Subject: Scott McInnis

• Timber!

  Tempestuous political winds are blowing through Colorado's busiest forest.

  June 15, 2000

• Scott McInnis prematurely pisses on GOP's grave

  October 29, 2008

• Q&A with Denver's Leo Perino, father of the White House spokeswoman

  While White House Press Secretary and former Colorado resident Dana Perino (for Michael Roberts's profile, see "New Forecast") fields hundreds of questions from a ravenous Washington press corps every day on subjects that span the globe, her father, Leo Perino, took questions from Westword during a busy day at his Lincoln Market on East 25th Avenue.   He wouldn't talk politics -- though he does give a shout-out to Barack Obama's read-to-your-children focus -- but discusses his daughter's Belt

  November 26, 2008

• Letters to the Editor

  July 13, 2000

• Off Limits

  August 9, 2001

• Off Limits

  February 7, 2002

• Best Congressional Haiku -- Republican

  April 4, 2002

• New Forecast

  With Tony Snow out, Colorado-reared Dana Perino steps into one of the most thankless posts ever: White House press secretary.

  September 20, 2007

• Off Limits

  Dialing for dollers

  September 18, 2003

• Off Limits

  October 23, 1997

• Off Limits

  July 24, 1997

• OFF LIMITS

  January 17, 1996

• JOUST FRIENDS

  November 15, 1995

• SEOUL BROTHER

  THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION GIVES CONGRESSMAN SCOTT MCINNIS A CRASH COURSE IN KOREAN.

  September 6, 1995

• OFF LIMITS

  September 6, 1995

• In branding Scott McInnis "McLobbyist," left borrows from right's playbook

  Scott McInnis. Scott McInnis has been positioning himself for a political comeback since at least last year. Note that in October, McInnis prematurely pissed on the GOP's grave by publicly predicting that Bob Schaffer would lose to Mark Udall in the U.S. Senate contest -- and adding that he could have won the seat. But his stealth campaign for the 2010 governor's office brought him into the crosshairs of organizations such as Colorado Ethics Watch, which repeatedly rapped him for refusing to ma

  May 21, 2009

• The Westword.com blog shortcut, May 21 edition

  "Hey, this burrito is shaped like a really big, fat penis!" Take a bite. Today in Cafe Society: • Quiznos is the sandwich of choice for half-naked playmates. • Eat Here Now! at 910Arts. • Jax puts its fin into the wine game. • Up Close: The Q Worldly Barbecue. • Candy Girls: Sweet Action Ice Cream. • Patio season approaches; share your favorite spots. • D Bar Desserts celebrates its first anniversary with free cupcakes! Today in Backbeat Online: • Mile Hi-Fidelity playlist --

  May 21, 2009

• Scott McInnis and Bob Schaffer don't know their Colorado mountains

  A screen capture from Scott McInnis' website featuring a scenery shot from... Canada? When politicians make a gaffe, an army of online smart asses is ready, willing and able to make them feel stupid about it. Witness Republican gubernatorial hopeful Scott McInnis, whose website went live with a photo on its home page picturing an area near Canada's Lake Louise Ski Area rather than a home-state mountain. Surfers who frequent ColoradoPols.com made the connection in last Thursday's open thread, sp

  July 6, 2009

• Josh Penry about to announce gubernatorial bid?

  A really unposed-looking photo of Scott McInnis and Josh Penry from Penry's campaign website circa 2005. According to Grand Junction's Daily Sentinel newspaper, state senate minority leader Josh Penry, who represents GJ, is planning an announcement on Saturday, July 11, in regard to speculation that he will run for governor -- and there are three big indications that he'll officially enter the fray: 1) He let the hometown newspaper know about the press event almost a week in advance; 2) The bac

