Newspapers and other media traditionally help voters with a guide to the candidates, including profiles and short takes on some issues. In a nod to the past, some still offer endorsements for voters who want the "experts" to tell them who to put in office. For those who like to make their own decisions, The Gazette is providing an endorsement-free guide to what's online to help you make your decisions in the Aug. 12 Republican primaries for Congress and Colorado House District 15.

5th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Doug Lamborn

You won't find much on Lamborn's official government site aside from pictures of Lamborn posing with schoolchildren and giving speeches. There's a nice audio clip welcoming you to the site, and a link under the multimedia tab where you can watch video of Lamborn addressing Congress on such topics as the arts and the war in Iraq. There's a helpful summary of Lamborn's action while in office, but much of it is vague about what his accomplishments entail.

On his campaign site you'll find more of the nitty-gritty basics. Lamborn emphasizes his family man likability: He's lived in Colorado for 21 years with Jeanie, his wife of 32 years, with whom he has five children "including a married daughter and four sons." It seems slightly old-fashioned to emphasize his daughter's marriage, but you've gotta give the guy credit for 32 years of holy matrimony.

An "on the issues" bar on the left side provides a summary of Lamborn's policies. Like his two opponents, he favors gun rights, free markets and is a supporter of a strong military.

The site does have some nice functions for voters: instructions on how to vote and a map of the 5th District. Additionally, Lamborn makes his campaign contact easily available for would-be volunteers. If you want to enlist in the Lamborn campaign, contact him at rcoran@msn.com or 719-238-9077.

The Washington Post has Lamborn's complete voting record, if you want to do the legwork to see where he stands.

Blog roll

PolitickerCO.com has fairly extensive coverage of Lamborn's actions in Congress, including an interview with him last month.

Lamborn's been lambasted in the local conservative blogs. Rocky Mountain Right endorses challenger Jeff Crank, citing what it says is Lamborn's ineffectiveness in office, and Rocky Mountain Politics has repeatedly criticized Lamborn for his refusal to debate opponents.

Multimedia

You can access all of Lamborn's campaign ads on YouTube (there are links on his Web site). His weaker moments are on display, too. Lamborn took criticism for "threatening" phone calls he made to a Colorado Springs couple who had accused Lamborn of accepting campaign donations from a gambling group. This video's extreme - Osama bin Laden makes a cameo for no apparent reason - but you can hear Lamborn's sound bites for yourself.

Another Lamborn misstep: He was caught on film at a 2006 public debate, telling an audience member to "shut-up." Was he really out of line? Figure it out here.

Lamborn also gets evasive when a blogger questions his military qualifications.

Ads

Lamborn's ads tell a decidedly more polished story. In his radio advertisements, Lamborn promotes himself as a "law and order legislator" and boasts that "in 18 years of public service [he] has never voted for a tax increase." Jeff Crank is condemned as a "paid federal lobbyist."

His two television ads weave a similar narrative. In the self-explanatory "True to His Word," Lamborn describes himself as an honest politician who stands up to liberals, all while surrounded by rolling mountains as he walks with his wife. In "Accomplished," Lamborn tries to dispel notions of ineffectiveness with a similar rhetoric: he is "fighting the liberals in Washington to change Congress," fighting amnesty, and bringing more immigrant enforcement officers to Colorado.

Endorsements

Lamborn's endorsements are displayed proudly with a ribbon icon at the bottom of his home page. They notably include the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Family Research Council Action, a branch of Focus on the Family - a helpful name since Lamborn's attempts to portray himself as the most anti-abortion candidate.


Jeff Crank

"Why vote for Jeff Crank," Crank's site asks.

The answer: Because he's not Doug Lamborn.

In a section titled "principles vs.politics," Crank comes down hard on the incumbent, with a handy table that links to their negligible differences in policy. Lamborn refuses to debate, while Crank supports and has participated in several debates for this election. Other claims: Crank calls Lamborn's claims that he's never supported a tax increase "lies" - the congressman supported several tax increases while running for office in Kansas, Crank offers as evidence.

Crank illustrates his 17-year marriage with some pretty cute pictures of his family and young children.

And Crank does make it pretty easy to contact him via e-mail at jeffcrank08@gmail.com, or to get involved. You can volunteer at the site - positions are helpfully sorted by interest - and it's easy to donate, too.

Blog roll

Jeff Crank is the darling of Colorado bloggers, many of whom see him as a chance for effective leadership - for the most part, at least.

The Colorado Pols are huge fans of Crank, citing his ability to draw bipartisan support.

But the Colorado Conservative Project is less glowing: It calls Crank "a liberal, establishment hack and not a true conservative." And then there's the earmark controversy: Lamborn claims that Crank had no problem with earmarks when he was a lobbyist; Crank claims the term earmark is misunderstood.

You can follow his media coverage pretty thoroughly at PolitckerCO.com.

Ads and multimedia

Crank's really working the multimedia angle. In addition to his television ad, Crank has a weekly message that he broadcasts onto YouTube. From what you can tell via computer monitor, Crank seems like a fairly personable guy.

His television ad tells a similar story to Lamborn's. "A family man, a business man," Crank's ad states, he is also a "committed conservative." His YouTube-based ads take on Lamborn more directly: "We can change Washington by electing Republicans who will make a difference," says Crank, indicting Lamborn in everything but name.

Endorsements

Crank's taken endorsements to a new level of Web interactivity. Fill out the online form and you, too, can become one of Jeff Crank's official endorsers.


