How Maes Hurts Dems

Complacency  and Overreach

Maes?! What a maroon! What an ignoranimus!

He can’t win. He doesn’t have his party’s support.

He’s clearly unfit  to hold this office.

I don’t have to even ask if any of this sounds familiar. Nor cite sources.

That any of the characterizations of his ability, intellect or past are true is irrelevant.  

If the smartest candidate always won, I can think of a lot of campaigns that would  have ended differently.

If division of one’s party  core this far out from election day gauranteed loss, I could think of even more campaigns that would have ended differently.

And if there was some kind of fitness test, well there are some office holders that never would have got there and others who never would have been re-relected. Over and over.

The CO 2010 general election will be al about turnout.  Most elections are, but sometimes turnout is virtually assured: presidential election in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2008, just to name a few.

But turnout is not guaranteed in CO this cycle.

No presidential election.  No motivational propositions to drive turnout.  Local stuff doesn’t drive turnout.

So it’s the Senate race.

Both parties had disunfying primaries.  But for reasons previously expressed

the R’s will be more motivated and are typically better at unifying behind their candidate anyway. At least that’s my perception, and in CO 2010  it’s my fear.

Imagine the apathetic D’s with no local race to care about who think Hick is a lock because Maes just cannot be taken seriously. Imagine Maes gaining real R credibility by  gaining a real LtGov and perhaps the reasoned endorsement of someone (anyone) that CO R’s take seriously.  I’m not talking Rosen or Gunny Bob. I’m not talking Wadhams or The Jeffco R Mens Breakfast Club. I’m talking Gingrich. Or Palin. Or Norquist. Even Bruce.

Then we have complacent D’s not writing checks because of course it’s Hick. Maes just can’t win.

We’d have low D turnout because Maes just can’t win, and neither will 60, 61 or the other one.  

So that’s the complacency part lowering D turnout.

Then we have the Left, Sirota, some of the posters here, and others pushing hard Left for single payer, federal law requiring abortion, gay marriage, open borders, card check, cap and trade and so on.  They feel embiggened because Maes just can’t win but the overreach of the far left, either in rhetoric or reality has three negative impacts for D’s.

It encourages the bitter, divisive D’s who want candidates much  

further Left to stay home. Not write checks. Not organize canvass nor GOTV.

To the degree that the L captures media, it reinforces the R talking heads portrayal of Hick, Bennet and other CO D’s as crazy far left socialists who are ready willing and motivated to help Obama drive America right over the cliff into Islamic radical socialism.

It divides the D party.  It encourages the frustrated D voters to vote for Nader and splinter. This doesn’t help Hick- it helps Maes.

Of course, none of this will matter and Maes will be easily defeated by Hickenlooper if, but only if D’s do not get complacent and do not attempt to overreach.