WILL TOM TANCREDO PLEASE GO AWAY?!
Tom Tancredo is an example of how far right the Republican Party has gone and the fight within the party concerning the Tea Baggers.
In fact, one of the Republican candidates in the Colorado gubernatorial primary called the “Birthers” a bunch of dumbasses. Hey, all he was doing was stating a well known fact.
What is so interesting about Tom Tancredo?
Well…. Roll film
Tom Tancredo’s positions sound like a speech from as late as the 1950s… maybe early 1960s.
What is more surprising is that people are CHEERING his speech instead of drowning it out with boos.
Oh, wait. This is the Tea Bagger convention.
Huh? Literacy tests? Poll tax? Let me check something real quick…
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
-Twenty Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution (history), Ratified January 23, 1964
Yup, the idea of advocating the return of the poll tax is disgusting today. I am not going to discuss this even further. Not worth my time and/or energy. Hence, people like Mr. Tancredo should just go away…
Except when it comes to elections. He can hang around.
So… what does this have to with the national elections?
Well, it has to do with the general attitude of the modern Republican Party: “We don’t want to play anymore, so we’ll take our ball and go home.”
Tancredo has told the other Republican candidates in the primary that if he doesn’t win the primary election on August 10, then they should drop out. Does that make any sense to anyone? I lost an election so no should run.
How old is Tancredo again? Five?
Tancredo decided to run as third party candidate. This has turned the race from a toss-up (caused by the incumbent declining to run) to a possible Democratic gain in the gubernatorial races across the country. A three-way race where there is an ideological split in one party generally benefits the other party, which is united, in an election.
Look at the numbers….
A two-way election between Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) and the prospective Republican candidate shows races within the margin of error.
A three-way election shows the advantage lies with Hickenlooper (Scenario 1, Scenario 2).
Oh and if the name John Hickenlooper sounds familiar… he was the founder of the Wynkoop Brewing Company. They make a good honey beer there. Part of LoDo, close to Coors Field. Tell them I sent you.
Back to the rant…
That is the problem facing the modern Republican Party. The key to winning any election is finding the balance between your base and independents (Political Science 1040/1050. I think some people slept through those classes…). The base, led by the Tea Baggers/Glenn Beck/Sarah Palin/etc., is chasing independents away with their nonsense. Example of that: I have on good authority from an individual in a leadership role in the local Democratic Party that they used to identify as a Moderate Republican but because of that party’s position on social issues they cannot in good conscious vote Republican anymore.
Colorado is a perfect example of that especially given its status as a swing state. The factors that make Colorado a swing state is a large metropolitan city in Denver combined with the location of several mega churches in Colorado Springs, and its electoral history since 1988 (click on the year for the presidential election).
COLORADO ELECTORAL HISTORY SINCE 1988 | |||
YEAR | EVs | DEM | GOP |
9 | 53.7% | 44.7% | |
9 | 47.0 | 51.7 | |
8 | 42.0 | 50.8 | |
8 | 45.9 | 47.3 | |
8 | 40.1 | 35.9 | |
8 | 45.3 | 53.1 | |
The concluding paragraph in the Colorado chapter of How Barack Obama Won pretty much sums up what the Colorado gubernatorial election is about.
As for 2010, it’s difficult to imagine the Republican comeback will be under way. The Republican bench in the state is a mess. The Republicans have tried a few methods to bail them out of their mess this century, including recruiting well-knowns (such as Pete Coors), running moderates (Bob Beauprez for governor in 2006), or running conservatives (Bob Schaffer for Senate in 2008). Nothing has worked. The party needs one of two things to happen: some sort of Democratic overreach in the state or a slow rebuilding of the party from the ground up, in which the party doesn’t get caught up in nasty ideological fights. The pressure to move right for Republicans is high because of the social conservative powerhouses that reside in Colorado Springs. But as the state holds on to its very moderate and independent roots, that pressure hasn’t been a help to the GOP.
This prediction has come true not just in Colorado but possibly nationwide as well.
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