What should have been a success story for citizens in action against the establishment and our government has gone horribly wrong.  Supported by the Tea Party and 9/12’ers, Dan Maes was on the fast track to the state capitol but that train had slowed to a crawl in recent weeks and new revelations have derailed it entirely. 

The governor’s race in Colorado was seen as one of the most winnable for Republicans.  Democrat Bill Ritter’s complete and utter failure leading the state opened the doors to a landslide victory for the right, even with Teflon John Hickenlooper taking up the left’s mantle. 

Maes won the Republican primary fair and square but the number and depth of his follies have grown.  The latest revelation that he willfully exaggerated his experience as a police officer in Kansas is a torpedo in the sinking ship that was his campaign.  The fact is that Maes’s problems are too numerous to overcome and serve to ensure failure in November.   

Well-respected blogger Ross Kaminsky submitted a letter to Maes urging him to get out of the race.  He wrote to Maes saying, “While I believe your pro-liberty instincts are genuine, your candidacy is hopelessly damaged by one mini-scandal or gaffe after another.”

The Republican Governors Association has refused to help him and potential donors are keeping their wallets shut.  Now former U.S. senator and former University of Colorado president Hank Brown has announced he is withdrawing his endorsement of Maes.  Putting it politely, Brown said, “I’m beginning to find that his explanations are not adequate.”

It is likely only a matter of days before others like Wayne Allard, Bill Armstrong and Pete Coors yank their endorsements as well. 

Former congressman Bob Beauprez told the Denver Post, “If Dan really is committed to the best for Colorado, as well as to the GOP, he ought to take serious inventory and see if this isn’t the time to do the noble thing.”

Like Beauprez, Brown and Kamisky, I implore Maes to get out of the race immediately – it is time to go.  If he does, there is still a chance Republicans can get someone on the ballot that actually has a chance to stop Hickenlooper.

• On the net:  Colorado Statesman – Pressure mounting on GOP candidate Maes to withdraw from guv race

Update, 9/2/10, 4:10am - The Hill is reporting Pete Coors has withdrawn his endorsement of Maes.  ”[I]t would be in the Republican party’s and Colorado’s best interest if Dan would step down so that a more competitive situation with a new, unifying candidate could be put forward,” Coors is quoted as saying.

Other’s have jumped ship in the last 24 hours including State Senator John Andrews, RedState.com’s Erick Erickson and Tea Party organizer and Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland.

Update, 9/3/10, 8:47am – The editorial boards of the Denver Post and the Colorado Springs Gazette are urging Maes to get out of the race:

• Denver Post – Maes needs to drop out now; With election deadlines looming, the disgraced candidate must step aside and allow Colorado voters a credible Republican choice
• The Gazette – Gazette calls on Maes to drop out; It is the honorable thing to do

Thornton, Colorado resident Eric Smith has won his battle with the East York Villas Homeowners Association and will be allowed to fly the Gadsden Flag without harassment.  To the southwest in Laveen, Arizona, Andy McDonel is having a much tougher time and has enlisted the help of the ACLU. 

Both men fought for their right to display the bright yellow Gadsden Flag bearing a rattlesnake and the phrase “Don’t Tread On Me.”  The flag is steeped in history going back to the founding of this nation and has been used by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps over the past 235 years.

Their homeowners associations (HOAs) however saw the flags as political speech and as symbols of the Tea Party.  The groups sent Smith and McDonel letters demanding the flags be taken down.

This past week Smith learned that his HOA would no longer press him on the issue and he would be able to proudly fly the flag.  Lawyer Elina Hindley who represented the HOA sent a letter stating, “Please be advised, we have discussed this situation with the board of directors and the board has decided to allow the Tea Party flag to remain displayed on your property. Thus, you may disregard the request contained in the original letter.”

It appears McDonel’s disagreement will be a much longer and drawn out process.  The Avalon Village HOA told McDonel that his flag must come down and classified it as “debris” under the “garbage” section of the covenants.

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The disillusionment with the “hope and change” brought to the nation two years continues to grow.  According to a new poll, voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on the top 10 issues of the day from education and the economy to ethics and taxes.

Many Americans drank the Obama Kool-Aid when they voted in November 2008.  They believed this man and his fellow Democrats could actually help the country.  As the effects of the snake oil wear off, Americans are awakening to the reality that they were sold a bill of goods that is doing nothing but hurting the nation.

New polling released by Rasmussen yesterday shows a sea of change in the electorate’s thinking.  On every single one of the top 10 key issues we face, Republicans now lead Democrats. 

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Earlier this week we took note of the Weld County GOP’s efforts to force its members to tow the party line.  While certainly troubling, they aren’t the only GOP group to take this type of action.  The Jefferson County GOP apparently goes so far as to forbid its members from contributing to non-Republican candidates.

