December 03, 2009 09:48 PM UTC

Ryan Frazier's Long Goodbye

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• by: Colorado Pols

Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams, one way or another, has presided over yet another remarkable clearing of the Republican primary field in the races that matter most next year–gubernatorial and, with a single wild card remaining, the U.S. Senate race as well. Wadhams of course claims that he loves primaries, and did seem to genuinely object to gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis’ presumption for awhile, but somewhere between what’s happened in the last few weeks and the ruthless plowing of anybody and everybody out of Bob Schaffer’s way in 2007, it’s kind of tough to believe him.

Aborted Senate candidate Ryan Frazier is an impressive young figure (in theory, anyway) who we tend to think could have a bright political career ahead of him. But as you know, he was one of the casualties of the aforementioned elimination of key Republican primary challengers, and was offered what some would call the Wayne Wolf Kiss of Death™–a hopeless, undersupported run at a safe Democratic congressional seat, in Frazier’s case the one owned by Rep. Ed Perlmutter.

It’s funny, isn’t it? How the field can mysteriously empty in races that party leadership cares about–but the ones that they don’t? Sorry Councilman, the Denver Post reports:

A veteran of two wars and two presidential campaigns will announce today his campaign for Congress in the 7th District.

Lang Sias of Arvada is seeking the Republican nomination and hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat from Golden…

Sias, a pilot for Federal Express, has served as an active-duty naval aviator and in the Air National Guard, where he is a lieutenant colonel. He served in the first Gulf War and was deployed to Iraq in 2005.

Sias volunteered for Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2000 and served as national director of Veterans for McCain in 2008. [Pols emphasis]

Like we said, Frazier is a smart and affable young man with potential–but he was not ready, and above all he was not high enough on the GOP roster for his ambitions (and neither was his fundraising). As a result he’s just a nuisance now for Republican strategists. Maybe they didn’t recruit this high-profile McCain staffer and veteran (cough) to challenge Frazier in CD-7, but they don’t give a crap that it’s happening.

If we were Frazier, we might seriously consider sitting out 2010 like Josh Penry did–awaiting less treacherous “friends,” and fewer usual suspects in front of him with a bully’s sense of entitlement.