December 15, 2011 02:24 AM UTC

Self-Funding Chiropractor Declares CD-6 Bid

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• by: Colorado Pols

A candidate we discussed several months ago in relation to a possible Democratic bid for CD-3 announced this afternoon his intention to run for Congress–in CD-6. Back in July, chiropractor Perry Haney was sending out mail pieces with a Grand Junction PO Box as a return address, and it seemed as though he was looking at running in CD-3. And we know that House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer dropped Haney’s name after Haney eagerly made his way around an open-to-all-comers event in DC. The Statesman had a write-up on Haney last week:

“Send a Chiropractor to Congress,” reads campaign material available through Haney’s website. “There’s nothing wrong with Congress that a spine doctor with backbone can’t cure,” says one side of a brochure under a Haney for U.S. Congress logo…

Haney plans to invite chiropractors to the unveiling of the nameplate on his congressional door, which will identify him as a member of the profession. When it comes to Medicare, Haney says it should be saved, not destroyed. “One way to fix Medicare is via greater utilization of chiropractic, which is proven to save costs,” he says. “Chiropractic [also] must be included on an equal playing field in all insurance systems.”

Efforts to reach Haney were unsuccessful.

In an open letter to fellow chiropractors, Haney pledges to fight for the right of patients to access chiropractic care, including active-duty military, veterans and their dependents. “Chiropractors need to be treated fairly and I will make sure that they are,” Haney promises.

We suppose it’s Hoyer’s bad, then, that Haney has every appearance so far of an unqualified single-issue rich guy in search of a vanity campaign–which is exactly what we said about him months ago. We’ve heard nothing to suggest any institutional support for Haney running for Congress in CD-6. What we’ve heard, on the contrary, is that Haney is in the thrall of consultants who have convinced him he could viably self-fund a run for Congress; guaranteeing themselves meal tickets for as long as Haney can be made to believe it’s worth it. Politically, as many gold-dome denizens know, the chiropractic lobby is kind of toxic in Colorado–Dave Balmer finds them useful, and that might tell you much of what you need to know about their reputation.

Also, Haney’s wealth–the only reason he rated a mention last summer at all, due to a possible ability to self-fund–could be a product of exorbitant billing practices. Update that bio page!

Note we don’t really care if you think chiropractic medicine is legitimate or not: anybody who makes it central to their campaign, as Haney obviously plans to, is going to get submerged in the “woo woo” debate he’ll feed by doing so. In the end, although we note we’ve been surprised once or twice before, we really doubt Haney will make it all the way to a Democratic primary next August. For an historical parallel, we’re thinking Herb Rubenstein–not Peggy Lamm.