From the Jefferson County GOP bylaws:

ARTICLE III.  MEMBERSHIP
Section 6. Eligibility of Voting Members.
Verifiable public support of a candidate opposing a Republican nominee in a general election shall be cause for suspension of all privileges on the JRC, including voting and shall be cause for being publically requested to resign.  This action shall be accomplished in accordance with V.3.A.1 herein. 

As I stated previously, it is well within any group’s rights to place these requirements on their members.  However, that doesn’t mean it is something they should do or something that is wise. 

As a party, we Republicans need to grow our tent and part of that means we need to welcome discussion and debate, not stifle it.  Placing harsh restrictions on anyone’s First Amendment rights is going to drive  people away – not draw them in.

Feeling the heat from the electorate and worried about an up swell of dissent within its ranks, the Republican establishment has apparently begun to crack down on members’ freedom of speech.  The Chairman of the Weld County GOP recently sent out an email to committee members telling them that “inappropriate comments” that do not wholly support Republican candidates are strictly forbidden. 

In the email sent to the county’s executive and central committee members, Karen Pelzer points out that their bylaws say these officers “will not publicly support any candidate other than Republican candidates.” 

• Read the text of the email below the fold

This of course comes in the wake of a primary win by Dan Maes who most rational Republicans know has virtually no chance of beating the Democratic nominee, John Hickenlooper.  Tom Tancredo’s entry has split the conservative base of our party causing a great deal of concern with the party establishment.

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The only thing tanking faster than the economy is President Obama’s approval ratings.  According to the latest Gallup tracking poll, a mere 41% of Americans approve of the job he is doing while 52% disapprove.  Recognizing this, Democratic candidates across the nation are not seeking the president’s help with their November election campaigns. 

The challenge for candidates like Colorado’s own Senator Michael Bennet is whether to run with or run from any help the Obama offers.  Most have clearly decided it is better to distance themselves from a president who is presiding over a failing economy and pushing the nation far left of what their constituents’ believe.

When asked about getting help in his election campaign from Obama, Bennet told George Stephanopoulos on ABC, “We’ll have to see.”  Bennet was also quick to dismiss claims from the White House that the president helped him in his primary win against Andrew Romanoff. 

Bennet is not alone – Other Democrats facing growing discontent amongst the electorate are running from the president.  One Democratic insider told the National Journal, “He is a walking radioactive disaster.” A new video released this week, below, makes light of the issue showing candidates bailing out of Air Force One rather than let the president help them.

With 75 days left to go before Election Day, Colorado Republicans may as well start their work on conceding victory to John Hickenlooper.  At one time Republicans were virtually assured the top seat in the state house but no more. 

The Republican primary was a disaster featuring two candidates not fit to hold the office, let alone run a small business or write a paper about water.  Scott McInnis, the political insider, was torpedoed when it was discovered that in addition to his other endeavors he was a plagiarist.  Then of course we have Dan Maes, the man who won the nomination despite being unable to keep track of campaign finances or run his own business. 

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Wannabe veterans now have free reign to lie and claim military service and awards that they did not perform or receive thanks to two recent rulings by activist judges.  Two cases, one in Colorado and one in California, were the first to challenge the Stolen Valor Act, a 2006 law meant to protect the honor of our nation’s heroes. 

Many cases of civilians claiming military service or veterans claiming awards which they were not entitled to have come to light in recent years.  Some of these people used false claims for personal gain, often at the expense of those who truly earned the awards.  It was with this in mind that Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act which punishes violators with up to one year in prison.

The first case involved Rick Glen Strandlof.  Strandlof claimed to be an ex-Marine who won the Purple Heart and Silver Star – despite having never served a day in uniform in his life.  More than his claims, Strandlof launched the Colorado Veterans Alliance using it to advance his anti-war politics.  He was hailed as a hero by many left-leaning politicians desperately seeking veterans that supported them including Congressman Jared Polis – until his deceit was uncovered by suspecting veterans. 

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The history of the Gadsden flag and its coiled rattlesnake and “Don’t Tread on Me” motto can be traced back 235 years to the birth of our nation.  Despite its distinguished past rooted in Americana, Thornton homeowners in one Homeowner Association (HOA) controlled development are being told to take them down.

None other than Ben Franklin admired the rattlesnake noting that, “She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage.”  Paul Revere went so far as to add it to his newspaper the “Massachusetts Spy.”

In 1775 the Continental Congress established the United States Navy to help fight the burgeoning war for independence.  Continental Colonel Christopher Gadsden presented the bright yellow flag with the rattlesnake to Commodore Esek Hopkins, the newly minted commander-in-chief of the Navy, as he was to set sail on his first mission.

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Ronald Reagan was and continues to be the hero of true conservatives – a man with unshakeable principles who adhered to the very same tenets as our Founding Fathers.  A new, powerful video featuring Reagan and some of the leftist political voices from today provides a powerful – and scary – comparison of what we believe versus what those now in Washington D.C. are pushing.