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October 15, 2009 03:04 AM UTC

Gloves Come Off As Penry Rips "Business As Usual" McInnis

  • 20 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Gubernatorial candidate Josh Penry’s latest blastmail should answer any remaining questions about how he plans to respond to opponent Scott McInnis’ strong Q2 numbers. Fire in the hole:

For Bill Ritter, business as usual means throwing your hands in the air and claiming you are helpless to slow the growth of the government for which you are the chief executive.

But Democrats don’t have a monopoly on business as usual.  [Pols emphasis] This week, there was a prime example of it from Republicans too, when one candidate for Governor complained about Ritter’s car tax, but when asked what he’d do about it, he said, “We’ll see what the legislature does” before he would do anything about it. That’s the Democrat controlled legislature, not known for voting to repeal taxes.

Complaining then doing nothing. Business as usual? You bet that is. Leadership means more than complaining. Leadership means building an agenda, setting a course, and leading. Josh knows that.

This week, Josh said he would push the legislature to roll back Bill Ritter’s car tax. Road and bridge funding will be a priority, but a Penry Administration will do it without the Ritter car tax.

And the last example of “business as usual” came from the same campaign that said they’d wait for action from the Democrats on the Governor’s car tax.  That same campaign sent its latest in a series of campaign communications focused totally on polls, and this week they said they didn’t want debates during the Republican Primary.

Let’s not forget, the Republican party of old during the late 1990s and early 2000s was focused too much on polling and look where that got us. It’s time to debate and discuss the issues that are important to Colorado families. Refusing to show up at debates and forums is a disservice to the voters of Colorado.  This is an election, not a coronation.

That’s a pretty clear attack, but let’s see what Penry has to actually say about finding a budget solution himself. This week, Josh said he would push the legislature to roll back Bill Ritter’s car tax. Road and bridge funding will be a priority, but a Penry Administration will do it without the Ritter car tax. Really? With what? Magic beans? Fairy dust?

Accusing everyone else of doing things wrong only works to a point — to the point where you say, “And here’s what I would do instead.” But if Penry can’t eventually come up with a realistic solution to the state budget, he’ll have set himself up nicely for a knockout blow…to take right on his own chin.

Comments

20 thoughts on “Gloves Come Off As Penry Rips “Business As Usual” McInnis

  1. The 11th Commandment –

    “Thou shalt not criticize a fellow Republican”

    – Ronald Reagan

    Certainly, I am very guilty at times of breaking this virtue, but Senator Penry – is it really worth indicting the entire Republican Party of the early 2000s in order to knock Congressmen McInnis?

    1. for the Republican Party.  He is not in it for the people of Colorado.  He is in it to bring wealth to a small Mesa County cabal, their out-of-state backers and to satisfy his own huge me-me-me ego.  

      “When you have a losing record, you tend to go through a rebuilding process. But the Republican Party appears to be doubling down on all its failed talent.” -Max Blumenthal

    1. Though Penry brandishes the Keystone straw poll as he wags his quarterback finger at McInnis:

      “Business as usual” will have no business or place in a Penry Administration.

      That was Josh’s message to the Republican Central Committee in Keystone two weeks ago — a message that earned Senator Penry nearly 80 percent of the vote in a poll of more than 300 GOP leaders from around Colorado.

      Given this landslide victory, you would think that others would learn from Josh’s leadership message. Unfortunately, some haven’t. [emphasis added]

      Now, that’s beyond cocky — ballsy, even! When can we expect Penry’s Leadership Secrets of the Minority Leader to hit shelves?

  2. “This week, Josh said he would push the legislature to roll back Bill Ritter’s car tax. Road and bridge funding will be a priority, but a Penry Administration will do it without the Ritter car tax.”

    Seriously, our current and future “leaders” better get schooled on the issues confronting us over the next twenty years!

    CO2 is at 387 ppm and 350 ppm was supposed to be the limit. Every major oil field is in decline, with demand rising. Inequality amongst both peoples and countries is leading to rising tensions.

    We’re printing money based on economic growth that will not materialize. It takes capital to harness energy and energy to harness capital…and energy isn’t keeping up either conventionally or with renewables.

    Ritter’s “New Energy Economy” needs to be looked at and reported on. It’s very important.

    Penry, for a young man, has the vision of an old man. That’s a disaster waiting to be elected.

  3. In this same blast mail, he lists a number of debates. One, of which, is the Forum at the Colorado Christian University.

    Below, please find a list of the upcoming debates and forums Josh has agreed to participate in. We hope you get a chance to make it to one of them to hear Josh’s vision for our great state.

