Tidwell our savior? Coverage of Tidwell in Colorado Springs

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:

 

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.

1.   M Sullivan
     May 8th, 2009 @ 5:49 pm

   Don’t believe everything you read…

   obviously the author of this post was not at the event.

   I attended the real announcement in Denver, where Cleve gave a first rate speech to a receptive audience.

   Then, I attended the meet and greet that was part of the campaign stop of his announcement. See, bloggers never have the whole story…

   Listen, Mr. Tidwell is a great guy and his staffers- at least the ones I met in Colorado Springs and Denver- are all remarkable, young Conservatives.

   Cleve carries the right message, and we got to hear that in Denver. He also had the right idea to meet one on one with individuals in Colorado Springs. I know for a fact that those who attended the Pork Roast left with a much clearer understanding of Cleve’s message. A personal meet and greet is much more effective than a speech, any day. Cleve spoke to small groups at every stop on his announcement trail; voters and delegates had quality discussions with him.

   For a real story about Cleve, not some hateful attack from a blogger, click here:

   http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/05/06/news/local/doc4a0118d09645c667064453.txt

   and for the whole story of the event, look what I found at Cleve’s website. This is a more accurate description of the great announcement he put on:

   http://www.tidwellforsenate.com/press.cfm

2.   Kindergarten Cop
     May 8th, 2009 @ 8:22 pm

   Where is the coverage of Cleve’s campaign stop in Ft. Collins this day? What about his official announcement in Denver?

   And where is the coverage for Cleve’s weekend in Lamar where he is making big head lines with their local media?

   Bloggers- be sure you check your facts before posting something like this. Obviously you weren’t at the same bbq… And you don’t have the whole story. You could have learned so much more about his full announcement schedule by just going to his website.

   One thing that has impressed me about Tidwell’s staffers is their level of professionalism and respect. I do not believe that anything this blogger writes actually happened.

   Are the lefties infiltrating our ranks to try and divide the party so soon?

3.   Travis
     May 8th, 2009 @ 9:41 pm

   What is with you Tidwell cultists?

   Can you actually respond with any substance? Instead of asserting that the blogger was unspecifically “wrong” and somehow “hatefully attacking”?

   You guys post lickspittle praises to Cleve all over the blogs and the Post, but you never include any substance. EVER. How about some ARGUMENTS here? You drool all day about what a great guy Cleve is and how right Cleve is but you NEVER EVER say what makes him so great, or what he’s right about, or what MAKES his policy positions right. You sound like the Obama worshippers last fall, fixated on the blinding glory of your candidate’s halo and never once dealing with the substance of his policies or philosophy.

   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?

   After reading that, and the frequent fawning-but-empty comments about Cleve on the blogs, I’m forced to wonder if the two aren’t related — maybe it’s the bereft-of-message Cleve himself whose posting all these rah-rah comments!

4.   Travis
     May 8th, 2009 @ 9:51 pm

   I know for a fact that those who attended the Pork Roast left with a much clearer understanding of Cleve’s message.

   Really? Were you one of them? Care to share some of that “clearer understanding” with the rest of us, in your own words?

   Here’s some topics to get you started:
   - What’s your hero’s position on free markets vis-a-vis the recent financial/mortgage meltdown?
   - Is your hero planning to double-down (as they say) on the social-conservative issues like opposition to abortion and gay marriage?
   - What is your hero’s position on intelligent design [sic] and the teaching of creationism in public schools?
   - What specific proposals does your hero have for promoting transparency in the federal government?
   - What specific agencies and programs at the federal level will your hero fight to abolish, outright, in order to cut back federal spending and rein in federal power?

   There’s a few to get you started. If you’re not prepared to answer any of these, don’t expect to be taken seriously, and don’t expect to be seen as anything more than moony-eyed cultists supporting an empty suit candidate.

5.   Robert
     May 8th, 2009 @ 10:26 pm

   Thank you Travis for bringing up the real issues at hand! Frankly trying to get any info on from the candidate is as much useless getting it from the bloggers. Not only do his supporters blindly support him but the bloggers blindly bash him. Why exactly am I NOT supposed to like this guy? While this post is entertaining it tells me NOTHING. It’s boderline 4th grade name calling. Does anyone have anything of substance? Bring the issues to the table and put away the b.s.

6.   Travis
     May 8th, 2009 @ 11:17 pm

   Thanks for proving my point, Mr. Faux-Evenhandedness.

   You’re one of his supporters. You’re defending him by appearing to be evenhanded while slamming the writer of this post.

   Where are your specifics? Put up or shut up, cult-boy.

7.   Travis
     May 8th, 2009 @ 11:18 pm

   Bring the issues to the table and put away the b.s.

   Follow your own advice. You’re defending him. You bring the substance, not more moony-eyed cult pap.

