September 28, 2023 10:47 AM UTC

"Beetlebert" Could Be How The End Begins For Lauren Boebert

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Grand Junction Sentinel’s Charles Ashby reports, the explosive, sustained controversy over GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert’s churlish and lascivious behavior inside Denver’s Buell Theater during a performance of the musical adaptation of Beetlejuice on September 10 has forced a prominent Mesa County Republican elected official to take the unusual step of rescinding his endorsement of Boebert for re-election in 2024, throwing his support behind Boebert’s primary opponent Jeffrey “Not William” Hurd:

“All of it is beneath the office she holds. It’s indefensible,” [Mesa County Commissioner Cody] Davis told The Daily Sentinel. “I’ve always been uncomfortable with Boebert’s style, but I knew she wanted what was best for the 3rd CD. I was not considering this when Hurd first got in. Beetlejuice was the trigger for me.” [Pols emphasis]

Davis said he isn’t attacking Boebert per se, but believes her actions disrespected her office, adding that Republicans can’t take a higher moral ground over Democrats if they turn a blind eye to inappropriate actions of members of their own political party.

“How can I criticize Democrats for their moral shortcomings if I’m blind to the shortcomings of my own side?” Davis asked on his Facebook page. “As we aim to re-focus the Republican Party, we must support individuals who not only advocate for conservative values, but are committed to embodying them. Our voters deserve that.”

Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis has been on blast from the far right with the rest of the all-GOP Mesa County commissioners for several years, lambasted by Boebert’s former campaign manager Sherronna “America’s Mom” Bishop and Mesa County’s sizable pack of fringe right-wing agitators on issues ranging from COVID-19 mask mandates to the “failure” of Mesa County Republican officials to adequately support indicted former Clerk Tina Peters. Ashby reports that Davis is not the only Western Slope Republican considering un-endorsing Boebert, with several state representatives either “praying through” their decision or at least locating the exits like Rep. Matt Soper:

“At this time I’m not endorsing, as Ms. Boebert needs the ability to ask forgiveness and take ownership, and Mr. Hurd needs to develop his campaign by getting to know voters from across the district, and become more than the not-Boebert candidate,” Soper said.

After two weeks of surpassingly brutal media coverage that due to the salacious nature of the content spread beyond traditional political news consumers to the literal ends of the earth, this combination of defections and dramatically fainter praise from Republicans in Boebert’s district indicates a significant and rapid erosion in Republican support for Boebert since the Beetlejuice incident. We still don’t see the heretofore-unknown lawyer Jeff Hurd actually defeating Boebert in next June’s Republican primary, but if Republicans turn their backs on Boebert en masse as has only happened a couple of times in recent Colorado political history–here’s looking at you, Dan Maes–Boebert could find herself limping to defeat next November written off by her own.

We’ve said it before: Boebert is too vulnerable to make any mistakes, and she’s making all the mistakes.

We couldn’t have predicted it, but “Beetlebert” could truly be the tipping point.