RSSDan Maes’ campaign is intellectually bankrupt
The news over the weekend that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes filed for bankruptcy 20 years ago caught GOP leaders off guard, since they had asked him when he entered the race if there was anything in his past that could damage his campaign.
The latest revelation in a season of revelations about Maes apparently caused some organization with a lot of money to try to pay Maes to drop out of the race.
According to The Denver Post, a Maes supporter was contacted by a nonprofit organization that offered to give Maes an undisclosed amount of money if he would withdraw from the race.
Maes rejected the offer, as well he should, since the offer violated Colorado law. The Maes supporter made it clear the offer had not come from anyone connected with the campaign of Tom Tancredo, the former Republican congressman now running as a third-party candidate against Maes and Democrat John Hickenlooper.
But that didn’t stop Maes from lashing out at Tancredo. The Denver Post also reported that in an e-mail to the same supporter, Maes wrote about Tancredo: “Tell that hypocritical, draft-dodging, TARP voting, pot endorsing thug to get out of the race and let the people’s choice win this thing for real conservatives.”
Wow. Tancredo is a thug? Right. Actually, Tancredo is a candidate whom polls show is within striking distance of Hickenlooper, while Maes is a distant third and dropping.
The Daily Sentinel didn’t endorse Tancredo and we disagree with him on many issues. But he is not a thug and he hasn’t tried to deceive party officials and voters about his past.
Dan Maes clearly did just that.
The offense isn’t that he filed for bankruptcy as a young man, but that he failed to tell party leaders and primary election voters about it. Then he touted his supposed financial acumen as one reason people should vote for him.
The latest revelation comes on top of news that he exaggerated his record as a police officer and the fact he paid hefty fines for campaign-finance violations.
Maes’ falling fortunes may cause the GOP to become a minor party. Under Colorado election law, that will occur if Maes doesn’t receive at least 10 percent of the votes cast in this election. That could harm GOP fundraising efforts for 2012.
Still, the latest news is reason enough for Maes to lose what candy he had remaining in our gumball grading system. His gumball machine is now as empty as his campaign is of substance.
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