Republican Senate Candidate Bob Schaffer spent the 201st day of his Senate Campaign avoiding taking a position on Climate Change or any other issues.

“Coloradans want to know where candidates stand on the issues and Bob Schaffer has been avoiding answers for over 200 days now,” said Matt Sugar, Democratic Party spokesman. “Coloradans are concerned about Climate Change and are looking for leadership.”

Rep. Mark Udall has been a leader in addressing Global Climate Change and studying its implications. Early in the 110th Congress, Rep. Udall introduced The Global Change Research and Data Management Act. Rep. Udall had previously introduced this bill late in the 107th and the 108th Congresses.

The bill reflects the National Academy of Sciences evaluation recognizing the need for research to evaluate strategies to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of global change. The bill recognizes that policymakers at all levels as well as others in the community responsible for managing resources, fostering economic development, and responding to natural disasters need information to guide their decisions.

Where is Bob Schaffer? In a 1997 editorial for the Colorado Statesman entitled "So-called Global Warming Theory Is Hot Air" Schaffer urged the rejection of the Kyoto Treaty, and questioned the science behind global warming, saying that there was no conclusive evidence to support the theory that global temperatures were rising, and even if they were, there was no evidence that this was necessarily bad for the environment. Schaffer also questioned whether or not global temperature increases were caused by man. (Colorado Statesman, 12/5/97).

Yesterday Governor Bill Ritter honored more than 40 Colorado climate-change scientists and researchers who participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which recently won the Nobel Peace Prize along with former Vice President Al Gore. Additionally, Ritter released Colorado’s first Climate Action Plan earlier this month, calling for a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and an 80 percent reduction by 2050.

Where’s is Bob Schaffer? Schaffer, while serving in congress, voted for a "global warming gag rule" that would prevent the EPA or the Council on Environmental Quality from holding seminars on the effects of global warming.( HR 4194, 7/29/1998)

“Colorado has proven leadership addressing Climate Change while Senate candidate Bob Schaffer has stated only extreme views on the issue,” said Sugar.