http://coloradoindependent.com/64587/colorado-gop-staffers-blame-wadhams-for-candidate-vetting-lapsesColorado GOP staffers blame Wadhams for candidate vetting lapses
Party Chair made ‘colossal mistakes’ ushering suspect amateurs and violent criminals onto the ballot
By John Tomasic 10/20/10 7:41 AM
The Colorado Republican Party’s effort to win back top seats has been characterized nationally as a “gaffapalooza” and a “farce,” with many analysts pointing fingers at state GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams. Observers on the ground in Colorado, including GOP staffers and candidates, say that in the year of the Tea Party, Wadhams simply failed to properly vet candidates. The top-of-the-ticket false starts and shuffling have drawn plenty of attention and spawned mockery but the farce grows dark at the bottom of the ticket, where GOP candidates with criminal histories of violence and abuse dot the ballot.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes, a Tea Party favorite who has suffered repeated embarrassing revelations about his past and who has been the target of bungled maneuvering by Wadhams, has become one of the leading voices calling for Wadhams’ ouster.