May 09, 2010 06:03 PM UTC

Smarter Jane Norton: Now "Tracker" Aware

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Lamar Ledger reported Thursday, Senate candidate Jane Norton is at least aware now that Democratic “trackers”–or others willing to report on/record what’s actually said–are in the room:

Norton, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, was campaigning at The Perk in Lamar on May 4, telling the assembled crowd that the state of the nation is in their hands.

“I truly believe our Republic is in jeopardy,” Norton said.

Prowers County Assessor Andy Wyatt asked about the possibility of having another Constitutional Convention.

“We the People have had our collective bellies full,” he said.

Norton said the easier, faster way to reform the government is to elect people who represent the values of the constituents. A Constitutional Convention would take too much time, she said.

Wyatt mentioned a book he had read about U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

“She`s a filthy, nasty, dirty Chicago politician,” Wyatt said.

Norton cautioned Wyatt about a representative from the Democratic Party who was present… [Pols emphasis]

Nancy Pelosi is from San Francisco, not Chicago, of course, but Norton was focused on the part that matters most to her lately: the Democrat in the room. Since “trackers” have provided some of Norton’s most damaging on-camera moments so far this campaign, from that infamous crack about Obama,  ‘terrorist rights’ and health care to being ‘first to call’ for abolishing the Department of Education, you can understand why she’s making an effort to keep her “Tea Party” audiences from putting her into embarrassing situations. Sometimes she can control it by simply not allowing cameras (see above), but obviously that’s not going to work everywhere she whistle-stops. And people can still write it down…

Of course, it also used to be policy that Norton didn’t ever mention her Republican primary opponent Ken Buck either–we see reality has changed up that game plan, too.

Norton told the assembled crowd that she had quit her job to run for Senate, while her opponent, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, is still employed by the county.

Those running for office and other elected officials shouldn`t use taxpayer money or time to campaign, she said.

Here’s hoping she made an exception for Rep. Cory “Absentee” Gardner, who would like to represent Lamar in Congress someday–and come to think of it, isn’t Norton’s campaign manager, you know, an elected official too? An official who was, in fact, running for office last year having not resigned his present job either? If Norton’s dig on Buck seems problematic for a lot of folks not named Jane Norton, well, obviously, you’re just a liberal trying to bring her down.

Ribbing aside, we have to say that at least being aware how what’s said at Norton’s events reflects on her personally does indicate some belated smartening up by her campaign: one hopes it’s not already too late, though, with a bounty of ready-made TV spot sound bites in the wild. And in engaging her opponent by name–just as we said about Scott McInnis’ recent stepped-up attacks on Dan Maes–a much-needed recognition that Norton is not so inevitable after all.