Every campaign makes some missteps but when they become the rule rather than the exception it begins to tell a tale.
Recently an out-of-state friend e-mailed me some information that he had seen in the national media about the posting of Canadian Rockies on the McInnis for Governor website (like we had not heard).
He was also concerned that when he did a little research on the campaign a number of the recent articles seemed to involve a series of missteps. He, like myself, hopes to recapture a number of national political positions for the conservative movement and felt that Colorado was certainly at play in the gubernatorial mansion, as well as the Senate.
Our state's present Governor has displayed the political dexterity of a drunken husband coming home late at night and knocking over furniture but that doesn't mean the public will be forgiving of a challenger who they do not see as markedly more competent.
I believe all of us are a bit sensitive to the conduct of Republican campaigns since the last couple seemed to throw themselves repeatedly on their swords prior to the general election.
That being said, one does not usually get the proverbial second chance to make a first impression and what the former congressman's campaign is probably discovering is that it has been some time since he ran for election and even further back in time when any of those elections were much in doubt. This then is Congressman McInnis's first introduction to a number of voters and party activists.
We did note today that a number of traditional Republican stalwarts had weighed in support of the Congressman and certainly would vouch for his competence, as would we, but we would also caution that some of the familiar buttons and levers from 8 to 10 years ago don't necessarily pull the same weight or have the same juice they once had with many voters.
In short, strong and firm policy positions that show a difference between the present governor and a candidate are what will win this election. Candidates for governor that do not project clear and decisive positions to stimulate the rising conservative base in Colorado will fail.
By the way, the mountains substituted for the Canadian images are the Boulder Flatirons. They're probably are more absentee Republican votes coming out of Canada than you can get out of Boulder.
