October 17, 2012 03:27 AM UTC

Fight Back Colorado: "We Don't Need Robert Ramirez"

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• by: Colorado Pols

The pro-civil unions group Fight Back Colorado first entered the HD-29 race with a piercing mailer portraying State Rep. Robert Ramirez as too extreme for the Colorado House. Now, with three weeks left until election day, its taken the same messaging to television.

The strategy motivating this commercial is clear. Although Fight Back Colorado is committed to defeating “the state legislators who killed the civil unions bill in Colorado” neither this ad nor the previous mailer make any reference to civil unions.

That may appear odd on its face, especially considering that a majority of Coloradans favor civil unions legislation, but it’s hard to distill the complexities of marriage equality in 30 seconds. And, unlike attacking Ramirez on, say, abortion, there’s no guarantee that the civil unions issue will motivate the base to turnout and vote against him.

The truth of the matter is that there’s a whole host of issues over which Ramirez can be defeated. Civil unions may indeed be on the list, but it’s not as salient an attack as the standard fare social issues.

No matter the framing, however, consistent and repeated attacks on Ramirez and his political profile do nothing but benefit Democratic challenger Tracy Kraft-Tharp. She’s run such a robust campaign hitherto that Ramirez’s mistakes and outside spending only serve to seal the deal.