The American Café,
Again, this is from the Elbert County Tea Party on the Tom Tancredo Ultimatum for the other Republican candidates for Governor to step down and give him their support, thereby bypassing the very system of elections we have in Colorado, (not unlike Jane Norton or Walker Stapleton “petitioning on” because of lack of support at the grassroots level.)
We want to keep you in the loop.
Peter and Adrienne Robberson
The American Café-719-573-2193
To The Elbert County Tea Party
July 25, 2010
By now, everyone is aware of the turmoil developing around the Governor's race following the announcement and ultimatum issued by Tom Tancredo. Based on a survey of the Elbert Tea Party, we find that 33% support Mr. Tancredo, while 67% do not. In the overall survey of all the groups his support falls to about 20%. It is not our intent to make any judgment one way or the other in reference to those who support Tom as a person or for Governor, should he follow through with what he has announced he will do. We are part of a large grassroots movement that is gaining in members and strength every day in the nation and here in Colorado, where recent polling shows our State as having the largest number of registered voters who associate themselves with the Tea Party or 912 movement. As part of that movement, we are involved at a state level with the other groups. I attend regular meetings and am in constant communication with those groups, including the largest 912 group, having over 10,000 members.
Our groups have been very active since Mr. Tancredo's surprise announcement, having spent a lot of time seeking the input of our members about how our movement should collectively respond to Tom's apparent intention to enter the Governor's race at this time. First, it should be known that Mr. Tancredo has been considered a friend and ally of the Liberty Movement. As you know, he came to our meeting and received an overwhelming positive response by our group. We have cheered his stand on immigration, his open and honest talk about big government, and we have followed faithfully since his pronouncements last year telling all the Liberty groups to stick by the side of other conservatives and work within the system to bring back conservative leadership to all the offices now up for election. We heard and watched Tom as he told us not to do anything to split our ranks, which would give the liberals and the Democrats an advantage in the political arena, including the Governor’s race.
Up to the moment he made this announcement, it was clear that he and our movement were on the same page. We followed, we trusted and we agreed that we had important races to win, and that remains the main focus in the Liberty, Tea Party and 912 groups. While we remain individuals with different preferences, we all value another core principle of our movement, to respect the will of the people. Then came the bombshell announcement. With that moment, all that we had believed and trusted, all that we stood for, fell under a dark cloud. We had someone that we had looked up to issuing an ultimatum to the chosen candidates on the Republican ticket. He is now saying he will step outside the party that he has been loyal to for his whole public life, and that he will in effect split the ticket, thus running off the people's candidates if we do not meet his demands. We are shocked and disappointed.
We as a collective coalition of Liberty groups from the western slope to Ft. Collins, out to the eastern plains and down to southern Colorado, have prepared a position statement that is being delivered to Tom Tancredo today and is being released to the media this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. It states that we are anxious to save our valued relationship with Mr. Tancredo but need him to reconsider his ultimatum to the people’s choice for Governor. He needs to realize the consequences of following through on his threat to enter the race. While there was a time at the State Assembly when many would have supported his candidacy, he himself choose to decline. The people of this state who have invested their time, their money and placed their belief in the system did so with the trust that one of our own would not do anything to negate their participation, which Mr. Tancredo’s actions have done.
Finally, all those who understand the high-stakes of this year’s election know that all Tom can accomplish should he follow through and run as a 3rd Party candidate, is to split off enough of the Republican votes to ensure that Mayor Hickenlooper wins the Governors mansion. While we admit to our affection and respect for Tom, including recognizing his ability to lead Colorado as Governor under different circumstances, this is not the time, place or way to do that. We know that the grassroots support that we believe he took into account in making this decision is simply not going to materialize. In fact, the overall support will not be there, without which he will have done only harm to our cause and to our chances of winning in November.
In closing, I signed the letter to Tom Tancredo letting him know that we oppose his decision and his apparent intent to run for Governor at this time. I recognize that we have members who have responded to my survey saying they support Tom’s decision. But, as with all things, the majority agrees with the letter from the Liberty groups-at some point a stand has to be taken. We are not attacking Tom Tancredo as a person. We are in opposition to the principle of what he is doing, that being to circumvent the system we have in place to elect our leaders. The people have spoken in the State Assembly, in their communities and through their respective party. There is a lot to fix in our political system, but to simply disregard the folks who have participated in the Assembly, resulting in the selection of Dan Maes and Scott McInnis, is to say their voices do not matter. This violates the very core of what we as free, liberty loving people believe in.
Respectfully
Robert P. Rowland
Chairman, Elbert County Tea Party
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