April 27, 2012 11:48 PM UTC

GOP Chairman Ryan Call To House GOP: You Screwed Up

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• by: Colorado Pols

FOX 31’s Eli Stokols reports:

Colorado GOP Chairman Ryan Call, who is now focused on improving the party’s standing with Latino voters ahead of the November election, told FOX31 Denver Friday that he’s disappointed that House Republicans this week killed a measure that would have made college more affordable for undocumented students who qualify…

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed in the vote,” Call told FOX31 Denver. “I am. It does make it more difficult for Republicans to talk about issues that are important to the Hispanic community when a bill like that can’t get through the legislature.” [Pols emphasis]

Perhaps you’d like to ask the suddenly introspective Colorado Republican Party chairman Ryan Call why, if he felt so strongly about the need to pass this bill as he told the New York Times and anyone else who would listen…he never lobbied his own legislators to actually do it?

“It’s awkward and inappropriate for a party chairman to get involved and to tell lawmakers what to do about voting on various policies,” Call said.

“They are all trying to strike a balance, in this case, between two important conservative principles. We are a party that believes very much in economic opportunity, educational opportunity and enabling people to achieve the American Dream through hard work; but we are also a party of law and order and we believe that violations of the law shouldn’t be overlooked.

“I defer to lawmakers to strike that balance,” Call continued. “And voters will hold those lawmakers and our party accountable in November at how good a job they’re doing.” [Pols emphasis]

Wow, folks. We think that bit about it being “inappropriate” for party chairmen to speak their minds is a bit of a cop-out (like that ever stopped Dick Wadhams), but setting that detail aside, this could be as close to off-reservation as Chairman Call is ever going to get.

With that, we’ll turn this surprising moment of candor over to our readers. How right is he?