Scott Mcinnis while in Delta on a campaign stop Oct. 6 visited with supporters including a fellow former lawman/elected official Ed Marah of Cedaredge.

In 2003, when McInnis was serving as Colorado's 3rd District congressman and held a secure Republican seat, he unexpectedly announced his retirement from politics after 21 years serving in various elective offices.

McInnis didn't make any promises. And, he said he didn't "quit."

He also said it wasn't his fault the 3rd District fell into the Democrats hands. He blamed that on meddling by the state and national Republican organizations that supported Greg Walcher instead of McInnis' brother-in-law Matt Smith, who at that time was a state representative. Walcher later lost to current 3rd District Rep. John Salazar, a Democrat.

But, that one last question was the only heartburn moment for McInnis in an otherwise upbeat political session with a room full of partisan supporters that lasted about an hour at Westminster Hall.

His stop was "day two" of a campaign swing raising support and money for his governor bid. Pop music star Michael Martin Murphy added showbiz glitz to the McInnis campaign stops in Denver and Grand Junction, but the entertainer did not come to Delta.

McInnis' campaign is playing heavily to themes of his and his wife's deep family Colorado roots. During this Delta stop, McInnis emphasized his 22 years of experience in elective office - a nameless reference to his less experienced rivals for the Republican nomination, including State Sen. Josh Penry of Fruita; and, to current governor Bill Ritter, a Democrat with no prior elective office experience.

McInnis in opening remarks hit the high points of popular, conservative Republican themes and took direct aim at what he called Ritter's miscues on energy, jobs, the state budget and taxes.

He also took five other questions from among the several dozen people who attended, including a question about Ritter's unpopular new vehicle registration and license fees. Can the fees be rescinded, McGinnis was asked?

He said they can be. The state's Democrat controlled legislature imposed them "because they thought they could get away with it. They are hearing about it now from (unhappy) constituents," he added.

He hinted that some of the new fees might be rescinded by the legislature before the next election.

In answer to other questions, McInnis stated the following positions on issues:

• He said that Ritter is responsible for the loss of energy sector jobs that are vitally important to the Western Slope's economy and future.

• He said that Ritter's opposition to the planned expansion of Fort Carson was "a big mistake." The military sector of Colorado's economy is important. McGinnis said the governor's roadblock to Fort Carson has brought Texan invitations to the military for relocating the Army base there from Colorado Springs.

• Ritter's budget cuts are in the wrong areas. Specifically, McInnis criticized cuts at the Grand Junction Regional Center.

• Proposals by environmentalists and Democrats for vast new wilderness areas in Colorado are dishonest. "They are using wilderness as a political tool for other things, like control of energy exploration and production, and water resources," McInnis said.

Specifically, Front Range Congresswoman Diana DeGette's plan to make the entire Roan Plateau in Northwest Colorado a federal wilderness "would impose massive, long-term economic impacts on us. She should be worrying about the traffic jams in her own district and let us deal with the Western Slope," McInnis said.

• On law enforcement issues, McInnis said he opposes "medical marijuana." He said he opposed a proposed $100 fee for "background checks" to purchase hand guns. He said he opposes Ritter's plan to save money by early release of felons.

• McInnis said he is "a proponent of the 10th Amendment" which deals with state sovereignty and state's rights. "But I can't support he idea of ‘no federal government in Colorado,'" he added.

On the current states' rights question, he pointed to his 22-year voting record on issues dealing with 10th Amendment issues.

• McInnis said he had not read the three tax limitation Colorado Constitution amendment petitions that are currently circulating, and would not state an opinion on them. "You need to read the fine print," he said.

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written by Robert Chase , October 15, 2009

I'm getting sick of the Rethuglican ungrammatical semantic attack on the Democratic Party, too, Mr. Lohmeyer. A member of that party is a Democrat, but the party itself is the Democratic Party ("Democrat" being a noun, not an adjective).

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written by Robert Chase , October 15, 2009

"Colorado's 3rd district has been in Democrat party hands ever since." -- ever since what?

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written by Robert Chase , October 15, 2009

"Can the fees be rescinded, McGinnis was asked?" -- who is McGinnis?

Great, it is good to hear that this extremist opposes keeping guns out of the hands of convicted criminals, and that he is one of the cabal who are in revolt against our Constitution. The people of Colorado decided in 2000 to allow doctors to recommend the use of cannabis by their patients, and to allow those patients to obtain it legally. These are provisions of our Constitution, which is the supreme law of our State. McInnis has declared his opposition -- we may reasonably infer that in the farfetched and disastrous event of his election he would attempt to subvert the Constitution, much as our scofflaw of an Attorney General has done. We need to elect officials who respect our laws and certainly our Constitution rather than trying to undermine them. Medical use of cannabis has saved and is saving many people's lives in Colorado. Cannabis is the safest of drugs; it has never killed even a single user. Contrast that with the mortality caused by illegal drugs (17,000 annually), incidents involving firearms (29,000 annually), prescribed medicines (32,000 annually), alcohol (85,000 annually), and tobacco (435,000 annually) (source: JAMA). Anyone concerned about public health in this country should know that the use of cannabis, medical or otherwise, simply isn't a realistic concern. McInnis may be qualified for dogcatcher of Montrose, but not much else. If Republicans expect to seriously contest the race for Governor they'd better come up with a much more credible candidate than this.

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