Bentley Rayburn

Though Bentley Rayburn's behind in the polls, he's been making the most of his distinguished Air Force career on his site. He shows his patriotism with American and Colorado flags flying next to a mountain landscape. He's also hosting an "elect a veteran" campaign - he's the only veteran running.

Click on "10 reasons Rayburn is going to win," to find out just how confident Rayburn is in himself. He cites military experience, his "strong appeal" (no examples provided) and lack of negative baggage as his ticket into office.

His supposed likability doesn't seem to extend into interactive features with his constituents: "Ask Bentley a question" leads to a dead link. But if you prefer to judge your candidates in person, his newsletter contains a full schedule of Rayburn's meet and greets.

He also gives you the option of volunteering at a "honk and wave" by calling 719-884-7457.

Blog roll

Possibly because Rayburn's been largely ignored by the blogs, he's the only candidate to start his own blog. It's updated infrequently, mostly with campaign news, but it's worth a look.

There's a significant interview with Rayburn at the Denver Post site, and the usual coverage from PolitickerCO.com.

Most of the Internet seems resigned to see the election as a two-man race.

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In Rayburn's TV ads, he predictably notes his military experience and reminds voters of the dangers exemplified by the war on terror. "We live in a dangerous and threatening world," the ad states amid a panorama of explosions and civil unrest. Rayburn's military experience is sorely needed in Washington, the ad implies.

Another ad focuses more on Rayburn's family-man likability. After 31 years on active duty, Rayburn understands the needs of the military, the ad states. "Only Republican candidate who is not a lawyer, lobbyist, or professional politician," it continues.

Multimedia

You can get several cute videos of his family off of his daughter's YouTube account, but there's another video that's garnered more media attention. In a much-discussed recorded conversation Rayburn promises to drop out of the race if his poll numbers are lower than Crank's so that a challenger would have a better chance of defeating Lamborn.

"I am not gonna be the guy responsible for getting Doug Lamborn re-elected," he says. The polls are in and Rayburn's on the bottom, and still in the race. He wasn't bound by the agreement, he's said, because the poll was flawed.

Endorsements

Rayburn was hoping to have a series of online YouTube endorsements, but resources must have run dry, since he only has five videos - if you include an endorsement by his daughters. (It's adorable, but unprofessional, probably shot by Rayburn himself.)

He has a long list of relatively meaningless individual endorsements, including a family physician, and one impressive character assessment from Mayor Lionel Rivera, who nonetheless, declined to sit for a YouTube piece.


STATE LEGISLATURE

Douglas Bruce

As the incumbent, Bruce has two sites: an official government site with practically nothing on it and a wonderfully snarky personal site.

Calling himself a "Ronald Reagan republican," Bruce's campaign has seen some tough days. There was a much-publicized incident where he kicked a photographer from the Rocky Mountain News - on his first day in office, no less - for photographing him during prayer. He was also recently cleared of an accusation that he sexually harassed a female legislative staffer.

His site makes light of his indiscretions - in an oddly endearing way. Bruce even has a special tab for hate mail, which is showcased in all its off-putting glory:

"Only the most vile piece of human garbage would try to take away benefits from working people. We believe you are such an unethical sociopath you would allow widows and orphans to starve," reads a letter.

There's also a multiple-choice quiz on current events.

Under accomplishments, Bruce emphasizes his support of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) Amendment, which regulated taxes in Colorado. He also disputes notions that his political career has any self-interested motives, stating that "All of us have a moral duty to leave the world a better place than we found it."

Blog roll

Bruce's indiscretions have largely overshadowed any political actions he's taken while in office. After he referred to migrant workers as "illiterate peasants" on the floor of the House earlier this year, the national blogosphere took up arms (examples: Think Progress; The Huffington Post).

House leadership also took up arms - banning Bruce from the floor that day.

Colorado Confidential has covered Bruce, from the photographer bashing to Dan Lanotte's shocking statement: "we were wrong."

Ads and multimedia

Bruce isn't big on the multimedia front, but you can watch him give a 50-minute speech on taxpayers rights and Guatemalan history.

More interesting is the footage of Bruce's peasant comment. Judge if he was really out of line.

Endorsements

There aren't many recognizable names on Bruce's endorsement list, but that's probably a good thing. Earlier this month, the Rocky Mountain News reported that Bruce was placing false endorsements on his site, listing names of people who'd supported him in '04, not the current election. He's since removed the offending names from his Web site.

Mark Waller

Waller's site wants you to like him. "Dear Friends and Neighbors," reads the opening letter of the candidate who is largely running based on his military experience (he was an Air Force officer and serves in the Reserves). Waller wants politicians to "put petty bickering and egos aside." Basically he wants you to know that he's not Bruce.

A "devoted father," Waller also has plenty of pictures of his two young children, and wife of 14 years Jennifer. He's a family man, who wants to "listen to your ideas," reads the site.

Blog roll

The blogs love Waller, if only for the fact that he's not Bruce.

On PolitickerCO.com Waller's likability contrasts greatly with Bruce's antic of the week. The Rocky Mountain Right has even come out in support of him.

Ads

No advertisements, but Waller does have a mission statement. Waller emphasizes his focus on, not politics but "conservative values, claiming he is the "accessible and approachable" candidate who just wants to "do the right thing." He doesn't have many specifics to back up these general claims, but he also doesn't have any kicking incidents in his past that anyone's mentioned, so that's at least a start.

Multimedia and endorsements

Waller also doesn't have much in the way of multimedia, but there are some great photos of his kids on his campaign site. And he has a huge list of endorsements.