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Some people will tell their grandchildren that they saw the Berlin Wall fall or the first free elections in Eastern Europe. I'll tell mine that I was around during the self-destruction of another long-time ruling political organization -- the collapse of the Republican Party in Colorado.
The GOP establishment seems to think Bob Isaacs is the best candidate. It is often alleged that a state's chief executive should be firm and decisive. During the past fortnight, Isaacs has said he might run if there's no primary, then that he definitely wasn't a candidate, then that perhaps he could be drafted.
What, is he waiting for letter from the local board that
says Greetings: The President of the United States. You
are hereby ordered to report to Denver for induction into
the governor's mansion.
?
Isaacs changes faster and more frequently than our weather. There hasn't been a candidate more publicly reluctant and privately eager since Adlai Stevenson. If everybody gets down on bended knee and begs him, and promises to be nice and give him the nomination without a primary, he just might run.
There are at least a dozen things a good Republican candidate could hammer Romer on -- i.e., sloppy administration, an economic development office that moves at glacial speeds, paying more attention to Formosa than Fort Garland -- but improving state government doesn't seem to be on the GOP agenda this year.
Then came a resolution passed at the El Paso County
convention, supporting every human's right to life from
conception to natural death.
Reading that logically
means El Paso County Republicans are opposed to the death
penalty and are against all military activity.
They certainly don't mean to sound like such bleeding-heart New Age Greens, but logical consistency is apparently too much to expect from the land of Decisive Bob Isaacs, Official English Barbara Philips and the El Paso County Crazies.
The Republicans have captained the legislature since 1977. But the water has reached the upper decks there -- look who's jumped off ship so far this year: Elwood Gillis, Bev Bledsoe, Chris Paulson, all GOP statehouse leaders.
Bruce Benson is the state chairman who has presided over this debacle of a once-proud organization. A couple of years ago, he offered to go on the road and attack Romer for traveling so extensively to promote Colorado.
If it's wrong for a governor to do that, then why wasn't Benson attacking Andy Love in 1986? Love, a GOP candidate for governor, said that if he was elected, he'd travel a lot and be a full-time salesman for Colorado. Benson was silent then. Benson apparently believes that consistency is a virtue for clocks, but not party chairmen.
As someone who seldom votes for Republicans, I suppose I should be thrilled. But the fact is that we're all ill-served by the political system when one of our major parties can't run good candidates or campaigns. Important issues get ignored and problems build.
There is one ray of hope for the GOP. Benson has said that if Robin Heid gets on the primary ballot, he'll resign. I can think of several good reasons to support Heid, but that is by far the best one.
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