Republicans will vote Tom Tancredo over John Hickenlooper

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 7:19 am, August 8, 2010

Tom Tancredo will get most GOP and independent votes if either McInnis or Maes stays in the contest. Neither one of them will be a real factor in the campaign. This means that it will be John Hickenlooper v. Tancredo in the Nov. 2 election.

Perot and Nader are not the role models here. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut and Meek in Florida are better models. In Connecticut, Lieberman and the Democrat fought it out while the GOP candidate was invisible and a non factor. In Florida, Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio are fighting it out while the Democrat, Kendrick Meek, is and will be a non factor.

Candidates who have shown themselves to be ethically challenged and incompetent as well as unpleasant get very few votes. That is how McInnis and Maes are seen in Colorado. In a race against two smart, personable and competent guys, Hickenlooper and Tancredo, McInnis/Maes will not be able to raise money, rally volunteers or win more than 5% to 10% of the votes. McInnis might make 10%. Maes would get less than 5%.

So in the 2010 gubernatorial contest, the Republican will be the third party candidate unless the Republicans score a 9th inning triple play and a walkoff grand slam homer and find a replacement candidate for McInnis/Maes who Tancredo will support.

It’s still unlikely McInnis/Maes will drop out after one of them wins the primary. It’s even more unlikely that the GOP can find a big name or wealthy Republican who Tancredo can support instead of running himself.
Who will be the third party candidate in Colorado’s gubernatorial election this fall?
Tom Tancredo will get most GOP and independent votes if either Scott McInnis or Dan Maes stays in the contest. Because both McInnis and Maes are unfit to be governor, neither of them will be a real factor in the general election campaign. This means that it will be John Hickenlooper v. Tancredo in the Nov. 2 election.
Former third-party presidential candidates, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, are not the role models here. Sen. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut and Kendrick Meek in Florida are better models. In Connecticut, Lieberman and the Democrat fought it out while the GOP candidate was invisible and a non factor. Lieberman, the independent and incumbent won running as an independent. He had been beaten in the Democrats primary. In Florida, Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio are fighting it out while the Democrat, Kendrick Meek, is and will be a non factor if he wins his primary.
Candidates who have shown themselves to be ethically challenged and incompetent as well as nasty get very few votes. That is how McInnis and Maes are seen in Colorado. In a race against two smart, personable and competent guys, Hickenlooper and Tancredo, McInnis/Maes will not be able to raise money, rally volunteers or win more than 5% to 10% of the votes. Both have self-destructed in the primary. McInnis might make 10% of the general election votes. Maes would get less than 5%.
So in the 2010 gubernatorial contest, the Republican candidate will be the third party candidate unless the Republicans score a 9th inning triple play and a walkoff grand slam homer and find a replacement candidate for McInnis/Maes who Tancredo will support.
It’s still unlikely McInnis/Maes will drop out after one of them wins the primary. It’s even more unlikely that the GOP can find a big name or wealthy Republican to replace Mcinnis or Maes who Tancredo can support instead of running himself.
Remember that the GOP isn’t as responsible for its predicament as McInnis and Maes are. McInnis and his sugar daddies forced a better candidate, Josh Penry, out of the race last winter. The unknown, unemployed Maes decided that he could con Colorado voters into believing that he was a successful business executive. Maes found that he could fool some of the people some of the time, as President Abe Lincoln famously put it, but he could not fool enough of us to get elected dog catcher. He still doesn’t get it.

Michael Bennet’s bad Denver schools deals made his Wall Street friends rich

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 10:39 am, August 6, 2010

The New York Times this morning reports that Michael Bennet let his rich Wall Street friends suck him and the Denver Public Schools into an awfully dumb and expensive refinancing deal before he went to Washington and let Obama Democrats suck him into increasing the fed’s budget deficit and taxes.
The appointed Obama Democrat senator (otherwise known as his home town Washington, DC’s first senator) has one saving grace. He’s still wealthy. And Bennet probably has a job waiting for him on Wall Street. But even Wall Street might not want him because his campaign for the Senate is showing that he not only is easily sucked in by fast talking bankers and Obama, he’s also a lousy salesman. He’s not closing the deal in the Aug. 10 primary election. Colorado doesn’t like Michael Bennet’s opportunistic deal making. But his Wall Street friends who’ve contributed millions to his campaign know a bought politician when they have one. LINKs: Exotic deals put Denver schools deeper in debt. By Gretchen Morgenson.

