[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 136 (Wednesday, November 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2142-E2143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO RICK RIDDER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 24, 2004

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I have used this forum from time 
to time to acknowledge the bipartisan public service of many 
distinguished Coloradans. Today I rise in what I hope will be a moment 
my Republican friends and colleagues will not begrudge--to honor a 
distinguished Coloradan who is anything but bipartisan. I rise to 
acknowledge Rick Ridder.
  Rick has been a trusted advisor and friend throughout my career in 
politics. Although Rick is respected and widely sought after in 
Colorado politics, he has never lost his down-to-earth nature. This is 
because he is the rarest of political partisans--a determined 
strategist who keeps his humanity intact. He understands the game of 
politics well and he most certainly plays to win. At the same time he 
is unwavering in his integrity and his sincere desire to work for the 
betterment of people.
  Rick has never been particularly impressed with the ``glitter'' of 
politics that attracts so many to our profession. Rather, he believes 
at his core in the importance of our democracy and his duty to fight 
for its vitality. This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar 
with his upbringing. By way of example, his mother took him to an Adlai 
Stevenson rally at the age of three. To occupy her little boy, she 
suggested that he pass out flyers promoting the Illinois Governor's bid 
for the presidency in 1956. In addition, having grown up in and around 
Washington, DC his playmates included the children of Robert Kennedy 
and Eugene McCarthy. Whereas many of our generation looked at those men 
as heroes and even icons of a generation, Rick saw them simply as his 
friends' dads.
  Had he a different character this upbringing might have led Rick to a 
sense of entitlement, but instead, it gave him a razor sharp sense of 
purpose. He uses his unique experience in politics to serve a goal 
greater than his own self-interest. He has worked tirelessly to that 
effect for decades.
  In 1982, he helped Colorado Governor Richard Lamm with his third 
gubernatorial campaign. He went on to become the National Field 
Director for Gary Hart's 1984 presidential campaign. In 1985 with his 
wife Joan, he formed Ridder-Braden Inc., a political consulting and 
polling firm that has been instrumental in crafting campaigns in 
Colorado and across the country. His clients have included Colorado 
Governor Roy Romer, Congressman David Skaggs, Senator Ben Nighthorse 
Campbell and various Members of Congress. In 2004 he helped launch the 
meteoric rise of Governor Howard Dean, and a provocative ballot 
initiative on reform of the Electoral College that made a significant 
contribution to the public debate on a largely over-looked, but 
critical, component of our democratic process.
  While many political consultants are rightly maligned as ``hired 
guns'' who corrode public confidence in the political process, 
professionals like Rick Ridder and Joanie Braden are rare examples of 
people who work to elevate public discourse and improve our democracy.
  For the information of my colleagues I'm attaching the original 
article.

             [From the Rocky Mountain News, Oct. 29, 2004]

       Consultant Ridder Says Measure Is About Stronger Democracy

                          (By James B. Meadow)

