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June 22, 2009 06:01 PM UTC

Penry Hones Anti-McInnis Stump Speech

  • 24 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

As the Grand Junction Sentinel reported this weekend, all-but-announced gubernatorial candidate Josh Penry is busily making the rounds, with a stump speech that lays out very clearly what differentiates him as a candidate.

More to the point, a Republican primary candidate.

Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, sounded campaign-like themes of fiscal responsibility and contrition for Republican spending [Pols emphasis] as he spoke Friday to a hometown audience…

Another Grand Junction Republican, former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis, already has announced he’ll seek the GOP nomination to challenge Ritter.

Penry previously worked for McInnis in Washington, D.C.

To unseat Democrats, Republicans have to regain a lot of lost ground, Penry said to the Republican audience.

“We have to acknowledge the mistakes of the past” that cost Republicans control of the Legislature and of Congress, Penry told about 130 Republicans at their monthly luncheon at Two Rivers Convention Center.

Only when it acknowledges mistakes can the GOP again lay claim to being the party of fiscal responsibility, he said…

Our view: we’ve been hard on Penry for what we saw as an avoidable string of earned-media disasters as Senate Minority Leader, but we have to admit he is taking exactly the right position for appealing to Republican primary voters at opponent Scott McInnis’ expense. Tying ex-Rep. McInnis–as this speech brilliantly does without ever even having to say his name–to the last 15 years of Republican profligacy and corruption, also defines Penry (however debatably) as the “fresh start” candidate. This is a message that downtrodden Republican faithful will be highly receptive to, and McInnis had better develop some effective counterarguments on the quick.

Comments

24 thoughts on “Penry Hones Anti-McInnis Stump Speech

  1. A former Congressman who all of a sudden wants to be elected to a state position has a lot of answering to do for his votes in Congress!  How can he run away from his record?  Debt, deficits, growth of government, etc.  

    I agree with Pols on this one.  Penry’s plan to take on McInnis is right on.  I don’t know any GOP primary voters who are going to be enthralled by yet ANOTHER washed up Congressman who thinks he’s the party’s savior.  

    The Colorado GOP has been there and for sure done that.

  2. I sat in on this lunch and was actually surprised at how Penry brought the house down.  I think by the end of his remarks the general feeling among the crowd was: “Scott who?!”

    1. what a profound observation — one that really adds to the discussion.  

      stick to what you know — blogging about disco inferno and such.  

    2. The Penry shills need more cow bell

      The McInnis mistake was mentoring a shell candidate.

      “We have to acknowledge the mistakes of the past”

      Yep, McInnis has to acknowledge his grave mistake in giving political birth to one like Penry who chooses to represent a small group of O&G plotters over constituents.  

      “I wish I didn’t have to support guys like Josh Penry.” -MesaModerate

  3. Have to disagree with the assumption that Josh Penry is running for governor in 2010. Here’s why:

    First, there is still a lot of momentum behind the Democratic Party for the 2010 elections and the percentage of successfully knocking off Democratic incumbents next year will be low, or at least, very, very expensive. (And the Obama-machine has not left Colorado either, it just lies dormant.) Penry is no fool: why drop an almost automatic re-election to the state senate and his senate leadership role in 2010 to run a bloody (and most likely fruitless) campaign against an incumbent.

    Second, taking this verbiage from his website: http://joshpenry.com/wp/?p=35

    Josh Penry, the crown prince of the state Republican Party, is standing before a room of local GOP kingmakers, telling them what the party should be about.

    That undisguised Biblical metaphor is telling: Prince Penry cannot claim his throne yet. So, why not spend 2009 politicking around the state, building his Round Table, so that in four years, he is crowned the Republican candidate for governor (OR Congress, should John Salazar move on.)

    Third, Prince Penry will need the (defeated) McInnis and his oil-and-gas political Black Knights to conquer the Governor’s Mansion in 2014. Jumping into a Republican primary in 2010 isn’t the way to retain these close colleagues, but staying in office four more years in the state senate is….

