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TWO WAY TIPTON
I didn't make up the nickname "Two Way Tipton" but I believe it is well deserved. Flip flopping his way through 2011, Tipton has profoundly disappointed many of us who got him elected. With our support, he squeaked past John Salazar by a few points. I regret endorsing him.
Tipton still isn't a member of the Tea Party Caucus. After nine months of being a "centrist Republican" his questionable ethics have drawn national attention. He is now one of three Republicans targeted by the DNC. The 3rd CD seat is vulnerable, and the Dems are salivating.
Tipton's mandate from us was clear: stop the bleeding, cut federal spending, no more pork, no more raising the debt ceiling. Despite making a bunch of campaign promises to get our votes, he has done what he was told by Boehner and the Boys. I guess that is why Scott was considered "electable." He took the advice of former Clinton advisor Dick Morris - stay in the middle, stay under the radar, and just get elected. Nine months into the "revolutionary" congressional election of 2010 we are now seeing the "Myth of Freshmen Power." Politico's analysis shows that this bunch of "fire-breathers" quickly became beltway good old boys, and Tipton has voted with the party 93% of the time. Wasen't his campaign line"Salazar voted with Pelosi 93% of the time?" Déjà vu, folks, all over again.
Elected to cut spending, Tipton initially supported $24 million in pork for Aspen busses, and then created a fuss by objecting to $15,000 in wi-fi. We sent him to DC to tell the people of Aspen, and everywhere else, NO more pork. Now the project is in Tipton Limbo, where he tries to keep all sides of every issue happy so he can get re-elected.
This typical political ploy will not work in 2012. Tipton waffled on the debt ceiling. On Friday, July 30th, he voted to raise it saying, "I don't think I can overstate the economic dislocation that would take place if the debt limit isn't increased." (GJ Sentinel 7/29/11). On Monday he voted against it. "Yes" on Friday; "No" on Monday, whatever it takes to get reelected.
Last August, 39 freshmen Republicans sent a letter to the Senate asking them to vote on the Balanced Budget Amendment. Tipton's name isn't on the list. Not a surprise as actually having to balance the federal budget would cost a lot of Boehner's Boys their jobs. They couldn't rely on pork to get reelected.
Lately Tipton has been cozy with Udall and Bennett. He sat with Perlmutter during Obama's speech to the joint session, and now says he can work with the President on a jobs bill that buries us another $400 billion in debt. Maybe there's nothing wrong with "going along to get along" with Democrats, the President, and the GOP, except that we didn't send him to Congress to become a good old boy. The Party establishment got exactly what it paid for, and, go figure, the people are getting screwed. Enough is enough.
Sal Pace and the DNC smell blood in the water. Who will step up and carry the mantle of our conservative cause? This past weekend, I hosted Tisha Casida and her core campaign team for a retreat. I have told you about her before. She is a 29 year old Independent, an entrepreneur dedicated heart and soul to "love of liberty." She is the next generation - fiscally conservative and devoted to the Constitution. Neither she nor her campaign fit the "politics as usual" paradigm. She's already been asked by Ryan Call to sit down and be a good girl but she is feisty, smart, and ready to take on the establishment. Check her out and invite her to speak to your group. Listen to what she has to say.
It's time to start thinking about a new representative in 2012.
Keep the faith,
Bob McConnell
www.beawatchman.com
beawatchman@aol.com
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