On Sunday, November 15, 2009, this columnist listened to the Mario Solis-Marich show on KTLK AM radio and was a bit alarmed to hear the host urging his listeners to help Tom Tancredo become the Republican candidate for the Governor of Colorado next year. Isn't that a sophomoric exorcise in political strategy? His rational for the root for the bad guy approach was that once Tancredo gets the nomination, Latinos will unleash a massive counterattack that will leave the Republican fully repudiated, humbled, and defeated.
My objection to that political gambit was to yell at the radio about the possibility that the Republicans in Colorado might (if they weren't gentlemen who conduct political campaigns by the Marquis of Queensbury rulebook) might use the electronic voting machines, which leave no verifiable paper trail, to hand the victory to Mr. Tancredo.
At that point it would be a complete disaster for the liberals and time for the conservatives to prod the media into a tsunami of "the polls were wrong again!" rebuttals to any objections to the validity of a rigged election.
We made an attempt to contact the host of that Sunday afternoon radio show and inquire about the possibility of political ambush via the electronic voting machines. We sent him an e-mail that read:
"I listened to your program on KTLK Sunday and you were urging folks to support Tom Tancredo for Governor.
I am going to write a column about that strategy because I think you are walking into an ambush.
What if you support him strongly (as a joke?) and the conservatives use the electronic voting machines to give him the governor's office?
At that point you will have two choices:
One - You can say you didn't really mean what your were saying and look foolish
Two - You can assert that Tancredo used the electronic voting machines to steal the election at which point it will be like saying Bush stole the election in 2004. So what? The Republicans will point out that the Democrats only use the "stolen" election argument when they lose.
At that point, who will have the last laugh?
Please let me know if you think that the electronic voting machines are unreliable in all elections or only in the ones that the Democrats lose."
He responded:
"Hi, Thanks for your interest. Ritter will have a Repub opponent. I believe that Tancredo is the easiest to beat. If there are plans to use high tech ballot fraud it will occur regardless of the opponent.
Mario Solis-Marich"
Isn't it nice that the Republicans will only have to contend with such a mellow, laid-back reaction?
Good thing that the Republicans aren't as nasty and unprincipled as this suspicious, paranoid columnist believes they are.
OK, I've had my "cry wolf!" moment. Everyone go back to making Superbowl match up predictions, Academy Award predictions, and the continuing saga of the latest celebrity-scandal du jour.
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