Tancredo Loves Him Some Jimmy Lakey

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Feb 24, 2010 at 12:28:38 PM MST

But it appears as though Lakey is really running, as evidenced by a recent endorsement from former Rep. Tom Tancredo. Take a look at the Tancredo endorsement email after the jump, which warns of illegal immigrants kidnapping your dog, or something, if Lakey's primary opponents (Ryan Frazier and Lang Sias) win the nomination. "The Republic is at risk!"

We joke about Tancredo's endorsement, but in a multi-candidate Republican primary, it could actually play a huge role. Lakey only needs about 10,000 votes to win a three-way race, (there are 85,000 active Republican voters in CD-7, and traditionally only about one-third of eligible voters participate in a primary) and we're guessing there are a lot of anti-immigrant GOP voters who will take Tancredo's advice on who to vote for this August. If Lakey can do even a decent job of raising money, he's got a real shot here.

You're One To Talk

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Sep 15, 2009 at 08:22:11 AM MDT

Former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton will announce her candidacy for the U.S. Senate today, much to the chagrin of retired U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo.

Tancredo said he would not have had a problem if Norton earlier this year had called fellow Republicans statewide to say she wanted to run for the office and outlined her reasons.

Instead, he charged that Norton in recent weeks got talked into running by Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Norton family friend and political ally.

"Does John McCain have a right to do that? Sure. Do I have a right to (complain) about it? You bet," Tancredo said in an interview Monday night. "Jane Norton is a nice lady who I like. End of story. But I fear she is not ready for prime time."

Yeah, we'll remember that next time you run for President on the "Send 'Em Back" ticket. And why do we have the feeling that Tancredo wouldn't be nearly so angry if McCain had suggested that he should run for Senate?

At least Post reporter Lynn Bartels had the sense to edit Tancredo for the print version, in the first version of this story he asks, "Do I have a right to bitch about it?"

If the messenger makes your skin crawl, it's really hard to listen to what they say. Almost makes us wonder if he's learned his lesson from the Sonia Sotomayor burn and is now using his ignominy to inversely boost the team...

You're right. Not nearly smart enough for that.

From the "No Shit" Department

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Jun 03, 2009 at 11:04:58 AM MDT

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich now sheepishly admits that the "racist" attack might have been a bad idea. From The Associated Press:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday he shouldn't have called Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a racist, but said he was still concerned that she would bring bias to her decisions.

In a letter to supporters, the Georgia Republican said that his words had been "perhaps too strong and direct" last week when he called Sotomayor a reverse "racist," based on a 2001 speech in which she said she hoped the rulings of a "wise Latina" would be better than those of a white male without similar experiences. Gingrich's remarks created a furor among Sotomayor's backers and caused problems for GOP figures who have been pushing to bring more diversity to the party.

We'll give Gingrich some credit for belatedly realizing what a stupid attack this was for the GOP in general, but unfortunately for the Republican Party, the damage has been done.

Penry for Governor? Um, No

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 11:29:35 AM MST

Our prediction? Penry doesn't actually end up running for Governor in 2010. And here's why...

Tancredo, Beauprez Eye Ritter

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 13:09:39 PM MDT

Also rumored to be seriously considering another run for governor in 2010 is - don't laugh - Bob Beauprez. But while Beauprez may be seriously considering a run himself, it's doubtful that any other top GOP backers would seriously take him seriously. You don't run the worst statewide campaign in Colorado history, as Beauprez did in 2006, and try to run again for the same race four years later.

Tancredo Pulls Out, Supports Romney???

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Dec 20, 2007 at 14:28:21 PM MST

From the Rocky Mountain News:

Rep. Tom Tancredo officially bowed out of the race for the White House today, declaring a moral victory despite never escaping the bottom rungs of the polls.

At an afternoon news conference in Des Moines, the Colorado congressman also endorsed Mitt Romney, saying he was satisfied the former Massachusetts governor is well-suited to drive many of the same immigration reforms that Tancredo has been pushing on the campaign trail.

Tancredo called Romney "the best hope for our cause."

He also said worried if he stayed in the race that someone who is wrong on immigration - namely former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - could benefit.

"I don't want to do anything that would aid them," he said of Huckabee, while also mentioning Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Tancredo did not say anything about his immediate plans. He's long left the door open to a possible Senate run in 2010...

...It's unclear how much weight a Tancredo endorsement might have with just two weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3.

In Iowa, Tancredo got between 2 percent and 6 percent in the most recent polls, and his supporters and campaign volunteers appeared to be split among various camps.

Tancredo's exit from the race is certainly no surprise, but we'd be lying if we said the Romney endorsement was not.

