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(D) Phil Weiser
(D) Jena Griswold
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DEMOCRATS
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August 22, 2018 11:16 AM UTC
38 Comments
I am predicting that Republicans turn on Victor Mitchell like a box of one dozen starving, crazed weasels.
I am predicting that your prediction will be correct.
The possible upside for Mitchell could be some personal growth. When I quit the Republicans in disgust 18 years ago it started me down a path to being a better person. At least if they attack Mitchell with the ferocity I expect and the experience wakes him up that the Republicans are not about integrity and rule of law.
As an independent I think the Democrats are not particularly great either given their lesser, but still significant, capture by special interests like the oil industry, finance, developers, etc.
As long as candidates and elected officials must spend a large majority of their time and energy begging for campaign funds year-in and year-out, special interests will always have plenty of fish to capture.
Interesting that you became disgusted with the GOP during the 2000 Bush court appointment to the Presidency.
Even before that. It was how George W. Bush campaigned that turned me off. I voted Gore. The dirty tricks Republicans used against McCain in South Carolina, implying he had a black love child in a push poll. It disgusted the hell out of me. I did not formally change my registration for a while so I could keep voting in primaries, but I mostly voted D since then. Except when I thought I could make more of a statement by voting "other" in a safe race.
What did you think about Lee Atwater and his tactics during Pappy Bush's 1988 campaign?
Too young to vote then and too young to know better. I was not even in middle school much less HS in 1988. I chalk up my support of the elder Bush as "youthful indiscretion".
Ok, I guess you get a pass on that one
And, an overdue welcome to Pols!
Well, I'm a bit more cynical. I think the upside could be that Victor Mitchell positions himself for a Gardner departure or a primary fight for the Senate nomination in 2020.
Agreed. The ranks of pro-Trump Republicans a year from now will be vastly depleted. Mitchell is just positioning himself for the future.
Moddy will be singing his praises as well.
You and Davie could be right about this being a self-serving move, but if so I think it foolish. People who turn on their party before it becomes popular among the party faithful do not get rewarded for being right early. Their bold stances get them politically knee capped.
Example: Lincoln Chafee who voted against the Iraq war resolution. What happened to him later? Lauded by his party? Nope. Primary fight in 2006 nearly losing to a more conservative candidate 53%-47% and only winning because of independents and Democrats voting in the Republican primary. None of the six Republican Representatives who voted against the resolution went on to win a higher office either. Ron Paul is only the most famous example.
Yikes! I hadn't thought about that. But you raise an interesting point, given Colorado is now allowing unaffiliated voters to pick their primary. In fact, Mitchell's campaign was appealing to the independent voter, if I recall.
The ranks of the unaffiliated are growing, and depending on how messy this Trump affair becomes, the GOP is due for a day of reckoning.
Will today's Republican Party harden into a desiccated shell of bitter true believers, forcing moderates into leaving organized political parties empowered via open primaries (Dems are somewhat vulnerable too, btw)?
Or will the GOP self-reflect, reform and rise from the ashes by stifling the most rabid Trumpians?
As an independent I voted in the Dem. primary due to having more good choices instead of lots of bad ones. Also: Denver. My local State Rep. and Senator is going to be a Democrat and there were two open seats. Couldn't miss out on that.
On the Colorado level I think the Republican Party is going to become an unelectable true believers party. They will win the occasional statewide race in Republican wave years, but otherwise Colorado is the new Washington/Oregon in 1988. They will keep it close at times and often get lower offices due to vote splitting, but they have elected their last Governor/Senator for quite some time to come.
On the national level I think their support is distributed in such a way that they keep it close enough to win national elections around 50% of the time and control the Senate a lot more than that. They retain enough power to keep the Federal government dysfunctional for another decade or two at least and frequent control of the house until/unless there is some sort of proportional voting. Democrats are too packed in cities and that will not change quickly, if it ever does.
Very astute. And raises even more issues that will demand our attention over the next 2 to 4 years — redistricting under current rules, Dems putting more emphasis on local races to rebuild the foundations of our democracy, possible new laws theoretically limiting gerrymandering, proportional electoral college voting, and even further out — expanding House and Senate representation via added states.
I don't know about that. Remember, the average Republican is like a borg drone. They will never reward someone who criticized the leader. Even if the leader ends up going to prison.
