Frank McNulty, former Republican Speaker of Colorado’s House of Representatives, told KNUS radio host Peter Boyles last week that U.S. Rep-elect Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is proving herself to be more thoughtful than some expected and has the chance to be a “star” in Washington D.C.
“Lauren Boebert, who I think has a real opportunity to be a conservative star in D.C., came out of nowhere–and that’s not a bad thing,” said McNulty on air. “She brings a whole host of other experience to that job, and she has shown a level of thoughtfulness that I think some Republicans didn’t expect of her.”
McNulty also warned that Boebert could be “pigeonholed” if she’s not careful.
“…[D.C. is] going to try to pigeonhole her,” McNulty said. “So she’s going to have to fight against that, because as much as she says she’s going to back and fight against AOC [Democratic N.Y. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez], she cannot go back and become the GOP version of AOC, because AOC has been pigeonholed and that has limited her effectiveness. So if she can go back there and be more than that, and be a better conservative version of that, fantastic.”
Former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo, who previously endorsed Boebert, also told Boyles last Wednesday that he was impressed by her and was happy to see her win.
“I’m thinking… I love this gal, she’s great, she’s so dynamic,” Tancredo said. “…Anyway, I did support her, and made a couple of robocalls for her… That was the brightest part of the election from my point of view here in Colorado.”
Many Republicans didn’t expect Boebert (R-CO) to beat incumbent Scott Tipton in June’s GOP primary–but that’s exactly what happened.
Boebert’s far-right affiliation was popular among voters in her congressional district, but some conservative voices warn that Colorado’s Republican Party is moving too far in the direction of Trump–and thus the party could turn into a non-governing voice of opposition in increasingly blue state of Colorado.
In-fighting within the Republican party recently—from disputes between the state party and the El Paso County party to alleged funding blocks to certain Republican candidates—reveals the gap between moderate Republicans and far-right Republicans in the state.
Some conservatives see her platform and her win as a positive thing for Colorado Republicans; others don’t.
