Bridgewater Momentum
By hollyonthehill
http://hollyonthehill.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/bridgewater-momentum/
Senate candidate Tim Bridgewater seems to be picking up steam in Utah’s Senate race. With three months still to go until convention, Bridgewater is well-positioned in the crowd.
He is doing well at the debates, using humor frequently and coming across as comfortable, relaxed and confident. He is also creating buzz, with his fundraising (over a quarter of a million dollars), and growing grassroots network, headed by some key volunteers from the Chaffetz campaign. (Interestingly, the Chaffetz camp has split among Bridgewater, Eagar and Lee as the most likely to be able to take out Senator Bennett.)
He has also taken the high road when it comes to the other candidates in the race. His focus is on Bob Bennett, not the other three Republican contenders, earning him a growing respect among delegates.
He has support from a number of legislators on Utah’s Capitol Hill who are impressed with the professionalism he brings to the campaign.
As he announced his official entry into the race, he kicked off a “29 Counties in 29 Days” tour that was well-received. He plans to do another soon and is now in the middle of going to Lincoln Day dinners across the state. He is one of the potential candidates that Club for Growth is eyeing in their “Anybody but Bennett” campaign. In fact, Club for Growth had a booth at the Utah County Lincoln Day dinner on Saturday, their first open display aimed at GOP faithful.
Bridgewater has been considered the dark horse in the race but with his steady approach to this campaign, he may end up doing very well come May 8th. Certainly, the race is a fun one to watch.
Moe Lane
Steve Maley
KnightsofMalta
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
Eh?
utah_liberty Thursday, February 11th at 11:05AM EST (link)The fundraising of a quarter million dollars makes me chuckle, since Mr. Bridgewater cut himself a check for $276k and only raised around $10k from others. That’s hardly grassroots.
Bridgewater also concerns me with his support for Medicare Part D. He’s a successful businessman, sure, but that’s the angle that Bennett took, and look where that got us. I’d rather see a Constitutionalist in office, so I’m voting for Mike Lee.
Mike Lee?
Neil Stevens (Diary) Thursday, February 11th at 11:13AM EST (link)What a joke.
Seriously.
Mike Lee? Ron Paul with better hair.
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Disingenuous
davidmiller Thursday, February 11th at 12:27PM EST (link)Yes, I thought the quarter million dollar figure was misleading considering that he lent himself more than a quarter million dollars and raised almost nothing from other people. Self-funded candidate is what it looks like. I think I’d wait to brag about my numbers until I was getting a good chunk of my money from individuals besides myself.
A rational choice
Publius Thursday, February 11th at 12:36PM EST (link)I’ve been watching this race for a while. I think it’s great that we have so many excellent and qualified individuals involved.
When it comes to money, I’m afraid that how much is in the bank, regardless of where it comes from, really matters. If this is an “anyone but Bennett” race, than the individual with the greatest ability to defeat Bennett is going to be the person who can afford to get his, or her, message out best, and that’s going to take money. Lee may know the Constitution, but he doesn’t corner the market on it, and a person of his caliber could serve our state better as the next AG. Eagar’s a great lady, but I don’t hear delegates walking away super impressed with her. Williams just doesn’t have the money to be viable.
Meanwhile, Bridgewater is showing more and more that he has both the resources and the ability to not only defeat Bennett, but to do it soundly, with 60% of convention vote. The jury is still out on who I’ll support when I cast my vote, but more and more I am impressed with Bridgewater. Not only has his campaign been serious and professional, Tim’s communication and demeanor has been by far the most positive and inspiring. You can’t beat a guy that everyone likes, and Tim is a guy that everyone likes.
