Dan Maes Support?

[Chairman's Committee]

There is an emergency Coalition meeting to be held soon.  Should the Arapahoe Tea Party remove their endorsement of Dan Maes who recievced this endorsement before the County Assembly?  Reply quickly what your opinion is below in the comments.

[Kenny Polzin]

Believe it or not his wife does the taxes. In my married life my wife did certain things and I did certain things . It was a great combination of talents. My wife took care of taxes and insurance because that is were her interests and talents were. I brought home a paycheck because that is were my interests and talents lay. Simple enough. Any man that doesn't doesn't use his wife's talents is a fool.

Eric Olsen said:

I don't watch the media and I am a conservative, not a Republican. My decision to not support Dan Maes is due to watching Mr Maes and his comments -- no one else's. His line of thinking appears shallow and his explanations of events are amateurish. I listened to him explain his 2009 tax income return problem on the televised debate, saying he didn't know the details and that his wife is handling it. This is a poor explanation and demonstrates a lack of attention to detail and lack of . If something is wrong in your household and you are running for public office, you may not need to be the one fixing it, but as a leader you had better demonstrate the ability to understand and explain what is happening. If you do not, as exemplified by Mr Maes, it shows demonstrates an unacceptable naivete as a leader and a lack of understanding of skills required as a leader. I was a field grade officer in the Army and did my deployment with combat troops. I've seen leaders and those who aren't, and Mr Maes is displaying characteristics, of which I only mentioned the one above, which do not provide me with a level of comfort. I'm looking elsewhere.

Personally, I think he is in over his head. If you wish to continue to attribute this to media and establishment attacks, go ahead. I make my decisions based upon the candidates themselves.

[Eric Olsen]

Kenny -- You are absolutely correct and I completely agree with you. My wife handles issues as well. My point is, this is a known issue and that if Mr Maes does not believe it will be raised, he is a political neophyte. If, when it is raised, and he hasn't done his due diligence to understand and be prepared to explain why he is having a tax issue and what is being done to resolve it, then he demonstrates a lack of foresight and the inability to show a grasp of issues that are close to him. If he cannot be prepared to answer and resolve simple issues in that are in a close proximity to him, then I personally do not trust him to be able to do the same for more complex issues that may be handled by people further removed from him. I see him ill prepared on many issues. You may like him for other issues, but this one small example, of which I have seen several more, disqualifies him for me personally as a candidate, and I personally do not have faith in him as a leader.

The people in the Tea Party are intelligent people, and they are attracted to the Tea Party because they are able to reason and understand fundamental principles. For someone to insinuate that if they do not support Dan Maes it is because they have been deluded by the establishment group or attacks from big media implies that these Tea Party members are dopes. You can oppose a candidate for intelligent and thoughtful reasons.

Kenny Polzin said:

Believe it or not his wife does the taxes. In my married life my wife did certain things and I did certain things . It was a great combination of talents. My wife took care of taxes and insurance because that is were her interests and talents were. I brought home a paycheck because that is were my interests and talents lay. Simple enough. Any man that doesn't doesn't use his wife's talents is a fool.

Eric Olsen said:

I don't watch the media and I am a conservative, not a Republican. My decision to not support Dan Maes is due to watching Mr Maes and his comments -- no one else's. His line of thinking appears shallow and his explanations of events are amateurish. I listened to him explain his 2009 tax income return problem on the televised debate, saying he didn't know the details and that his wife is handling it. This is a poor explanation and demonstrates a lack of attention to detail and lack of . If something is wrong in your household and you are running for public office, you may not need to be the one fixing it, but as a leader you had better demonstrate the ability to understand and explain what is happening. If you do not, as exemplified by Mr Maes, it shows demonstrates an unacceptable naivete as a leader and a lack of understanding of skills required as a leader. I was a field grade officer in the Army and did my deployment with combat troops. I've seen leaders and those who aren't, and Mr Maes is displaying characteristics, of which I only mentioned the one above, which do not provide me with a level of comfort. I'm looking elsewhere.

Personally, I think he is in over his head. If you wish to continue to attribute this to media and establishment attacks, go ahead. I make my decisions based upon the candidates themselves.

[Wynette McKee]

Yes, I agree, we should not endorse Dan Maes, although in the beginning I was a supporter of his, I am switching to Tom Tancredo.

[Mary Reinker]

I have to rescind my earlier comment. After further thought and consideration, I have to say that I cannot in good conscience support Tom Tancredo. I heard him speak the other night and have a high regard for his stand on the issues. However, he was not selected by the people (as Dan Maes was) and has manipulated the system to get on the ballot. He himself said a while back that he would drop out if Maes did, and then the GOP could put in a new candidate (whom Tom would help select). If that is not manipulating the system, I don't know what is. I also find it interesting all these Tancredo people who are saying they are for the person, not the party. The Republican Party never supported Dan. They were supporting McInnis. Dan was selected and voted for by the people, particularly Tea Party members. So he is the People's choice. I am hoping the lawsuit against Tom will put him out of the race, although if the judge is a Democrat Tom will probably be allowed to remain in. I am starting to believe this is all part of a Democratic plot to cause chaos in the Republican Party so we can't win. And I am not a conspiracy theorist. It seems to be working, as the conservatives are definitely split on this issue, and it will probably cost us the governorship. Tom said he felt he was offering the people another choice, but the people already made their decision in the primary. And Dan has not done anything that would prevent him from being governor and doing a good job. As usual, the press has done a great job of dragging our candidate through the mud and letting the liberal candidate come out smelling like a rose (as if Hickenlooper has no skeletons in his closet!). But now we must let all this go, the Perot syndrome has set in and people will vote for whom they wish. We have to support Buck (who is losing points in the polls because of all this chaos in the governor's race) and our congressional candidates, as well as all of our state candidates. Let's not lose the rest of the war because of this one battle.

