Today is Thursday, September 02, 2010


Down for maintenance 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. MDT

We'll be down for maintenance from about 7 p.m. to about 8 p.m. Thursday Sept. 2.

Bob Beauprez sounds eager to run for Colorado governor

Bob Beauprez would make a tremendous governor, and he says he would be a better candidate than he was in his losing run for governor in 2006 if he were selected to replace the unethical and incompetent Dan Maes. Beauprez sounds like he really wants to run again, reports Jody Hope Strogoff. Maes is still saying he won't quit, and the GOP can't force him off the ballot. Jane Norton, who ran for the U.S. Senate and lost in the Aug. 10 primary also is mentioned as a possible replacement candidate, as is state Senator Josh Penry (R-Fruita). Beauprez looks like the party's first choice. He has money and a donor network ready to go. LINK: Pressure mounting on GOP candidate Maes to withdraw from guv race; past gubernatorial candidate Beauprez says he'd weigh run as replacement. By Jody Hope Strogoff.

Craig Silverman thinks Tom Tancredo beat John Hickenlooper in Channel 12 debate

Gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo won his debate today on Channel 12 with Obama Democrat John Hickenlooper and disgraced Republican candidate Dan Maes, Craig Silverman said on his show, Caplis & Silverman. During an afternoon appearance on the 630 KHOW show, Tancredo agreed, naturally. The debate will be shown on Channel 12 Friday night, Sept. 3, at 9 p.m.

Ken Buck: Why didn’t Michael Bennet know before he voted?

Ken Buck hit Michael Bennet's extremist votes on the Obama stimulus bill and ObamaCare hard at Wednesday's Arapahoe Country Republican Mens [and women's] club breakfast. I shot this video, which was edited by the folks at http://www.whosaidyousaid.com.

Denver Post asks Dan Maes to quit; Pete Coors withdraws endorsement; Tom Tancredo won’t quit

Despite Dan Maes' declarations earlier in the day that he will not quit the governor's race, the editorial boards of the Denver Post and the Colorado Springs Gazette are asking him to quit. And former Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Pete Coors, has withdrawn his endorsement of Maes.

Earlier, former Senator Hank Brown withdrew his endorsement, and former State Senator and gubernatorial candidate, John Andrews called on Maes to quit. But on 630 KHOW's Caplis & Sliverman this afternoon, Andrews said he would vote Republican if Maes stayed in the race against Obama Democrat John Hickenlooper and American Constitutionalist Party candidate, former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo.

Tancredo told Caplis and Silverman that having raised more than $200,000 in less than a month, he feels obligated to his contributors to stay in the race regardless of what Maes does.

"While we often disagree with Tancredo on the issues, no one is questioning his integrity or his right to run on a third-party ticket," the Denver Post said in an editorial posted on its web site this afternoon.

It doesn't look like Tancredo would quit if Maes did. That probably would discourage the most rumored replacement candidate for Maes, Jane Norton, from running in place of Maes. Tancredo thinks Maes will not quit.

While state Senator Greg Brophy (R-Wray) called on Maes to quit, former state Senator Mark Hillman, a national committeeman from Colorado, allowed party rules to censor him. Everything he said on KHOW showed he thinks Maes is a liar and should quit, but he couldn't directly demand that Maes drop out. Party rules are making elected Republicans and party officials look like Dan Maes enablers.

I was the first registered Republican to publicly call on Dan Maes to quit on July 13.

LINKS:

Maes needs to drop out now; with election deadlines looming, the disgraced candidate must step aside and allow Colorado voters a credible Republican choice. Denver Post editorial.

Gazette calls on Maes to drop out. Colorado Springs Gazette editorial.

Dan Maes on Facebook. And, Former Sen. Brown withdraws endorsement for Dan Maes, By Karen E. Crummy. Why I think Dan Maes is too unethical to be governor of Colorado, The Business Word, 8.16.2010. Why Dan Maes is unfit to be governor. The Business Word, 7.15.2010.Terrence Carroll calls on Scott McInnis to drop out of gubernatorial contest; Dan Maes must go, too. The Business Word, 7.13.2010.

