June 27, 2016 12:59 PM UTC

Coors, Shanahan, Mizel Headline Denver Trump Fundraiser

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Denver Post’s Mark Matthews reports:

Pete Coors and Mike Shanahan, a pair of giants in Colorado beer and football, are two of several boldfaced names planning a Friday fundraiser for Donald Trump to coincide with the Republican candidate’s visit to the state that day for the Western Conservative Summit.

While the names on the host committee may suggest a Sunday-tailgate kind of affair — Coors is a longtime beer executive and Shanahan used to coach the Denver Broncos — the entry fee to the presidential fundraiser is decidedly more expensive than what one would find in the parking lot of Mile High stadium…

Longtime Colorado kingmaker and political donor Larry Mizel also is listed as a co-chair.

Pete Coors, and especially Denver Republican kingpin Larry Mizel, hosting a fundraiser for the most controversial Republican presidential nominee since Barry Goldwater are the clearest signs we’ve seen locally of the attempt to make “legitimate” Republican politics safe for Donald Trump. It’s a most debatable question whether the damage widely expected to the Republican brand from Trump’s campaign will “trickle down” to those who put their own names on the line to support him.

Ordinarily we’d say a man of Mizel’s means and influence–influence that results from the means–can get away with anything. But Trump has a way of proving people wrong, often in ways that are damaging to one’s credibility. Hopefully one our state’s most legendary Republican powerbrokers doesn’t get burned.

Of course, Mizel will always have The CELL.