This statement was posted on Congressman Doug Lamborn's Facebook page last night:
"I will be on Fox News tonight at 8:10pm MT talking about my decision NOT to attend tomorrow night's State of the Union Address. Instead, I will participate in an interactive online forum with constituents to get their reaction to the President's speech."Really, Congressman Lamborn?? You are boycotting the State of the Union address to hang with your friends at Fox because you need to distance yourself even more from the President? Colorado and the 5th District weren't sufficiently embarrassed by your recent "Tar Baby" episode? Curious timing; why do you feel compelled now to pull such a controversial and cheap publicity stunt?
Hmmmm.....
Republican Doug Lamborn was voted into Congress in 2006, and has been named "The Most Conservative Member of Congress" twice by the National Journal. I became acquainted with him several years ago, when my husband and I moved from the Lowcountry of South Carolina to an idyllic mountain town in Chaffee County, Colorado, in the 5th District. I assumed life would be more progressive here in the Rocky Mountains, and it certainly is in our town, Salida. However, the 5th District is centered around Colorado Springs, home of several military bases, and headquarters to right-wing Focus on the Family, among other fundamental Christian organizations. The politics of the Springs area has more in common with South Carolina than it does with the rest of Colorado. When Congressman Doug Lamborn referenced President Obama and ‘Tar Baby’ together, why, it felt like home!
Even if some people say, ‘Well, the Republicans should’ve done this, or they should’ve done that,’ they will hold the president responsible,” Lamborn said. “Now I don’t want to even have to be associated with him. It’s like touching a, a tar baby and you, you get it, you know you’re stuck and you’re part of the problem now and you can’t get away.Congressman Doug Lamborn http://blogs.denverpost.com/...
Lamborn's post about his big stunt tonight on his official Facebook page has generated many comments expressing displeasure with the Congressman, although these comments often get deleted if they don't echo his party line. One such comment: blockquote>"Lamborn will be hanging out on Fox News, cozying up and currying favor, shilling for donations, instead of reporting for duty at the State of the Union address. Over 40% of Lamborn's district voted for President Obama. He swore an oath and is paid to "represent" this district, this state, our country. Lamborn's publicity stunt does nothing to move this country forward, find solutions, try to find some kind of common ground. He instead, is part of the problem and one of the reasons Congress has a 13% approval rating." Facebook comment https:/www.facebook.com...
I gleaned from these comments that Lamborn learned Friday he was being primaried by another Republican, a businessman with plenty of money, and this editorial was in the Denver Post today, explaining it all..
Doug Lamborn's state of disunion The Republican congressman's lone-wolf boycott of the president's address flies in the face of civility.Okay, got it now...Lamborn wants to be the Joe Wilson of this season, the guy who does or says something outrageous and hostile and rude towards President Obama, becoming a hero and celebrity on Fox News, and then waits for the money to come pouring into his campaign coffers. I hope Lamborn's constituents and the rest of the country see through this transparent and cynical ploy and don't send him a dime.We hadn't noticed that the Colorado Springs Republican(Lamborn) was particularly supportive of the president's policies in 2009, 2010 or 2011, either, yet that didn't stop him from attending those State of the Union speeches. What would propel him into a one-man boycott this time? After all, if every Republican who "does not support the policies of Barack Obama" decided to stay home, the chamber would end up half empty and the address would amount to a partisan Democratic rally. Surely basic professional courtesy, not policy consensus, induces most Republicans to pencil in attendance, whatever their personal opinion of the comander in chief.
When someone breaches that tradition, he can quickly find himself the object of much derision. Just ask Congressman Joe Wilson, who burst out with "You lie!" during the president's discussion of health care in 2009. Yet Wilson was hailed as a hero by many small donors on the right, turning the episode into a cash cow and a badge of honor for his 2010 re-election effort. We can't but wonder if Lamborn — who on Friday drew a primary challenge from a Colorado Springs businessman whom The Gazette reports has ample money to put toward his campaign — isn't angling for a similar fate.