       Joanie Braden was deep into labor, nearing the delivery of 
     her child, when she noticed something that years later would 
     strike her as both odd and normal.
       Right next to her bed, there was her husband, the father of 
     the child, diligently checking his wristwatch so he could 
     time the intervals between contractions. And, simultaneously, 
     right next to her bed, the same man was diligently talking 
     long-distance on the phone, processing voter pattern 
     information from key precincts in the 1984 Oregon 
     presidential primary.
       ``As Rick was doing that,'' says Braden, laughing, ``I 
     remember him acting as if it was the most natural thing in 
     the world. He was there for me; he was there for the 
     campaign.''
       Happily, both labors--natal and political--paid off for 
     Rick Ridder. Nathaniel Ridder arrived pink and healthy; Gary 
     Hart took Oregon.
       Given this, it's no surprise to learn that ``Rick 
     absolutely loves politics . . . he lives and breathes 
     politics.'' At least that's the opinion of Tom Strickland, 
     who hired Ridder for his two cracks at one of Colorado's U.S. 
     Senate seats.
       Although Strickland came away 0-for-2, his respect for 
     Ridder remains resolute.
       ``Rick has a gifted political mind,'' says Strickland. ``He 
     may be very understated and unassuming--he's like a political 
     version of Columbo, lulling you into thinking he's not 
     following you--but he's really a couple of steps ahead all 
     the time.''
       He better be.
       As Election Day draws closer, Ridder's campaign for 
     Amendment 36 is taking on water. The controversial measure, 
     which would revamp Colorado's electoral votes system, 
     replacing the current winner-take-all setup with one that 
     awards the electoral votes proportionally, based on popular 
     vote, has drawn national attention.
       Republicans have decried it as a not-so-sneaky way to 
     siphon votes from George W. Bush. Not all Democrats are for 
     it, either.
       And 36's proponents?
       Well, one of them claims it's more representative, makes 
     everybody's vote count equally. Furthermore, ``It's the right 
     thing to do in order to create a stronger democracy. The 
     system we installed for democratic rule in Afghanistan did 
     not include an Electoral College, did it?''
       Those words come courtesy of Ridder, who's heading up the 
     pro-36 fight. But words--to say nothing of a reported 
     $700,000--might not be enough to win. Although Ridder's side 
     was ahead early on, a Rocky Mountain News/News 4 poll 
     released today shows the measure sinking 60-32.
       Those numbers prompted one political observer to refer to 
     Amendment 36 as ``toast.''
       Ridder's reaction to the new poll numbers was cautious. ``I 
     think that one of the real issues that we're bringing forth 
     in this campaign is the importance of making votes count--one 
     person, one vote. And it is clear that we have started a 
     debate on the issue, particularly on the Electoral College.''
       Earlier, in a previous interview, he acknowledged his base 
     optimism. ``You have to believe that change is possible and 
     that what you fight for can come about.''
       Although there is passion in his voice, it is tamed by a 
     reflexive calm and control.
       He is 51, has thinning hair, and his 6-foot-1, 150-pound 
     frame gives him a slightly Ichabod Crane air.
       A scion of the Knight-Ridder newspaper family, Victor Frank 
     Ridder II was immersed in politics before, well, almost 
     before he was tall enough to be immersed in anything. When he 
     was 3, his mother was attending a rally for Adlai Stevenson. 
     To occupy her son, she had him handing out leaflets for the 
     Illinois governor who was bidding for the presidency in 1956.
       The political theme stayed strong in his life, perhaps in 
     part because growing up in and around Washington, D.C., 
     brought him into contact with playmates who were the children 
     of Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy.
       After taking a year off between high school and college to 
     toil on behalf of George McGovern's 1972 stab at the 
     presidency, he returned to academe and graduated from 
     Middlebury College in Vermont and earned a masters in 
     broadcasting from Boston University.
       As he was getting ready to start his Ph.D. in 
     communications, he decided instead to defer his studies and 
     work on Hart's 1980 re-election as U.S. senator in Colorado.
       In 1982, he returned to Colorado to help with Richard 
     Lamm's third gubernatorial campaign. He then became national 
     field director for Hart's 1984 presidential campaign.
       By then, Braden and Ridder, married in 1981, had decided 
     Colorado was the place to raise a family and were ensconced 
     in Denver. In 1985, Ridder-Braden Inc., a political 
     consulting and polling firm, was born.
       Over the years, Ridder compiled an impressive--and wholly 
     Democratic--political resume. He worked on all three of Roy 
     Romer's gubernatorial campaigns, as well as for numerous 
     congressional candidates.
       Many campaigns later, in November 2002, Ridder surprised 
     the political world when he took on the job of campaign 
     manager for Howard Dean's fledgling presidential run. By 
     April 2003, however, Ridder was gone from the campaign, a 
     victim of infighting and his disinclination to work for a 
     ``movement'' rather than a candidate.
       Although Ridder points to his leap of faith with the Dean 
     campaign as proof that he takes chances, others aren't so 
     sure. One competitor says that Ridder's strength has to do 
     more with ``analysis behind the scenes'' than being a ``big 
     picture guy or a risk taker.''

[[Page E2143]]

       Ridder, unflappable as usual, takes the comments and 
     criticisms in stride. He's not only heard the personal 
     remarks before, he's aware of the digs against his 
     profession. ``There is a wariness of the political consultant 
     industry,'' he says. ``People don't like the perception that 
     they're being manipulated.''
       Ridder insists this isn't the case. As he once said, ``The 
     best we can do is take the positive aspects of our candidate 
     or cause and emphasize them. We can't take Adolf Hitler and 
     make him Mahatma Gandhi.''

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