  July 7, 2009

• Denver Blogs: Ding-dong go the balls

  Scott McInnis and his giant hands.​We like good blogs. Know about any? The people behind a new conservative think tank "will need balls the size of church bells" to spend soft money supporting Scott McInnis. Holy genitals! (Colorado Pols) "Underemployed Smartass Blogger Opts Out of GOP Senate Race:" a headline whose time has come (Slapstick Politics) Nugget Linas Kleiza isn't improving. Time for a security blanket? (Roundball Mining Company)

  August 7, 2009

• Wake-Up Call: Republican candidates on parade

  ​Politicians were out in force at the Arapahoe County Republicans fundraising roast of former congressman Tom Tancredo on Saturday. John Suthers, the only GOP member currently elected to a statewide office. Mike Coffman, who moved from a statewide office to fill Tancredo's seat in the Sixth Congressional district. U.S. Senate candidates Ken Buck, the DA in Weld County, and Ryan Frazier, Aurora councilman. Even Dan Caplis, a fellow Tancredo roaster, who admitted he's not officially out of t

  August 11, 2009

• Denver Blogs: Noooooooo!

  If only he looked this good playing defense.​Can you identify a good blog? Send samples here. Nuggets interested in Wally Szczerbiak. Which, by the way, is a truly horrible idea. (Denver Stiffs) Man. You can't even screw a cow any more without worrying about catching something. (5280) Scott McInnis: We didn't name him Shmuck of the Week for nothing. (Colorado Pols)

  August 12, 2009

• Denver Blogs: This just in: Scott McInnis is kind of a dick

  Scott McInnis: Dick.​The blogosphere is our crack den. Kick us down the good stuff. Scott McInnis somehow manages to make KHOW's Craig Silverman seem like a sympathetic character. (Colorado Pols) The Post may be polling you about comics, but that doesn't mean it cares what you think. (Denver PR Blog) Should the Rockies extend the contract of GM Dan O'Dowd? (Inside the Rockies)

  August 13, 2009

• Scott McInnis is getting picked on by even more mean people

  Scott McInnis with Josh Penry, whose candidacy is looking pretty good right now.​Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis came uncorked while defending his allegedly broken pledge to use leftover 2004 campaign funds for breast-cancer research during a Wednesday appearance on the KHOW talk show hosted by Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman. At one point, McInnis even accused Caplis of ganging up on him -- as if Dandy Dan, who's a little to the right of Cardinal Richelieu, has a well-know

  August 14, 2009

• Denver Blogs: Aspen... a little place where the pot flows like wine

  ​It's Friday. You ain't got shit to do. You ain't got no job. So let's... read some blogs! And then send us more! Dispensaries giving new meaning to the term "High Country." See what I did there? (Colorado Independent) (Even) more on Scott McInnis's rage against the KHOW machine, which is sort of like this guy's rage against filmmaking. (Colorado Pols) How the Broncos will run the ball in 2009 (if they can do it without getting hurt, that would be a great start). (Mile High Report)

  August 14, 2009

• The Westword.com blog shortcut, August 14 edition

  Photo by Tom MurphyThe Sunn O))) will come out tomorrow....​Getting your weekend off on the right note.... Today in Backbeat Online: • Last night: Sunn O))) at the Bluebird. • Hearsay bits: Van Morrison, Yonder Mountain String Band, Tyler Despres Band, Pictureplane. • Freaky Friday - "Performance" -- MC SpandX. • Remembering Les Paul, June 9, 1915-August 13, 2009. Today in Cafe Society: • Tonight: Mastering the art of French cooking at the Kitchen Table Cooking School. • Myst

  August 14, 2009

• Denver Blogs: This Patriot-west thing would be totally intolerable if the Patriots weren't so damn good

  ​Our daily cruise through the local blogosphere. Let us know about good destinations. The Broncos have traded for yet another Patriot, defensive end Le Kevin Smith. Weird, huh? (Mile High Report) The Denver Archbishop chimes in on health care. (Colorado Independent) Scott McInnis is missing in action. Why are people complaining about this? (Colorado Pols)

