Brophy Continues to Fire Away at Fellow Republicans

Sen. Greg Brophy, ready to cripple fellow Republicans running for Governor.

State Sen. Greg Brophy probably never had much of a chance at becoming Colorado's next Governor, particularly after a brutally bad Q3 fundraising quarter, but that hasn't stopped him from taking every opportunity to kneecap other GOP candidates. Yesterday he went after Tom Tancredo for a gun safety vote that occurred in Congress shortly after the Columbine shooting. This won't help Brophy make it much closer to the top of the field, but it could cause some serious damage to Tancredo's campaign.

From FOX 31:

Brophy attacked Tancredo Monday over a 1999 vote by the former congressman who supported legislation to restrict the sale, transfer, importation and possession of assault rifles and magazines with higher than a 10-round capacity, a measure that is, at least generally, comparable to the ban approved by Colorado Democrats last year that outlaws magazines of more than 15 rounds.

“To a lot of people, this is the seminal issue,” Brophy told FOX31 Denver. “Tancredo’s record on gun control is actually worse than John Hickenlooper’s.”

Brophy is highlighting Tancredo’s support for House Resolution 2122 back on June 18, 1999, just two months after the horrific shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, in Tancredo’s congressional district and just blocks from the lawmaker’s home.

In a New York Times article published three days after the vote, Tancredo explained why he supported the legislation, making him the only member of Congress from Colorado to do so (the legislation died, with Republicans arguing that the restrictions went too far and Democrats that they didn’t go far enough).

In response to a question from reporter James Brooke, who asked “what made the difference?”, Tancredo replied: ”Twelve dead children, one dead adult, 24 injured kids and a community that has had its heart broken — that made the difference.”

Ironically, this is the kind of story that would probably help Tancredo in a General Election if he hadn't already decided to be "Captain 2nd Amendment" in the Republican Primary. This also highlights the problem of gun safety for Republicans in a Primary — any perceived weakness on 2nd Amendment issues will be a problem for someone trying to win the GOP nomination.

As for Brophy, he's spent so much time lately trying to tear down Tancredo and Scott Gessler that it's starting to look like he's really running in order to block for someone else — Mike Kopp, perhaps?

View the original article here

On KLZ, Brophy explains what’s required to hold together the GOP base

(Frogs and snails and puppy-dog tails! – promoted by Colorado Pols)

I like it when conservative talk radio hits on this question: What's the winning formula for a GOP candidate in Colorado?

On KLZ's Grassroots Radio last Friday, gubernatorial candidate Greg Brophy talked about why he'll triumph next year, and it made for provocative radio.

"Number one," Brophy told Worley, "you’ve got to be able to hold the base together. I can do that. I’ve never let anybody down on the Second Amendment, life, or taxes. So, I can hold the base together just fine." Listen to Brophy on KLZ radio.

That sounds like Brophy's formula for winning the GOP primary. Maybe that's why it was number one on his list, but Worley didn't ask if Brophy thought he could "hold the base together" better than the other GOP candidates.

What about the strengths of the other Republicans in the GOP field: immigration and winnability (Tancredo), election fraud (Gessler).

Can Brophy win over the GOP base on those issues? Does it matter? What's the priority?

And from the GOP base's perspective, for the primary, it's not just a matter of whether Brophy has really "never let anyone down" on guns, life, and taxes, but whether Tancredo has? Or Gessler? Or Kopp?

After talking about how to hold together the GOP base, Brophy described what you have to think would be his general-election approach:

Brophy: "But then you also have to be able to reach that middle of the road voter in the metro area, and I can do that too, based on my experience and the fact that I’m a farmer, and not your typical Republican – more like your typical Coloradoan. I’m an avid cyclist – everybody knows that."

I'm not sure everyone knows Brophy is a cyclist, but here's a suggestion Worley might toss at him to boost his cycler profile: Brophy could take a page from Hick and make political ads showing Brophy riding around Denver's bicycle trails, pedaling past Tancredo, Kopp, and Gessler, panting on their bikes as Brophy zips by, maybe with a pink gun in the water holder on his bike.

