Tancredo says Republicans "will not beat Hickenlooper" on gun issues

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by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

On KNUS radio this morning, host Dan Caplis said it was "legitimate" for Sen. Greg Brophy to spotlight Tom Tancredo's post-Columbine vote for a House resolution limiting, among other things, the size of magazines to 10 rounds or fewer, the same limitation put on magazines by one of Colorado's new gun-safety laws.

In response, Tancredo, who's battling Brophy for the chance to take on Gov. John Hickenlooper in November, downplayed the importance of the gun-safety issues in the upcoming general election, saying, "We are not going to win an election on this."

Here's part of Tanc's response, as heard on KNUS:

Tancredo: "I'll tell you that if, indeed, anybody believes that the Republican nominee, whoever that might be, can win the general election on this [gun] issue, or a couple of others that are fairly focused, they're wrong. We will not beat Hickenlooper, I don't care who it is, we will not beat Hickenlooper on this issue… We are not going to win an election on this. …

The NRA has always supported me. These things are essentially frivolous attacks that do not help in the long run. And as I say, I do not agree with you that this is something that the other side will use. Do you really believe that Hickenlooper would be attacking me for being soft on guns?"

Caplis: I think it would come up. And I think you'd handle it well…. Here's how I would definitely see it coming up in the campaign. You're running against Hickenlooper. You're the nominee. You're bashing him…he tried to restrict Coloradans' gun rights. And then Hickenlooper turns around with their 527s… 'Wait a second. Tom agrees with Hickelooper on this.'

Listen to Tancredo on Caplis saying GOP won't beat Hick on Guns

12 thoughts on “Tancredo says Republicans “will not beat Hickenlooper” on gun issues”

Moderatus says:

January 16, 2014 at 4:19 pm

Tom record is catching up with him. He won't be the nominee.

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1. Davie says:
  
  January 16, 2014 at 4:43 pm
  
  So to join the Republican Party these days, do you have to name all the hits from .38 Special and Guns 'n Roses?
  
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  1. Diogenesdemar says:
    
    January 16, 2014 at 6:48 pm
    
    Moddy will be singing from "The Praises of 'Tanc," just a soon as the primaries and caucuses are over (and he's getting paid for it, . . . of course!)
    
    Same goes for "Buck's Alltime Greatest Chart Toppers" . . .
    
    On a totally unrelated note,
    
    . . . anyone ever hear whatever happened to that douchenozzle, ArapaGOP??? Just curious . . .
    
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    1. langelomisterioso says:
      
      January 17, 2014 at 8:13 am
      
      I've sort of wondered the same thing myself along with the n3bbisher and its offensive av image.You'd believe any gun related thread would bring them out of the woodwork to proclaim the glories of their genitalia enhancers and the benefits of a totally armed society. We could only be so fortunate as to have any association with the Republican party of the time be so embarrassing that even the most wingy of the nuts don't want to claim their connection.
      
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2. JBJK16 says:
  
  January 16, 2014 at 8:41 pm
  
  His fundraising was pretty good. At least so far.
  
  Are you ready to make a prediction?
  
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mamajama55 says:

January 17, 2014 at 10:23 am

Nobody is going to beat Hick on gun issues alone. Gunzos are like 25% of the population, and they overlap with hardcore anti-abortion people, and they are in all political affiliations. The old PPP post-recall poll showed that.

Latinos and anti-racists are never going to forgive or forget Tancredo's vicious anti-immigration rants, so they (we) will never vote for him.

But his anti-immigrant stance is what makes him appealing to a certain young white low-information voter. Not necessarily racist, but working in construction, convinced that immigrant labor takes the bottom out from wages in this industry. It's hard to argue, because it's true. People scared of being deported will put up with poor wages and working conditions, and work hard, too.

Yes, a path to citizenship will help people come out from the shadows and wages will come up. That will take awhile. And these low-info voters propelled the Tanc to 37% of the vote in 2010.

So Tancredo is bolstering his following among these mostly young voters with his ganja-friendly stance. I don't think Tancredo will be the R nominee, because i think that Gessler will manipulate the system to gain the nomination. But Tancredo is the greater threat.

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1. Urban Snowshoer says:
  
  January 17, 2014 at 1:54 pm
  
  Of course nobody is going to beat the Governor on gun issues because the people for whom gun-rights are a hot-button issue wouldn't have voted for Hickenlooper under any circumstance, and the people who do support Hickenlooper aren't swayed on guns alone.
  
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2. BlueCat says:
  
  January 17, 2014 at 2:37 pm
  
  Don't see Tanc's pot friendly stance as a way of winning him more support among young R primary voters than he already has. None at all in a general. After all, it's already legal under Hick who isn't going to be running on repealing it. Not a campaign issue unless it's different from the other guy's. It doesn't exploit a difference. Now if he could be pro-puppy and get Hick to come out for gut shooting puppies, that could make a real difference.
  
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  1. mamajama55 says:
    
    January 17, 2014 at 3:43 pm
    
    You're right BC, in that there won't be any substantial marijuana legislation to argue about at this point. All of the R candidates support the voters in legalizing marijuana.
    
    Tancredo is the only one who's gone so far as to say he will smoke it in public, that he sees Colorado's law as repealing prohibition, etc. That kind of talk endears him to the pot-smoking crowd.
    
    In my opinion, none of these guys (Brophy, Tancredo, Gessler) can crack 35% in a general election, because they all have limited appeal or significant liabilities. Now, if only we had some really good progressive, independent candidate coming in to challenge both sides….
    
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    1. Urban Snowshoer says:
      
      January 17, 2014 at 10:01 pm
      
      Tancredo may support legalizing marijuana but there are still social conservatives who believe Reefer Madness.
      
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      1. BlueCat says:
        
        January 18, 2014 at 4:50 pm
        
        True. But in any case you have to have somebody who wants to repeal legal pot in order for being in favor to make any difference. If everyone running is OK with it, it's nothing. So if he's pandering, he's forgotten how to do it.
        
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      2. Diogenesdemar says:
        
        January 18, 2014 at 9:32 pm
        
        Say, wasn't that a young Tancredo who played the piano in that movie . . . ???
        
        (. . . sure would explain a lot . . . )
        
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