Tancredo Tries to Scare Voters Into Supporting Him

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Nov 13, 2007 at 11:16:49 AM MST

In an effort to boost his Presidential campaign, Rep. Tom Tancredo has gone the scary route with his latest campaign ad - as in, try to scare people into voting for you.

As M.E. Sprengelmeyer explains:

On Monday he unveiled a new television ad that shows a hooded man slip into a peaceful shopping mall, set down a black backpack - not far from where children are playing - and then, boom!

Interspersed with images of a bloody body and the destruction from recent terrorist attacks in London, Spain and Russia, it argues that this could be "the price we pay for spineless politicians who refuse to defend our border against those who come to kill."

But one Iowa political analyst called it such a "brute" appeal for fear, that it's not likely to help Tancredo's long-shot campaign here in the nation's first presidential caucus state, nor prompt any of the other candidates to respond, as Tancredo told reporters Monday was his real goal.

"This is just blatant, raw fear images, and they've never worked in the United States, period," said Bruce Gronbeck, a communications professor from the University of Iowa who teaches a course on politics in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

You can watch the ad here.

More on Tancredo Announcement

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 13:49:39 PM MDT

Tancredo Won't Run for CD-6 Re-Election

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 07:05:35 AM MDT

Even if he loses his long-shot bid for the White House, Rep. Tom Tancredo will be leaving the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of 2008.

Tancredo, 61 , waited until after the Colorado Rockies' last out of the World Series on Sunday night before announcing that he plans to retire from Congress at the end of this, his fifth term.

"It's the fact that I really believe I have done all I can do in the House, especially about the issue (immigration) about which I care greatly," he said.

Tancredo said other people are now taking up leadership on the immigration issue...

The decision is not a surprise, considering Tancredo's repeated complaints that his presidential run was taking a heavy toll on him and his family. But it is sure to set off a mad succession scramble in his solidly conservative, suburban Denver district.

Tancredo parlayed a back-bench seat in Congress into a national megaphone to oppose illegal immigration, denounce a so-called "cult of multiculturalism" and warn about a "clash of civilizations" between radical Islam and Western civilizations.

Those issues have been the centerpiece of Tancredo's bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, although he has yet to break out of single digits in most polls...

Initial predictions: lively GOP primary. Seat stays GOP, but Dems will make a more serious run than in years past -- meaning no unseasoned candidacies like that of Bill Winter. Republican state Sen. Tom Wiens will declare early and work hard to be anointed frontrunner, but don't count Mike Coffman out of this thing.

We hate to say we told you so, but...who are we kidding? We told you so. As always, remember that you read it here at Colorado Pols first. Kudos to M.E. Sprengelmeyer of the News for getting the scoop on the official announcement.

Speculate away...

One Doozy of a World Series Bet

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 13:18:29 PM MDT

From ABC News via State 38:

Rep. Tom Tancredo wants to go all in. He's batting for the fences. He's a Rockies fan, he's from Colorado, they're in the World Series against the Red Sox, darnit… He's on a roll.

So Tancredo, who had already pegged an announcement on whether he'll run for reelection to his Littleton, CO Congressional seat to the Rockies -- he'd announce his intentions when their season ends -- had his spokesman call ABC News to officially offer a friendly little high stakes wager to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Red Sox fan.

"If the Rockies lose, Tancredo will drop out of the Presidential race," said spokesman Alan Moore. But if. . . IF the Red Sox lose, Moore went on, "Romney would have to agree that he'd drop out."

Usually when politicians bet on sporting events its for food. Boston Baked Beans versus some Silver Bullet smooth Coors, or something else from Colorado. A Denver omelet?

Romney would be nuts to take the bet, obviously. So while there is no official response yet from team Romney, with Mitt's enormous campaign war chest and status in the polls among the GOP frontrunners, he's got a bit more to lose than Tancredo, who raised less than a million dollars in the most recent financial quarter.

Tancredo Forgets About Immigration Reform

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Sep 24, 2007 at 09:08:03 AM MDT

We've always wondered why Rep. Tom Tancredo doesn't do more about illegal immigration, since, you know, he's a congressman and all. Apparently the answer is simple: He just forgets.

As The Denver Post reports:

Call it congressional amnesia.

Rep. Tom Tancredo two months ago announced a far- reaching proposal to rewrite immigration laws. Today that plan is missing in action.

The Republican congressman from Littleton never submitted the bill he trumpeted in July, legislation that would severely limit family-based legal immigration, imprison employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and deny citizenship to babies of illegal immigrants who are born in the U.S.

Tancredo's spokesman said that the congressman and his staff have been busy and that perhaps it just slipped their minds.

"We've been fighting a lot of other fights" on immigration, said Tancredo spokesman Carlos Espinosa. "Are we going back to that? Of course we are."

