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“The GOP Made Me Do It”

by | 2:38 pm, August 17, 2010 | 9 Comments

Let’s get this straight… Tom Tancredo, longtime Republican, having spent months exhorting various and sundry newly formed conservative grass roots activists not to go third party, to embrace the process, to engage in the Republican Party and change it from within, has gone third party.

I first met Tom at just such a grass roots meeting last January. His speech was moving. He can be an impassioned and motivational speaker. His message clearly resonated with us – he understood us… our dismay in the direction that the party had taken, the impression that there were forces at work within the GOP that either ignored or disdained the rank and file’s point of view. He articulated the divergence we saw and felt from what the party was supposed to be… a champion of fiscal responsibility, self-reliance and limited government… to a party that had become all about hanging on to their remnants of power.

His message fit with what many of us had already determined to do – engage & involve ourselves in the party, restore the party to the conservative values it was supposed to promote. And, I daresay, his speech motivated some of those that were sitting on the “third party” fence to choose a side – the GOP side.

This speech in January was not an isolated, solitary incident. He went many places and preached the same sermon to many folks.

But along the way, something else began to emerge. If you observe his interactions with many of our grass roots groups and campaigns, a strange dynamic started to surface that became troubling.

He came to R Block Party to pitch Initiative 42, his gun resolution. His speech instead became a tirade against Jane Norton, her ties to the Washington elite power brokers and the baggage that carries.

He made headlines.

He was to accompany Rep. Steve King during King’s trip to Colorado to support Cory Gardner running in CD 4. When Rep. King made controversial remarks prior to his trip that would have overshadowed the focus on Gardner, Gardner cancelled the joint appearance. A subsequent Tea Party Rally, “Remember in November”, whose focus was to support conservative candidates, likewise cancelled King’s appearance. What did Tancredo do? He went on a local talk radio program and stood by while the host engaged in name calling, trashing Cory Gardner and Tea Party leadership. Did Tancredo acknowledge that King’s appearance would detract from the purpose of those two events? No.

He made headlines.

He was one of the speakers at a rally when Sen. Jim DeMint came to endorse Ken Buck. Tancredo got the mic and announced that President Barack Obama is our country’s greatest threat.  Whether you agree with that sentiment or not, the end result was that the rally became all about Tom Tancredo.

He made headlines.

See a pattern here?

Tom Tancredo has consistently been showing up at other people’s events, making bombastic remarks, and the story becomes all about Tom. No consideration for the groups hosting these events, and what their theme or goals were.

So when he threw down the gauntlet and demanded that the two Republican gubernatorial candidates withdraw from the primary or he would get into the race as a third party candidate…two weeks before the primary… it was not a big surprise.

Let’s see, two candidates that had been campaigning well over a year should now withdraw two weeks before primary day, because Tom Tancredo has decided that they aren’t good enough. Of course, they didn’t withdraw.

The result? Tancredo claims “…I have no choice but to get in”. How convenient.

Here is another possibility. Tancredo has exhausted all of his potential headline making outlets. What group will hand him a microphone at their event? Who wants to have their event hijacked?

The well has run dry. Time to drill for new opportunities.

How about the American Constitution Party?

And how about all of us grass roots activists who followed his advice…got elected as delegates, precinct committeemen, executive committee members, attended assemblies, wrote resolutions, and showed up en masse and voted for our candidates?

Sorry. Tom Tancredo has surveyed the game board, not found it to his liking, and changed the rules.

In my world, we call that a hypocrite.

What do you call it?

Nikki Mata
R Block Party

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Category: 2010, Colorado Politics, Featured, Grassroots, Politics, republicans, tea party
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Comments

  1.   Zundfolge
      August 17th, 2010 @ 3:29 pm

    Tancredo lost 1.1 Million Dollars to Bernie Madoff.

    Colorado was turned from red to blue by a consortium of rich Democrats.