8.   The Scarlet Letter
     May 8th, 2009 @ 11:44 pm

   Someone on RMR pointed out that Tidwell’s website looks like someone tried to rip graphics out of the Bob McDonnell site in Virginia.

   http://bobmcdonnell.com/index.php/site/
   http://tidwellforsenate.com/

   Can someone explain that one to me, because it looks a lot like somebody went in and tried to copy it but didn’t have the original template so everything is a bit off. That’s illegal as all hell if they did.

9.   xerty2009
     May 10th, 2009 @ 9:03 pm

   I admit, I am following the Tidwell campaign closely. I find him interesting only because he’s bucking the establishment as an outsider. Look, the conservatives in Colorado are flailing, which explains the shift from Red State to Blue State. He seems to be generating some real enthusiasm. He may not be a ‘savior’ or some polished, pre packaged god send, but he’s making waves with the people that are supporting him. He’s reaching out to a lot of people that are involved in politics for the first time ever, and that… is how you grow a party.

10.   Colorado Jones
      May 11th, 2009 @ 12:40 pm

    Great platitudes, xerty2009. Your comment is nearly as eloquent (and empty) as an Obama speech. Do you suppose there’s any chance you could give me any SPECIFIC SUBSTANCE about your hero? And let me preempt your response with: “find him interesting“, “bucking the establishment“, “generating real enthusiasm”, “making waves“, “reaching out to a lot of people“, or any other trite, meaningless platitudes are neither SPECIFIC nor SUBSTANTIVE. For a list of great issues to begin with, see Travis’ comment here. And if you can’t answer any of those questions, then do the internet a favor and stop wasting bandwidth.

11.   GO CLEVE GO!!
      May 11th, 2009 @ 2:10 pm

    I like Cleve because he likes stuff that I like and that makes me hopeful because we like the same stuff.

12.   xerty2009
      May 11th, 2009 @ 7:32 pm

    - What’s your hero’s position on free markets vis-a-vis the recent financial/mortgage meltdown?
    The financial meltdown was exacerbated by government interference in the housing market, via the push to increase home ownership and forcing banks to lower standards. Cleve understands this and knows that banks and financial advisors need to be able to set their own standards for the risks they take.
    - Is your hero planning to double-down (as they say) on the social-conservative issues like opposition to abortion and gay marriage?
    Cleve is does not promote ‘rights’ imposed by judicial fiat and would defer to legislatures and the electorate to decide on those matters. State v. Federal issues.
    - What is your hero’s position on intelligent design [sic] and the teaching of creationism in public schools? Cleve is for a free market in education. The problem with the public school system is the same problem that would be seen in, God forbid, government health care. By promoting diversity in education options, through vouchers, charter schools and public schools, parents can choose where they want their kids to learn.
    - What specific proposals does your hero have for promoting transparency in the federal government? Cleve is an advocate for transparency in government and feels that the government, and it’s GSEs, should be held to the same accountability as publicly traded companies.
    - What specific agencies and programs at the federal level will your hero fight to abolish, outright, in order to cut back federal spending and rein in federal power? Obviously, the Department of Education should be reevaluated, the Department of Interior should be monitored to allow domestic energy production… basically, top down…
    Anything else?

13.   Bubba
      May 11th, 2009 @ 11:25 pm

    This has become embarrassing wrapped inside cultism wrapped inside a bad SNL sketch.

    MOMMA MAKE THE BAD MAN (AND HIS 10 SPAMMERS) STOP!!

14.   The Scarlet Letter
      May 12th, 2009 @ 11:47 am

    I see you guys tweaked your site template today so it’s less obvious you tried to steal McDonnell’s site.

    I realize that you guys are all complete amateurs and think that all this dishonest exaggerated crap is “spin” or some nonsense, but it’s really just lying.

15.   Bubba
      May 12th, 2009 @ 3:36 pm

    I like that first picture of Cleve where he’s sitting on a park bench. He looks horribly constipated, like he needs to take an exlax.

16.   Travis
      May 12th, 2009 @ 5:09 pm

    I don’t know about that, Bubba. Even though it looks like he’s not “generating real enthusiasm” there, I’m sure it’s not only deep in the bowels of his…er…bowels that Cleve’s “making waves“. Why, he’s “reaching out to a lot of people“ who “find him interesting“ when he sits on a park bench with that I-ate-too-much-cheese grimace on his face. That’s what I call “bucking the establishment”!

    I will give xerty points for trying to answer the questions, though. I wonder if he/she/it had to consult with the Tidwell for Senate mothership to get even those vague generalities.

    Here’s another one for you xerty, more specific this time: will Cleve Tidwell explicitly repudiate young-Earth creationism and “intelligent design”? As concepts, not tied to public education.

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