DENVER – Colorado Republicans will officially nominate a candidate for the U.S. Senate this weekend who has proven that he’ll stand up for Big Oil, corrupt lobbyists, corrupt businessman and convicted felons – not on the side of Coloradans.

As Bob Schaffer takes to the stage to accept his party's nomination, his ties to corruption in Washington, convicted felon William "Bill" Orr and jailed lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff will loom over him and the Republican delegation in the Broomfield Events Center.
Bob Schaffer has claimed that his campaign is about reform. But the more we learn about his corrupt associations and his work for Big Oil and other special interests, the clearer it is that Bob Schaffer is just more of the same failed leadership that has taken our country so far off track:

SCHAFFER-LINKED POL CONVICTED OF FRAUD
[Grand Junction Sentinel Headline, 05/30/08]

ABRAMOFF TIES CLOUD SCHAFFER'S 99 FACT-FINDING TRIP
[Denver Post Headline, 04/10/08]

SCHAFFER TWICE ENDORSE ABRAMOFF ALLY
[Denver Post Headline, 04/11/08]

SCHAFFER, LOBBYIST STRATEGIES MESHED
[Denver Post Headline, 04/13/08]

SCHAFFER DENIES CONFLICT IN DENVER CHARTER SCHOOL VOTE
[Rocky Mountain News Headline, 08/21/07]

"You need to understand and so do your viewers that Congress is an inherently corrupt institution," acknowledges Bob Schaffer. [Bob Schaffer, KBDI, 02/2007]
The problem is Bob Schaffer has long been a part of the corruption.

· Just this week, Bob Schaffer's business associate William Orr was convicted of defrauding Congress and the federal government of $3.6 million in earmarked funds awarded to the National Alternative Fuels Foundation (NAFF) in 2002 – while Bob Schaffer was serving in Congress. Bob Schaffer later served on the Board of NAFF. [Schaffer-Linked Pol Convicted of Fraud, Grand Junction Sentinel, 05/30/08]

· While in Congress, Bob Schaffer visited the Mariana Islands on a junket sponsored by a Jack Abramoff front group. Upon returning to Washington, Schaffer immediately went to work following now jailed lobbyist Abramoff's strategy to attack critics of the human rights abuses on the Islands, and turned a blind eye to forced abortions, forced prostitution and worker exploitation. [Abramoff Ties Cloud Schaffer's 99 Fact-finding Trip, Denver Post, 04/10/08], [Schaffer, Lobbyist Strategies Meshed, Denver Post, 04/13/08]

· After voting for Big Oil time and time again – including for $28 million dollars in tax breaks for Big Oil and against investments in renewable energy – Schaffer left Congress for a Big Oil job. While Coloradans' bank accounts were hit hard at the gas pumps, Bob Schaffer was earning a six-figure Big-Oil paycheck. [HR 4, vote 320, 8/2/01], [Schaffer Personal Financial Disclosures, Rocky Mountain News, 4/30/04]

· And, as a member of the Colorado State Board of Education, Schaffer, in a controversial vote, cast the deciding vote to award a contract to a company owned by David Brennan, which provides programs for charter schools. Bob Schaffer immediately turned around and accepted $4,600 in contributions from Brennan for his Senate campaign. [Schaffer Denies Conflict in Denver Charter School Vote, Rocky Mountain News, 08/21/07], [opensecrets.org]

"Instead of fighting for the interests of Coloradans in Washington, Schaffer has time and again stood up for special interests and his corrupt cronies, and has immersed himself in the very corruption he wants us to think he’s going to clean up, “said Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak.

“We don’t need another fox in the henhouse in Washington – Coloradans are looking for leaders that will fight for the issues important to us, not stand on the side of convicted felons.

"Colorado Democrats have nominated a true leader that has consistently stood up for all Coloradans. Mark Udall has always put the interest of Coloradans first and as Colorado's next U.S. Senator will continue working to fix our broken health care system, improve our children's education, make Colorado a leader in the new energy economy and make our country safer with a stronger and smarter national security policy."