August 20, 2015 12:02 PM UTC

Josh Penry Brings The Classy To Team Rubio

• 8 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio is starting to form his team in Colorado.

The campaign announced that Josh Penry, a former state Senate GOP leader, will serve as Rubio’s state chairman. The volunteer role will put him in charge of building an organization to support Rubio’s 2016 ahead of the Colorado caucuses in March.

Yes, that Josh Penry:

His pick as Colorado chairman drew a reaction from national Democrats in an email blast about “Marco retro-Rubio.” The Democratic National Committee highlighted Penry using the word “shrill” to describe Democrat Morgan Carroll, the former state Senate president mounting a campaign to challenge U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman in the 6th District…

The DNC release also noted Penry’s remark in 2012 comparing [it] with one Penry gave in 2010 suggesting that Democrat Michael Bennet’s campaign “looked like the Student Body Association at an all-girls school” for its focus on abortion rights and birth control.

On the one hand, Josh Penry brings undeniable campaign experience in Colorado, with years under his belt organizing both for himself and fellow Republicans as one of the principals at GOP-aligned political consultant firm EIS Solutions.

On the other, you have Penry’s propensity for, if you will, verbal diarrhea. And as with Penry’s other client Rep. Mike Coffman, Penry’s (not so) smart mouth could end up doing more harm than good for Marco Rubio in the long run. For an ambitious and talkative guy like Penry, it’s worth keeping in mind at all times that being the story isn’t always a good idea for one’s client.