August 28, 2010 04:36 AM UTC

Beer Barons, Bicycles and Bucking Crazy

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• by: ClubTwitty

Colorado Canada Beer Baron Pete Coors has joined the ‘burgeoning list’ of GOP endorsers of Dan Maes.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes today added businessman Pete Coors to his burgeoning list of supporters.

…Coors currently serves as chairman of the board for Molson Coors Brewing Company…

The Coors endorsement builds on a long list of supporters gained by Maes in recent weeks. Other endorsements include Congressmen Mike Coffman and Doug Lamborn, former Senator Hank Brown, and current national committeeman Mark Hillman.

Maes is in the news today primarily due to his failing attempts at fundraising, which begs the question: how will he pay for gas?

So pretty much any news, even an endorsement from a failed senatorial candidate, that puts a different story on the tubes is good news.  

But that ‘burgeoning list’ of supporters looks a little sparse, not too solid on the crossover appeal, and somewhat suspect in its claims of grassroots strength.  

John Hickenlooper, meanwhile, has been picking up support from Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated voters.

So who, besides a few party faithful and the nuttiest of the state’s GOP crazy wing, does Mr. Maes appeal to?  The tin foil hat crowd.

Dan’s offhand comment about Hickenlooper’s bike program shows he’s more in tune than most people believe.

Time to get yourselves informed as to what we’re dealing with. “New World Order” is code for bringing all nations under U.N. CONTROL. As in “fundamentally transforming the United States of America”.

Perhaps Mr. Maes needs to hit up the Aluminum Association for some gas campaign money.  

Maes’ platform is simple: destroy thousands of non-specific jobs as his first order of business, then get to work groveling before the world’s richest industry.  Perhaps he has issues with birds too.

The race between Sen. Bennet and Ken Buck will be closer, obviously.  But Buck has yet to demonstrate that he can shake the crazy:

Wacky conspiracy theories aside, though, Maes and Republican Senate nominee Ken Buck should have ridden an ideological tandem bike on Wednesday. Given his penchant for (in the words of the Denver Post) tinfoil-hat worthy pronouncements, you’d probably guess Maes would be the more extreme one in his opinions.

…But according to the statewide political blog coloradopols.com, Senate candidate Buck is actually to the right of Maes. It’s easier to poke fun of Maes, but when it comes to public policy it’s Buck who is most at odds with the vast majority of Colorado voters.

Both of them think a 14 year old who has been molested by her stepfather should be forced to carry that pregnancy to term and rape victims should be denied emergency contraception. (Apparently, the Tea Party’s notion of small government means keeping it just small enough to fit in your bedroom.) Both of them think we can magically drill our way towards energy independence.

Maes at least pays lip service to the usefulness of Social Security and publicly-backed student loans.  Buck, on the other hand thinks seniors should be left to fend for themselves and students left to the mercy of big banks on student loans. This in a state in the top five nationally in percentage of the population with a college degree.

Unaffiliated voters lean both ways, with some being truly on the fence.  Many might find Buck’s views a bit too extreme for Colorado.  But the stench of incompetence does not linger around Ken like it does Dan.  

The Bennet/Buck match up will be hard fought until the end.  With the drowning government, anti-healthcare and eggmendment issues on the ballot, and the enthusiasm gap between GOP and Democratic likely voters, the senate race is likely to come down to turn out.  

But it is hard to see a path to victory for Dan Maes.  I would wager that most Coloradans will take a Railyard Ale over the Rocky Mountain Kool Aid any day.