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September 03, 2010 11:27 PM UTC

It's Getting Ugly--But Maes Stays

  • 66 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #3: Maes makes it official on his Facebook page:



—–

UPDATE #2: FOX 31’s Eli Stokols:

Despite a mass erosion of support among GOP leaders and grass roots activist, Republican Dan Maes has decided to stay in the Colorado governor’s race.

The deadline for certifying the November ballot passes at 5 p.m. on Friday. However, Maes made his announcement at about 3 p.m…

He will face Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, and American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo in the November election.

Maes also told FOX31’s Eli Stokols that he plans to limit his media access going forward. He feels he has been “too available” and “too off-the-cuff” with his comments, some of which – in his view – have allowed reporters to write politically-damaging stories.

Uh, you think so, Dan? All jokes aside, this is exactly what we would recommend if we were advising Maes. The campaign’s best chance at winning in November is to lock Maes in his basement, keep him quiet, and hope that enough voters just mark an ‘X’ next to his name because he is a Republican. This is what Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is now doing after her disastrous performance in front of the media yesterday.  

—–

UPDATE: 9NEWS’ Adam Schrager Tweets that “multiple Republican sources” are confirming to him, Dan Maes will NOT pull out of the gubernatorial race. Original post follows.

Politico’s David Catanese reports as the clock ticks down to destiny:

In a meeting Friday morning, party chairman Dick Wadhams and other members of the state GOP executive committee met with Maes to present what one called “damaging evidence” that hasn’t yet been made public but would further erode his standing as a candidate, according to the source.

A second Republican consultant confirmed the account and said while there was no explicit ultimatum presented by the chairman to Maes, the message was clear.

“It was: Do you really want to put your family through this? If you stay in the race, you’ll have to endure this and this,” said the Republican, citing potential reports by the Denver Post.

Wadhams did not respond to a call for comment and another Republican aide said he did not expect the chairman to address the media until Maes came to a decision…

The Republican source said the timing of Maes’s potential exit is key in order to halt the printing of ballots while the party convenes a replacement committee to select another candidate.

“If the secretary of state learns about a change in candidacy today, they would delay ballot printing. This is the Hail Mary pass,” said the source.

It’s been widely reported that Tom Tancredo has promised to remain in the race, regardless of whether or not Dan Maes succumbs to the intense pressure being exerted. On its face, this would seem to present a strong disincentive to possible Maes replacements. We’ve heard nothing from Maes’ camp to suggest that any of these developments have changed his mind, but the common theme in all of this has been an inability to predict what Maes will do next.

But short of threatening to detach body parts, there’s just not much they can offer/threaten to do to a man with nothing to lose, and who just won his first (and likely only) election of his lifetime.

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66 thoughts on “It’s Getting Ugly–But Maes Stays”

  2. More:

    Ransom said Wadhams and the GOP establishment should be blamed for what’s become a “fiasco.”

    “Dick used party resources to chase every decent candidate for governor out of the race; he kept the McInnis scandal alive by chatting on background in the press about how McInnis ‘had to’ drop out; and finally all Wadhams can offer the party now is recycled candidates like Jane Norton, who just lost an election and Josh Penry, who didn’t even have to fortitude to make it through three months of campaigning for governor last year. It’s time to dump Dick Wadhams too,” said Ransom.

    Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/s…

    Wadhams played the long hand. He helped force Penry out. Then McInnis collapsed, and now Wadhams once again wants his way over Republican voters.

    This would make be either overthrow Wadhams if I were a Republican, or find another party. Wadhams has turned what should have been a wave year into a disaster.

      2. in this whole situation, and you’ve pegged it, MADCO.

        And victim. If you think about it objectively, isn’t Dick also the victim of this whole mess? I hope he stays strong and resolute.

      3. Wadhams should be applauded for his efforts.

        Given that this is a terrible year for Republicans and that the economy has experienced a dramatic turnaround he has done what twenty experienced politico’s couldn’t do. Extraordinary abilities.  

    3. make a stab at recycling Both Ways Bob.  Wadhams must feel like it’s almost midnight on death row and still no call from the governor.  Tancredo is probably thinking about what a pain running a real, even if half assed, campaign is going to be.

