May 13, 2010 04:45 PM UTC

A Few Words on Pathological Lying

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Colorado Independent started GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis down another road to self-inflicted embarrassment earlier this week, following up on a report from the Grand Junction Sentinel that all Republican candidates for U.S. Senate and governor in Colorado have endorsed the controversial “personhood” abortion ban slated for this November’s ballot.

That’s a particularly interesting change of heart for McInnis, who the Denver Post reported last year was formerly chairman of Republicans for Choice, and who eagerly represented himself as a “pro-choice Republican” during his early years in Congress. But when the Independent followed up with McInnis after his public declarations of support for “personhood,” they got a very different story:

The Denver Post in November reported that McInnis had once been chairman of Republicans for Choice, a national organization of pro-choice members of the GOP. Duffy said he’s not sure that’s accurate. “Scott has no memory of that. We’re not even sure he was a member,” Duffy said. [Pols emphasis]

Well, as was forwarded to just about every news source in Colorado yesterday (we got it too), the record plainly reveals this statement to be a lie. A faxed letter from the Republicans for Choice to the FEC from 1998 (above right) is a little tough to make out completely, but it clearly shows McInnis listed as a member of the advisory board of Republicans for Choice.

And that’s far from the only documentation for McInnis’ courtship of pro-choice moderate Republicans, back when it politically suited him to do so. After this story went up at the Denver Post yesterday, we were forwarded another letter–this one retrieved from McInnis’ congressional papers archive at Fort Lewis College. Dated from late 1995, it’s a letter from Chris O’Dell, then a board member of the National Republican Coalition for Choice, explaining that he is arranging meetings with “all pro-choice Republican members of Congress.”

And the response?

Read the full letter from O’Dell after the jump. According to sources this is just one of many, many pieces of documentation tying McInnis to pro-choice Republicans (though possibly one of the earlier examples), and more will come out soon. The point being made is that there is absolutely no way McInnis could have ‘no memory’ of his association with Republicans for Choice–the paper trail is too extensive, McInnis’ documented engagement with them is far too enthusiastic.

So what does this mean? That’s pretty simple: Scott McInnis’ campaign cannot be trusted to tell the truth, even about easily-verifiable and public aspects of McInnis’ record. It’s crazy to lie about something that can be debunked so easily, so we don’t at all understand what they think they’re gaining from this, but the bottom line is the same. Whether or not abortion is an issue that resonates with you, one way or the other, is now irrelevant: honesty is an issue that cuts across the ideological spectrum. And McInnis is apparently not even keeping track of the lies anymore.