The Republican Party of Colorado is on the verge of becoming a minor third party. Current polling indicates that the current Republican candidate for Governor is polling close to ten percent of the total vote for Governor.
This means that if this polling is translated into reality on Election Day, the party will no longer be listed as an equal to the Democratic Party on the ballot. It further means that Republican candidates and principles will be put into a precarious position in future elections. How did it get into this position?
The Republican Party consist of its principles, the people who support those principles, the party rules and procedures adopted by those who declare themselves members of the party by registering with their respective County Clerks as Republicans.
The principles are commonly portrayed to be a belief in the rights of the individual, individual freedom, individual responsibility, constitutional government, smaller effective government, lower taxes, free markets, entrepreneurship, the rule of law and a strong national defense.
Here in Colorado, the party operates under the caucus system, whereby people gather in local neighborhoods and elect their committee people and representatives to higher assemblies, wherein they elect their officers and delegates to the state and other assemblies for the purpose of electing officers and nominating candidates for various elective offices.
The caucus system is believed to be and effective way for the party to size up candidates at the local level and vet them rather than having just an open primary election where it is believed that slick adds and lots of money will pick the winners.
The party is now in the process of throwing all of this effort, organization and diligence to the process out the door. It is jeopardizing the future viability of the party. For who will want to go through the process if it doesn’t mean anything in the end? What kind of candidates will emerge? Who will want to participate as members, voters, officers and candidates if the process doesn’t mean anything?
What has brought this on? Many new people have chosen to participate in the process. They wanted change from the old establishment as they perceived it. They wanted new faces and more accountability. They were fed up with the way things were. They wanted people like themselves to be their standard bearer.
In the case of Governor, they chose a young man who put himself up as a self made successful businessman, a man of Republican principles, strong in conviction and accountability.
Unfortunately, he was politically inexperienced, virtually unknown, poorly funded, had no professional advise and maybe ingratiated his resume a little. He pulled off an astonishing feat by winning the state assembly and the primary election. He became the Republican nominee for Governor.
Then reality set in, the young man appeared to be a flawed candidate after a few news stories surfaced and a major party stalwart withdrew his previous endorsement. People began to question their choice. Now the party is in a crisis situation as it relates to the future of the political process and the Republican Party itself.
What to do? First, people must realize that all candidates are flawed, they are human. Second, they must put his flaws in perspective; he was a successful businessman in his eyes until the recession knocked the basis of his business plan in the dirt. He survived and sold the business. Can any small businessperson identify with this situation?
A young police officer caught in an undisclosed investigation that involved duty, family members and his fiancée, a tough call. Did he break the law? It looks like he was honest with his superiors and was subsequently fired, is this a serious ethical breech?
Finally, there are the campaign finance law violations and a “he said, she said” funding dispute that any candidate could find himself or herself in without qualified staff to assist them. Was he wrong in admitting to the violations and settling on a fine in order to move on to what he considered the more important task at hand? Is he still the candidate who sold himself as being grounded in solid Republican principles? Is his stated goal of promoting strong economic growth and private sector jobs in Colorado worthy of being elected Governor?
On the other hand, we have a third party candidate, a former congressman, who chose not to go through the process. He is now opportunistically promoting himself as the savior of the Republican Party when in fact he is working to destroy the party. He has built his political career on a strategy of appealing to the baser emotions of the electorate with the tactics of provoking, deriding, dividing and any thing else that will keep his name in the news. Is this the kind of Governor that Colorado wants?
Then we have a major city Democratic mayor who is beholden to the regular interest groups and constituencies of the Democratic Party, who demand more government programs, more regulation and bureaucracy that leads to higher taxes and bigger government.
The choice is in the people’s hands, does it maintain the two party systems? Does the Republican Party honor itself and the rules and processes and the people who participated or does it throw it all away? It is very important for people to think this through before they vote in the next election. There could be some very serious unintended consequences.
Bob Martinez is former Republican State Chairman and National Committeeman. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