    Fourth, Prince Penry is better off going around raising money for 2010 state and local Republican candidates than trying to suck all the funds for his own gubernatorial campaign. The Republicans desperately need to regain one unit of the state government to be effective during the 2011 redistricting debate. If Prince Penry can conquer the State Senate Holy Lands in 2010, all party members will bow to his supremacy.

    In all, it makes perfect sense for Prince Penry to concentratrate on building stronger political connections and alliances for a more successful run in 2014 for governor – and thus eliminating competition for his title of “His Republican Highness.” So why all this flagellation about a McInnis vs Penry primary? It’s good for business for both these guys — it keeps their names in the media and blogs (for free.)

    When it an opportunity to strike media-gold appears, this ruse will end and Penry will announce that his love for his people will keep him down at the castle, er, state senate, for another four years.

    1. Except Penry cannot allow McInnis to win against Ritter.  If that happened and McInnis won reelection, Penry would be forced out of his government job and have to sit on the sidelines for two years while his huge me-me-me ego steams.  It will not be the Republican Party or constituents Penry works for this election.  It will be for his own political future and nothing else.

      And this BS about Penry being a new way, is just that, bullshit.  He is a career politician wedded to lobbyists just like many before him.  For a politician who has been on the public dole nearly his entire adult life to claim he is a “new direction” is a pure contradiction.  Penry has been in this for himself from the get-go.  

      As Jean Twenge, psychology professor at San Diego State University, put it:

      “Narcissism is absolutely toxic to society. When faced with common resources, narcissists take more for themselves and leave less for others. They tend to be greedy and take too many risks. They feel entitled, don’t think about consequences and think that everything will turn out great.”

    2. That Ritter will be unbeatable next year.  He hasn’t been setting the world on fire with his decisions.  He’s upset the unions who probably were expecting him to rubber stamp every pro-union bill that came to his desk.  

      And I think there is still a WTF! factor in his choice of Michael Bennet for Senator as well as a “Why not me?” from snubbed longtime-servers with better name recognition.  There are a number of the latter with no obvious seats to run for.  And there have already been those on this forum calling for the Governor to be challenged with a primary.  It may not come to anything, but Ritter has a full year ahead to continue to make missteps with the Democratic base.  

      1. You keep using that to raise money.  Because nothing is going to be more fun than a contested Governor’s election.

        Whether I agree with your politics or not, a contested race is going to be good for the people.  If Ritter wants to be Governor for another term, he needs to explain to the People how he’s earned another term.

    3. The question is “does Josh Penry think Ritter is beatable.” And I have heard from numerous people on the dark other side (ie GOP), they think Ritter is toast (and Bennet is beatable).

      I think Penry is running. And I think Ritter is in deep weeds because there is almost no one who is impassioned for him. And the reasons Ritter is in trouble are in many cases systemic – how he operates, how he discusses his reasoning, etc. I don’t see that changing.

      1. I know of only one who eagerly supports Bill Ritter.  All the rest are just trying to bite their tongues.  Most people would rather have a cold than the flu, I suppose, so perhaps the ‘he’s not Penry/McInnis’ line will work in 2010.

        But it’s hard to imagine who will be knocking on doors, telling their friends, lighting up the blogs, and sending in donations…

        The Gov’s re-election strategy eludes me.  Making everyone unhappy doesn’t seem the way to 50% + 1.  And now I have said too much…

  4. Apaprently not, since long time political activist, Chuck Broerman is hosting a “meet and greet” this Thursday as posted on Facebook’s “Draft Josh Penry for Colorado Governor” webpage.

  5. I know Penry is arrogant but to publicly defame your mentor is pretty low. McInnis must be furious about his former wordsmith treating him like this. So much for loyalty.

    I guess Penry already removed McInnis name from his resume as a reference.

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