Bob Schaffer

Bob Schaffer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Colorado's 4th district
In office
January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by Wayne Allard
Succeeded by Marilyn Musgrave
Member of the Colorado Senate
In office
1987-1996
Personal details
Born (1962-07-24) July 24, 1962
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Maureen Schaffer
Alma mater University of Dayton
Religion Roman Catholic[1]

Robert Warren "Bob" Schaffer (born July 24, 1962) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Colorado in the 105th Congress and the two succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1997 - January 3, 2003). In 2004, Schaffer lost in the primary election to be the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat. He was the Republican nominee for Colorado's other Senate seat in the 2008 election, which he lost to Democratic nominee Mark Udall.

Biography

Bob Schaffer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended Archbishop Moeller High School. The son of public-school teachers, Schaffer worked his way through college as a farm hand. In 1984, he graduated from the University of Dayton with a B.A. in Political Science. He was later awarded an honorary doctorate in Management from Colorado Technical University.

Prior to entering politics, Schaffer held a variety of jobs, including carpet layer, lifeguard, salmon cannery worker, legislative researcher, speechwriter, and small business owner. From 1989 to 1995, he owned and operated Northern Front Range Marketing and Distribution, a small marketing business serving Colorado’s tourism industry.

Colorado State Senator

Schaffer served for nine years as a Colorado State Senator in the Colorado General Assembly. Schaffer was only 25 years old in 1987 when he was appointed to finish Colorado State Senator Jim Beatty's term, making Schaffer the youngest to serve in Colorado's Senate. As a Colorado Senator, he was Chairman of the Finance Committee, the State Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, and the Local Government Committee. Schaffer also was the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Schaffer was awarded the "National Republican Legislator of the Year for 1995" by the National Republican Legislators Association. In 1993, Schaffer made headlines when he removed a display from the Capitol—that was in clear view of visiting children—that contained pamphlets describing "unsafe sexual practices." [2]

U.S. Congressman

Schaffer was first elected to the U.S. Congress in November 1996 representing Colorado's 4th congressional district, succeeding Wayne Allard and Hank Brown.

Congressional highlights

Schaffer served three terms in Congress, fulfilling the three-term pledge he made during his first Congressional campaign.[3] Schaffer upheld his pledge in spite of pleas from national Republicans and President George W. Bush to run for another term.[4] He was succeeded by Marilyn Musgrave in January 2003.

Post-2002 career

Schaffer is currently vice-president for business development at Aspect Energy, LLC., where he is involved in a variety of energy, mining and education projects. He served as president of the Parental Alliance for Choice in Education, a non-profit corporation promoting school choice reform in Colorado's public education system, and is active in the state’s transformation to a market-driven education system. Schaffer is a trustee of Yorktown University.[5] He is also Chairman of the Leadership Program of the Rockies, a Colorado group providing political organizational training.[6] Schaffer was also an opinion columnist for the now-defunct Northern Colorado Courier.

In March 2005, Schaffer was elected Republican National Committeeman for Colorado.

Schaffer was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Colorado State Board of Education by a party vacancy committee, representing a district that is coterminous with the state's Fourth Congressional District. He successfully ran for the seat in 2006, against Democrat Tom Griggs. Schaffer is the Vice Chairman.

He is the Colorado Chairman of the Judicial Confirmation Network.

In 2006, Bob Schaffer founded Dreamsoft Colorado, LLC,[7] a firm that creates high-end interactive websites for business and political clients. He is also the President of AMDG LLC.

2004 U.S. Senate race

In 2004, Schaffer contended for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate after incumbent Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell chose not to run for re-election. Brewing magnate Pete Coors opposed Schaffer. Coors entered the bitter primary battle after Schaffer faced down potential contenders such as David Liniger, founder of ReMax. The nomination battle concluded when Coors won the Republican nomination over Schaffer with 61% of the vote. Coors went on to lose to Democratic nominee Ken Salazar in the 2004 general election. [8]

2008 U.S. Senate election

Schaffer's Jefferson County field office in 2008

Schaffer was the Republican nominee for the open seat of retiring Senator Wayne Allard. He lost to Mark Udall, the Democratic nominee.

On May 9, 2007, Schaffer filed his official statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission. On May 12, 2007, he made an official announcement in Boulder that he would run for the Senate to a group of over 150 Republicans attending a fundraising event.[9]

On September 28, 2008, Udall and Schaffer appeared on Meet the Press's Senate Debate series, discussing the proposed bailout of the U.S. financial system.[10]

Political opposition

In 2008, the League of Conservation Voters named Schaffer a member of its "Dirty Dozen" because of an anti-environmental record during his tenure in Congress.[11] In 2001, then-congressman Schaffer voted for President Bush's energy plan that Democrats argued was a $33 billion gift to the oil corporations.[12] Republicans argued that the bill would help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.[13]

Endorsements

Link to the Jack Abramoff Scandals

Schaffer was linked to the Mariana Islands worker abuse scandal by his association with the Traditional Values Coalition. The organization was used by Jack Abramoff to pay for the trip of the then-Congressman to visit the island. The Denver Post reported that the TVC paid the $13,000 travel bill for the trip, organized by Abramoff's lobbying firm.[16]

Abramoff's lobbying team would prepare questions and "factual backup" for friendly lawmakers. Trips to the island for congressmen and staff would be a key tool to "build permanent friends," the memo said.

