Establishment Elephant in the People’s Room

Image via Wikipedia

Tea Party Targets

Awakening slowly, the liberty movement initially railed clumsily against the expansion of government promised by the election of Barack Obama and the 111th Congress. However, as formerly-casual voters turned their attention away from the reruns of summer 2009 and towards basic Constitutional principles, they discovered that their beloved Republican Party was complicit in the steady march towards tyranny of the last centry. The strained loyalties were plainly seen in the conspicuously non-partisan targets of the rallying cries, “Vote the Bums Out!”, “Get Out of Our House!” and, “Remember November!”

Holding nothing sacred but the U.S. Constitution and the blessings of liberty it secures, the movement ultimately embraced George Washington’s early warning of political parties altogether. While one might suspect that this would drive its members towards smaller third parties or solely idealistic voting patterns, the leaderless, populist nature of the movement has rendered it surprisingly agile and pragmatic. As such, the reality of the two-party system led the movement to choose the Republican Party as their most effective political vessel, despite its questionable track record.
The resulting conflict was inevitable: citing “We the People,” citizens rightly saw themselves as the direct master of the government while the Republican Party was unwilling to relent its position as the broker of governmental power, fostered for generations. The grassroots sought responsiveness, but received only politically expedient doublespeak from the party: at times it would align itself with movement, and at other times suggest that the movement was a ragtag group of fair-weather idealists; “drunk drivers behind the party wheel,” one radio caller offered.

Like the Democrats, Republicans quickly found themselves squarely within populist crosshairs. Specifically, the movement’s newest target was the “Republican establishment,” and was not limited to just the party elites and insiders; it included any GOP loyalists who put party before principle and looked down on political rookies. Like the Democrats, the establishment has had little recourse against the decentralized movement, and resorted to misrepresenting them and lashing out.

Raging nationwide, this party vs. people showdown has rarely been more evident than in the 2010 Colorado Republican gubernatorial primary race.

Primary Posturing

Lines were drawn early in the primary race. Career politician and gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis appeared on Fox News in December, naively claiming to be the “the country’s biggest Tea Party candidate.” Outrage at this arrogant presumption further rallied the Tea Party around his relatively unknown opponent, Evergreen businessman Dan Maes. The establishment argued that Maes wasn’t “ready for primetime,” but as you’ll see, that presumption endeared him to the Tea Party all the more.

By spring, it became evident that McInnis and the establishment had no intention of so much as recognizing Maes’ candidacy. Despite dozens of offers, McInnis flatly refused to debate Maes, appearing beside him at only a handful of events. (McInnis very reluctantly attended TCT’s candidate forum in March and all but ignored a June debate co-sponsored by TCT.) “I’m running against Hickenlooper,” McInnis would say, further enraging the base.

Then, as if trying to pick a fight, members of the establishment began to baselessly opine that the grassroots’ idealism would lead them to abandon McInnis in the general election should Maes lose the primary, and would hurt the entire ticket as a result. Recent history points to the contrary: this is the same movement whose pragmatism helped elect liberal Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts and, even while in gestation, turned out en masse for moderate McCain in 2008.

The liberty movement responded to these provocations by redoubling their efforts, and Maes’ victory at the State Assembly rocked the establishment. Dick Wadhams, Colorado Chairman of the Republican Party, estimated that 40% of the delegates rose when “first-time delegates” were asked to stand at the Assembly; other eyewitness accounts placed that figure at well over two-thirds. Doing their best to appear unfazed, however, the McInnis campaign continued to ignore now-frontrunner Maes.

In early July, both candidates ran into trouble [see Hotchkiss, p17; Graybill, p20], and the party vs. people skirmishes quickly erupted into a full blown war.

Establishment Escapades

Once the McInnis plagiarism scandal deemed its gubernatorial candidate all but unelectable, the establishment acted precisely as it had faithlessly predicted the liberty movement would: it abandoned the remaining candidate. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, as the establishment never attempted to hide its contempt for Maes; long before the plagiarism was revealed, one Republican asserted in mixed company that she would “never vote for Maes.” While the establishment’s ultimate motives behind abandoning Maes are shrouded, we can glean clues from the candid statements made and contemptible actions taken in the weeks since.

Immediately and not-so-subtly, the establishment began plotting to put up a third gubernatorial candidate. Politicians were named, state laws and party rules were pored over, loopholes were thoroughly explored, and scenarios of Maes and McInnis resigning were staged. Details remain murky, but McInnis’ decision to remain in the race may indicate complicity, and Tom Tancredo’s egotistical threat to run on the Constitution Party ticket demonstrates their “we know better” restlessness.

Now, under the guise of preparing Maes for the onslaught he’d be subjected to by the Democrats as the Republican nominee, the establishment has begun to call into question Maes’ qualifications and ruthlessly attempted to discredit him. Others have dispensed with the guise altogether and openly declared Maes unelectable. [see Getchey, p21] This assertion rang hollow, as Maes perpetually polled neck and neck with both McInnis and Hickenlooper. Obviously, they would see the assembly winner and people’s candidate stopped at any cost, which begged the question, “then what’s the point of the primary process?”

The actual reasons behind this stonewalling, of course, lie in the Republican Party’s position as power broker between the people and their government. Maes owes nothing to the Republican Party, has no political ties to speak of, and hasn’t looked for any favors. Maes isn’t a cog in the establishment machine, without which the machine would quickly sputter to a stop, unseating some, interrupting some back-scratching, and ultimately allowing the people more direct access to their government.

If the people’s choice for Colorado governor is unelectable, it is solely because the establishment abandoned him after their candidate came up embarrassingly short. The GOP establishment will again have the opportunity to back Dan Mae, but they have plainly demonstrated that they will not; not because he is unelectable as they’d have you believe, but because they have a substantial amount to lose should he win.

Populist Picks

As I mentioned in my editorial [see Otero, p4], our initial intention was to wait to endorse until after the primaries, if at all. Unfortunately, the establishment is foolishly backing the grassroots into a corner, and the staff of TCT knows which end of the soon-to-strike Gadsden rattlesnake we belong on.

TCT was founded to give a voice to “We the People.” As a natural extension of that purpose, we have decided to take a stand and remind Colorado that the grassroots have made their choices, are standing by them, and will not abandon their principles to a party.

Many muse that, without conservative results, the next federal Republican majority will be the last. If the party proves to be broken beyond repair, the base will depart en masse. However, tens of thousands of Republican cards will burn much sooner, and on the steps of our own state capitol, if the GOP shenanigans in Colorado lead to the people’s choices being usurped or the conservative vote being split.

Endorsement for Colorado Governor

Endorsement for U.S. Senate

A publication written by "We the People," The Constitutionalist Today is comprised of articles from a range of writers, journalists, and bloggers. As such, the opinions herein may not reflect the opinions of our staff, management, or editorial board.