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Bob Beauprez Backs Lang Sias, Raises Questions about Relevance, Judgment

by | 10:06 pm, May 11, 2010 | 4 Comments

In one of Colorado’s most head-scratching political moves of the year, former GOP Congressman and wildly unsuccessful 2006 gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez announced his endorsement of 7th Congressional candidate and Republican newcomer Lang Sias. The first reaction I and many of my politically aware friends had pretty much boiled down to: Huh???

When Tom Tancredo and Jimmy Lakey threw their support behind Sias, they carefully avoided trying to draw distinctions among the Republican field. Not so Beauprez:

When the primary race began, it was my intention to remain neutral. But after long and careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that the stakes are so high and the distinction among candidates so pronounced, that it is time for me to express my opinion….

Over the last several months, I have watched Lang gain momentum while running an efficient and frugal campaign. I have also learned a great deal about his character and integrity, his conservative values, his intelligence and his impressive background.

Congress is full of overly self-impressed, unprincipled people obsessed with the title and trappings of the office. Lang has already achieved more than enough titles, promotions, and awards. He’s a grown-up. He knows who he is and what he believes in. He actually wants to go to Congress to serve us — not himself. [emphases added]

The letter all but explicitly belittles established frontrunner Ryan Frazier for a lack of experience and maturity, but it comes across more as a leading figure of the Colorado GOP’s stodgy Old Guard missing the boat on the enthusiasm and energy behind the fiscally conservative, pro-liberty “New Way Forward” embodied in Frazier’s campaign. On the other hand, one might make a retort to Beauprez’s insinuation by stating that a grown-up exercises his right to vote in major elections.

But I digress. Beauprez wrote: “I have watched Lang gain momentum while running an efficient and frugal campaign.” Code for what? Maybe a candidate whose fundraising evidences almost no base of local support, a candidate who brings in more than twice the cash from D.C. than from the Denver area.

A far cry from Ryan Frazier — another conservative Republican candidate who not only has raised more than five times as much money from the Denver area as Sias has raised total but also has outraised the incumbent Democrat Ed Perlmutter. On all counts of grassroots support, Frazier has the competition licked. What about effectively using his candidacy to make strong and pointed policy distinctions with Perlmutter on the issues of the day? That’s Frazier again.

Given the challenging demographics of the 7th Congressional District and the clear evidence before us in the primary, one might ask if Beauprez really wants to beat Perlmutter. I have no particular reason to doubt his motives, but (like Tancredo’s) another explanation for a Sias endorsement in the face of overwhelming facts leaves plenty of questions unanswered. Maybe there are concerns that Frazier won’t re-enact the Big Spending days of the Bush-era Republican Congress? Your guess is as good as mine.

Frankly, I’m baffled. But in the greater scheme of far more key endorsements behind Ryan Frazier, I think the respective decisions of those jumping on the Sias bandwagon says less about the state of the primary campaign than it does about their own political relevance. In nine days Republican delegates and alternates — including myself — will gather for the 7th Congressional Assembly. Keep your eyes on that result.

I’ll leave the last word directly to the Frazier campaign, which today sent out a press release announcing current 6th District GOP Congressman Mike Coffman’s official endorsement:

Coffman joins a long list of Frazier endorsers who have never lost an election in this state, including State Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, and former Governor Bill Owens.

I still respect Congressman Beauprez, but less so for his judgment. I believe his latest decision is a continuation of the mistakes that so greatly harmed his chances of winning the governor’s chair four years ago. Ryan Frazier represents conservatives’ and Republicans’ best chance to unseat liberal Ed Perlmutter this year, and maybe for many election cycles to come.

Category: Colorado Politics, Liberty, PPC
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Comments

  1.   Kevin J Jones
      May 12th, 2010 @ 12:30 am

    I think you wrongly interpret the former Congressman’s praise for Sias as an attack on Frazier. It could more reasonably be read as an attack on Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter, the politician mentioned immediately before the remarks which you criticize.

    Beauprez was saying there aren’t grown-ups in Congress. It wasn’t a slam on Frazier. Your selection of bolded phrases can mislead readers.

    On the matter of Beauprez’s motivation, there is significant chatter among social conservatives about Frazier’s reliability, or lack thereof. Some potential donors have even shied away from the candidate.

    Beauprez is a former Catholic youth minister after all.

    Any candidate like Frazier who supports benefits for same-sex couples raises a lot of flags among Catholic Republicans. He hasn’t quieted their doubts about his pro-life stand, either.

    Because of problems like these, I don’t think enthusiasm can be sustained for Frazier. If he gets the nod in the primary, I hope that Sias can prove victorious.

  2.   Ben
      May 12th, 2010 @ 8:22 am

    I am open to admitting my interpretation may be wrong, but given the trends of subtlety in these Lang endorsements the red flags went up. If as I understand, though, that Beauprez was the leading figure who urged Sias to get in the race after Frazier was already building momentum, then on some level it is an attack on Frazier. And if it’s for the reason you pointed out, why not say so? At least then, his endorsement of Sias makes some rational sense.

    I live in the CD 7, and so am privy to much of the chatter among social conservatives (one of whom I happen to be) that you reference. Having talked to Frazier before on several occasions, I am confident he would be a reliable pro-life vote in Congress. Meanwhile, the only recorded political contributions on Sias’ record is to Mark Udall, who is anything but pro-life. Has he explained that to everyone’s satisfaction? I also don’t share Frazier’s position on the same-sex benefits issue, but it’s not a disqualifier for someone with whom I agree on 90+% of issues who is the only legitimate shot to beat Perlmutter — with whom I agree a lot, lot less.

    But for a variety of reasons we know, social conservative issues are not at the forefront of this election. I may have missed it, but have you heard the CD 7 candidates debate the issue of government same-sex benefits for example. If Sias could really benefit by painting the contrast, why hasn’t he? How do social conservatives know where he stands on issues important to them?

    Private assurances to a former Congressman that he will vote a certain way on social issues aren’t winning Sias any base of local support. Quite the contrary, they can only be used to imperil the chances of a pro-life fiscal conservative beating a truly liberal Ed Perlmutter in a truly swing district.

    If these issues can’t be debated in the open to decide who the GOP’s candidate should be, must destructive tactics be resorted to? If a handpicked candidate like Sias hasn’t made the sale with most of the grassroots base and risks being shut off the ballot at the Assembly, how does it help the cause to issue an endorsement at the 11th hour?

  3.   Kevin J Jones
      May 12th, 2010 @ 3:45 pm

    I do wish that SoCon issues had been hashed out in public earlier in the race.

    If Sias is indeed at risk of being shutout at the assembly, then Beauprez’s endorsement could conceivably buy him more time.

    The homosexual issues are increasingly a dealbreaker for me, though I supported the pro-civil union Ron Paul in the past. I’ve now seen Tim Gill in the flesh, and I’ve now realized that even small compromises like anti-discrimination laws end up banning morally conservative institutions.

  4.   Tom Kelly
      May 12th, 2010 @ 5:50 pm

    It’s worth noting that Sias has deliberately stayed away from the social issues. My guess is that he has been anything but socially conservative in the past. In fact, my understanding is that prior to moving to Colorado and seeing an opportunity to capture the CD7 seat, he supported liberal causes. He was afterall a registered Democrat until very recently when he saw an opportunity to use his military connections to climb aboard McCain’s coat tails. Sias is a politician at the core who has figured out how to get his toast buttered to serve his goals of getting into office. Do we really need more of that in Washington? Frazier seems quite a bit more authentic.

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