By: Bob Sweeney, The Villager
July 22, 2010
In a first ever – the small inlet community of Glendale, surprisingly located in Arapahoe County, although almost in Cherry Creek, had their new Infinity Center host the annual Lincoln Day dinner.
It was a warm summer afternoon for the 5 p.m. reception with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, out early on the campaign trail looking for presidential interest. The 50-year-old was the featured dinner speaker honoring Abraham Lincoln, founder of the Republican Party.
The partisan two-county audience attended the combined dinner for both Denver and Arapahoe counties, something new and daring by Republican leadership and displaying the lack of a single elected Republican leader within Denver County.
Senate candidates Jane Norton and Ken Buck were present and both spoke along with Dan Maes, primary candidate for Colorado governor with top ballot designation from the Colorado GOP Assembly.
Norton told the 400 Republicans, “Hope is on the way.” She related that the Federal government is out of control.
Norton summed it up quickly, “I am pro-business, pro-marriage and pro-family.”
She favors repealing Obamacare, wants a balanced budget, no earmarks, no cap and trade, secure borders, stand with Israel and win the war on terror. She related these points in less than the allotted five minutes given to her speech.
Ken Buck spoke about having term limits, and that the choice in 2010 was to “make history, or change history.” He took a hard line on immigration and both he and Norton did not offer any personal attacks during their brief speeches.
Scott McInnis was in Aspen at a conflicting event and could not make it back to Denver. Someone said that he might be at a water meeting.
Maes related that government is like a big chess game: Players must figure out the next move to cut taxes, have a smaller government and work on illegal immigration. Maes is an Evergreen businessman seeking his first bid for public office.
Arapahoe’s leading private servants, Bo and Lynn Cottrell, conducted an auction to raise money for the two county party organizations, both badly in need of funds.
Pawlenty and his wife had to depart early to travel to another engagement but he spoke briefly to the Lincoln celebrants.
He related his experience in bringing budgets under control in Minnesota.
“We can’t spend more than we have,” he said. “If the government was a bank they would have to shut themselves down.
“If freedom was easy, everyone would be free, if prosperity was easy everyone would be prosperous, if security was easy, everyone would be secure. We enjoy more freedoms than anyone else. The government is taking away our choices and our freedoms. We want to decide on our dreams, not the government.”
Congressman Mike Coffman was greeted with a standing ovation and gave a brief message about fiscal responsibility, something he always stood for during his career before being elected to Congress in 2008. An ex-marine he wants to secure the borders and related how he fought in a foreign country to secure their borders, but we can’t seem to secure our own.
Concluding the evening, Arapahoe County GOP Chairman Dave Kerber gave a stirring speech about The Denver Post attack on governor candidate Scott McInnis relating the columns, cartoons and headlines all seemed to be orchestrated in a planned effort to degrade McInnis.
