ICYMI: GOP Official instills hope for 2012
NRCC’s Rep. Pete Sessions heads Republican dinner in Colorado Springs
Ernest Luning
The Colorado Statesman
October 3, 2011
“We may not be Texans, but we have an El Paso of our own,” cracked state GOP Chair Ryan Call after Sessions spoke to a crowd of about 200 Republicans, including top officials from around the state, at the party’s Centennial Dinner held in El Paso County at the Crowne Plaza hotel.
U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn claimed home-field advantage to introduce Sessions, who was Lamborn’s roommate when the Colorado Springs Republican first went to Congress.
“We still have to deal with Barack Obama, we still have to deal with Harry Reid. But at least we don’t have to deal with Nancy Pelosi,” Lamborn said, crediting Sessions with leading the GOP to a 65-vote majority in the House as head of the campaign committee devoted to electing Republicans to Congress.
Sessions heaped similar praise on CD 5’s Lamborn and on his fellow GOP congressmen at the dinner, U.S. Reps. Cory Gardner (CD 4) and Mike Coffman (CD 6) , and on the fourth Republican in the delegation, Scott Tipton, (CD 3), who departed for the Western Slope earlier in the day because of the long drive ahead.”I am throwing down the gauntlet to challenge each of you that Colorado must continue to lead the nation,” Sessions said to the rapt crowd.
Sessions, who steered the Republican take-over of the House in the 2010 elections, laid it on the line for the activists, volunteers and congressmen alike in the audience.
“There is much work to be done, and I expect that we will win the next election, not only because of your work, but because America will recognize that Barack Obama must be a one-term president,” Sessions said.
He said the wide Republican majority in the House of Representatives has helped stop harmful legislation but lamented that a Democratic president and control of the Senate have likewise stalled GOP initiatives.”The bills which we pass out of the House of Representatives never see the light of day as it relates to the United States Senate,” he said, blaming Obama and the Democrats for massive increases in the federal deficit and government spending as well as persistent high unemployment.
The two parties’ legislative records will give voters a clear choice next year, he said.
“We will win because the Republican Party is well positioned because of where we stand with the free enterprise system and the growth of jobs in this country,” Sessions proclaimed.
Then he talked about why he believes the Republican vision will prevail.
“You and I both know that there is no such thing as the Russian Dream,” he said. “You and I both know that there is no such thing as the Brazilian Dream. You and I know there isn’t a Chinese Dream. What the world knows and understands is it’s the American Dream, and the American Dream is alive and well around the world.”
This comparison brought whoops and cheers from the conservative crowd, which got plenty of specific attention from Sessions because of Colorado’s importance as a battleground state in the next election.
“Colorado is the gateway to winning the presidency, not just for keeping Congress,” Sessions said. “You need to understand this — when you spend time electing your members of Congress, you will ensure Barack Obama will be a one-term president.” That’s because congressional campaigns, he said, “lead the battle” block-by-block, in neighborhoods where statewide and presidential candidates never appear. Having even a “marginal” congressional candidate fighting for votes can add 7 percentage points to the top of the ticket, he said.
Call agreed and said the state GOP was “aggressively” recruiting candidates up and down the ballot for next year’s election. He promised The Colorado Statesman there will be strong Republican candidates in every district — legislative and congressional — although he demurred when asked who is considering runs against Democratic incumbents such as U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Jared Polis and Ed Perlmutter.
“Colorado Republicans are absolutely committed to running a great, principled candidate in every district,” Call said. “That is our commitment. We will give voters a choice.” He added that candidates are ready to announce bids once congressional district lines are known, following resolution of a lawsuit that hits the courts later this month.
To read the full article, click here.