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ColoradoBiz endorses Bob Schaffer for U.S. Senate
ColoradoBiz Staff //October 1, 2008//
U.S. Senate: Bob Schaffer
Examining the U.S. Senate race solely through the lens of business, we view Republican Bob Schaffer as a candidate better equipped to encourage economic growth, lure large employers to the state and create jobs than his Democratic counterpart, Mark Udall.
We applaud Udall for his role in championing a “new energy” economy and his belated support of ramping up domestic oil production and opening up offshore drilling as part of a bipartisan Senate energy plan.
But Schaffer has shown a more realistic view of where we stand as a state and a nation now – unnecessarily reliant on foreign energy yet sitting on untapped traditional energy sources of oil, natural gas and coal.
While new-energy technologies will help drive Colorado’s future, they will largely be driven by research and development by the oil and gas industry. A case in point: ConocoPhillips’ decision to build a new corporate training facility and global research center on the 432-acre former StorageTek property in Louisville, a massive investment in Colorado by the energy giant and a development expected to spawn 7,000 jobs.
Schaffer supports an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy that includes alternative as well as traditional fuel sources, and he shares our belief that Colorado should be a national leader in America’s quest to achieve energy independence.
Detractors have dubbed Schaffer “Big Oil Bob” for his ties to the oil and gas industry, but he’s demonstrated an understanding that big oil and new energy are not mutually exclusive.
