A letter from James Lampert-Regarding Dan Maes

Guys, I found this letter interesting. I must say that I too have met Maes and have a sense for his character; nothing like what the attack machine is saying...

"To my Colorado friends, neighbors, and relatives,

I don't know how interested you are in politics or what your political persuasion is, but I would like to talk politics with you for just a little bit. So you know, I belong to the Republican party, have been reasonably active in party politics for a number of years, have attended the last three Republican State Assemblies and am currently a precinct committeeman. What I am seeing happen in both parties I don't like. The power brokers within each party run the party and the elections, that is until this year, but the struggle isn't over yet. We have seen in the Democratic party that Mayor Hikkenlooper was chosen by the present U. S. administration to be our next governor, not necessarily the people of Colorado. The same thing applies to Senator Bennett. Sure they let us vote on them, but they either limit the number of candidates or they use whatever amount of resources necessary to control our thinking. In the Republican party, I have watched in the previous elections as state and national candidates selected by the power brokers within the party are jammed down our throat whether we like it or not. This year appeared to be no exception until the TEA party and 9/12 activists took a hand in the selection of candidates. We now have a candidate for governor and a candidate for senator who were not the choice of the party power brokers. Mr. Buck seems to be more acceptable to these elite than Mr. Maes-I am not sure why at this point. But I would like to talk to you a little about Mr. Maes. I hope all of you who are Republican leaning have made a point to hear this man. I was privileged to attend a town hall type meeting in Feb. in which not only did I hear why Mr. Maes thought he would make a good governor, but he was grilled at great length by interested citizens. His response was not always what everyone wanted to hear, but he was refreshingly honest and made all of us aware that it is not just the responsibility of the office holders, but of the citizens as well for government to function well. Another thing I learned was that he is a Christian and governs himself on Christian principles. He doesn't wear his Christianity on his sleeve, but in his heart. He left that meeting with the majority supporting him and he went on to garner the majority support at the state Republican Assembly.

Now comes the last few weeks. Suddenly a bunch of negative things about him have surfaced thanks primarily to the "Denver Post" and Mr. Tom Tancredo. I have learned that there is always another side to any story. Such is the case here. I attended another town hall type meeting last week in which Mr. Maes took each of the negative stories that have surfaced and told us the other side. I will not try to explain as he did about each of these so called negative stories, but I can assure you that he is the same man I listened to and questioned in Feb. The only positions that he has changed his mind on are a couple where citizens more familiar with the subjects than he, asked if he would listen to their side of the story. He did and made some changes in his thinking. Otherwise, contrary to what the Denver Post and Mr. Tancredo are saying, he is the same man with the same ideals and positions he had in Feb. To be real honest, truth by the Denver Post and Mr. Tanacredo appears to be something they are unfamiliar with. They have their own agenda and seem to be willing to go to any lengths, whether honestly or not, to advance that agenda. Unfortunately the power brokers within the Colorado Republican Party have fallen in line with them. This is a sad day for honest government in Colorado, regardless of which party we support.

I would like to encourage you, if you are oriented toward government by the people at all, to make an effort to attend one of Mr. Maes' campaign stops, or better yet call him and express any concerns you might have to him. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Since the Republican Party apparently doesn't see fit to support this man who played by the party rules and legitimately earned the gubernatorial nomination, I would urge you to support him financially if you can at all. If you need addresses or phone numbers, let me know. Thank you for your time in reading this.

James R. Lambert"