  August 17, 2009

• Denver Blogs: A total McInnis

  Interview with Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.Our daily search for local bloggage. E-mail recommendations. Scott McInnis is being a real McInnis these days, isn't he? (Colorado Pols) Where has Melo's money gone? (5280) Meet the future Rockies. (Purple Row)

  August 18, 2009

• Josh Penry would like to grill barbecue thieves

  Josh Penry pricing new grills: "Man, these things are expensive!"​Josh Penry may be quickly becoming the leading Republican candidate for governor, thanks to the rapid implosion of Scott McInnis' campaign and the difficulties Ryan Frazier is having in regard to gaining traction -- but not everything's going his way. Yesterday morning on his Twitter feed, he wrote, "What kind of a person steals a man's BBQ grill? It happened to me this weekend -- right off my back porch." Minutes later, he

  August 19, 2009

• Odd couples show off their fun bags for Denver Mag

  John Hickenlooper and Bill Ritter let their hair down (click to enlarge).​In today's Denver Post, media writer Joanne Ostrow takes on the September cover of Denver Magazine, in which Channel 31 stars Libby Weaver and Natalie Tysdal are transformed from anchors to shank-ers. After spotlighting quotes from Weaver and station exec Carolyn Kane shrugging off any scent of controversy over the couples' quasi-salacious pose, Ostrow essentially suggests that, given the difficulties the TV industry

  August 27, 2009

• Scott McInnis' latest two mistakes

  Scott McInnis ready to party with himself.​Just because Bob Beauprez has decided against seeking for the governership doesn't mean Republican loyalists will be spared the spectacle of another hilariously inept campaign -- not with Scott McInnis still the de facto frontrunner. Big Mac has made one gaffe after another since leaping into the fray, from putting a photo of a Canadian mountain on his website's home page to losing his shit under cross-examination from that notorious conservative-

  August 31, 2009

• Does a Romanoff run give aid and comfort to the enemy?

  Andrew Romanoff.​The Republicans seem to be in complete disarray when it comes to finding a U.S. Senate candidate for 2010. But that doesn't mean the Democrats will be able to cruise to victory. Although current office-holder Michael Bennet handled his latest healthcare summit well, he's been underwhelming during his first months in office -- so much so that former Colorado House speaker Andrew Romanoff, who coveted the appointment Bennet got, is reportedly on the verge of launching a prim

  August 31, 2009

• Liberal authors offer prize even birthers can love

  ​Earlier today, Sean Duffy, spokesman for gubernatorial hopeful Scott McInnis, said he didn't want his candidate to be reduced to a caricature by Michael Huttner, the man behind the left-leaning ProgressNow Colorado operation. After making that comment, Duffy noted that Huttner's very effective at what he does, adding, "Our team needs a Michael Huttner." It wouldn't hurt. Huttner has developed some extremely effective methods for promoting liberal causes, and in recent years, he's success

  August 31, 2009

• The Westword.com blog shortcut, August 31 edition

  Those are some nice looking Chinese buns.​Time to put on the feed bag. Today in Cafe Society: • Ask the Critic: What is Denver's food scene missing? • India's reopens in Tiffany Plaza. • Milking It: Corn Flakes Touch of Honey/Toque de Miel. • Tonight: It's all about wine and chocolate. • Talkin' 'bout food, booze and music with David Scott of NEWSPEAK. Today in Backbeat Online: • Over the Weekend: Ian Cooke Band, Alan Alda and Tauntaun at the Bluebird. • Over the Weekend: K

  August 31, 2009

• Could Republican disarray lure Bill Owens into Senate race?