Tancredo, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, also has been hard to pin down, Espinosa said.

Vote Tancredo for President! He'll solve the immigration problem...unless he forgets.

Tancredo Gets Matching Funds

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Sep 13, 2007 at 10:07:48 AM MDT

From The Denver Post:

Tom Tancredo's presidential quest qualified for federal matching funds Wednesday, a boost his campaign said will keep it alive awhile longer...

Tancredo, a Littleton Republican known for his criticism of U.S. immigration policies, now will get a dollar-for-dollar match up to the first $250 of every contribution he's received this year...

In paperwork filed June 30 with the Federal Election Commission, Tancredo had raised $2.8 million and had about $556,000 on hand. Qualifying for matching funds means Tancredo's campaign can get a bank loan for about $2.5 million, Buchanan said. That loan is paid back with the matching funds, which will come beginning next year...

...To qualify for matching funds, candidates must raise at least $100,000 by collecting $5,000 in 20 different states, in amounts no greater than $250 from any individual.

Tancredo raised about $176,000 through 3,082 contributions from 25 states.

So far, only Tancredo and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have qualified for and decided to take the matching funds, the FEC said. Most of the top-tier candidates have opted out of the system because it requires them to spend less than about $50 million.

But the news isn't all good for Tancredo. The Republican congressman has repeatedly called for the U.S. to deport all illegal immigrants, which it turns out, would be pretty expensive. The department of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement estimates that it would cost $94 billion to deport every illegal immigrant in the U.S.

Tancredo: We've Spent Enough on Katrina

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Aug 31, 2007 at 14:58:37 PM MDT

From the man who brought you the suggestion that we bomb Mecca...

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo says it's time to stop "runaway government spending" on post-Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.

"Enough is enough," the Colorado congressman said in a statement today, aiming to head off requests for more money to help New Orleans recover from the hurricane that ravaged the city and much of the Gulf coast two years ago this week.

Tancredo's statement comes two days after President Bush visited New Orleans and promised residents there that "better days are ahead" and "we haven't forgotten, and won't."

Katrina smashed through levees in New Orleans and flooded 80 percent of the historic city on Aug. 29, 2005. It also obliterated coastal Mississippi and killed 1,600 people.

Several New Orleans neighborhoods still look like a wasteland, and Tancredo says the federal government is partly to blame. It has spent about $114 billion - or around $1 billion per week - but hasn't paid enough attention to how the money has been used, he said.

Contest: How Many Votes Will Tancredo Get in Iowa?

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Aug 08, 2007 at 10:27:22 AM MDT

UPDATE: The contest closes tonight at Midnight, so get those guesses in to the comments section below.

The Iowa Straw Poll takes place this Saturday, and it has traditionally served as a good barometer of what will happen in the Iowa Caucus in January.

With candidates scrambling to turn people out to the (straw) polls, including offering Capitol/capital tours, we thought it would be a good time for a little contest...

Tancredo "50-50" On 2010 Senate Run

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Jul 02, 2007 at 17:47:12 PM MDT

He may be running for President, but that doesn't stop Rep. Tom Tancredo from talking about running for something else. M.E. Sprengelmeyer of the Rocky Mountain News reports on Tancredo's future political thinking in a wide-ranging Q&A...

Tancredo for Senate...in 2010?

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Jun 01, 2007 at 14:56:20 PM MDT

As M.E. Sprengelmeyer of the Rocky Mountain News reports:

The first head-to-head debate in Colorado's 2010 U.S. Senate race will have to wait.

For a time on Friday, it looked as if Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Denver, and Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, were destined to square off on a nationally-televised, Sunday morning talk show.

But alas, Salazar will be on CBS News' "Face the Nation" broadcast and Tancredo will not.

Before the joint appearance fell through, the thought of a head-to-head appearance made Tancredo and his staff enthusiastic to say the least.

"He thinks it's a great match-up," Tancredo spokesman Carlos Espinosa said. "I think it's interesting how these two, I'd say they are the bookends for the immigration issue. You've got Tom on one end and the Senator on the other. This is a good match-up for a race we may see in the future... This may be the first of many debates for a potential match-up down the road."

Yes, Tancredo currently is making a long-shot run for president. But there's at least a slim chance he won't win. A future run for the U.S. Senate appears to be his back-up plan. Espinosa describes a Tancredo-Salazar contest as the congressman's dream match-up...

...Salazar spokesman Cody Wertz had no comment on Tancredo or a potential 2010 match-up. Pollster Floyd Ciruli said Tancredo would be "the candidate Salazar would most look forward to running against," since Tancredo is so polarizing.

