman Mark Udall in November. Udall won the Democratic nomination in his party’s state convention May 17.
Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the keynote speaker, told delegates he believes Schaffer can keep the seat in Republican hands, and he urged them to work hard to defend the congressional seats held by Republicans Tom Tancredo and Marilyn Musgrave.
Romney told delegates it was difficult to make the switch from campaigning for president to a role of supporter for former rival John McCain, the likely GOP nominee.
“Senator McCain wasn’t my first choice for president. I was. This is new for me to speak on his behalf,” Romney told the crowded convention center.
Romney told Colorado delegates that McCain is a tested and proven leader.
“He’s the real deal,” Romney said.
There were calls from the audience for Romney as vice president. He has been mentioned as a possible running mate for McCain.
Romney insisted he has not discussed the job with McCain, even though he and two other people who have been mentioned as potential vice presidential running mates met with McCain at McCain’s Sedona, Ariz., home earlier this month. The others attending were Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
“I look forward to supporting the team, not being a member of the team,” Romney said.
Republicans said they believe they can hold onto Allard’s seat after losses that included a U.S. Senate seat, a congressional seat, control of the state House, the state Senate and the governor’s office over the past four years.
“It’s time for the Republican Party to put a flag in the ground. This is the year to do it,” said state Sen. Josh Penry, a Republican from western Colorado, who also seconded the nomination.
Schaffer said Democrats profess bipartisanship, but instead have engaged in single-party politics.
“Democrats say bipartisanship is a standalone virtue, but they propose as a solution single party dominance in Colorado and the U.S. Congress,” Schaffer said.
He also took a jab at Udall, saying that liberal ideas originate in his home county of Boulder. Schaffer later apologized to the Boulder delegation.
“What they offer is not change, it’s just putting lipstick on a pig,” Schaffer said.
During his speech, Schaffer did not mention mounting criticism of his perceived ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and attempts by Democrats to emphasize his ties to big oil at a time when many Coloradans are angry over soaring gas prices. Democratic activists have branded him with the moniker “Big Oil Bob” along with computer ads depicting him riding an oil rig.
While in Congress, Schaffer voted to give the industry $13 billion in tax breaks.
Schaffer also has been dogged by reports that a trip he took to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, as a congressman was partly arranged by Abramoff’s firm.
Schaffer was a congressman from Colorado’s 4th District when he traveled to the South Pacific archipelago in 1999 to look into allegations of labor abuse in the territory’s textile industry.
Before he left, his staff let him know that the travel arrangements had been made by a lobbying firm and they were looking into what role the firm had in the trip, according to a memo from Schaffer’s congressional archive first reported by The Denver Post.
The firm was Preston-Gates, Abramoff’s firm, and Schaffer’s staff noted that the schedule for the trip included a lunch with current and former Preston-Gates clients—including the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands government.
Abramoff pleaded guilty in January 2006 to mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion in connection with his lobbying activities and a business deal. He is serving a sentence of about six years.
Schaffer’s campaign has countered by repeated references to Udall as “Boulder Liberal Mark Udall” in hopes of portraying him as out of touch with Colorado’s mainstream.