Dan Maes says he’s not quitting, explains his police work

Dan Maes says on his Facebook page that he is not quitting, and he explains his career as a cop in a little more detail. Search Facebook.com for "Dan Maes." LINKS: Dan Maes on Facebook. And, Former Sen. Brown withdraws endorsement for Dan Maes, By Karen E. Crummy. Why I think Dan Maes is too unethical to be governor of Colorado, The Business Word, 8.16.2010. Why Dan Maes is unfit to be governor. The Business Word, 7.15.2010.Terrence Carroll calls on Scott McInnis to drop out of gubernatorial contest; Dan Maes must go, too. The Business Word, 7.13.2010.

Tom Tancredo has raised over $200,000 for gubernatorial race

Tom Tancredo announced that he has raised $200,000 for his gubernatorial campaign in only a month. This means that he is well on his way to raising enough money to make a credible and competitive run against Obama Democrat John Hickenlooper who already has bought more than $1.5 million worth of TV and radio ad time.

John Andrews calls on Dan Maes to quit

Former State Senate President John Andrews finally has seen enough to call on Dan Maes to quit. Andrews was one of the most outspoken supporters of Maes until now, putting party before the candidate. But now he has joined former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown, who has withdrawn his endorsement of Maes, and former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez, who yesterday became the first top Republican to call on Maes to quit. LINK: John Andrews calls on Maes to get out, by Karen Crummy.

Republicans won’t buyout Dan Maes

The idea that Republicans will try to buyout Dan Maes is ridiculous.

Maes has nothing to sell.

And the people who could afford to buy out Maes are too smart to put themselves at legal risk for a hopeless cause. Even if Maes and Tancredo quit, which seems very unlikely, it would be very difficult for another Republican to beat Governor-elect John Hickenlooper. There's just not enough time for a new candidate to get organized, raise money and mount a successful campaign.

Dan Maes seen as unlikely to quit; can Tom Tancredo benefit?

Dan Maes, the Republican candidate for governor, will go down in history as a guy who didn't know when to cut his losses and quit and as the guy who elected Governor-elect John Hickenlooper. 

The question is what happens now that former Sen. Hank Brown has withdrawn his endorsement of Maes and former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez has called on Maes to drop out?

Assuming that Maes resists the tremendous private and public pressure to quit and is on the Nov. 2 ballot, I think he will sink in the polls to under 10%. A few die hard Republicans who put the GOP ahead of ethics and competence will support and vote for Maes, but most Republicans and many independents will go for Tancredo or not vote in the gubernatorial contest. 

In the primary, Republicans undervote the gubernatorial primary by almost 5% of the votes that were cast in the Senate primary. That undervote could surge to 10% to 15% of Republicans and 5% to 10% of all voters.

Tancredo is the only honest, competent and experienced candidate running for governor, but 36% of voters view him unfavorably, according to Rasmussen Reports. Those voters don't like Tancredo's position on illegal immigration. They support law breakers and won't vote for Tancredo, regardless. So John Hickenlooper has those 36% of voters in his pocket. Indeed, in the latest Rasmussen poll, Hick gets 36% of votes compared with 24% for Maes and 14% for Tancredo.

How many disaffected Republicans and Maes supporters will shift to Tancredo? That's the big unknown. If Tancredo had as much money as Hickenlooper, he could give the mayor of Denver a tough race. Because of his wide name recognition, Tancredo doesn't need as much money as Hick has, but he needs enough to be competitive. It's not clear that he will raise that much. In his fundrasing emails, Tancredo says his fundraising target for Sept. 1 was $175,000. We'll soon know if he made his target. Tancredo's weak polls have to be hurting him in the fundraising department.

With Maes virtually shut out by responsible Republican leaders and the voting public, Tancredo should climb in the polls and become the unofficial conservative candidate, but it's hard to see how he can win with Maes in the race.

Ken Buck is a Dan Maes Republican

The big story this morning is that Ken Buck says he still "absolutely" supports Dan Maes for governor.

Ken Buck, who was required to take an ethics class while he was a federal attorney, absolutely endorses Dan Maes. Wow!