  Bill Owens.​With Democrats worrying about a possible challenge to Senate appointee Michael Bennet by former Colorado Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff, Republicans ought to like their chances in the race for that seat, slated for 2010. Instead, they can't settle on a viable candidate. Announced contestants such as Ryan Frazier left the National Republican Senatorial Committee with such an empty feeling that the organization has registered a couple of domain names on behalf of Jane Norto

  September 1, 2009

• Time for Josh Penry to make his move in Republican guv-nomination race

  Josh Penry and familiy look all-American in a photo from his website.​Jane Norton's forthcoming entry into the U.S. Senate campaign is meant to energize Republicans who know appointee Michael Bennet is vulnerable but can't figure out which of their foot soldiers is capable of taking him down. But at this point, anyhow, there doesn't seem to be a new face capable of improving the GOP picture when it comes to challenging Governor Bill Ritter in 2010. From the beginning, it was Scott McInnis'

  September 9, 2009

• Feeling the power of ColoradoPols

  Dick Wadhams.​Locals who want to know the latest political scoop know they'll find it first at ColoradoPols.com, a website whose power and reach is obvious even when the information it passes along doesn't pan out. Case in point -- rumors that Colorado Republic Party head Dick Wadhams might be leaving that post in order to become campaign manager for Sue Lowden, who's likely to target U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Shortly after ColoradoPols posted an item on this subjec

  September 9, 2009

• Momentum keeps building for Josh Penry

  Josh Penry.​"Time For Josh Penry to Make His Move in Republican Guv-Nomination Race," a blog published about this time yesterday, noted that Penry seems to be filling the GOP vacuum that his principal rival, Scott McInnis, has left gaping thus far. The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza apparently agrees, since he profiled Penry as part of "The Rising," a series about the GOP's most promising new faces. "Josh Penry's Case for Colorado," published yesterday afternoon, offers plenty of positiv

  September 10, 2009

• Scott "Fear Factor" McInnis is very, very concerned about your safety

  ​Governor Bill Ritter's modest proposal to parole hundreds of inmates a few weeks or months before their mandatory release date, thereby cutting millions from the state budget, has become the political whipping boy for his most opportunistic critics, from GOP legislators to Weld County District Attorney (and Senate candidate) Ken Buck to the hand-wringing editorial board over at the Denver Post. But nobody has stomped on the issue with more enthusiasm than gubernatorial opponent Scott Mc

  October 19, 2009

• Denver Blogs: Dana Perino reveals her past with Scott McInnis (get your minds out of the gutter!)

  Dana Perino loves herself some Scott McInnis.​Local bloggery for your pleasure. Colorado Pols offers up former White House spokeswoman Dana Perino's video endorsement of onetime boss Scott McInnis. Don't they make a cute couple? Russ at Purple Row considers a possible trade of Garret Atkins for Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. Is that a (Huston) Street the Rockies really want to drive down? 5280's Michael de Yoanna wonders if Mark Udall can save Christmas for folks who've had their cre

  October 23, 2009

• Josh Penry campaign scoffs at Scott McInnis' reasons for not debating

  "Put down your weapons. I come in peace."​This morning, gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis' responded to critics of his decision not to debate his fellow Republican rivals with a Denver Post op-ed in which he argued that while "GOP candidate forums" are fine, direct faceoffs will do more harm than good. "Republicans aren't afraid of differing views," he writes. "We must, however, be committed to unity and civility." Andrew Cole, Josh Penry's press secretary, avoids replying to this ass

  November 5, 2009

• Denver Blogs: Welcome back, J.R. Smith -- and just in time

  The Prodigy's suspension is over. Time to fill some baskets.​Examine these local blogs, why don't you? Andrew Feinstein at Denver Stiffs sizes up two bad Nuggets losses. Lucky thing George Karl can put J.R. Smith in tomorrow night... Colorado Pols looks at what Scott McInnis and Mitt Romney have in common. Aside from their resemblance to Muppet newscasters? The Colorado Independent's John Tomasic wonders if Colorado's budget crisis is so dire that the state can no longer afford the deat

  November 9, 2009

• Wake-Up Call: Tom Tancredo for governor of Colorado?