Money means more in a primary
davidmiller Thursday, February 11th at 12:52PM EST (link)The amount of money a candidate has will have little effect on how well they do in the convention – that’s all about organizing and I think we have no more than guesswork to compare the organizations of the various candidates. If this goes to a primary then money will be an important factor and Bennett will have the advantage over any of his challengers (Only Shurtleff really stood a decent chance of being anywhere near dollar for dollar competitive with Bennett). Among the challengers however that is almost a restart. Whoever comes out of the convention as a challenger to Bennett (assuming a primary) will instantly have more support than they had before the convention and that will translate into more money. I suspect that the amount of money going to Bennett’s challenger will not vary significantly based on who that ends up being.
Likability?
utah_liberty Thursday, February 11th at 12:59PM EST (link)People like Orrin Hatch, but does that mean he’s a good Senator? Likeability only gets you so far.. the delegates right now in Utah are largely concerned about sending somebody to Washington who understands the Constitution in and out and will reject all of these bad programs and policies, and do so from a constitutional vantage point. I’ve not been impressed with Bridgewater’s understanding of the Constitution. He’s a businessman, sure, but how can somebody support and defend a document they don’t understand in detail?
Maybe you should read the Constitution
Publius Thursday, February 11th at 1:10PM EST (link)It’s not to hard to understand the Constitution, and I don’t think any of the candidates have impressed me with more understanding of it than the others…some of their supporters, however, have showed themselves to be real ostriches in the sand.
If we need a genius and a scholar to understand the constitution, we truly have abrogated what De Tocqueville found, and what Madison, Adams, and Jefferson hoped would be true of their posterity: that the Constitution would be accessible to all. Plus, that’s the liberal bent: trust the elites–they know better than you. Well, that’s just hogwash. I can understand what the 10th Amendment says and means just as well as anyone else.
And frankly, if you need an elitist to tell you what the Constitution means, maybe you shouldn’t be making the judgement call about who knows the Constitution best, after all.
Um, what?
utah_liberty Thursday, February 11th at 1:13PM EST (link)Who is saying that I or others haven’t read the Constitution? Matter of fact, I carry one in my back pocket at all times, and was thumbing through it just yesterday. I’ve never claimed that we should have some “elite” person understand it for us, what I have said is that whoever is elected into that position needs to have a deep understanding of it. Your silly reaction is baseless and surprisingly accusatory. My original remarks stand: Bridgewater has not yet demonstrated his understanding of the Constitution, and that’s what the delegates are looking for.
Let me clarify
Publius Thursday, February 11th at 5:33PM EST (link)I apologize if i offended you. Such was not my intention.
I wasn’t intending to say that you hadn’t read the Constitution–I was intending to say that if you will look again the document isn’t that difficult to understand and it doesn’t require a lawyer to know what it means. You sound like you want one; I’d prefer that we have the right person, not someone with more pedigree.
I’ve heard all of the candidates, and while Lee carries himself like a trial attorney, he said nothing that i didn’t already know and that demonstrated a greater knowledge than anyone else who has read and exerted any effort to know what the Constitution says. In fact, he was probably a little condescending towards those who asked him questions about his positions.
He’s a good guy, but he has yet to distinguish himself. We don’t need lawyers in Washington–we need representatives. Lee or Bridgewater or Eagar or Williams–what matters is: Can they beat Bennett at convention?
No amount of family pedigree, sophisticated talking, or “smarter-than-thou” attitude will make that happen. Just common sense, salt of the earth, adherence to conservative values supported by good communication.
If you criteria was followed–we’d never have elected Jason last year.
No, to Orrin.
Publius Thursday, February 11th at 1:14PM EST (link)And no, people do not like Orrin. They think he’s goofy and embarrassing.
A great guy, but...
fstaheli Thursday, February 11th at 1:04PM EST (link)Publius: Tim is a great guy–there’s no question about that. My brother does some business with him, and thinks the world of him. If Tim Bridgewater were the only candidate against Bennett, I would support him over Bennett in a heartbeat.