When I was in high school and Nixon was on his crime spree, there were a handful of very courageous Republicans in Congress who pushed for impeachment or resignation. Many of them were never forgiven by the True Believer Nixonites.
IIRC, the father of the current governor of Maryland was on the House Judiciary Committee in 1974, voted for impeachment, was running in primary for governor and lost to a True Believer Nixonite.
I think Cory is "rewarded" with nomination to second term but sent packing in the general election for his loyalty to the leader. He then gets work with Koch Industries or managing one of Trump's hotels.
That is an even better example than my Iraq War one. Thanks for sharing it.
my bad
Um, it's a transcript. I doubt that Victor typed it out.
And it's the correct version of principle (as opposed to principal), so I'm not sure what the issue is.
crap. you are correct.
I give him major kudos for this because he could have stayed quiet and no one would have taken notice.
Nice to know SOME Republican is willing to step up and make a statement.
I seem to be missing any reaction from Sen. Gardner, Colorado statewide Republicans Stapleton, Coffman (f), Williams; Representatives Buck, Coffman (m), Lamborn, Tipton; and any Colorado legislative Republican.
Nevertheless, Coffman (f) is the one Republican we Democrats fear the most. She will be the next governor. We have Moderatus' word on that.
A display of integrity and personal honor is sadly rare in today's political scene. I salute Victor Mitchell.
Agreed. I think he is doing it out of principle.
Principle is scarce and he'll be ostracized by the GOP for having one.
He looks like he was out all night drinking and then made a bad Youtube video. Who cares about this loser?
He types like he was out all night drinking and made a half-assed comment on some political blog. Who cares about this loser?
30% of the primary voting pool cared about him.
If things go as I'm beginning to believe they could for Donald J. Trump & the Trump Organization, the number of "true believers" willing to cast ballots for Trump or his acolytes will go down — not to zero, obviously, but a notable few even left Jonestown and were willing to say mean things about Jones. A number of Republicans saw President Ford pardon Nixon and refuse to campaign against him, and Ford lost the '76 election to a lightly regarded Democratic candidate who pledged to do better.
Howard Baker was a prominent Republican who took several steps inimical to Richard Nixon. He continued to be re-elected as a Senator until 1980; he was Minority Leader, then Majority Leader in the early 1980s; he then became White House Chief of Staff for two years. Later, he was appointed Ambassador to Japan. In short, his opposition to Nixon didn't hurt very much.
So, you mean more people care about him than Nutter's girlfriend?
I was little at the time, but a very aware kid. IIRC, by the time Nixon resigned, it was puzzling how he had won in '72. One was hard-pressed to find anyone who had voted for him. I see the past as prologue. Republicans are deserting this sinking ship as fast as they can swim.
I too was a kid in 1972. But by reading history, I saw how Nixon won in 1972. I saw the depths to which CREEP went to misrepresent and vilify George McGovern as a LWNJ and a pacifist who would surrender the US to the Commies. He was a decorated World War II vet but that didn't keep them from Swift-boating him as somehow unpatriotic.
If Victor Mitchell is concerned about the rule of law, shouldn’t we wait until the law is ruled upon? It hasn’t been and this is just an example of #metoo movement being appropriated to every allegation of impropriety.
It’s like crooked Hillary destroying evidence after receiving a subpoena, it’s not been ruled upon in court so Pols give her a pass.
As opposed to the Trumpers chanting "LOCK HER UP!!!! LOCK HER UP!!!!" before the law is ruled upon.
Victor Mitchell is concerned about the law, but what he is asking for at this point is not a legal nicety, but a resignation or beginning impeachment proceedings, a political process.
Beyond his focus on personal or political processes (and not legal standards), there is another key difference here.
That's a pretty good start toward "the law is ruled upon."
I can almost see Pear squeezing his eyes shut, sticking his fingers in his ears and singing "Lalalalalalala" to himself to ward off your evil spell of logic and facts!
Roger is planning to stay in the bunker with the leader to the bitter end. THAT is loyalty. Bet the White House is regretting not getting involved in CD 6 primary race last spring to replace Coffman with Pear.
This one's for you, Pear….
Roger, wouldn't you prefer a theocrat like Pence as president than Trump?