All that Remains from the 5th CD Web Graveyard

All that remains on the Jeff Crank for Congress website is a large photo, taken from behind, presumably of the former candidate and his young son Joel – named after Congressman Joel Hefley. With backs to the camera,  father and son are walking, toting rifles, into the bush.

The photo is accompanied with this simple message from Crank, who last week lost a bitter primary to replace his former boss to Doug Lamborn: “Thank you for your support.”

The other four candidates have dealt with their grief over losing the big GOP prize last week in varying ways – from moving on without comment, to quoting with great emotion the words of Teddy Roosevelt – to posting a promotional advertisement.

Bentley Rayburn, the retired Air Force general who pulled a surprisingly strong third-place finish, has not updated his website since Aug. 8, Election Day, when he posted his “eight reasons to vote for Bentley Rayburn, including this one:

Who is the best candidate to run against [Democrat] Jay Fawcett?

Do not forget that we Republicans face a tough, nation-wide battle this fall. Though the President is not running for re-election, it is clear that every politician will be running for or against his record of the past few years, especially his record with regard to the war in Iraq. I am convinced that even here in the 5th District, the Democrats will pour in a significant amount of money to make a statement, if nothing else. Against a weak Republican, they might even think they can pull off an upset. Who will be the strongest candidate to face Jay Fawcett in the Fall election, and who will be able to provide the national party a strong spokesman as the Democrats parade their own cabal of retired general officers?…

Lionel Rivera, the mayor of Colorado Springs who finished fourth, has not updated his website.

But John Anderson, the former El Paso County Sheriff who unsuccessfully appealed to the moderate and independent vote, posted an Aug. 9 letter extending his “deepest appreciation” to the 6,416 people who voted for him. In an emotional message, Anderson described what it felt like to “see this dream slowly evaporate into the night.”

“As difficult as it is for me to accept this loss, it would have been far more painful for me to have lived knowing that I had not summon [sic] the courage to have entered the arena,” Anderson wrote, recalling the following words, penned by Teddy Roosevelt nearly a century ago:

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

As for former county commissioner Duncan Bremer, who came in last, the only thing remaining at his campaign website is this advertisement for his law practice:

Duncan S. Bremer, P.C., Attorney at Law concentrates in real estate law, specifically in land development and usage.
Duncan has served the people of El Paso County as an attorney for twenty-five years, and as a County Commissioner for eight. He has two degrees from Yale University and an LLB from the University of Connecticut.
Duncan has unparalleled knowledge about important issues in real estate in this area, including water, transportation planning, air quality, and the Endangered Species Act.

 

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