Bob Beauprez

From dKosopedia

Category: Colorado Republicans

Bob Beauprez is a former Republican Representative from the 7th Congressional District in Colorado. A banker with little public charisma, the Colorado Republican has faitghfully toed the Republican party line. Beauprez is not particularly known for having any "pet" issues, but is also not the ideological moderate one would expect from such a closely divided district. He defeated Democratic challenger attorney Mike Feeley by just 121 votes in 2002, the year that the district was created as a result of the population growth in Colorado shown by the 2000 census. He was re-elected in 2004 over Democratic Jefferson County District Attorney Dave Thomas by a large margin.

The 7th Congressional District was established as part of a court ordered redistricting effort when a Republican controlled state house and a Democratically controlled state senate deadlocked over the issue. At the time it was created, it had an almost identical number of registered Republicans, Democrats and independents. It is located primarily in Northern Jefferson County, Adams County, and the Northern part of the city of Aurora. It includes affluent suburbs, working class suburbs, and a first-ring suburb in Aurora which has a strong inner city character.

Democratic voter registration increased relative to Republican voter registration between 2002 and 2004, and the history Dave Thomas has as a tough of crime moderate who could get elected in the most Republican part of the District should have helped Democrats in the race. Democrats coalesced around Thomas early to avoid a potentially destructive primary -- no one else made any attempt to run for the post. Both 2002 and 2004 saw conservative third parties strip some votes from the Republican ticket in this race as well. But Thomas mounted an inept campaign and was serious tarred by allegations that his performance during the Columbine School Shooting, which his office was involved in, was substandard and perhaps even deceitful. Beaprez's incumbency, and a surprising lack of support from Thomas from the national party and 527s, given how winnable the district was viewed as being, also hurt his campaign.

In 2006, Beauprez resigned from Congress to run for Governor of Colorado, but he lost to Bill Ritter.

Beauprez Pretends to be a Veteran

On February 2, 2006, a number of outraged veterans called on Beauprez to apologize for publicly wearing and being widely photographed in a military-issued uniform, even though he had never served in the military. He had requested and received three draft deferments and then a medical release during the Vietnam War. [1]

"We are calling on Mr. Beauprez to apologize for misleading us," stated retired Sergeant Jim Hudson, a Vietnam Veteran.[2]

"Mr. Beauprez appears to want it both ways: he publicly parades in a military-issued uniform, and yet the records show he never served," stated retired Staff Sergeant Michael D. Collins, a veteran who served in Vietnam with the 1st Air Calvary Division. "While Beauprez claims he's for veterans, he has the worst voting record on veterans' issues of any of the Colorado members of Congress."[3]

In May 2006, ProgressNow, a liberal advocacy group, produced an Internet-based ad that again focused on Beauprez's draft status during Vietnam and his flight suit posing. The Beauprez campaign dismissed the ad as done by a "well-financed attack machine," although ProgressNow produced the ad for less than $300.[4]

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