[Kenny Polzin]

In an interview last night, Tancredo said that even if he is polling low and it will cause Hickenloper to win he will not drop out. Thanks a lot Mr. Tancredo and all his supporters.

Mary Reinker said:

I have to rescind my earlier comment. After further thought and consideration, I have to say that I cannot in good conscience support Tom Tancredo. I heard him speak the other night and have a high regard for his stand on the issues. However, he was not selected by the people (as Dan Maes was) and has manipulated the system to get on the ballot. He himself said a while back that he would drop out if Maes did, and then the GOP could put in a new candidate (whom Tom would help select). If that is not manipulating the system, I don't know what is. I also find it interesting all these Tancredo people who are saying they are for the person, not the party. The Republican Party never supported Dan. They were supporting McInnis. Dan was selected and voted for by the people, particularly Tea Party members. So he is the People's choice. I am hoping the lawsuit against Tom will put him out of the race, although if the judge is a Democrat Tom will probably be allowed to remain in. I am starting to believe this is all part of a Democratic plot to cause chaos in the Republican Party so we can't win. And I am not a conspiracy theorist. It seems to be working, as the conservatives are definitely split on this issue, and it will probably cost us the governorship. Tom said he felt he was offering the people another choice, but the people already made their decision in the primary. And Dan has not done anything that would prevent him from being governor and doing a good job. As usual, the press has done a great job of dragging our candidate through the mud and letting the liberal candidate come out smelling like a rose (as if Hickenlooper has no skeletons in his closet!). But now we must let all this go, the Perot syndrome has set in and people will vote for whom they wish. We have to support Buck (who is losing points in the polls because of all this chaos in the governor's race) and our congressional candidates, as well as all of our state candidates. Let's not lose the rest of the war because of this one battle.

[Gary Bolles]

A difficult decision to make. Or is it? Why did ATP endorse Mr. Maes in the first place? Were we impressed with his debate skills? Was it his legacy of personal Truthfulness and Transparency? Or was it because of his political views and Principles?

IMHO, the Tea Parties are not about individuals (yet). Tea Parties are about change. Our government is flawed, corrupted, and acts contrary to the Will of the People and to the principles upon which it was originally founded. Fixing THAT is what drew me to the Arapahoe Tea Party. I saw a motivated group of citizens with diverse concerns but the common goal of FIXING problems, not just rationalizing the election of a "lesser of two evils".

I'm an idealist, but there's a point at which everyone has to draw a line in the sand and take a stance for what they believe in, pragmatic or not. The Tea Parties, I believe, are doing that. And, I believe, the ATP should do it. Whether we have the ideal candidate or not, we need to take a stance. We need to promote the political Principles in which we believe and demonstrate that belief by taking a strong stance for those Principles, the messenger notwithstanding. We cannot allow the existing political practices of mudslinging and character assassination to dilute our intent or limit our desired scope of change. Indeed, that is precisely how America arrived at where it is today.

Am I proud of Dan Maes' personal behaviors? No. Is he the best candidate we could have hoped for? No. Does he espouse the political Principles I most agree with? Yes. Will he be an effective Governor of Colorado? That cannot be determined for ANY candidate.

The Tea Parties are affecting the political process across America, and many of them are doing it without the support of the entrenched Party machines. They are succeeding by sticking to their guns and refusing to cross the lines they drew in the sand. Our message is more important than our messenger. We need not defend the Man, but we must defend and support what he represents, if we believe it to be right.

If you supported Mr. Maes in the past, please think back and remember why. If you were attracted by his political beliefs and principles, please think twice before removing your endorsement. A lot of like-minded citizens got this man on the ballot for a reason. If that reason is, or was, important to you, draw a line in the sand and stand firm. Tell THEM that change is coming, if not right now, then soon.

There are very few things which could possibly be worse for this country than "politics as usual."

Respectfully,

Gary "The Idealist" Bolles

[Joe Piccoli]

I'm a Tancredo supporter so I might be bias, but I think with Dan only able to get 14K in the last two weeks we should consider pulling support in favor of Tancredo who at this point and time has a better shot at beating Hickenlooper

[Victoria Anne Livingston]

I agree with Joe. Who are other Tea Party groups in Colorado supporting?

[Joe Piccoli]

Tom Sullivan said:

1)Remove the endorsement immediately
2)Open discussion on endorsing another candidate or none at all.

[Victoria Anne Livingston]

Yes, the Arapahoe Tea Party should remove their endorsement of Dan Maes.

[Chairman's Committee]

Here is a list of supporters and endorsements on the web site: Dan Maes for Colorado Governor . I have searched his web site and I have been unable to find anything that links the ATP to an endorsement of Dan Maes. If there has been an endorsement of this candidate by the ATP, and anyone knows where there is public record of this endorsement, please let me know. There is certainly cause to discuss this among the members if an endorsement has been made.

My intention at this time for the ATP is to withhold endorsing any candidate for Governor of Colorado.

Please, comment as you see fit. Or send a private message, if that suits you better.

Steven Haworth
ATP/Chairman

[Sam]

Remove the endorsement!