May 18, 2012 11:30 PM UTC

Coffman's Greatest Asset Now Damaged Goods?

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• by: Colorado Pols

A press release today from the Colorado Democratic Party highlights the significant and quite possibly lasting trouble Rep. Mike Coffman created for himself with his recent recorded statement that President Barack Obama is “not an American.”

Following troubling reports that Congressman Mike Coffman echoed the wild accusations of the birther movement and attacked President Obama’s basic credibility as Commander in Chief, Colorado Democratic Party First Vice-Chair Beverly Benvidez Ryken offered the following response:

“As a proud retired member of the U.S. Air Force, I know the value every active duty service member and veteran places on the leadership of our Commander in Chief. No matter what political party our President belongs to, our military takes pride in respecting the office and following orders. It is the core of our duty.

“The fact that Mike Coffman would hide behind his status as a veteran while making a half-apology shows just how little regard he has for the institutions and traditions that make our nation and our military the greatest on earth. His statements are unworthy of the uniform he once wore and show how extreme Mike Coffman really is.”

We quoted yesterday from an open letter from veterans advocacy group VoteVets.org, blasting Coffman for invoking his status as a veteran Marine officer as an defense for his comments about President Obama’s citizenship and national identity. One of our astute readers who frequently comments on veterans and military affairs points to an Army Times article that outlines acceptable limits to political activity by a member of the military:

My favorite UCMJ provision is Article 88, which makes it a crime for an officer to use contemptuous words against the president, the vice president, Congress, the secretary of defense, the secretary of a military department, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, or the governor or legislature of any state, territory, commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present.

In 1999, Army Lieutenant Colonel Michael Davidson explained in a law review article that contemptuous “means insulting, rude, disdainful or otherwise disrespectfully attributing to another qualities of meanness, disreputableness, or worthlessness.”

Based on that definition, we have to say that Coffman’s recent statements about President Obama probably would qualify as a violation of UCMJ Article 88. Our understanding is that Coffman retired from the Marine Corps following his last tour of duty in 2006, though, so we don’t think he can actually be prosecuted for this–we’ll leave that to lawyers to decide.

The real trouble for Coffman coming out of this embarrassment is the way these statements pollute his strongest asset as a candidate, his lengthy military record. It links his otherwise inoffensive boilerplate on duty and “exceptionalism” with discredited fringe conspiracy theories. Combined with the particular offense it could provoke in Coffman’s newly diverse swing district, this was really one of the most injurious things he could possibly have done to himself.

We can’t call this a game-ender in CD-6, but we may look back on it as a game-changer.