Denver, Co – Bob Schaffer is starting an election-year dance craze in Colorado – the Schaffer Shuffle. Coloradans got a taste of the Schaffer Shuffle yesterday, when Schaffer tried to dance away from his long-established record as Big Oil’s favorite Congressman and highly-paid employee.

The steps of the Schaffer Shuffle are easy to learn. First, you spend years staking out a record far from the mainstream values of Coloradans. Then, when the polls show Coloradans won’t vote for that record, you start dancing away from it as fast as you can.

As a Congressman, Bob Schaffer consistently stood strong in support of big oil and drilling. He voted to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, drilling in the Gulf of Mexico even drilling in the Great Lakes -- and he was rewarded with campaign contributions and a high-paying big oil job as soon as he left Congress. The League of Conservation Voters has given Bob Schaffer a lifetime voting record of 5%. Big Oil has given Bob Schaffer nearly than $100,000 in campaign contributions and more than $900,000 in salary. [Vote #318, 8/1/01; Vote #317, 8/1/01; Vote #203, 6/28/01; Vote #181, 6/21/01; Center for Responsive Politics, OpenSecrets.com; Schaffer Personal Financial Disclosures]

Six days ago, the Bush administration announced they would ignore the concerns of Coloradans and continue with their plan to expand drilling on the Roan Plateau. While officials and citizens across the state spoke out in protest, Bob Schaffer stood silent.

After five days of watching which way the political winds were blowing, Bob Schaffer was ready to take the floor with the election-year Schaffer Shuffle, dancing away from his Big Oil record in hopes that no one will notice.

“Coloradans will see right through the Schaffer Shuffle,” said Pat Waak, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party. “Bob Schaffer cannot spend his career fighting for the oil and gas industry, then cashing in on it with a lucrative industry job, and expect that Coloradans will believe him when his views change over night.”

It’s not the first time this year that Schaffer’s showed some fancy footwork. Just last week, Bob Schaffer’s campaign manager – and personal dance instructor – acknowledged that Bob Schaffer wasn’t ready to talk about his immigration stance because he was waiting to see what position would best help him in the Senate race.

"Exactly how the poll — and the shifting national debate — will steer GOP candidates' talk about the issue remains to be seen. Wadhams, who is also the campaign manager for Bob Schaffer, the party's candidate for U.S. Senate, said his candidate wasn't yet ready to talk about his immigration stance." [http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_8552360]

And last fall, when President Bush vetoed SCHIP legislation that would have given thousands of Colorado children healthcare, he used the Schaffer Shuffle to dance away from reporter questions about how he would have voted. Nifty moves, but Schaffer’s record shows he voted for a budget that CUT the number of children covered by SCHIP when he was in Congress. [Denver Post, 10/18/07; HCR 353, Vote #79, 3/20/2002]

Bob Schaffer clearly hopes the Schaffer Shuffle will keep Coloradans from noticing his record that has gone too far too many times. No doubt, as the campaign picks up speed, the tempo of Colorado’s newest dance step will pick up too. Will Coloradans be able to keep up?