June 23, 2014 10:09 AM UTC

Local Media Tosses Beauprez Softballs As Primary Nears

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

​As you'd expect, there was a great deal of coverage this past weekend in local media about the field of Republican gubernatorial candidates competing in tomorrow's primary elections. As we wind down the last hours towards the close of primary tomorrow night, we've been struck by the overall deferential press coverage frontrunner Bob Beauprez has received, especially compared to fellow ex-Congressman and chief primary opponent Tom Tancredo. There's a clear consensus among institutional Republicans today that Beauprez is best suited–relatively speaking anyway–to take on Gov. John Hickenlooper in November, despite the GOP's own polling showing Beauprez a 15-point loser in head to head matchups.

In this space since Beauprez has entered the 2014 gubernatorial race, we've documented in just a few months of casual research and forwarded tips a treasure trove of opposition research–not just from Beauprez's political career before 2006, but the absolutely nutty stuff he has said since then in interviews and his own writings. With the exception of Beauprez's on-again off-again support for the individual mandate to buy health insurance, which opponents have used against him, none of this unelectably crazy stuff that Beauprez has said since 2006 has been reported in local media. 

It's anybody guess why Beauprez has not been asked to explain why he once claimed that President Barack Obama is leading the nation toward civil war–or how Shariah law is 'sneaking in' to Colorado, or why climate change is a hoax, or his pandering to the "birther" conspiracy crowd, or a long list of other incendiary "Tea Party" nonsense from Beauprez that you'll soon know about if he does win tomorrow's primary.

Instead, for the last week, Beauprez has been the subject of puff piece interviews like this one from FOX 31's Eli Stokols this weekend:

And this sweet nothingburger from the Summit Daily News' Joe Moylan:

In 2002, Beauprez used his success to launch a winning campaign for Congress, representing Colorado’s 7th Congressional District. He returned to Colorado in 2006 to accept the endorsement of outgoing Gov. Bill Ritter, [he meant Owens–Pols] but doesn’t shy away from admitting he was thumped by Democratic candidate Bill Ritter.

Now a published author and editor in chief of a national public policy website, Beauprez initiated a second campaign for governor, basing much of his platform off of his ideals in his two books “A Return to Values: A Conservative Looks at His Party” and “Liberty’s Promise: My Plan to Protect Freedom & Our Constitutional Rights.”

“…Yes, I got my toe stubbed (in 2006), but you learn by doing.”

Even the AP's Ivan Moreno treats Peyton Manning Beauprez with inexplicable kid gloves:

Beauprez said he’s more seasoned this time around. “Anybody who doesn’t learn from losing their toe, popping themselves in the nose, going through a tough time, anybody who doesn’t learn from that shouldn’t be in the game at all,” he said.

He’s also quick to use a sports analogy.

“I think Peyton (Manning) is probably looking forward to the next time he gets to play a Super Bowl,” Beauprez said, referring to the Broncos 43-8 shattering defeat in the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks this year. [Pols emphasis]

With the primary tomorrow, local media seems quite willing to help the GOP establishment's pro-Beauprez consensus win out, and it's Republican primary voters being done a disservice. Sure, there are some Republican voters out there who will like Beauprez calling out Obama for trying to start Civil War II! But there are a whole lot more Republican primary voters who have been fed the message that Beauprez is not as unelectably loony as Tom Tancredo. We'd go as far as suggest that is the biggest factor working in Beauprez's factor in tomorrow's primary.

And you know what? That's not nearly as big an advantage as they've been led to believe.

Bottom line: if those poor, longsuffering Republican primary voters, desperate for a win after years of losing at the top of the ticket, find out what a total lunatic Beauprez turned into in the eight years since he last crushed their aspirations after they nominate him, they're not going to be happy. As we've watched this primary season play out with practically nothing about Beauprez's record other than his 2006 defeat seeing local press coverage, our readers have come to understand something about Beauprez that the GOP primary electorate, pending results tomorrow, has not.

When it comes time to say we told you so, we will.