However, Mike Lee most appealing quality is that he approaches the office of Senator with principle instead of simple pragmatism. That’s why I support Mike over Tim. Most of the problems that we have endured from Washington D.C. (and many of the things that Bob Bennett has voted for–strengthening FISA, war in Iraq, health care, bailouts, etc.) must be endured because our leaders don’t seem to care what the Constitution says anymore.
I prefer a leader who is more likely to help bring the nation back into balance because he understands that to do so we are compelled to abide by the precepts of the Constitution. Would Tim Bridgewater do that? Probably… Would Mike Lee do that? Without question.
If that's the standard
Publius Thursday, February 11th at 1:13PM EST (link)Then I think you have four equals. All of the candidates to take on the GOP mantle meet that measure. The real question is: who can beat Bennett? And if that can’t be done at convention, I don’t believe that it can be done.
As yet, none of the candidates have differentiated enough to show how they can do it. Lee talks a big game, but he’s condescending, and delegates HATE being condescended. Bridgewater is no academic, but he’s no dummy, either. He stands on principle as much as any of the others out there.
No, the standard is not prinicple–they all measure up there. The standard is: who will win with 60% at convention?
Not so equal
davidmiller Friday, February 12th at 3:13PM EST (link)I don’t think you have four equals under the standard of promoting the constitution. All of the challengers talk about the constitution but there are some who demonstrate that they only have a limited respect for the Constitution – they support it only if it does not interfere with things they’d like to see done.
I’m not going to name names or try to convince anyone, just suggesting that you should listen closely to the candidates before accepting their lip-service support of the Constitution. If you do, you’ll see that some really support it and others not so much.
How can you know?
Publius Friday, February 12th at 4:03PM EST (link)How is anything the candidates have done anything more than lip service? None of them have any legislative record to ride on–how is it possible to say that anyone is doing more than lip service than the others? All we can gauge is what they are saying and how persuasive they are. And persuasion is not a virtue limited to the honest (but seems like it goes hand in hand with charlatans.)
I like Lee, Eager, Bridgewater and Williams, but to say that one has more devotion to the constitution than the others because you listen closely is pretty unconvincing.
Who are you?
morstar150 (Diary) Thursday, February 11th at 4:36PM EST (link)If you are going to announce yourself through your own article at least explain who you are, and what you are running for, include the state.
Better yet, get someone else to write the article and graciously pretend that it isn’t self serving.
Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil, in its worst, an intolerable one. (Thomas Paine)
Bridgewater momentum?
utah_1 Thursday, February 11th at 10:18PM EST (link)How does Bridgewater have any momentum? He has raised no money basically from anyone other than himself. So if he can’t get people to donate to the cause, how is he ever going to get their vote?
Also, Bridgewater is just a Bennett Jr. He speaks the same way Bob did when he ran initially. He was even for Medicare Part D and No Child Left Behind (before he was against them). He was also John McCain’s Western States Coordinator (before Romney got out). Tim is just another politician who speaks one way during an election cycle and then is different after elected. Why would I give up the seniority in Bob Bennett when Bridgewater is no different?
Qualify, please?
Publius Friday, February 12th at 4:06PM EST (link)Could you please cite why you think Bridgewater is in support, or was in support of, Medicare or NCLB? If I recall reading the paper correctly in the early years of Governor Huntsman’s administration, Bridgewater was actually the guy who fought the Department of Education to let Utah do its own thing and use its own standards of testing for education.
I defy you to back up your unqualified and libelous statements.
NCLB
utah_1 Saturday, February 13th at 6:15PM EST (link)PubliusDB, it’s not libelous if it’s true. Look back to the debates in ’04 with Swallow (prior to him working at Huntsmans office, and at the behest of Huntsman to go against it) he states very clearly that he was for NCLB but wanted to tweak it a little bit. How could anyone who claims to follow the Constitution ever be in any way for NCLB? NCLB is an unmitigated disaster and no one should just want to tweak it. They should know that it completely usurped the Constitution and want to roll it back completely.