December 14, 2007 07:57 PM UTC

That's Waak

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• by: Colorado Pols

Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak on Wednesday publicly did exactly what she and her supporters had long accused former Dem Party Chair Chris Gates of doing in 2004 – she publicly got involved in a potential Democratic Primary. From Colorado Confidential:

“For years, I would have said primaries are great for a discussion of the issues,” Waak said. “But when I watched what happened with Ed Perlmutter and Peggy Lamm in the 7th Congressional District and the amount of money that took, we’re much better off without primaries in 2008.”

The Perlmutter-Lamm Congressional primary in 2006 was not only expensive; it was acrimonious with both candidates using negative attack ads to disparage the other.

[Mark] Benner probably wouldn’t have the money to do that to Udall. But Waak fears his attempt to get on the primary ballot might divide her party before a general election in a critical race to maintain and extend Democratic control of the Senate.

It is the job of a Party Chair to try to sort out internal fights – but that is before they become public. Once candidates publicly announce their intentions, Party Chairs should not publicly pick a side. And Waak looks particularly ridiculous here because she rode to power on the cries of wrongdoing about Gates. Gates’ so-called interference in the Ken Salazar–Mike Miles primary was her sole reason for running for Party Chair. “For years I have said that primaries are great for a discussion of the issues,” she says now. Whatever.

Comparing a potential Benner-Udall primary to the Perlmutter-Lamm tussle is also completely unnecessary. We’ll say it again: Benner is not a serious candidate. Benner’s candidacy, whether he actually runs or not, is completely irrelevent. Waak says she is worried that Benner might divide Democrats, but Benner can’t even figure out where he is supposed to file his campaign paperwork. For all her failures as a candidate, Lamm raised a lot of money and had the ability to get her message out. The only people who will even know the existence of Benner are the most dedicated of the Democratic caucus-goers.  

In fact, publicly trying to dissuade him only gives the appearance that he matters in this contest. Benner will likely have no money, no real campaign and no impact on the U.S. Senate race, so Waak shouldn’t even bother with this. Waak is wrong here, as Dick Wadhams was wrong to dismiss Wayne Wolf (and as Bob Martinez was wrong to diss Marc Holtzman), but at least Wolf wasn’t a complete joke as a potential candidate. And at least Wadhams never pretended to be impartial.