This Saturday, College Republicans from across the state will be attending the annual Colorado Federation of College Republicans (CFCR) State Convention.  The purpose of this meeting is to conduct the official business of the CFCR;  chiefly, electing new state officers for the coming year.

President of the College Republicans at CU-Boulder Gregory Carlson will be seeking election as Secretary of the state federation.  Our chapter has been allotted 12 voting delegates by the Credentials Committee.  If you are interested in becoming a voting delegate to the convention, please let us know immediately.  We encourage each and every one of you to join us.  There will be many like-minded students from across Colorado, as well as candidates for virtually every federal and statewide office.  This is a unique opportunity to meet current and future leaders of Colorado and the Republican Party.

Check-in for this event begins at 8:30am, and the Call to Order is at 9am.  We will be meeting for a car pool outside the UMC at 7:30am.   Please let us know ahead of time if you plan to be there so we can make sure there is room for everyone.  We will break for lunch around noon, and the convention will last until about 2pm in the afternoon.

Tonight, thousands and thousands of Coloradans came out to caucus for their preferred candidates.  It was only the first step in the long road that will ultimately allow the parties to narrow down their candidate fields for the primary election, but an important one nonetheless.

First of all, we would like to say ‘thank you’ to all of the College Republicans who came up huge at the last minute by overseeing caucus locations!

Now, what can we take away from tonight?  It appears that Ken Buck eked out a VERY narrow victory statewide in the Senate straw poll, pulling in 38%, while Jane Norton also received approximately 38%.  Tom Wiens was selected by 16% of caucus-goers.

For the Governor candidates, front-runner Scott McInnis was able to stave off a win by opponent Dan Maes, receiving 60% of the vote to Maes’ 39%.

It appears that Buck and Maes, both considered huge underdogs, have struck a chord with their more conservative message.  It will be interesting to see how things proceed from here, though you can be sure that none of the major candidates will consider March 16th the “knockout punch” in their respective races.

And just in case you’re wondering, the appointed incumbent Democratic Senator Michael Bennet was actually trounced in the Democratic Senate straw poll, losing by a 51%-42% count to former Speaker of the Colorado House Andrew Romanoff.  Most pundits have criticized Romanoff for an apparent lack of message, and an all-around poorly run campaign.  They have also noted how severely under-funded he is to be challenging an establishment candidate with all the luxurious benefits of incumbency.  However, he was expected to do well (perhaps not as well as he did) in the precinct caucuses because of his widespread, motivated base within the Colorado Democratic party.

The one major thing I would note is that this huge upset win comes in spite of the fact that Bennet has received a full endorsement from Barack Obama, and has been playing up his liberal credentials.  This is especially true on health care reform, an issue with which he has advocated the use of reconciliation to pass legislation that includes a public option.  Perhaps you can call it anti-incumbency, perhaps it means the Colorado Democratic party is shifting to the right, and perhaps it’s Obama’s reverse-Midas-touch.  I’m most inclined toward the latter, but I’ll let you be the judge.

Check out ColoradoCaucus.com for up-to-date results on the Democratic caucus straw poll, or ColoGOP.org for the Republican caucus straw polls.

Keynote Speaker Dr. Robert Kaufman

On April 7th, the Boulder County Republicans will be hosting their annual Lincoln Dinner.  This event begins with a cocktail and social hour as well as a silent auction, followed by a semi-formal dinner.  ”After five” attire is suggested.  The dinner will feature candidates for various offices in 2010 as speakers, as well as a keynote speaker.

MAKE YOUR RESERVATION

This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Robert Kaufman, a political scientist specializing in American foreign policy, national security, and international relations.  He is also the author of In Defense of the Bush Doctrine:  Moral Democratic Idealism & American Grand Strategy.

MAKE YOUR RESERVATION

Entrée selections include Mushroom Tortellini (Mushroom tortellini served with a light basil cream and truffle essence) and Tuscan Chicken (Chicken breast stuffed with ricotta cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach, finished with a pesto cream).

MAKE YOUR RESERVATION

The cost for this event is $57.50 per person.  Reservations are due by March 27th, at which point the cost will increase and additional reservations will be subject to availability.  Priority seats with VIP hosts (candidates, retired elected officials, etc…) are also available at a price of $75 per person.

MAKE YOUR RESERVATION

Former Congressman Bob Beauprez (CO-7) will serve as Master of Ceremonies.  The event will be held at the Millennium Harvest House in Boulder.  Please contact us with questions.

U.S. Senate Candidate Cleve Tidwell (R-CO)

Join the Boulder County Republican Party for the monthly BCR Breakfast!  These events are held monthly at the IHOP in Longmong on the first Wednesday.  This month’s guest speaker will be U.S. Senate Candidate Cleve Tidwell.  He is a northern Colorado resident, former U.S. Marine, and successful small businessman.

The IHOP is located at 2040 Ken Pratt Blvd. in Longmont.  Breakfast begins at 7:00am.  The cost of breakfast is $10 per person.  If you have any questions, please e-mail BCR Breakfast Chairman Brian Lewis.

Other College Republicans will be attending so we can also arrange a car pool if you need a ride.  Just shoot us an e-mail to let us know and we’ll work something out!