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Rocky Mountain Gun Owners: Greg Brophy For Governor

The "no compromise" gun rights organization Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, which dominated the opposition at the Colorado state capitol last spring to the slate of gun safety bills passed by the General Assembly, today announced their endorsement of Sen. Greg Brophy in the 2014 GOP gubernatorial primary. From their release a short while ago:

Gun owners have a huge responsibility in 2014: electing someone to replace the most anti-gun Governor in Colorado’s history.

No one running for Governor has championed your gun rights more than Senator Greg Brophy, and that’s why RMGO-PAC is proud to announce our endorsement of his campaign.

We’ve been able to rely on Greg’s leadership at the State Capitol for over 10 years, where he was even the first elected official to sponsor Constitutional Carry.

And if elected Governor, Greg won’t waste any time signing the dotted line on legislation aimed at repealing the radical gun controls passed in 2013.

Despite the organization's recent vow to turn up the heat against Democrats, there's no greater influence that the RMGO wields today than in Republican primaries–recent casualties who can attest to this include the Glenn Vaad, the moderate Republican who lost to Vicki Marble, and Larry Liston who lost to Owen Hill in Colorado Springs. Brophy may not be the strongest candidate to compete in the general election against Gov. John Hickenlooper, but the help of RMGO and Dudley Brown–always expected to be one of Brophy's closest allies–is a weapon Brophy's opponents may come to wish they had in their arsenal before this primary is over.

As long as you forget all about Jaxine Bubis, that is.

View the original article here

Greg Brophy Nimbly Dances Around Obvious Secession Questions

As the Grand Junction Sentinel's Charles Ashby reports:

[I]f some people in several of the counties in his expansive northeast Colorado Senate district have their way, the Wray Republican who’s seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper soon could live in another state.

The state of North Colorado.

Brophy, who’s in town to attend this weekend’s Club 20 fall meeting, said that while he encouraged commissioners in numerous counties in his district to place a 51st state initiative on their November ballots, he isn’t necessarily in favor of the idea…

“I encouraged my county commissioners to move forward with this to catch the governor’s attention and the state Legislature’s attention,” Brophy said. “I think that most of the counties will vote to secede, but it won’t pass through the state Legislature.”

If such a vote passed, though, Brophy said he would be obligated to introduce a measure into the Legislature if his constituents demanded it of him, even though he’s not sure how he would vote on it.

Greg Brophy.

?Sen. Greg Brophy's (albeit wholly realistic) lack of confidence in the ultimate success of the movement to split a number of rural Colorado counties, including Brophy's own Yuma County, into the separate state of North Colorado, could upset secession's proponents. If somebody "encouraged" you to do something, but then told a newspaper on the other side of the state that you're not "necessarily in favor" of it, wouldn't you find that a little two-faced?

With that said, it makes an obvious kind of sense that Brophy would keep his options open on how to vote on legislation to allow these counties to secede even if he was its sponsor–after all, he needs to preserve his status as a serious contender for governor of, you know, the rest of Colorado. We've been wondering how Brophy intended to juggle these competing interests.

And the answer is, as delicately as he can.

View the original article here

BREAKING: Greg Brophy Still Wants To Be Governor

Momma said knock you out, Scott Gessler.

UPDATE: Not enough minutes later, Lee's embargoed story goes live. Maybe wait a few minutes after being "surprised" by the new Twitter profile? With that little stunt behind us:

A vocal opponent to stricter Colorado gun laws recently implemented, Brophy, who has represented his sprawling eastern Colorado district in both the state House and Senate, will seek the party's nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper…

Brophy is expected to hold a Sunday news conference in Parker. An official announcement had not been made as of Friday afternoon.

—–

That's the word moments ago from the Denver Post's Kurtis Lee:

So, we did:

Please excuse us while we make popcorn. Updates coming…

Full story: BREAKING: Greg Brophy Still Wants To Be Governor

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