  ​When I last talked with former Congressman Tom Tancredo -- about marijuana, of all things, which he'd like to see legalized, even though he's never so much as attempted to inhale -- he was just back from an October Constitution Party event in Phoenix, where he'd been urged to run for president on the ticket of what had started in 1992 as the U.S. Taxpayers Party, and is now on the ballot in 43 states. But Tancredo had another idea: Why not run for Senate against John McCain in his own

  November 10, 2009

• What's making Josh Penry wave the white flag?

  Josh Penry's getting out even before the getting's good.​There weren't a lot of hints in advance regarding state senator Josh Penry's decision to pull the plug on his gubernatorial campaign, which he's expected to do later today. This past Thursday, Penry spokesman Andrew Cole roundly ridiculed rival Scott McInnis' no-debating stance in this space, insisting that "there are inconsistencies in his argument about party unity" and declaring, "If, at the end of the day, you can't stand up in f

  November 10, 2009

• Josh Penry radio appearance turns into subtle Scott McInnis bashing session

  See! Josh Penry really does want to spend more time with his family.​Josh Penry made his decision to pull out of the 2010 gubernatorial race official yesterday, issuing a statement that stops considerably short of formally endorsing his main conservative rival for the office, Scott McInnis. He likewise avoided anointing McInnis the Republican most worthy of taking down current guv Bill Ritter during a late afternoon appearance on KHOW with Dan Caplis and Craig Silverman, whose comments tow

  November 11, 2009

• Tom Tancredo: "I fully intend to run" for governor

  Photo by John JohnstonTom Tancredo wants to run for all the right reasons.​A short time ago, Tom Tancredo was at Denver International Airport. "I'm going to Houston," he said. "I have a speech I'm making to the Texas Coalition for Immigration Reform, or something like that." But Tancredo took a few minutes to make it clear that he does indeed plan to challenge Republican front-runner Scott McInnis in the upcoming primary to determine who'll take on Governor Bill Ritter in 2010. "Primarie

  November 12, 2009

• Dick Wadhams on Tom Tancredo's impending run for governor

  Dick Wadhams isn't leading the "Run Tom" parade. But he swears he's not putting up roadblocks, either.​Yesterday, Tom Tancredo confirmed his plans to run for governor now that state senator Josh Penry has dropped out of the race. That throws a kink into frontrunner Scott McInnis' dream of a united party -- united behind him, anyhow. Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, claims to be uninterested in throwing himself on the tracks in front of the Tancredo Express before i

  November 13, 2009

• Wake-Up Call: Meanwhile, back at the ranch... and Pinon Canyon

  ​Representative Wes McKinley is sitting in a bar in Denver, but his mind is hundreds of miles away -- on the rangeland of southeastern Colorado, that stunning swathe of cactus and canyons and ranches that have been in families for generations. The land that the U.S. Army would like to conquer and use for training, adding to the 238,000 acres it already occupies at Pinon Canyon. For five years, ranchers and other residents of the area have been fighting the Army at every turn -- but the Ar

  November 19, 2009

• Tom Tancredo open to keeping hat out of ring if deal with Scott McInnis can be struck

  Tom Tancredo has gone from fully intending to run for governor to entertaining the possibility of backing Scott McInnis.​A lot's happened in Tom Tancredo's world during the past week. Last Thursday, Tancredo said in this space, "I fully intend to run" for governor in 2010, adding that he planned to formally announce his intentions once he took care of some housekeeping matters. He also confirmed that he was considering a campaign because his candidate of choice, state senator Josh Penry,

  November 19, 2009

• Scott McInnis: Is he more politically skillful than we thought?

  "Can't we all just get along?"​Political observers have spent a lot of time har-dee-har-ing at Scott McInnis over the years -- and indeed, he's made plenty of errors and gaffes during his time in the public eye. Note his prediction that fellow Republican Bob Schaffer would lose the 2008 Senate race to Mark Udall -- and that he would have won -- in the days before the election took place; the use of a non-Colorado mountain as the centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign website; and a hil

  November 20, 2009