OUR VIEW: It's an odd electoral strategy — I'm running for Congress. To represent whom? Whomever. I just want a job in Congress.
The announcement of state Representative Joe Miklosi's Congressional campaign for the 6th Congressional district this morning marks the third Democrat to announce for Congress before even knowing if they'll live in the district they seek to represent. It's an interesting tale of ambition above all else.
Senate President Brandon-Mander Shaffer told the AP he doesn't care if the new district lines put his home outside the 4th Congressional district, he's running for Congress in the 4th CD either way. House Minority Leader Sal Pace has been campaigning for a month already in CD3, including Grand Junction, despite the fact that his own party's redistricting plan included forcing Grand Junction into CD2 with Boulder.
Joe Miklosi's announcement that he will move into the 6th Congressional district when district lines are drawn is potentially the most brazen of them all. From the AP:
"Miklosi currently lives in southeast Denver, not the 6th Congressional District. Miklosi says he'll move to the 6th District as soon as a court settles on new district lines."
He is readily admitting he is chasing a district to run in, rather than looking to be the voice of a community he cares about.
This blinded-by-ambition group of pols is also a sad statement on the Colorado Democrat party. Shaffer is term-limited and looking for his next taxpayer funded gig. Sal Pace has never had a real gig outside government or politics and neither has Miklosi. Both Pace and Miklosi are sick of being minority party skid marks in the lower legislative house and hoping for a pay raise above the measly 30k they rake in for their current gigs.
Voters don't generally reward candidates looking to move up the totem pole for the mere fact that they have nothing better to do or want a raise. Where are the small business owners or community leaders running for Congress? All the Democrats can cough up is some warmed over legislative losers who want a job in Congress, regardless of whom they will represent?
Democrats may complain that waiting until district lines are drawn is very late in the campaign cycle. Of course, had the Brandon-Mander not been so worried about his own political future above all else, there might be a redrawn Congressional map completed already. The lines aren't drawn because of Shaffer's ambition, and now he's running for Congress regardless of the lines, because of his ambition.
It's an odd electoral strategy — I'm running for Congress. To represent whom? Whomever. I just want a job in Congress.
By your own reasoning, then, “Peak”: Gardner, Coffman and Tipton shouldn’t be running for re-election because they are just as unsure “whom they would be representing” with redistricting still unsettled. Yet, all three of these Republican establishment insiders are determined to cling to their “taxpayer funded gigs” anyway, right?
Seriously, kiddies, who thinks up your GOP talking points? Please tell me no one actually gets paid for these lame efforts. GOP donors should demand a refund — and quick, too, before the rest of the money ends up in the till at Black Hawk!
Who do you think you’re fooling? Coffman, Gardner, and Tipton all live well within their districts, and they actually represent and understand the values of their friends and neighbors. Miklosi actually admitted he wants to pick up and MOVE just so he gets a shot at the seat.
is one issue that must be considered in drawing lines.
The difference is Tipton, Coffman and Gardner were longtime members of their communities and knew what communities they would be representing when they ran for Congress.
These three Dems want to run for their respective districts regardless of what voters are in them.
Big difference.
is that Tipton and Gardner both represent the same districts they were born and raised in. Lamborn is the only R from outside CO. Coffman technically isn’t native since he was a military brat, but was raised at Buckley AFB (same as “DeJette”).
There are exceptions, but generally the prominent native CO politicians are Republican. The best exceptions would be Owens, the Salazars and Perlmutter. Not too many are on the Miklosi-plan…move here from out-of-state, try to ruin it from the legislature, then carpetbag your way to a Congressional seat.
On a different note, is Miklosi the best the Dems have to challenge a prominent Republican in a deep-red seat? Really? The guy is not noteworthy, pisses off tons of folks at the Capitol and frankly is a sleazeball. One would think a higher quality candidate like Michael Johnston would be considered before “Blow Joe” Miklosi.
“Miklosi says he’ll be a district chasing carpetbagger as soon as he realized he is on the house district chopping block by Dem leadership.
Minority leader Sal(ly) Pace said, ‘yeah, anybody who claims to have a business background in our caucus might as well just be a Republican. We are a pro-government employee/pro-union caucus only.’ Miklosi says he looks forward to the 150k for life job…however he can get it.”
this practice is as old as congressional districts, but usually no one is stupid enough to actually admit they’re doing it. This is one of the issues that A) you just can’t spin and B) pisses people (even your own party) off.
Whether or not this is Palacio’s fault or not is debatable. But he’s got one challenger openly admitting he’ll carpetbag and 2 who were directly in charge of district lines that were never drawn–and still aren’t. For all intents and purposes, they are running without a district.
Palacio’s old boss played no small part in this disaster. But he hasn’t really been in the state that long, so perhaps these deadbeats are just telling him to piss off. It’s hard to say, hell, it may just be some strategy way above my pay grade.
Maybe he just figures he’s got almost no chance at beating Coffman since he didn’t get the “competitive” distict he was promised (knock on wood), so he may as well just say whatever the hell he wants? It’s a theory, anyway.