Has Ken Buck handed a killer ad to appointed Obama Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet and the 527s that back the senator? I'm afraid so. 

Buck, of course, is required by convention and maybe even by Republican Party rules to back the party's other candidates. But Bennet won't let him get away with being a Dan Maes Republican. 

I support Buck and was the first to call on Dan Maes to quit. And until this morning, I thought Buck had a 53% chance of beating Bennet. Now, I"m not so sure. I'd put the odds that Buck will win at 45% at this point.

When I tried to chat with Buck after his appearance at the Arapahoe County Republican Mens [and women's] Club yesterday, he clearly didn't want to talk to me. He was afraid, I think, that I would ask him about Maes. I didn't because I thought he had made it clear during his appearance that he was keeping his distance from Maes. And I didn't want to put him the spot.

Now with his reiteration of his absolute support of Maes, Buck has put himself on the spot. Again.

LINKS: Former Sen. Brown withdraws endorsement for Dan Maes, By Karen E. Crummy. Why I think Dan Maes is too unethical to be governor of Colorado, The Business Word, 8.16.2010. Why Dan Maes is unfit to be governor. The Business Word, 7.15.2010. Terrence Carroll calls on Scott McInnis to drop out of gubernatorial contest; Dan Maes must go, too. The Business Word, 7.13.2010.

Public pressure on Dan Maes to quit grows; Bob Beauprez calls on Maes to drop out

Former Republican candidate for governor and former chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, Bob Beauprez, is calling on Dan Maes to quit. Earlier today, former U.S. Senator Hank Brown withdrew his endorsement of Maes. And Lu Busse of the 9.12 Project Colorado Coalition announced that her members are becoming concerned about disclosures by the Denver Post that Maes has embellished his resume and want to meet with him by the end of the week. Maes should have quit long ago. Now he must face public calls on him to quit and public declarations by prominent Republicans that they can't support him for governor. Conservative blogger, Ross Kaminsky, joins me in calling on Maes to quit. The Denver Post has done a great job today. LINKS: Bob Beauprez calls on Dan Maes to drop out, by Karen Crummy. 9.12 group to Maes: We have questions, by Allison Sherry. GOP gubernatorial candidte Maes backs off claims of undercover police work, by Tim Hoover. Open letter to Dan Maes, by Ross Kaminsky. Why I think Dan Maes is too unethical to be governor of Colorado. The Business Word, 8.16.2010.

Former Sen. Hank Brown withdraws endorsement of Dan Maes

Former Sen. Hank Brown has withdrawn his endorsement of Dan Maes for governor because of Maes' ethical lapses, Karen Crummy reports. Will Ken Buck, the GOP's U.S. Senate candidate, and former Sen. Wayne Allard also show that ethics matter to them and withdraw their endorsements? Will former Republican leaders of the state senate, John Andrews and Mark Hillman take back their misguided endorsements. The red flags have been waving at potential Maes supporters for weeks. GOP contributors have taken heed and are putting their money into other races and even contributing to Obama Democrat John Hickenlooper. Tom Tancredo saw that Maes was nothing but bad news weeks ago, and that's why he is running against Maes and Hickenlooper for governor. Brown told the Post that he's "looking around" for another candidate. Will Maes pass up another opportunity to do the right thing and quit? LINKS: Former Sen. Brown withdraws Maes endorsement in guv race. By Karen Crummy.

Ken Buck says Colorado GOP unified despite Dan Maes

Ken Buck, the Colorado Republican Party's candidate for the U.S. Senate, this morning carefully avoided mentioning or extending any support to the party's unethical and incompetent candidate for governor, Dan Maes.

Ken Buck: ‘Michael Bennet has been legislating unemployment for 18 months’

"Michael Bennet has been legislating unemployment for 18 months, Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Ken Buck, told this morning's Arapahoe County Republican Mens [and womens] Club breakfast at the Cool River Cafe in the Denver Tech Center. Every bill signed by President Obama and rubber stamped by appointed Obama Democrat Sen. Bennet (D-Washington, DC) is killing jobs. Buck also charged that Bennet, who was raised in Washington, is caught up in the Democrats' tax and spend culture and that he should not be representing Colorado.