Politics of self-destruction – Colorado GOP set to turn governor’s office over to Hickenlooper
July 25th, 2010
Between McInnis, Maes and Tancredo, the Colorado GOP may lose what was once a sure race for Colorado's governorship.
Voters across this nation have come to see the damage wrought upon it by liberals in Washington D.C. Closer to home in Colorado, the same is seen at the state level but the failure of the GOP establishment and the lacking of quality candidates may ensure the state governorship remains Democrat.
At the national and state level, party officials have historically picked their favorites early on and this election cycle has been no different. When the primaries come, voters are oftentimes left with having to pick the lesser of two evils. Witness the 2010 Republican lineup in the race for Colorado governor – Scott McInnis and Dan Maes.
Maes is the favorite of the Tea Party and other anti-establishment groups. Questions abound though about his background and his ability to lead our state. This culminated in recent weeks with the revelation that campaign finance reports filed by the candidate resulted in substantial fines.
Then of course we have former Congressman McInnis. I have always cast a wary eye toward McInnis dating back to his service in the U.S. House of Representatives. The lawyer-politician just seems too slick and very much part of the GOP establishment. When it was revealed that a series of articles he was paid $300,000 to author were plagiarized, his campaign was effectively torpedoed despite his and the state GOP’s statements to the contrary.
On Thursday, rebel politician Tom Tancredo threw down the gauntlet to the two candidates. The former congressman issued a statement saying that if Maes and McInnis do not promise to withdraw from the race after the primary, he will run for governor under the American Constitution Party.
If McInnis and Maes bow out, a vacancy committee would select a candidate to replace the primary winner on the November ballot. This of course turns the candidate selection over to the GOP establishment again but it at least gives the Republicans a mulligan and chance to try again. Fellow blogger Ross Kaminsky suggests that Josh Penry would be an ideal choice and I cannot disagree.
I wrote some time ago that voters were sick and tired of having to choose between the lesser of two evils – whether it is choosing between two Republicans in a primary or between a Republican and Democrat in November. This entire debacle highlights the problem.
My primary ballot arrived in the mail in recent days and I will dutifully fill it out and return it. Who will I vote for? My current inclination is to leave the entry for Colorado governor blank. I am a true-red conservative but I am done plugging my nose when voting.
Related:
- Let’s talk about ‘electability’ and how it has failed us
- Do Republicans have a bigger problem than the Tea Party?
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