Posted on 09/13/2005 11:56:08 AM PDT by lizol
Polish president to stump for Holtzman
By Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News September 13, 2005
Foreign heads of state usually don't get involved in Colorado political campaigns, but nobody ever said Marc Holtzman was a typical candidate for governor.
Holtzman will make several appearances today with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, whom he met while working as an investment banker in Eastern Europe in the 1990s. Kwasniewski will appear at the University of Denver and at two private fundraisers for Holtzman.
"In 1993, Marc went to Eastern Europe and set up a company to help emerging democracies learn about free enterprise," said Dick Leggitt, campaign spokesman. "He helped those countries get investment dollars from America."
In gratitude, Poland awarded Holtzman its highest civilian award, the medal of freedom.
Some have questioned what relevance a foreign president has to the Colorado governor's race, but Leggitt said Holtzman's background in Poland highlights his talents.
"Some see it as unusual, but we see it as an experience level that can benefit Colorado," Leggitt said. "He created jobs and opportunity, and that's exactly what we have to have in Colorado."
Poland was one of the first countries to join the United States in sending troops into Iraq. Kwasniewski later said countries such as Poland were "taken for a ride" when President Bush said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Polish troops remain in Iraq.
Leggitt said the Bush administration values Holtzman's close ties to the Poles.
"Marc's relationship with the president is so solid that when Poland was deciding what jets to buy, (Secretary of State) Condi Rice called Marc and asked him to speak to them on America's behalf," Leggitt said.
Holtzman is the state's former secretary of technology and a former president of DU. He is running against U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez for the Republican nomination for governor.
Holtzman is widely viewed as the underdog and has chosen to run an unconventional campaign, touring with former boxer and low-fat grill impresario George Foreman and now bringing the Polish president to Denver.
That is unlikely to impress Colorado voters, the Beauprez camp said.
"We're going to talk to the voters about the issues Colorado cares about," said John Marshall, spokesman for the Beauprez campaign. "We don't begrudge him bringing in Eastern Bloc friends, but I suspect that the cowboys down at the coffeehouse in Delta are more interested what the candidates have to say about water and health care than whether or not the president of Poland is backing you."
Holtzman's strategy of appearing with celebrities and foreign dignitaries has advantages and drawbacks, one political expert said.
"It's unusual, but he's getting publicity for his campaign," said John Straayer, professor of political science at Colorado State University.
On the other hand, "You can appear to be somewhat unusual in a refreshing sense, but if you're not careful, you can start looking strange and make people wonder what you're up to," Straayer said.
Sounds like Colorado Republicans have a good healthy choice ahead of them.
Kwasniewski is a Commie.
Was this the same commie who supported our Iraq War coalition, or was that a different commie?
His party is involved in scandal after scandal. His wife is involved in some shady real estate deals, and Kwasniewski has been suspected of a number of crimes and misdemeanors from obvious cronyism and doing political favors for the rich and powerful (not to mention having sex with a popular female singer), to being involved in major scandals involving things such as accepting bribes from the press to pass legislation favorable to them.
When he was first elected he got caught lying on his resume about having finished college, when in fact, he did not.
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