    1. ….I go back to my pick of Pete Coors to run for Gub’nar if they somehow manage to blackmail and intimidate CrazyDan to drop out.

      Ain’t gonna happen, but….

      1. in another campaign, this one with less chance of winning then the last time he dropped a bundle? The RGA along with just about every other big money source is done with the 2010 Colorado gubernatorial. Stick a fork in it.  Don’t know way Both Ways even bothered to make noises about maybe being willing.  

            1. I do believe he’s a decent guy, and I think he’s out of all this because of the shitstorm the Colorado GOP has waded into because of DickWad.

              But if someone could get Maes to drop out, and they pleaded with Pete, I think he’d do it.

              1. I don’t think Wadhams believed this could happen, that they couldn’t force anyone they wanted to out. Good Rs have always dropped out when told to by the mothership, always patiently waited their turn.  I bet Wadhams still doesn’t believe this is really happening.  I almost feel sorry for the guy…naah.

      4. Are you projecting that Maes will drop and  Bob Beauprez will step in. Or is this  just for some comic relief. For the latter Beauprez held his own back in the 2006 gubernatorial race. Maes hasn’t been bad, especially with the remarks about the bike program being a UN conspiracy.  

  4. did they? currently the republican state politburo is making Maes an offer he can’t refuse. (with threats even) to drop out.

    Hang in there Maes! I might even vote for ya just to piss off “the establishment.”

    LOL

  5. Excellent!!! What this race has been lacking is a little old school extortion.  But what if this doesn’t work?  

    Do they show him pictures of his wife walking his kids into school and tell Maes they know were to find his family.   Kobayashi style in the Usual Suspects.

    Or maybe it will be more of a Godfather thing.  Wadhams tells Maes it’s either going to be his signature or his brains on this resignation letter.  

    “I AIN’T NO BAND LEADER DICK!!!”

    1. Did he kill somebody?  Seduce a boy scout?  Because that’s about what it would take for political blackmail considering the stuff everybody knows already.

  6. the crazed marginal elements of the party to get out and vote. The turnout of the people who grew up to become the Tea Party was crucial to many GOP victories through the years. But now, the monster has grown up, figured out the system, and nominated one of its own, to the detriment of the Republican party itself.

    The Republicans created their own Frankenstein. Good luck dealing with it.

    2. It’s good to encourage people to vote.  Even less-than-fully-informed voters.  The problem is they have promoted misinformation to even further confuse the public.

      This is going to be one crazy election.  Either CoPols is right and the Dems sweep the state or H-man is right and the current polls hold up.  The tension is killing me.

      1. to drive voter-registration efforts and GOTV campaigns is partly to blame for this phenomenon. Inflammatory rhetoric motivates the marginals to participate, but it also dilutes the reasoned approach to politics that is necessary to a functional government.

        The problem in Colorado (and to some extent, nationally) is that the inflamed marginals eventually figured out how to use the system to advance their own candidates within the GOP, and now the party is stuck with Dan Maes.

  7. In candidate training I learned that even someone convicted of murder could run and win office.

    So plagerism,resume failures (see HD39 too), and ethical lapses (IOKIYAR) don’t really hinder anyone who really wants to run for office. And, I think now is enjoying poking a stick in the Dick’s rear.

    2. I think it will depress R GOTV this fall and help the Ds.  When the average voter goes and talks to political junkies in a few weeks, Rs will say “I guess you should vote for Maes / Buck / whoever” but the Dems will say “You should vote for – and here’s why.”

  9. Facebook moments ago


    Dan Maes After speaking with, and hearing from, numerous Coloradans – from former Senators to family farmers – I’ve determined that I cannot turn my back on the 200,000 voters who nominated me to run for this office. This campaign found success through hard work, palm-pressing, and shoe leather, and that’s how I plan to engage voters over the next two months and claim victory on November 2nd.

  10. But, first, tune in to Silverman/Caplis…..and listen to Caplis ranting.  Yesterday, Hank Brown in listening to possible replacements had mention danny caplis…..that was evidently enough to get danny all hot and bothered. ….and now that impossible dream is slipping by him..  caplis is blaming maes for putting his own “selfish interest” ahead of the “greater good”…the definition of of which caplis will disclose shortly.