Outsiders promoting and attacking Ken Buck and Jane Norton

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 9:34 pm, August 3, 2010

Ken Buck’s Senate campaign has been depending on big ad spends by Americans for Job Security and the Senate Conservatives Fund for months, and now the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has begun advertising for Jane Norton. In addition, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will campaign with Norton, and Gary Bauer, a pro-life candidate for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2000, has endorsed her.
Buck leads Norton in the latest Denver Post/9News poll by 9 points, down from a 16-point lead only a few weeks ago.

Tom Tancredo looks like a casual governor

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 3:57 pm, July 29, 2010

Tom Tancredo’s debut as a formal candidate for governor went off without a hitch. He dressed retired casual.
He sounded like a traditional gubernatorial candidate—with a sense of humor.
Indeed, at his announcement press conference, he did a better job of explaining his platform and agenda than any of the Republicans or Obama Democrat John Hickenlooper ever have explained theirs.
Tancredo came across as authoritative, knowledgeable and a man who’s been in the public spotlight for a long time.
He’s finally capitalizing on his 10 years in the state legislature, his years in Congress and his unsuccessful 2008 campaign for president. Nothing fazes him, and he has fun.
As he has for years, Tancredo spoke about his continuing efforts to protect Colorado workers and taxpayers from illegal immigrants. He said that Colorado taxpayers pay some $250 million to pay for the infrastructure required to support illegal immigrants. And that, he pointed out, is more than the state’s budget deficit.
While promising to roll back taxes that Governor Bill Ritter and his fellow Democrats enacted as fees, Tancredo also said that Colorado’s businesses should not expect hand outs.
They should expect fair treatment, he said.
His platform is on his web site, and I’ve reproduced it and commented on it in a previous post. 
LINKs:
Tom Tancredo posts his platform for jobs, modernizing government, securing Colorado. The Business Word, 7.29.2010.
Tom Tancredo for Governor.

Tom Tancredo would support Jane Norton if she won primary

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 3:42 pm, July 29, 2010

Tom Tancredo said after his announcement press conference today that he could support Jane Norton for Senate if she beats Ken Buck in the Aug. 10 primary. 
When I asked about supporting Norton, Tancredo turned with a sigh, and said ‘Yeah.” And that wasn’t with an exclamation point, but it drew a laugh. Tancredo supports Buck in the primary. 
He said he continues to support all Republicans he’ has endorsed for down ticket offices, and none have asked him to withdraw his endorsements.

Tom Tancredo’s web site is up

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 2:18 pm, July 28, 2010

Tom Tancredo for Governor.
The web site’s still a work in progress. But you can see what Tom will be running on. The main headline is:
Tanc Tough; “This is our culture-fight for it. This is our flag-pick it up. This is our country- take it back.” – Congressman Tom Tancredo.
I’d like that line to read:
Tanc Tough; Integrity in Government, Straight Talk, Less Spending, Lower Taxes, Balanced Budgets, Security, Great Education, Good Health Care, Sensible Environmentalism 
He has links for:

Jobs
Fiscal conservatism
Secure Colorado

Here’s what I hope he will say about:
Jobs: I will make it attractive for businesses and nonprofits to create and bring jobs to Colorado. And I will eliminate and rewrite silly and costly regulations. We will make it easier and less expensive for the state to administer regulations. It should not cost businesses a fortune to create and keep jobs in Colorado. Employers are not our enemies. They create jobs.
Fiscal Conservatism: I will rewrite laws and regulations in Colorado so that we can cut the cost of running our state government by 25%. We will not only balance our budget, but also shrink it. We will enforce the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, and we will not raise any taxes or fees. Labor unions will not milk Colorado’s taxpayers or run our state. I will reverse the executive order that unionized employees of the state of Colorado. Increased liberty and fewer regulations will return freer markets and prosperity for all to Colorado.
Secure Colorado. I will increase Colorado’s security by enforcing all of our laws. We will make sure that illegal immigrants are not taking our jobs and draining our schools and hospitals of scarce resources. Denver no longer will be a sanctuary city. Colorado will not become a sanctuary state if I become governor. Criminals will stay in jail.

