My support for Wil Armstrong in the 6th CD received a semi-amen and lengthy quotations in this week's endorsement editorial by Face the State.com, which treated abandonment of the Secretary of State's office as the decisive factor in recommending that suburban Republicans vote for "Anyone But Coffman" in the Aug. 12 primary. As I noted in my Denver Post column last Sunday, many GOP loyalists have huge problems with turning the SOS post over to a Democrat of Bill Ritter's choosing, in the event current occupant Mike Coffman wins the congressional nomination to succeed Tom Tancredo. Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon and House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, both out of a job after this election, are often mentioned as potential appointees.
But my sources believe former Denver Clerk Rosemary Rodriguez, now serving on the HAVA Commission in DC, has the inside track if Coffman's job comes vacant. Her incompetence as Denver's chief election officer conjures scary visions of how she could screw up with similar duties on a statewide scale, let alone the easy-voting, all-comers approach she'd take on ballot integrity questions. No thanks, say Republicans across the 6th congressional district and beyond.
The Denver Post endorsement of Coffman for Congress, published today, brushes off this concern. But that merely proves again -- if anyone needed more proof -- that the Post editorial board is incapable of thinking like Republicans, even for a moment of role-playing.
Armstrong's still the one.