    If CU loses tomorrow, I fear for caplis and hope friends and family will stay close.

  11. until COB Friday. Hold on Danny. Be strong.

    (I’m leaving since it’s even closer to beer-thirty. Figuring out a problem with Excel can wait for next week. Just don’t let us down, Danny.)

  12. Not that I’m paying that much attention to the Maes campaign (strictly entertainment, not a devout follower), but where’s Tambor Williams these days?  Am I not watching close enough, or is she completely invisible?  Hiding under her desk?

    They say rats know when to leave a sinking ship.  Just wondering if Tambor has found a lifeboat yet…

  14. So – just out of curiosity – what if Dan doesn’t get 200,000 votes in November after having said that basically 200,000 Republicans can’t be wrong in handing him the nomination?

  16. For journos, Dan Maes is George Washington, Robespierre, and Lenin wrapped into one.

    First, though, let it be noted that I am writing this AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD, which is to say, after the deadline for Maes to disappear from the ballot in November, so the question of what happens after the end of the world has been answered, sorta.

    And second, let it be noted: Republicans Nominate Ex-Cop from Liberal. I know, the nomination occurred awhile ago, but now they’re stuck with someone from Liberal (Kansas). Who’d a thunk it? What exactly he did there to get fired…well, we can still think about that until we find out with greater certainty.

    But to the real significance of Maes: He’s the Man Who Changed Journalism! How? By switching the emPHAsis from “what did he do, what did he say” to “what didn’t he do, what didn’t he say”.

    So now we can go from “MAES DOES NOT DROP OUT” to… well, to what?

    –MAES DOES NOT EAT LICORICE FOR BREAKFAST…AGAIN

    –MAES DOES NOT PROMISE TO FIRE SANTA CLAUS

    –MAES DOES NOT SAY M*****F***** AT MEETING WITH KINDERGARTNERS

    And truthfully, even though the ballots are “printed” (really, do they still do that? Looong deadline! I guess they have to be distributed by horseback and all…), Maes can NOT drop out every day between now and whenever. So the story goes on, the publicity machine grinds on, BennetPols keeps going, global warming keeps on not happening, and John Maynard Keynes is still dead (isn’t he?). And the Comedy Channel finds a new home in what used to be the Republican Party of Colorado, renamed Cirque de Coloradique. Thanks, Dan. You’ve accomplished a lot by NOT dropping out. The world is your oi veyster.

    1. on what the superlative intellects who are the Republican Party leaders do.  It may not be impossible that they throw their support behind TT, but I really don’t know how the party faithful would react.  This situation is so f***ed up it’s unbelievable.

      Honestly, if this was a tv show, would you still be watching after so many “unrealistic” plot twists?

      1.  for Republican Party officials to support a candidate from another party? And weren’t some Republican Party officers threatened with expulsion if they publicly declared they were voting for Tancredo?

        1. If Hickenlooper wins the Governors race, (which right now is looking likely) I’m pretty sure the Kingmakers are not going to survive politically.  They screwed up big time, and everyone knows it.  The base is pissed off big time over this,  

          I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of movement going on behind the scenes, now that Maes has made it impossible to replace him on the ballot.

      1. Looking at a race realistically is important so you don’t find on election day that you lost. Doesn’t mean you want that person to win. (This is one thing that worries me a lot about the Bennet campaign, the tendency to shoot the messenger.)

      2. Reportedly 25% of his support is from Democrats.

        He won five terms in office from the 6th Congressional District, where immigrant bashing is wildly popular

        Freda Poundstone, a key supporter, is shrewd, gutsy and politically savvy.

        Possible endorsement of Tancredo by Dick Lamm, Democratic ex-governor of Colorado, with ties to The Pioneer Fund, U.S. Inc., Defend Colorado Now, FAIR and Californians for Population Stabliziation.

        http://coloradoindependent.com…

    3. If a Republican has to win can it be Maes? At least then I could  proclaim myself as a member of the UN conspiracy (I enjoying riding a bike). I digress

      Tancredo does have his followers, as well as those who will hold their nose and vote for him. Nonetheless, I’m skeptical that Tancredo could realistically win under any circumstances.  

