El Paso County Republicans press release on Barack Obama

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

7/2/08 -- Today Barack Obama visited Colorado Springs where local Republicans and Independent voters alike agreed that he is out of touch with Coloradans. Barack's values just do not line up with the average Colorado voter. Whether it is his extreme views on the military, his marxist concepts of taxation, or his ignorance about the Constitution, the 2nd Amendment and individual rights guaranteed by our founding fathers, he simply does not understand the mindset of Colorado citizens.

In Obama's Wednesday speech he outlined a plan that includes $4,000 for every college student if they commit to a certain number of volunteer hours in their community. Setting aside for a moment the obvious incongruity of paying someone for "volunteering," there is a serious financial impact as well. With approximately 16 million students in college, if half participated, the taxpayers would be funding 3.2 billion in another new pandering program to gain votes. This is just one example of Barack being completely out of touch with the average Colorado voter and pushing instead for new burdens for taxpayers.

In another example of fiscal irresponsibility Obama recently stated that "[I] think that we can have a capital gains rate that is higher than 15%" and went on to indicate that his proposed rate could nearly double and be as high as 28%. In Colorado where citizens are feeling the sting of higher gas prices and Governor Ritter's new property tax hike, these kinds of proposals put Barack Obama on the far left of most Coloradans and certainly do not reflect the values of our community.  (ref:  CNBC's "Closing Bell," 3/27/08)

While Barack stated that he supports the military, his statement runs fully opposite his record of consistently voting against military interests. Specifically this is the Senator who voted against funding the troops while they were in theatre; well past the point of deciding whether to support combat, Barack voted against body armor, ammunition, and vehicles for the personnel presently engaged in the conflict.  Wesley Clark, an ardent supporter of Obama, recently said of Senator John McCain: "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be President." This is not a new tone and the El Paso County Republicans join with the national leaders who have called for Obama to utterly refute this kind of "slash and burn" language. 

In summary, in spite of the fact that he spent an entire day in Colorado Springs without a single public appearance and only went to "invitation only" events, the El Paso County Republicans are delighted that Barack Obama visited Colorado. Now, more than ever, our community can see first hand how out of touch Obama is with the Western states, including of course, Colorado. Senator John McCain, on the other hand, is a Western state Senator with a long history of supporting the military, supporting sound fiscal positions, and supporting the values that Coloradans hold dear.

Questions may be directed to Nathan Fisk, Executive Director, El Paso County Republicans.

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