OUR VIEW exhibit: Tancredo's warning against third-party candidates (vote)

An Open Letter to Colorado’s 9-12 activists and Tea Party patriots
From Tom Tancredo
December 21, 2009


Shortly after 1:00 AM on Monday morning in our nation’s capital, while most Americans were sleeping, the United States Senate voted 60-40 to place another 17% of our nation’s economic activity under the control of federal bureaucrats.

Colorado’s two U.S. Senators, Michael Bennett and Mark Udall, voted for a 2,900-page monstrosity of a bill they had not read. The headline in Monday’s Denver Post said it all: “Party-line vote virtually assures Senate passage.”

I ask you to ponder the meaning of that headline. Not a single Republican voted for this federal takeover, a deceptive, pork-laden proposal that has been mislabeled, “health care reform.” And not a single Democrat voted against it. Some like Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska were bought off by $100 million or $300 million bribes buried deep in the bill, while others simply bought into the despicable lies about the nations’ health insurance industry.

I need not belabor the reasons why this is terrible legislation. Ask yourself this question: Is there a reason why Harry Reid didn’t want anyone to actually read the bill before voting on it? Is there a reason why Obama didn’t want Senators to go home and listen to citizens talk about it? You bet!

What happened to Obama’s campaign pledge of the “most transparent government in history”? What happened to his promise of a “new bipartisanship”? What happened to his pledge of no new middle class taxes? No where are these promises broken more blatantly than in the Senate health care bill that passed on a party-line vote.

Over the past year, the 9-12 movement and the Tea Party rallies have grown spontaneously out of citizens’ frustration and opposition to this kind of arrogant and corrupt policymaking in Washington, DC. You are right to be angry! You are right to be fed up! And you are right to demand an end to business as usual!

(Sound off on this memo. Vote in poll to the right in red type. thanks!) > >

In Colorado we have seen a similar decline in open government and responsible lawmaking. New taxes hidden as fees have been passed by our state legislature – almost always on a party-line vote. Even our state Supreme Court makes arrogant decisions on a party-line vote, validating Gov. Ritter’s unconstitutional increase in property taxes. That’s why I am supporting the “Clear the Bench” campaign to remove the four Supreme Court judges who are facing the voters in 2010.

Many of you in the 9-12 movement and Tea Party groups wanted me to run for Governor, and I considered doing that after my good friend Josh Penry dropped out of the race. After a lot of discussion with family and supporters, I decided there was a better way to promote a conservative agenda for Colorado.

I entered politics in 1976 because I had an agenda — a conservative agenda. I ran for Congress in 1998 for the same reason. In 2008, I succeeded in advancing the immigration control agenda by running for President. But running for office is only one way to advance the conservative agenda, and in 2010, there is a wide battlefront.

I decided that if the other Republican candidates for Governor would support a conservative agenda for the state, I could work on that effort and also pursue several other critical issues like the ballot initiatives I am proposing. Along with Josh Penry, Scott McInnis and conservatives in the state legislature, I helped write the 20-point “Contract with Colorado.” That set of conservative goals has been incorporated into the McInnis campaign as his “Platform for Prosperity.”

You may disagree with my decision and I have certainly heard from many people who do. I cannot guarantee all will go as planned. I cannot guarantee we will not be betrayed. But I can guarantee I did what I did because I believe it is our best hope of achieving our mutual goals.

However, if you believe I made a mistake, there is a specific task you can undertake: TAKE OVER THE REPUBLICAN PARTY! Put in the person you believe to be better able to win the election AND advance our cause. All I would stress is that the person you select be able to accomplish BOTH goals.

Friends, we need to be candid not only about the growing threats to our constitutional liberties but also about the prospects for turning the tide. We did not get into this mess because of one candidate or mistakes in one election. We have been moving in this direction for decades, with only a brief pause under Ronald Reagan.

We need to think strategically and put aside small disagreements that pale into insignificance when we look at the dangers we face. It will take a long-range, sustained effort to restore constitutional principles to their rightful place in our politics and culture. Being angry is a start, but it does not sustain us. Only sound principles and a positive agenda can do that.

Some patriots are tempted to launch a third political party or back one of the existing small parties that never attract more than one or two percent of the vote in state races. I strongly believe that such a course is suicidal and would only result in splitting the conservative vote and guaranteeing the re-election of liberals and socialists.

I believe the Republican Party is the natural home of conservatives and that the road back to constitutional government lies in taking control of the Republican Party from top to bottom, from county committee to the statehouse and all the way to Washington, D.C.

My friends, winning control of the Republican Party is not a difficult task in Colorado! I say this because 80% or more of Republicans are conservatives. It is only the party leadership that is out of step in some counties. Unlike Massachusetts or Pennsylvania, in Colorado we have very few RINO’s (Republicans In Name Only), people who would be happier in the Democrat party.

Colorado Republicans have never sent a Lindsay Graham or Arlen Specter to the U.S. Senate.

Yes, over the last decade, many individuals left the Republican Party because George Bush led the national party to abandon its principles and support several big government programs. But leaving the party is not the answer. Fighting for your principles and reshaping the party is the answer.

Throughout our nation’s history, third parties have never succeeded in taking power and running the government. They have sometimes succeeded in pushing a major party in a new direction, but just as often, they succeeded only in electing the more liberal candidate after many conservatives waste their votes on a third party candidate. Remember 1992? Ross Perot never had a chance to be president, but he did help elect Bill Clinton.

Here in Colorado we have an uphill road in 2010, but the good news is we have the opportunity for a broad resurgent victory if we work together.

Conservatives need to make sure Michael Bennett is sent home to Colorado next November, and my candidate to accomplish that is Ken Buck. But if you support a different candidate you believe is solidly conservative, get behind him. There are good conservatives running against liberal incumbents Perlmutter, Markey and Salazar — districts that were Republican territory only a few short years ago.

In politics, there are seldom any quick or perfect solutions. We must have the patience and the fortitude to fight on a wide battlefront and support candidates and policy proposals that move the ball in the right direction.

As 9-12 activists, you are already engaged in this battle to restore conservative principles to our state and federal government. The nine principles and twelve values of the 9-12 Project reflect sound ideas that helped build America.

We know that our country faces real dangers – from Radical Islam abroad and from multiculturalism and the Marxist agenda at home. We also know politics is not a game, that the choices we make today affect our future for generations to come. Our children’s and grandchildren’s liberties are at risk as never before.

I hope you will join me in the Republican precinct caucuses in March, the county assemblies in April and then at the state convention in May. Besides supporting candidates who support the Contract with Colorado, help me lay the foundation for a generation of conservative leaders.

If you are not already registered in the Republican Party, you have until January 19 to change your registration. If you remain unaffiliated, you have no voice in selecting a party’s nominees or its platform or its leadership.

Several people across the state are conducting classes to teach citizens how to run for precinct delegate and how to become more active and effective. I know there are leaders in the 9-12 movement who can put you in touch with someone in your area who is teaching those classes.

If 2009 was the year of protest, let’s make 2010 the year of organization and accomplishment! I promise to do my part. Join me!

Yours for liberty,

Tom Tancredo