State Senate President and CD4 Congressional candidate Brandon Shaffer can spin all he wants, but he got rolled on redistricting. By his own party. Last week we covered the Congressional redistricting map submitted to the court by the Democrats, and noted that the Democrats map would virtually end any chance of Shaffer winning CD4. The next day, The Pueblo Chieftain's Patrick Malone published a piece that picked up on the "Shaffer Under The Bus" storyline and got the Shaffer camp to basically admit they got blindsided by their own party.

Despite the best efforts at spin by Shaffer's strategist, Craig Hughes, it becomes pretty clear in the article that Shaffer is not pleased at having his Congressional ambitions potentially cut short by the lines drawn by his own political party. 

From The Pueblo Chieftain:

Shaffer had been privy to conversations about the possible maps that Democrats intended to propose, but was uncertain up to the last minute which would be submitted, Hughes said.  

“There were clearly a lot of conversations that happened, but until the maps were released, it was not clear what the Democratic Party was going to submit,” Hughes said. “I don’t think there was a great deal of knowledge about what the party was gong to submit until it was submitted. There had certainly been discussion of a wide variety of potential maps.”  

If the court adopts the Democratic version of the 4th, Shaffer could still run in that district despite living outside it, or he could move into it. Hughes said Shaffer is hopeful that he will have to do neither.  

“Brandon’s house is currently in the 4th Congressional District in Longmont. He loves it there. His family loves it there. He’s a longtime resident of the community, and he doesn’t want to move,” Hughes said.

Hughes goes on to claim it wasn't a personal slight at Shaffer, merely a reflection of a "very strange redistricting process." 

Strange indeed. 

The highest ranking Democrat legislator in the state tries to "Brandon-Mander" his own Congressional district during the legislative session, but is unable to get his rapacious political ambition drawn into a map that can pass both chambers.

Then his own party submits a map that not only doesn't improve his chances in CD4 but goes so far as to draw his house out of the district and into a district represented by an incumbent Democrat. 

Po-tay-to. Po-tah-to.

Strange. Civil War.