September 26, 2010 09:44 PM UTC

Tipton's "Buckpedaling"--Not Going Well

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• by: Colorado Pols

In the Grand Junction Sentinel’s story today about the various major candidates in Colorado races reversing themselves on policy positions, there’s something for everybody. Charles Ashby mentions Senate candidate Ken Buck’s foibles on abortion, Dan Maes’ shifts on immigration (as if anyone really cares at this point), and yes, even Michael Bennet’s sponsorship of pay-as-you-go budgeting, which he later voted to suspend for a jobs bill. Fair is fair.

But when Ashby turns to CD-3 candidate Scott Tipton? Things take a turn for the silly.

Like Buck, Tipton also has been called out for saying he supported doing away with the 17th Amendment and the Education Department. The Cortez state legislator says that’s the problem with simple yes-or-no surveys, that there is no room for nuanced answers…

Not all of the surveys, however, called for yes or no answers. For the Craig tea party group, Bears Ears Patriots, its survey included seven options, from strongly oppose to strongly favor.

In its survey, Tipton said he strongly favored the dismantling of the federal department and returning its authority to state and local governments.

“What I’ve been saying consistently since we started is that I believe in local control for education,” Tipton said. “That being said, 70 percent of the Western Slope, 50 percent of the 3rd Congressional District on average is either on federal, state or tribal land, so we need those (federal) dollars. My issue with the Department of Education is, it’s always with strings attached.”

Tipton said his plan for that department is the same as his plan for the entire federal government, to cut it in half. [Pols emphasis] He said he plans to do that without cutting government services, something his Democratic rival, U.S. Rep. John Salazar, says is impossible…

Okay, so Tipton does want to cut the federal government “in half” again? Because we were under the impression he had ditched that plank in his platform in favor of something a bit less absurd. Maybe keeping “I meant cut it in half” in his back pocket for when people ask him what he was smoking before, when he called for abolishing an entire federal department, is a good idea–but wait! “Cut the government in half” isn’t any better! That’s why he ditched it to begin with!

And he did abandon it, folks–KRDO-TV reported three days ago that Tipton “has publicly backed off his ‘federal government that is half the size and cost’ statement.” He should have left it there to die quietly–to volunteer a proposal you’ve already flip-flopped on, so as to deflect criticism that you are, you know, flip-flopping…this is so ridiculous it’s actually rather tough to keep straight.

It’s not the first time this election season where we’ve had to pause and think to ourselves, “this can’t possibly represent a serious threat, can it?” Then we read polls that say Tipton actually has a chance of winning. All we can say about that is, if it’s true, he had better make the most of it–because this totally unhinged year is the only year he could ever have that chance.