The congressional junkets to the Mariana Islands were designed to build support in Congress among Republican lawmakers to block labor and immigration legislation for the islands, which had been found to harbor squalid working conditions and abusive labor practices, including child prostitution and forced abortions.[16]

Schaffer claimed that he spoke with local clergy who denied there was a problem of forced abortions in the Northern Marianas,[17] the only area of the United States where abortion is banned by their local constitution.[18][19] After his return from the islands, Schaffer used his position on the Resources Committee to attack reports of abuses on the islands.[20]

During his 2008 Senate campaign, Schaffer suggested that the Northern Marianas' guest worker program might serve as a model for U.S. national immigration policy, stirring further controversy.[21] Schaffer was particularly impressed with their pre-qualifying foreign workers before they were allowed to immigrate to the CNMI. According to a 1998 World magazine article that mainly sourced Andrea Sheldon of the TVC, some argued that the issues of the Northern Marianas labor, wage, and immigration laws are simply attacks by U.S.-based labor unions who are attempting to eliminate competition.[22] Schaffer told the Denver Post, "The workers were smiling; they were happy."[23] Schaffer also downplayed criticism from pro-life organizations that he participated in Abramoff's lobbying strategy to protect the sweatshop system by arguing, "In five days, I did not observe a forced abortion or meet anybody who had any knowledge of them."[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Fort Collins Catholics React to News Archbishop Chaput May Be Elevated to Cardinal, by Trevor Hughes, The Coloradoan, July 19, 2011". Bishop-accountability.org. 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  2. ↑ "Durango Herald Online". Web.archive.org. 2004-08-08. Archived from the original on August 21, 2004. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  3. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20070928140010/http://media.www.collegian.com/media/storage/paper864/news/2001/11/27/UndefinedSection/Rep-Bob.Schaffer.To.Retire-1698783.shtml. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2007. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "Windsor Colorado Breaking News, Opinion, Sports and Entertainment | MyWindsorNow.com". Fortcollinsnow.com. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  5. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20070401061641/http://www.yorktownuniversity.com:80/grad_trustees.cfm. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2007. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20070401231117/http://leadershipprogram.org:80/board/. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2007. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "News". Dreamsoft.us. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  8. ↑ Roberts, Joel (2004-04-12). "Washington Wrap". CBS News. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  9. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20070930201018/http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5535957,00.html. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2007. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ "NBCNews.com Video Player". MSNBC. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  11. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20080314005014/http://lcv.org:80/newsroom/press-releases/lcv-names-former-u-s-rep-bob-schaffer-to-2008-dirty-dozen.html. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20080411213045/http://www.rockymountainnews.com:80/news/2008/apr/08/schaffers-thanks-bob-ad-inspires-parody/. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ Alvarez, Lizette (2001-02-27). "G.O.P. Energy Bill Is Likely to Set Off Fierce Policy Fight - NYTimes.com". The New York Times (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; United States; Alaska). Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  14. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20081012061628/http://www.gjsentinel.com:80/hp/content/news/opinion/stories/2008/10/09/101008_6A_Schaffer_edit.html. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ "オリジナルTシャツは写真の使い方次第【愛着が湧く洋服を作ろう】". Bobschafferforsenate.com. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  16. 1 2 Riley, Michael (13 April 2008). "Schaffer, lobbyist strategies meshed". Denver Post.
  17. 1 2 Hoover, Tim (2008-04-22). "Abortion foes assail candidate for Senate". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  18. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20080820031310/http://frankenlies.com/truth/saipan-forced.htm. Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20080611093317/http://www.cnmilaw.org:80/constitution_article1.htm. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ↑ Riley, Michael (2008-04-13). "Schaffer, lobbyist strategies meshed". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  21. ↑ Riley, Michael. "Tricky issue of immigration played down". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  22. ↑ "WORLD | Micromanaging Micronesia? Playing politics with persecution | Mindy Belz | April 18, 1998". Worldmag.com. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  23. ↑ "Abramoff ties cloud Schaffer's '99 fact-finding trip". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2016-03-06.

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Wayne Allard		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Colorado's 4th congressional district
1997–2003 		Succeeded by
Marilyn Musgrave
Party political offices
Preceded by
Wayne Allard		 Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Colorado
(Class 2)
2008 		Succeeded by
Cory Gardner
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