PPC Homepage

How Colorado Republicans Can Save Themselves

by | 3:58 pm, July 14, 2010 | 6 Comments

News that Scott McInnis submitted partially plagiarized work to the Hasan Family Foundation for a $300,000 two-year paycheck threatens to severely undermine Republican aspirations in Colorado. McInnis was to lead the Republicans to victory this November as the candidate for governor.

I have collected many of the pertinent news links on my Twitter feed. For our purposes, a comment by Colorado Pols may be most relevant: "The Republican Governor's Association, which has been raising a ton of coin, will now likely take Colorado off of its target list, which means millions of dollars will not be spent turning out Republican voters in the general election," hurting all the down-ticket Republican candidates.

(July 15 Update: As Donald Johnson reports, the Association remains committed to "defeating John Hickenlooper." However, the broader point remains that a weakened candidate would attract less funds across the board, both from in the state and from national groups. Funding aside, a weak, embarrassing candidate for such a high-profile race may discourage GOP voter turnout, which would hurt other Republican candidates.)

McInnis is a goner. Even if he survives the primaries, I see no way for him to beat Democrat John Hickenlooper. (I am registered unaffiliated, and I was leaning toward voting for Hickenlooper over McInnis even before the news about plagiarism broke.)

So what can Colorado Republicans do about this party-wide problem? Party Chair Dick Wadham's response of shooting at one of the messengers (Terrance Carroll) will only further bury the party. Republicans need to get serious, for once.

What I think McInnis needs to do on a personal level is immediately promise to repay all the money to the Hasan Family Foundation. If he's serious about wanting to take responsibility, that action would prove it.

Then McInnis should drop out of the race, save his party continued embarrassment, and resolve his personal problems.

I still think Dan Maes, the other Republican candidate, has practically no chance of beating Hickenlooper. However, Maes had the guts and the vision to stay in the race, and he has performed better than practically anybody predicted at the outset. However, after the primaries, if Maes is not beating Hickenlooper in reliable polls, Maes should do himself and his party a favor and drop out. As Don Johnson points out, that would give a vacancy committee a chance to select a serious candidate.

I think this approach would be far, far preferable to McInnis trying to beat Maes in the primaries and then dropping out (which I don't think would work anyway).

No matter what Republicans do, they may not be able to win the governor's race. I think voters might be so irritated that they'll abandon even a strong replacement candidate. (Merely being the replacement would place a candidate at a disadvantage; this is an argument for Maes riding it through to the end.) But, if the Republicans cannot have a candidate for governor lifting up the ticket, perhaps they can at least find one who doesn't drag it down.
Category: Colorado Politics, PPC
Tags:

Comments

  1.   Alex
      July 14th, 2010 @ 5:41 pm

    Interesting post on the Rossputin Blog.

    Aparently the Denver Post didn’t doo all of it’s research either. The author of the Washington post article is a little upset about the plagerisim accusations.
    http://rossputin.com/blog/index.php

  2.   Ben
      July 14th, 2010 @ 9:13 pm

    Interesting idea, Ari. The only flaw I see — and it’s a big one — is no one will be able to convince Dan Maes to step down on his own. Then what?

  3.   Brian Wilson
      July 14th, 2010 @ 9:53 pm

    Well there is always the possibility that Dan Maes runs a good campaign and wins.

  4.   Teresa
      July 14th, 2010 @ 10:46 pm

    I can’t even begin to respond to all this carp! Maes running a good campaign & winning is a joke…enough said!!!

    And YES the post has hired some idiots that better be fired for the very crap they publish!!

    ONLY TIME WILL EXPOSE. I have a 24 year old–married two years w/ two degrees amazing hubby & 9 month old grandson. I have a 19 year old son who played baseball in California for a year but decided he wanted to server his county as a Marine. I still have to raise a 13, 12, & 7 year olds,.,,,,,,I need & trust McInnis to help me do that!!!

  5.   Lynn
      July 15th, 2010 @ 8:05 pm

    He’s a liar, obviously no integrity, and you think he’s the best we can do to provide a Colorado that is best for your family?

    No, your so-called “idiots” at the Post should be commended for doing some good investigation to get out the truth to the people.

    McInnis, just like Obama, isn’t going to “take care” of people. He’s not buying washing machines or paying people’s mortgages. Although, if you’re hungry, he may have some elk meat……….

  6.   T.L. Davis
      July 15th, 2010 @ 9:11 pm

    All the same brilliant SOB’s said Scott Brown couldn’t win Ted Kennedy’s seat in the Senate. Is Brown a brilliant politician? Or, did just about everyone get behind a guy they hardly knew, who was and is probably incompetent, to win an election he never should have won? It isn’t so much who Maes is, but whether or not someone will stand behind him, offer their excellent services and get his campaign in gear. None of this is impossible, only the naysayers believe that. So, maybe Maes turns out not to be such a good governor, he wouldn’t be Hickenscooper. Get brave and support the guy for once. If he implodes, then pick someone from the “pool”.

Praise for PPC From Our Lefty "Fan"

  • "Zany-ass bombast-entertainment...Hackneyed weirdo communist pseudo-nostalgia" --Alan Franklin, ProgressNow

Featured Posts




  • When a young girl gets close to the truth about a long-forgotten mystery, a harmless adventure becomes a threat to the future of the independent commercial settlements on Mars.

  • Advertise Here!

    info-at-peoplespresscollective-dot-org

  • Categories

  • Archives

  • Meta




  • Buy a Tea Party Poster!