You know you're in trouble when you look in the bottom of a swamp for your salvation.Today's Denver Post reports that Colorado Republicans are looking to George Allen's campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, to head their foundering party.
With Colorado's Republican Party reeling from the loss of the governor's mansion, both chambers of the state legislature and seats in Congress in recent years, a familiar political power has offered to right the ship: Dick Wadhams.
Here in Virginia, we know Dick Wadhams well. His handling of George Allen's "macaca moment" will go down in Virignia political history as one of its greatest failures. First, he insulted the press. Then, he blamed the victim. Then, he switched stories a half dozen times. Then he waited for the polls to tell him the public needed Allen to apologize. It went on and on. In the midst of all of this failure, he attempted to label Jewish Virginia bloggers "anti-Semitic." Disgusting.
Eventually, he was forced from power in all but name, replaced by "Swiftboat" maven Chris LaCivita.
My message to Colorado Republicans: Do it! Colorado needs to remain under the expert guidance of the Democratic party if it's going to recover from the disastrous reign of "Drown-The-Beast" extremists. Putting your fate in the hands of a disrespectful liar like Dick Wadhams can only help Colorado Democrats maintain their majority.
My message to Colorado Democrats: Welcome Wadhams! This guy plays dirty. There's no depth to which he will not sink. If you show weakness he'll ride over you, but if you fight him on everything, his true colors will show and the good people of the Centennial State will reject his slime just like we did here in the Old Dominion.
It doesn't seem that success matters a whole lot to Republicans anymore -- all that matters is being ideologically correct. Which is great news, since it means that Democrats will continue to have the advantage...
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
I don't think Colorado Dems should fear him--actually I don't think any political consultants should be "feared"--but he should be taken seriously.
A few tidbits from Slate http://www.slate.com...
Like Rove, Wadhams grew up out west, in an apolitical family. He volunteered for local races as a high-school student and became a Republican county chairman in Colorado at the age of 19. The year was 1974, and Wadhams credits his early rise to the aftershocks of Watergate. "The party was on its haunches," he explains. "I was the only idiot who would take the job." Financial constraints meant Wadhams couldn't do politics full time: He paid his way through Colorado State University at Pueblo with a part-time gig at a mortuary, but apparently found time to study. [He ended up getting an A in his poli-sci class]