    I would LOVE to see an audit of Mr Tancredo’s finances now.

  2.   Katie
      August 17th, 2010 @ 3:49 pm

    Well, a more cynical person would wonder if there’s a financial reward for Tancredo if he helps Hickenlooper get elected.

    He’s certainly not helping the conservatives with this shameful, selfish stunt.

  3.   Brian Wilson
      August 17th, 2010 @ 4:20 pm

    What I wonder is who are the 18% that are supporting Tancredo? And what do they have to say about this? The guy is a charlatan.

  4.   Elliot
      August 17th, 2010 @ 7:07 pm

    Ouch!

  5.   robert southwell
      August 17th, 2010 @ 8:49 pm

    I’ve been entertaining the notion that this is the Tom Tancredo Congressional Pension Enhancement Plan.

    First, serve enough to earn that pension, then run for President on a donor-attractive platform that garners pretty significant campaign contributions. Drop out of the race, keep the funds. Keep the donor list. Later, you can repeat the tactic on a state level.

    It’s nice because it’s legal and keeps his name in the marquee for future use. And then there’s the leftover campaign funds, the lifeblood of a pol’s influence. A few million ain’t spit on a national scale, but Tom can strategically donate to select state candidates and potentially enjoy a few years of statewide kingmaker status with it.

  6.   Whitney
      August 17th, 2010 @ 9:34 pm

    Very insightful! Thank You for tracking TT for the last few months. At the Elbert County Tea Party a few weeks ago Freda Poundstone told me that Tom was her governor. Now I realize she really meant it.

  7.   Brently Keen
      August 18th, 2010 @ 1:58 pm

    Colorado-based leadership guru Mark Sanborn, author of the “Fred Factor” and another great little book called “You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader” in the introduction he writes:

    “HOW DOES A LEADER ACT?

    What are the key characteristics of titled and un-titled leaders?
    They:

    - Believe they can positively shape their lives and careers.
    - Lead through their relationships with people, as opposed to their control over people.
    - Collaborate rather than control.
    - Persuade others to contribute rather than order them to.
    - Get others to follow them out of respect and commitment rather than fear and compliance.

    Now, ask yourself, if Tom Tancredo’s actions of outlined in the article above match up with any of those five points other than the first one?

  8.   Brently Keen
      August 18th, 2010 @ 2:08 pm

    Please vote in the poll here, can we get 500+ for Dan Maes?

    http://www.teapartybrewing.com/governor-polls

  9.   Brently Keen
      August 18th, 2010 @ 3:31 pm

    Another Colorado based leadership guru, Dr Hanz Finzel, President and CEO of WorldVenture wrote a great book called “The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make” The first chapter is titled “The Top-Down Attitude – The Number One Leadership Hang-up” Dr, Finzel opens the first chapter with the following statement:

    “I intended to save the best for last, like a top-ten countdown. But on second thought, I realize that this top-down attitude problem is like the mother of all leadership hang-ups. If you have it you will spread it to everything your leadership hands touch. So it must come first as foundational to everything else I will observe about how not to lead.”

    He goes on to say that top-down approach to leadership shows up in a variety of ways including:

    * Abusive authority
    * Deplorable delegation
    * Lack of listening
    * Dictatorship in decision-making
    * Lack of letting go
    * Ego-centric manner

    Then he contrasts the top-down attitude with a more servant-leadership model where the leader sees himself as operating within a flat organizational scheme alongside others, or at the bottom of an inverted triangle, holding up and supporting others in the organization.

    Again, looking at Tancredo’s record and the whole way he’s gone about this crazy last minute 3rd party run for governor, how he’s said one thing done another, how he’s thrying to threaten and manipulate everyone to get his way, and compare them with the points listed above?

    Google Level 5 Leadership and read up on it a bit then ask yourself if that is the kind of leader TT looks like? Or just take your favorite book on leadership, and ask yourself how he measures up with the characteristics of the best leaders.

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