UPDATE: A reliable source in Washington, DC tells us that Haney is the Democrats’ choice to challenge Coffman. Because Coffman will be a prohibitive favorite, a challenger will struggle to raise cash. That is why a self-funder is the preferred choice of the Big D’s in Washington. And there you have it. Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi have filled out their line-up. Pace in the 3rd. Shaffer in the 4th. Haney in the 6th. Thanks to Mr. Hoyer for letting Colorado know who would be on the ballot.

In yet another sign that national Democrats botched the roll out of 2012 Congressional candidates in Colorado, a simple Google search has yielded interesting revelations about potential CD3/CD6 candidate Perry Haney that Steny Hoyer mentioned to the Denver Post.

Haney is a wealthy spinal surgeon who, according to the Denver Post, lives in Greenwood village but also owns property in the current CD3. Originally a chiropractor in Iowa, he moved to Colorado in the 1980s. Turns out he has had some problems with his medical licenses in Iowa and Colorado.

From the Iowa Board of Medical Examiners press release in 2004:

Perry L. Haney, M.D., a 53 year-old physician practicing in Denver, Colorado, entered into a combined Statement of Charges and Settlement Agreement with the Board. The Iowa Board charged Dr. Haney with entering into a voluntary agreement with the Colorado Medical Board which restricted his Colorado medical license. On April 21, 2003, Dr. Haney entered into a Stipulation and Final Agency Order with the Colorado Board based on concerns regarding the excessive use of massage therapy services in Dr. Haney's practice and the amounts billed for procedures performed in his practice were excessive.

Heaven knows Congress needs another guy with an excessive penchant for massages.

You would think that Congressman Steny Hoyer would have mentioned to his former staff member and now CO Dem Chairman, Rick Palacio, that he was going to mention Haney's name to the Denver Post. But we guess no matter if he did or not Haney's less-than-stellar review by former patients, and medical license issues, were going to be public record anyway. 

Vitals.com, a website that allows patients to review their doctors, shows Dr. Haney is not a very popular doctor with people who have seen him. He receives an average of 1.5/4 stars and some pretty awful reviews from a number of patients who felt he defrauded them. 

Haney also seems to have an interesting political donation record:

He’s given even more to federal candidates, according to CampaignMoney.com.

Talk about grasping at straws. It seems that Hoyer likes the prospect of Perry Haney solely based on his apparently abundant personal wealth. Does that mean national Democrats have serious concerns about the viability of Sal Pace? Why else would they be name dropping wealthy candidates who have medical license issues, poor patient reviews, and an odd history of political donations?

If Mr. Haney is indeed a contemplating a run for Congress as his Washington-master suggests, let us be the first to welcome him to the public square. He can expect plenty of “massaging” on these pages in the coming months.