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Harold Wilford Bidlack | |
|---|---|
 Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack | |
| Nickname(s) | "Hal" |
| Born | 1958 (age 66–67) Michigan, US |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1980-2006 |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Awards | Meritorious Service Medal (3) |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Other work | Alexander Hamilton reenactor |
Harold Wilford Bidlack (born 1958) is a retiredUnited States Air Force officer andnational security aide. He ran unsuccessfully for theUnited States House of Representatives inColorado's 5th congressional district as theDemocratic nominee in the2008 election. From 2010 to 2014, Bidlack served as a staffer for US SenatorMichael Bennet, focusing primarily on veteran and military issues and casework, and oversaw Bennet's military academy nominations.
Bidlack served over 25 years in the Air Force, including 15 years at theUnited States Air Force Academy. He retired in 2006 with therank oflieutenant colonel. During his service in the military Bidlack served in theClinton administration as Director of Global Environmental Affairs for theNational Security Council. He is also noted for his educational presentationsin-character asAlexander Hamilton and advocacy ofrational skepticism.
Bidlack was born inMichigan in 1958. He attended theUniversity of Michigan, where he was a member of theAir Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC). He received hisBachelor of Arts inpolitical science (with aminor ineconomics) in 1980, hisMaster of Arts in economics in 1987, and hisPh.D. in political science, with a focus on American national government and environmental security issues in 1996.
Bidlack graduated in 1980 and was commissioned as asecond lieutenant.
Bidlack was posted with theLGM-30 Minuteman program atF.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming, serving first in operations and then as a nuclear-missile and weapons-systems commander and instructor. In 1988, he was assigned to theUnited States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Bidlack taught at the Academy for 15 years in thePolitical Science Department, with posts of Instructor, Associate Professor, Course Director, and Division Chief. His subject areas included theU.S. government andnational security;international relations; national security policy; theU.S. judicial system; theSupreme Court; the presidency; theU.S. Congress;environmental politics; andenvironmental security. Bidlack has particular expertise inpublic policy, the presidency, theConstitution, and theFounding Fathers. From 2001-2003 Bidlack served as Deputy Director of the Air Force Institute for National Security Studies.
Bidlack also served as an augmentee to theAir Force Security Forcesmilitary police officer at the Academy, volunteering on a temporary basis when the Security Forces needed additional personnel to guard the gates. After extensive training, Bidlack was awarded the Security Forces badge, and certified for solo patrol. He ultimately patrolled for over 2000 hours during his final two years of active duty, and was awarded anAir Force Achievement Medal for his SF duty, and was commended in particular for his work as a first responder to major traffic accidents on I-25. Bidlack was also certified by the Colorado State Patrol for DUI detection techniques. He retired in September 2006 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Following his retirement from the Air Force, the Academy asked Bidlack to return as a civilian professor for the 2007-08 academic year and then again for the 2009-2010 academic year.
In 1997 and 1999, Bidlack served rotations in theClinton administration. As Director of Global Environmental Policy on the staff of theNational Security Council, Bidlack's primary duties were to assist the senior Director in drafting speeches and writing background papers forPresidentBill Clinton andVice PresidentAl Gore. He also conducted research for theNational Security Advisor. In 2001, Bidlack served in theBush administration in theDepartment of State as Deputy Director of Security Programs and Military Advisor. His service there included work with classifiednuclear weapons security in thepost-Soviet states.
Bidlack was inthe Pentagon on the morning of theSeptember 11 attacks and participated in rescue and recovery efforts. He heldTop Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI)security clearance during his posts in the Clinton and Bush administrations.
Bidlack ran for the United States House of Representatives in Colorado's 5th congressional district as a Democrat in the 2008 elections. He was the second Bidlack to run for Congress; his ancestorBenjamin Alden Bidlack, served in the27th and28th Congresses in the 1840s.
Bidlack described himself as a veryconservativeBlue Dog Democrat who toldRocky Mountain News that he had voted for a number ofRepublicans, although never a presidential candidate.[1]
The 5th district is largely considered a very "red" (Republican-leaning)district, with a large population ofEvangelical Christians centered around Colorado Springs and aCook Partisan Voting Index of R+16. Despite the tough Republicanprimary faced by Bidlack's Republican opponentDoug Lamborn, Bidlack was defeated by Lamborn 60.1 percent to 36.9 percent.[2]
Results (459precincts)
In 2009, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter named Bidlack as a commissioner to the 4th Judicial District Judicial Performance Commission. In 2010, Bidlack acted as Chair for the Colorado Democratic Party's State Platform Committee. In March 2010, Bidlack was elected Chair of the El Paso County Democratic Party.
Since 1996, Bidlack has appeared beforeradio and live audiences portrayingAlexander Hamilton. He has made presentations throughout the country as Hamilton and has been referred to as "the nation's leading Hamilton theatrical performer,"[3][4] making various performances at schools, universities,museums, andprofessional associations. He has performed at, among others, theState Library of Ohio,Smithsonian Institution, and theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Imagination Celebration. As Hamilton, Bidlack gives spontaneous, unscripted presentations followed by audience questions.
As Hamilton, Bidlack has been covered byC-SPAN and has appeared onThe Thomas Jefferson Hour, engaging in a debate withClay S. Jenkinson portrayingThomas Jefferson. He also appeared as Hamilton in two episodes of theInventing America series.[5]
Bidlack lives inColorado Springs, where he and his late wife, Martha, raised their three children. Martha Bidlack died ofcancer in 2003.
From 2001 until his resignation in 2004, Bidlack was an Administrator for the Forum Board at theJames Randi Educational Foundation website, thenon-profitskeptics organization. In addition, he was on the JREF Board of Trustees. Bidlack also served on the Board of Directors for the Windstar Foundation in the 1990s. In 2007, he wrote an open letter to talk show hostMontel Williams (a fellow retired military officer), criticizing him for featuringSylvia Browne onThe Montel Williams Show.[6][7]
In March 2010, Bidlack remarried. His wife, Dana Cole, served as his finance director during his congressional campaign, and after the election, they began dating.
Bidlack's hobbies are fitness and road cycling.
In a July 11, 2010JREF Million Dollar Demonstration, TAM8 "claimant" Anita Ikonen was asked to view 5 persons to determine which is missing akidney. Hal Bidlack #2 was the target, but Ikonen failed the demonstration by picking #3Derek Colanduno.
