January 28, 2014 08:01 AM UTC

...And Then Bob Beauprez Scumbagged Them All

• 10 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

FOX 31's Eli Stokols reports–seriously? "Both Jobs Bob?"

Former GOP Congressman Bob Beauprez, tasked earlier this month with chairing Colorado’s bid to host the 2016 Republican National Convention, told FOX31 Denver on Monday that he hasn’t ruled out putting his name at the top of this year’s ballot…

While Beauprez hasn’t closed the door to a U.S. Senate run, he also remains open to mounting a late run for governor.

In both races, Beauprez said, no candidate has emerged as a favorite from a wide primary field; and fundraising numbers, on the whole, have been less than impressive.

“It would be nice if one of our guys was getting some separation, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The finance numbers don’t lie,” said Beauprez, who clarified that he was referring to the fields of both GOP gubernatorial and Senate candidates. [Pols emphasis]

Pretty exceptional stuff if you think about it. Bob Beauprez, a former Congressman whose last foray into electoral politics was an historic drubbing at the hands of Bill Ritter in 2006, has found a way to drop his name into speculation about virtually every major statewide race since then. In 2010, Beauprez floated his name unsuccessfully as an alternative to the collapsing GOP gubernatorial campaign of Scott McInnis. Beauprez likes to tell people that he's "got another rodeo" in him, but at 65, the hard truth is he probably doesn't have very many such rodeos, and if he's going to take another shot at high office it honestly does need to be soon.

So one can understand his interest in 2014–which he expressed as far back as last summer, though nothing came of that round of "buzz." It's much less clear today how Beauprez builds goodwill by disparaging the entire Republican gubernatorial and Senate primary fields this far into the race. It's not that we disagree with the premise that these other campaigns have so far failed to thrive. With Ken Buck and Tom Tancredo topping the polls in the Senate and gubernatorial primaries, it's pretty obvious that bellicose Republican rhetoric hasn't been met with a plan to actually win elections.

But with all due respect to "Both Ways Bob," who has given us much great material over the years, he's not their savior either. What he has done is remind everyone again how desperately shallow the Republican bench really is.

And since he can't run in both races, maybe he should have only talked smack about the candidates in one.