May 19, 2009 12:59 AM UTC

Leading Republican blog joins McInnis attack

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• by: JeffcoBlue

I wish I could have gotten here earlier, I see the Pols are already all over this weekend’s big McInnis story–the candidate who thinks he can run for office without paperwork.

It’s not surprising to see the Pols pick up this story, since they are accused all the time of “partisanship” (don’t let their criticism of Ritter or Bennet fool you).

But since the Pols are talking about GOP “party elites” falling in behind Penry and against McInnis, I thought I should add what may be the best evidence of all that is exactly what’s happening: today’s post from the Republican blog Face the State.

WHAT EXACTLY COUNTS AS AN ‘OFFICIAL’ ANNOUNCEMENT?

http://facethestate.com/articl…

Former Congressman Scott McInnis is unofficially running for governor in 2010 and has been doing so for nearly two months. He maintains campaign finance rules don’t require his compliance because he, well, isn’t official yet. So what exactly makes a candidate official?

According to Colorado law: “A person is a candidate for election if the person has publicly announced an intention to seek election to public office…”

But based on news reports of McInnis’s behavior at public events over the last two months, it is hard to consider his candidacy “unofficial” any longer.

Exhibit A:

In March, The Denver Post reported McInnis was telling his friends at the state GOP committee meeting he’s “in” for the governor’s race.

Exhibit B:

Last month, a voice-mail message left on an unidentified machine has raised questions about whether McInnis is inappropriately coordinating with a 527 political group. His defense? McInnis told the Post that because he has not officially announced or formed a candidate committee the rules do not yet apply to him. But isn’t acknowledging he’s an unofficial candidate to The Denver Post still a public announcement?

Exhibit C:

As of Saturday, The Steamboat Pilot reported:

“McInnis said [at a Lincoln Day Dinner] Colorado campaign laws prevent him from formally announcing his candidacy but promised the local audience, ‘I’m ready for a little fight.’ When local party Chairman Jack Taylor said McInnis was ‘seriously considering’ running for governor, McInnis replied, ‘That would be an understatement.’

If it talks like a candidate, sounds like a candidate, and raises money like a candidate, there is only one thing it can be.

We rest our case.

For starters, I completely agree with Face the State’s post. McInnis has clearly met the legal test of a candidate, and should be filing campaign disclosures. The fact that he is not is a major problem that the Secretary of State needs to investigate.

BUT WHY IS FACE THE STATE TALKING ABOUT THIS?

If you don’t know, FTS is probably the most credible Republican blog in Colorado. They have funders and a staff, a lot like the Colorado Independent. FTS was started by Brad Jones, a well-placed Republican activist best known for the controversy surrounding his work on the Colorado Senate Minority–now led by Josh Penry (!)–website.

Jones is closely tied to Republican “elites” that Pols mentioned in their latest post about the governor’s race. They pay him to run FTS. FTS, in turn, is loaded with fluff pieces lavishing praise on Penry–“the man who saved the death penalty” ran the headline of one recent FTS opinion piece–as well as other Republican party favorites.

Now, do a search for McInnis on Face the State. Notice a distinct difference in the coverage? As in all negative? That’s unheard for FTS, whose only job up until now has been to shill for Republicans. I mean it–find me negative coverage of Republicans on this blog except McInnis, and Marostica doesn’t count…

What’s the point? Only that Face the State is speaking volumes. They didn’t have to write what they wrote today, they CHOSE to. FTS is as close to the Republican “party elites” as you will ever find in a blog. They would not be attacking McInnis if it wasn’t part of the plan.