The College Republicans, in coordination with the Boulder County GOP, will be hosting three caucus trainings on the CU-Boulder campus.  We only ask that you attend one.  If you plan to attend, please RSVP via e-mail or use our Contact page letting us know your name (first and last), phone number, and the date of the training you have selected.

At the training you will learn how to effectively participate in the caucus system, as well as what steps you should take if you are interested in becoming a county or state delegate.  It is not difficult to learn, but it is very important that you understand the process so that the events proceed smoothly and you are able to make an impact and contribute.

Date, time, and location information for each of the events is below:

The Boulder County GOP Executive Committee will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, February 25th.  It will start at 7:00pm, and last no more than two hours.  The meeting location is 619 Ken Pratt Blvd. in Longmont.  Click here for driving directions from the UMC.

The meeting will cover regular Executive Committee business, but will primarily focus on putting together the packets for next month’s precinct caucuses.  The College Republicans will be attending, so if you are in need of a ride or can give one to others, please e-mail us.  We will be leaving from outside the UMC at approximately 6:15pm.

Please check out our other events to find out when our caucus trainings are.  There will be three of them (2/24, 2/26, and 3/4) on the CU-Boulder campus.  You will learn how to participate effectively in the caucus process, as well as what steps you should take if you are interested in becoming a county or state delegate.

I stumbled upon this today. Please come to the event and get your opinions heard.

From the Facebook event page:

CU Independent

The CU Independent, the student media for CU Boulder, is changing college journalism forever.

Starting Tuesday, Feb. 16, the CU Independent is dedicating its resources to speaking out about issues that impact students.

The CU community consists of over 30,000 people, and everyone has the right to speak out about what they believe in and what they’re against.

On Tuesday, the new Speak Out! section of the CU:I will go live and there will be a special event on UMC Terrace. At 12:10 p.m., join the CU:I staff and introduce special campus speakers and keynote speaker Jared Polis, who will be talking about this new campaign and the importance of acceptance on campus.

It’s our job to make sure everyone is heard.

What is a Precinct Caucus? Why should I get involved?

In Colorado, a precinct caucus is a biennial neighborhood meeting of people affiliated with a particular political party. Those attending a caucus are taking the first step toward selecting that party’s candidates for county, legislative, state-wide, and federal offices, as well as electing precinct party leadership for the coming two years.

By getting involved at this level, you’re the one rolling the snowball off the top of the hill, instead of wondering who did it later on!

At your precinct caucus, which by law must be held beginning at 7:00 p.m., March 16, 2010 in a location that meets ADA accessibility requirements, you will be electing up to two precinct committeepeople and several delegates and alternates to our County Assembly at the Millennium Harvest House in Boulder on April 10th. Depending on how your precinct performed in the presidential election in 2008, you may also be electing delegates or alternates to the Colorado Republicans State Assembly, to be held on Saturday, May 22, 2010 at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland and/or to the 2nd or 4th Congressional District Assemblies, times and locations to be announced.

At the GOP caucuses in Colorado on March 16th, we will also conduct non-binding straw polls for the positions of Governor and U.S. Senator.

The delegates to our county and higher assemblies will determine who our candidates for elected offices will be. (It’s a bit more complicated than that, but we can show you where to find the details if you want.)

In order to vote at one of our precinct caucuses, you must meet all of the following criteria. Your name will not appear on the list of people eligible if you do not.

• Affiliated as a Republican no later than January 19, 2010.
• Registered to vote in the precinct no later than February 16, 2010.
• At least 18 years of age on March 16, 2010.

Please note that our database of voters does not contain any information about confidential voters, for obvious reasons. If you know that you’re a confidential voter and wish to attend one of our caucuses, please print out your Voter Registration and Ballot Status and bring it to the caucus for your precinct. Your precinct number will be shown on the status page, and we will need that print-out for our records.

Fees apply for most delegate and some alternate positions at county and higher assemblies. Please be prepared to pay those fees at your caucus.

Find Your Precinct Caucus
All you have to do here is enter your name!

List of Caucus Locations
Useful if you already know what precinct you live in.

This information was provided courtesy of the Boulder County Republicans.

Rove and Dean will debate current political issues such as health care reform and education. Student and community members can submit questions for Rove and Dean by emailing the University of Colorado Distinguished Speakers Board.

Dean served as governor of Vermont from 1991-2003 and was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005-2009. While chairman he created and employed the 50-state strategy with the goal of making Democrats competitive in normally conservative states. A physician with a medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dean also made an unsuccessful run for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.

A longtime Republican political strategist, Rove is often credited with helping in the successful presidential campaigns of 2000 and 2004. He also is credited with helping guide former President George W. Bush to a win in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election. Since leaving the White House in 2007, Rove has worked as a commentator and contributor for several media outlets, including Fox News and the Wall Street Journal. His book “Courage and Consequence” is due for publication in March 2010.

Student tickets are still available in the UMC Connection.  Unfortunately, community tickets are currently sold out through both Tickets West and the UMC Connection but an overflow will be available in the Glenn Miller Ballroom for a live-streamed broadcast.

We hope to see you and your friends there!