    Best,

    Mike Britt

    Campaign Manager

    Debate at Colorado Christian University

    When: November 3, 4:00PM

    Where: Colorado Christian University Campus, 8787 W. Alameda Ave, Lakewood

    But, he doesn’t stop there. He also lists it on his website

    http://www.penryforgovernor.co

    Debate at Colorado Christian University

    •When: November 3rd, 4:00 p.m.•Where: Colorado Christian Campus, 8787 W. Alameda Ave, Lakewood

    Problem is:

    CCU has it starting at 7pm.

    http://www.ccu.edu/about/newse

    Candidates for Governor Forum

    Date: 11/3/2009

    Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

    Description: Centennial Institute hosts forum with Candidates for Governor

    Contact Person: Tricia S. Wimpy

    Phone: 303-963-3350

    Email Address: tswimpy@ccu.edu

    Campus: Lakewood

    Building: Music Center

    Room: MC201

    Yes, folks, grab your popcorn. This will be an interesting debate.

  4. Could the Penry campaign be kicking up dust in order to deflect attention away from something else? Say… something that might come out tomorrow? Like – oh – I don’t know…

    HIS BURN RATE?!?

    1. Because he won’t be able to raise as much when he goes back to the State Senate.

      Meanwhile, McInnis will be able to raise from whomever he desires. Considering Sen. Penry is already 3rd, it won’t bode well for him if he’s already burned through a significant amount of the money he’s raised.

  5. Penry can’t help himself and his 10 little Indians seem to be caught up in the spin on his website and his e-letters calling them debates when they are forums.  They get the times wrong and they can’t be honest about Scott’s participation.  A little fact check would help them get it right.  McInnis is planning to attend the CCU forum among others.  But checking the facts is too easy and might ruin their game plan rule #l – misrepresent the truth.

    1. I wonder if he every once critized his former boss Scott McInnis while he was collecting a paycheck?

      This young man is showing his youth and inexperience.

  6. I guess its a secrete (after all why would you want to let the taxpayers in on your little secrete when running for governor?)

    No doubt Penry, like the “fiscally conservative” Republican Bill Owens,  will do it by adopting the “borrow and spend” strategy of the “fiscally conservative” idol of the Republican party, Ronald Reagan (who left office after racking up record deficits).  

    The I-25 T-Rex project was financed by a bond issue (debt = borrowing) with the bond payback over a 20 year period with funds from the Federal gas tax (as annually distributed to the state) dedicated to debt retirement of the bonds. Of course, everybody loved this idea, especially the investment bankers, bond people, etc. who were able to feed at the public trough.

    Since Penry fails to specify how he is going to pay for bridge and highway maintenance, I suspect his “secrete plan” will be the Reagan “borrow and spend” policy which was enthusiastically adopted by Owens.  

    1. No budget plan, no road and bridge construction funding plan (unless you count A-52, which would have grabbed money from water projects and given it directly to the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association for I-70 repaving) and no plan for education except trying to get creationism in the schools.

      He’s all about attacking his opponents, and his colleagues in the legislature, but when it comes to actual leadership, Sen. Penry comes up empty.

      By comparison, Bill Ritter seems like a strong, forthright, solid leader.

      1. The GOP primary is making me feel downright cuddly about Ritter.  Ritter is at least trying to govern.

        I have not heard one tough choice proposed by McInnis or Penry.  Balancing the budget can not be done by magic in a tough economy. It takes tough choices.  Ritter is doing pretty good.

        Do I hate taxes? Some yes, some no, but I think that the other options are worse.

        Raising taxes or cutting services are both bad in a soft economy as they deepen the recession or slow the recovery, but we are constrained by our constitution (deficit spending is good in a recession, if people/governments only had the control to pay it back quickly in times of growth).  Ritter has the right mix designed to cause the least damage to our recovery.

        Ritter has done things that I don’t like, but on the budget he is doing a great job.  No politician’s criticism should be taken seriously until they present their own budget or at least a replacement revenue source/cut for whatever they are criticizing Ritter for.

        Bitching is easy: Governing is hard.  

        1. I said it yesterday in another thread, but every attack like this by Penry, McInnis, and Republicans in the GA is a wasted opportunity for them to at least make an attempt at leadership.

          The voters don’t like these kinds of attacks. They don’t like the car fees either, but I think most of them would prefer to hear an alternative to the status quo, rather than non-stop complaining.

  7. that simply saying he’s going to do it won’t be enough.  Not for the primary and certainly not for the general.  

    I’m all for creative and innovative ways to save money in government, but Penry has offered nothing as a solution other than “Vote for me, I’m not the Governor!”  I don’t think that’s going to impress the people he desperately needs–the independents and moderate Republicans who are, by all accounts, ever more disenfranchised in their own party.

    To any of the Penry supporters (or to Penry himself!):  HOW does he propose to roll back taxes while improving roads?  What specific programs will he cut?  What other steps will he take to improve state government?  

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