If the election were today, Tancredo would probably get his brains kicked in by Salazar in a matchup for U.S. Senate. But if he does well enough in his bid for President and significantly raises his profile, who knows?

What do you think? Poll follows...

Good Press for Tommy T

by: Colorado Pols

Thu May 31, 2007 at 13:29:36 PM MDT

Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo had a nice write-up in the Chicago Tribune:

While Tancredo's Republican bid is widely regarded as a long shot, the reaction he has received so far in Iowa shows his campaign can't be entirely dismissed, political analysts say.

He hasn't left much of a footprint in Congress, and yet, driven by an anti-illegal immigrant wind, he audaciously has become a single-issue candidate for president, his fists bared as he derides a bipartisan immigration plan being debated in the Senate and calls his opponents "soft."…

…The longer the problem of illegal immigration lingers, the easier it will be for Tancredo to serve as a GOP spoiler as his hard-line stance attracts voters feeling overwhelmed by their changing social landscape, said University of Iowa political science professor Peverill Squire.

"Here in Iowa, things have changed dramatically in the last two decades and it's probably caught a lot of Iowans by surprise," Squire said.

"Tancredo talking in a way to suggest that some of these changes can be slowed down or even reversed, for some people, may be comforting," he added.

A recent University of Iowa poll indicated that 96 percent of Republicans in the state consider a candidate's stance on immigration to be "very important" or "somewhat important" in their vote, with 57 percent saying they support allowing illegal immigrants to "earn" U.S. citizenship if they paid back taxes and learned English.

With Republicans split over immigration policy, top tier GOP candidates such as Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney recently have hardened their views.

Touring through Iowa, Tancredo takes credit for the shift, relishing his underdog status with jokes about not being invited to the White House. His outsider's role has enabled Tancredo to speak more bluntly than some of his rivals.

That approach worked at the GOP's Lincoln Day Dinner in Des Moines, where McCain, Giuliani and eight other candidates addressed about 1,000 of the party's faithful. Tancredo grabbed the loudest applause of the night after a lectern-thumping speech that cast his campaign as a fight to preserve American values and Western civilization itself.

Tancredo's Office a Sanctuary for Immigrants

by: Colorado Pols

Fri May 04, 2007 at 09:41:38 AM MDT

Whether you love or hate Rep. Tom Tancredo, you've got to admit that this is pretty funny. Members of United Voices for United Families, who work out of Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission Church in Chicago, apparently had a meeting in Tancredo's congressional office and declared it a place of sanctuary for immigrants.:

The group consisted of 10 members, women, men and children who had a scheduled appointment with the congressman's office. They met with legislative assistant Andrew Good to discuss the issue of the mixed status families in America and to bring a very important message.

The group knowing that Congressman Tancredo has a very racist reputation when it comes to Latino immigrants and the issue of Comprehensive Immigration Reform still choose to bring him a message of truth.

The message was brought to the Congressman as a people of faith. Inside of the office the celebration of the Holy Eucharist was performed, all participated, even Mr. Good. During the Celebration of the Eucharist the office was declared a Holy Sanctuary for all immigrants around the world. (Pols emphasis)

Tancredo Belittles Virginia Tech Tragedy

by: Tancredo Watch

Wed Apr 18, 2007 at 17:39:57 PM MDT

Never one to keep his mouth shut when potential headlines beckon, Tom Tancredo is jumping on the Virginia Tech mass killing to issue a public "correction" belittling the scale of the recent carnage. The murderous episode wasn't quite as bad as the press says it is, according to Tancredo.

While many press reports are calling the Virginia tragedy the worst school massacre ever, Tancredo's office has declared that the Virginia Tech rampage is actually not THE deadliest school rampage in U.S. history. That distinction actually belongs to a 1927 school bombing in which approximately 48 people, mainly children, were killed. (It's unknown whether the 1927 total still outranks the Virginia Tech rampage if wounded are also tallied.)

This appalling, tone-deaf attempt at one-upmanship is an example of why Tancredo is widely viewed as not ready for prime time. One can only imagine what the Congressman's response would have been if some Virginia counterpart had issued a similar press release within days after the Columbine massacre.

Tancredo Announcement on Monday

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 09:15:08 AM MDT

Tom Tancredo will announce his Presidential plans on monday, according to The Associated Press:

Tancredo said Friday he will make the announcement in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa's presidential caucuses are the first in the nation.

Tancredo, an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration, formed an exploratory committee in January and this week chose former CNN commentator Bay Buchanan to temporarily oversee the exploratory campaign.

He has made campaign visits to Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire and has hired a campaign manager for New Hampshire.

Given that he is making the announcement in Iowa and recently hired Buchanan, it's safe to say that Tancredo won't be announcing that he is not running for President.