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February 25, 2011 02:01 AM UTC

"Clear the Bench" Guy Wants Wadhams' Job, Too

  • 28 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Westword has the hat-in-ring from Matt Arnold, and oh yeah, it’s memorable.

There are some other great candidates in this race, but I will (and do) bring a whole other skill set to the table — one that will breathe new life in the party and show we truly aren’t insane. [Pols emphasis]

My Message to Colorado Republicans:

There is one word that could sum up the new direction for our party leadership: strategery… [Pols emphasis]

In a way, yes. We do love this guy.

—–

FOX 31’s Eli Stokols reports:

Matt Arnold, who led last year’s effort to “Clear the Bench” of Democratic judges, is planning to run for chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, FOX 31 has learned.

Arnold, a controversial figure among the GOP establishment, is well-liked by many Tea Party activists and other grassroots conservatives, many of whom have been encouraging him to run…

That’s a sign that some within that conservative grassroots movement are less than excited about the current field of candidates, which includes state Sen. Ted Harvey of Highlands Ranch, Ryan Call, the former Denver GOP chair and general counsel to the state party, and Leondray Gholston, the second-in-command to outgoing chair Dick Wadhams.

Matt Arnold’s campaign against Colorado Supreme Court justices in 2010 didn’t turn out very well, in fact there’s little to suggest in election results that he accomplished much more than to embarrass himself. We suppose you can take his entry into the GOP chair race as a sign that Sen. Ted Harvey doesn’t have the conservative-trending-nutty wing entirely locked up, but it’s very tough to imagine a serious minded Republican casting a vote for Arnold. It would be a little like putting the fat kid from Goonies in charge of something important.

Yes, alright, 200,000 Republicans voted for Dan Maes. You’ve got us there.

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28 thoughts on ““Clear the Bench” Guy Wants Wadhams’ Job, Too”

  1. Sounds like he’s putting as much effort as one would in posting on a blog site as opposed to sending out a press release for his campaine. 😉 (typo on purpose.)  

    1. and looked at his Facebook fan page. Turns out that really was the press release that was posted on facebook.

      With 30 Facebook fans supporting him, how can he not win?

    3. Matt Arnold is an Army captain who brooks no dissent. He has a thin skin. He talks too much and too long. He ran a horrible Clear the Bench Campaign—lousy blog, boring speeches and an inability to face the reality of politics.

      A few weeks ago, some of the Republicans who know Arnold best refused to elect him president of the Arapahoe County Republican Mens (and Womens) Club. Talk about a smack down.

      Note that in his letter, Arnold says he thinks the state party chair should advocate for candidates and “causes.” He was very openly upset that Wadhams didn’t back Clear the Bench, which is not the job of the party’s chair. The Dems would love to see the GOP waste time and money on causes and spend less time and money on candidates’ campaigns.

      How many causes could the party back? Who would decide which causes it should back? And which candidates would be sacrificed for personhood, Doug Bruce and other ballot initiatives?

      Because Arnold is not a fund raiser, he’s trying to stress strategic planning. He wants to take strategic planning out of the hands of candidates? He thinks he could overpower the 527s, which, by law, he couldn’t even communicate with?

      And he wants to be the voice of the party? Anyone who’s heard Arnold’s boring, long and tone deaf comments doesn’t want him speaking for the Colorado GOP.

      I hope that the new central committee will be made up of savvy folks who will be as eager to make him the chair of the Colorado GOP as his “friends” at the Mens club were to make him president of their organization.

      Yes, Arnold has appeared in most counties. That would help many candidates, but I think the guy’s so over exposed that he won’t have much of a chance against Ted Harvey or Ryan Call.

      One possibility. Harvey and Call could split votes and make the Arnold the winner, but I’m not sure the voting rules would allow that.

  4. …and I consider him a friend

    He would do a good job as Chairman – he’s been to every county in Colorado and spoken to every GOP Central Committee out there – he’s very well known amongst the Party activists – however, Ryan Call and Leondray Gholston have also done that groundwork, so if it’s a vote based on ‘who everyone knows’ (which it often is) then Matt isn’t a guaranteed victory – but expect a good campaign out of Matt, as he is energetic and intelligent

    That said – I don’t know how Ted Harvey stands a chance at winning, at all – the three candidates above are well known, nice guys, who have put in the groundwork of supporting past GOP candidates – as I’ve said here before, when I ran for State House as a GOPer in 2008, I NEVER heard from Ted Harvey, whereas many other elected GOP officials made themselves available to help – those chickens are coming home to roost on Harvey’s yard right now – my personal prediction? Harvey very well could have the least amount of votes garnered (which speaks well of the Colorado GOP, if it comes out that way… not gonna say much more than that)

    And lastly – again – the diamonds in the rough, within the GOP, are Larry Carillo and Dave Kerber – if either steps up and wins, then we, as Democrats, should be concerned

    My 2 cents…

    2. a terrible assessment of the race, if not unsurprising.  Harvey still has the best odds of winning, though they are diminished somewhat by Arnold’s entry.

      We’ll have to see how Ted’s laser focus on social conservatism plays among the Tea Party types.  Though many probably appreciate it, they’d rather see someone who can unite the party and raise money.  

      After all, it’s not the chair’s duty to decide policy positions of the party and it’s candidates.  That is left to the candidates and ultimately, the primary voters themselves.

      I suppose we’ll see…

      1. I think Harvey’s definitely a social issues guy.

        I’ve never thought of Arnold is hot on social issues because I can’t remember hearing him talk about them, and, indeed, we agree on a lot of issues, I think.

        I don’t know where Ryan Call is on social issues, but because he’s the attorney for the CO GOP, I suspect he’s pretty pure on social issues because the social issues folks have had an iron grip on the party for years.

        All of these guys are good conservatives, but Harvey and Call are much better political talents than Arnold, imho.

        1. There’s a report that Arnold is saying he’s been encouraged to run by tea party folks. These are some of the same folks who backed Ken Buck and Dan Maes, I guess.

          The thing to remember about the tea party folks is that they had a tremendous influence on all GOP candidates last year.

          But most are still new to politics, as is Matt Arnold who used his Clear the Bench campaign, which I supported, to introduce himself to Republicans but not to independents nor Democrats.

          While the tea party had a big impact on GOP candidates, the candidates that they helped nominate didn’t do well, to put it mildly.

          So, if Arnold is running as the tea party candidate, GOP beware. A lot of tea party rookies don’t know political talent when they see it and seem to have a tendency to be sucked in by “new” people in politics.

      1. Ralphie – Jared Polis has been a brother to me since before running – when I make a friend, I keep my word – that said, I’m proud to be helping the Democratic Party now, regardless of who my friends are

        20th – I politely disagree – I don’t think Harvey stands a chance – and if the GOP actually does elect him, seriously, I’m popping champagne bottles with MADCO, BlueCat and Fidel’s Dirt Nap…

        3. I want Harvey to win, I’m just saying that he naturally has the highest name ID and longest track record among the candidates.  If the election were held today, he would likely win.

          However, there is over a month for the other candidates to make gains.  And like I said, many of the Tea Party types may not put a premium on Harvey’s obsession with social issues – as his record and reputation might thwart any realistic chance of him raising money, uniting the party or attracting new members.

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