Jane Norton will vote for GOP gubernatorial candidate regardless; Ken Buck refuses to say

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 5:29 pm, July 26, 2010

Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Jane Norton, told Craig Silverman on Caplis and Silverman (630 KHOW) that she is disappointed that Tom Tancredo will run as a third party candidate and that she will vote for the GOP candidate regardless of whether that  is the disgraced Scott McInnis, Dan Maes or somebody else.
Earlier on the same show, Ken Buck refused to say how he will vote. And he said he won’t renounce Tom Tancredo’s support.
Buck also said that he was thinking about less than 10 people he’s encountered on the campaign trail when he called birthers who attended Tea Party and other campaign events and engaged him on the question of whether Barack Obama was born in the U.S. Those people, Buck said, distracted from the issues of the Senate campaign.

Colorado GOP’s priorties: Senate, CD-4, Secretary of State, Attorney General

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 8:46 am, July 26, 2010

The most important races for Colorado Republicans in 2010 are the U.S. Senate, CD-4, secretary of state, attorney general, the general assembly and treasurer. Governor-elect John Hickenlooper looks like a pretty easy winner. Clear the Bench is doomed.

Is Ken Buck already moving to center with clever gaffes?

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 6:57 am, July 26, 2010

U.S. Senate candidate, Ken Buck, is a clever career government attorney and prosecutor. He’s got a problem if he wins the Aug. 10 primary against Jane Norton. He’s too far right. 
Does he have a clever strategy to fix that problem? Or has he just stumbled on one with dumb luck?
He may have a clever strategy, but it’s probably a result of dumb luck. The problem is that the strategy may be too clever for Buck’s own good. It could cost him the nomination.
Look at the pattern. Connect the dots.
First, Buck dissed Tom Tancredo’s warning that President Barack Obama is the greatest threat to our liberty. Then he backed off and agreed that progressives, led by Obama, are a major threat. Point made to independents and softened a bit.
Second, Buck said the difference between him and Jane Norton is that he doesn’t wear High Heels but wears western boots—soiled western boots. He showed his talent for humor, gave Norton a strong talking point and ad and may have quipped his nomination away. But, then, he showed he’s only human. (Yeah, this is a stretch.)
Third, Buck said over the weekend that Tea Partiers who are birthers are dumb axxes. Well, at least Buck isn’t a birther. Appology extended, point made with independents and people who are tired of birthers.
Norton’s blasting Buck for shooting himself in the foot. Says he’ll “fit right in” in Washington, DC. He is clever, after all. 
But maybe these so-called gaffes will serve Buck well if he wins the primary. That “if”, of course, is very big even though he leads Norton in very old independent polls that are very out of date. It’s a toss up at this point.
I’m clever, too. I’m neutral in this race.

GOP wants to clean up its mess without Tom Tancredo’s help

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 9:19 pm, July 25, 2010

There seems to be a growing concensus among Colorado Republican leaders and activists that they want to take their chances that they can clean up the mess in the GOP’s gubernatorial primary without Tom Tancredo’s unsolicited help.
GOP leaders appear to be gambling that the disgraced gubernatorial candidate, Scott McInnis, will win the party’s Aug. 10 primary against Dan Maes and then drop out. If he wins the primary and drops out, a vacancy committee elected at the party’s state assembly would name a replacement.
Evidence of the growing support for this scenario includes a letter to Tancredo from the chairmen of the Republican parties in six large Front Range counties, a letter from the leader of 9-12 Project and Tea Party groups and numerous postings and indications of support for McInnis or opposition to Tancredo’s ultimatum on FaceBook.
Many conservative bloggers are saying they can’t support McInnis. At least one widely followed conservative, Ben Degrow, also has indicated on FaceBook that he doesn’t want Tancredo to jump into in the race either. Few Republicans believe either McInnis or Tancredo can beat Governor-elect John Hickenlooper in November.
It’s not clear whether Tancredo will back off his ultimatum to run if McInnis and Maes don’t promise by noon Monday to drop out if they win the primary. 
But it is clear that the state GOP and McInnis supporters have launched a major campaign to make sure McInnis wins the primary.
Tancredo believes he has a better chance of beating Hickenlooper than either McInnis or Maes would. He says he’s trying give those candidates an honorable way out of the gubernatorial race, but critics worry that he’s only angered McInnis and made it less likely that he will drop out.
What happens after the primary remains to be seen.

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