  18. STATEMENT BY COLORADO REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN DICK WADHAMS ON THE CANDIDACY OF DAN MAES FOR GOVERNOR

    I am very disappointed in the decision by Dan Maes to continue his candidacy for governor.  

    Revelations before and especially after the August 10 primary have raised serious questions about the veracity of how he has presented his professional background and career and have virtually destroyed any possibility of running a viable campaign.  

    The only way Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper could win this election for governor is by being handed the kind of race he was today by Dan Maes and Tom Tancredo. The bad news for Colorado Democrats is that their candidates across Colorado are very endangered in every other competitive race.  

    Colorado Republicans have outstanding candidates for the state legislature across the state in competitive races and we are committed to electing majorities in both houses.  While John Hickenlooper might fluke his way into the governor’s office, a Republican controlled legislature will confront his desire to continue the failed Ritter agenda of raising taxes and destroying jobs.  

    Colorado Republicans are firmly committed to the election of Ken Buck as U.S. Senator over the accidental senator, Michael Bennet.  We will reelect John Suthers as Attorney General and also elect Scott Gessler as Secretary of State and Walker Stapleton as State Treasurer.  

    Congressmen Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman will be reelected and we have strong candidates in the other five congressional districts.  In fact, recent public polls show Scott Tipton leading John Salazar in the Third District, Cory Gardner leading Betsy Markey in the Fourth District, and Ryan Frazier over Ed Perlmutter in the Seventh District.  Dr. Mike Fallon and Stephen Bailey are running spirited campaigns in the First and Second Districts respectively.  

    I am proud to stand with Ken Buck, John Suthers, Scott Gessler, Walker Stapleton, Doug Lamborn, Mike Coffman, Mike Fallon, Stephen Bailey, Scott Tipton, Cory Gardner, Ryan Frazier, and our outstanding candidates for the state legislature.  

    ###

    1. But this all happened on his watch.  Wadhams actually cleared the field for Maes, whether he intended to or not.

      Where’s Josh Penry when his party needs him?  On the sidelines because Wadhams didn’t think it was his time yet.

    3. Revelations before and especially after the August 10 primary have raised serious questions about the veracity of how he has presented his professional background and career and have virtually destroyed any possibility of running a viable campaign.

      Since when has Dick Wadhams been concerned about a Republican lying?

  19. New No News at 19:21 hours, mountainous substandard time: Thousands of people in Colorado did not attempt to retract their endorsement of Dan Maes for governor Friday afternoon after the deadline passed for Maes to unendorse himself.

    At the state capitol, fourteen people were slightly injured in a mad rush to be the next to unendorse Maes. Thousands of others succeed, repeating the words: “I unendorse Maes. I will not vote for him no matter what.”

    Several voters were treated for stupefaction after being asked by a reporter, “Okay, so who are you going to vote for?”

    Wannabe Politico Pete Coors also retracted his offer of a free bottle of discolored impure spring water for anyone retracting their endorsement of Maes. He said he was not withdrawing the offer because it would strain production facilities, but because state health officials were afraid too many people would gag after taking him up on his offer.

    More news as it does NOT develop.

    For Channel Zero News…

  20. Dan Maes jumped through all the hoops to become the party’s nominee. Now, the powers that be are putting mafia-style pressure on him to get out? I thought we lived in a democracy. If you don’t like the candidates in a race, then find stronger ones, and let the situation play out. All this interference is un-American. Then again, I forget these republicans like to change the rules when they don’t suite them.  

  21. Cirque de Coloradique gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes became the latest politician to retract support for himself Friday night.

    Shortly after retracting his self-endorsement, Maes said he was committed to remain the designated Chief Clown of his own party.

    “Drinks all round, on the party,” Maes said, “or smoke some of the stuff I’m on. Hmmmmmmmm.”  

    1. if Maes uttered the relevant Grouchism, with full understanding and awareness of what it means to withdraw support for any organization that would have him as a member, it would increase my respect for him tremendously.

      I still couldn’t vote for him – I really do not want to move.

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