The primary season in Colorado is over and Republicans have chosen Mr. Maes as our nominee for governor. The time for second-guessing and speculating is over; now it's time to get behind all our Republican candidates so we can win in November.

As a party officer who was not permitted by our bylaws to publicly support or oppose any Republican candidate during the primary season, I've just been watching. I've heard people speak their minds about the candidates, both their perceived strengths and their perceived flaws. I listened and observed because that's all I was allowed to do.

Now, we have a Republican nominee for governor. And not only am I allowed to publicly support our nominee, it is my duty. But I would submit it's the duty of all Republicans. We are a party so that, together, we can get our candidates elected. If we were to hold a primary and then go our separate ways if we don't like the results, there's no point in being the Republican Party--we'd just be a bunch of independents that hold a primary for no particular reason.

We have followed the process from caucus to state assembly to the primary. Hundreds of thousands of Republicans participated and we followed the democratic process in spirit and in law. Colorado Republicans have spoken and Dan Maes is our Republican nominee for governor. Congratulations to Mr. Maes, and our thanks to Rep. McInnis who gave Republicans a choice in this race.

But the time for second-guessing is over. It's time for Republicans (including Tom Tancredo, who is CPINO [Constitutional Party In Name Only]) to stop complaining that the Republican candidate can't win. It's time to stop coming up with reasons why he can't succeed. It's time to stop suggesting names of people who might replace the candidate should he withdraw. It's time to put our energy into his success, give him the support of all the longtime and new expertise in our party, make sure he does win, give him guidance when he needs it, make sure he is successful as governor of Colorado, and convince our family, friends, and neighbors that Maes is going to lead Colorado away from the poor choices that Democrats have been making in our state.

I've heard some people observe that Dan Maes is like President Obama in that they perceive that he either doesn't have the right experience or can't win. I would offer a few observations:

• Experience. In my opinion, the majority of Obama's failures are due not to his inexperience, but to bad policy based on flawed leftist ideology. Let's not attribute to inexperience that which can legitimately be attributed to flawed ideas.
  
• Campaigning. Say what you will about Dan Maes, he just became the Republican nominee for governor with essentially no campaign budget and half the Republican party working against him. Imagine what he can do when we all get behind him with our time, energy, and money.
  
• No Strings Attached. While some may cite Maes' inexperience, let's not forget that that also means he comes to us as a clean slate with no favors to repay and no strings attached.
  
• Just a Guy. People have complained for, well, I think forever, about career politicians. Dan Maes isn't one. He's just a guy that apparently had enough and decided to run for governor. After complaining for so long about career politicians, are we now going to complain because our nominee doesn't have a career as a politician?
  
• They're Writing Us Off. Democrats and pundits (and unfortunately some Republicans) are writing us off by writing Mr. Maes off. They think it's going to be a cakewalk and may divert their money elsewhere. We can surprise them!
  
• He HAS Won. It seems to me that many people have been saying that Maes can't win from day one. But then he won the State Assembly. And now he has won the primary and is our nominee. He's proved the pundits wrong every step of the way. Now that he's our nominee, let's not shortchange him. Instead, let's look at his demonstrated ability to beat the odds.

And to those that compare Dan Maes to Obama, there's one final thing they should remember: Obama did win. If Dan Maes is similar in that respect, we'll do just fine. I'd definitely prefer an inexperienced Republican than an experienced Democrat.

Are any of our candidates perfect? Of course not. There hasn't been a perfect human being--much less a politician--on the planet for about 2000 years. We're all imperfect and we all have strengths and weaknesses, and we all have personal histories in which we've all made mistakes. If we're waiting for the perfect candidate, we're going to be waiting a long, long time. Luckily we don't need a perfect candidate. All we need to do is beat Hickenlooper who is also far from perfect.

Of course, Tancredo needs to get out of the race. I'm still pretty confident that Tancredo will withdraw this month. It may take another poll or two showing he won't win, and we must do everything we can to convince Tancredo to exit the race--because there's no way Tancredo or Maes wins if Tancredo stays in (and there's really no probability that Tancredo wins a statewide race even if there were no Republican).

But with Hickenlooper's baggage, the flawed leftist ideology he and his party support, and a nationwide sentiment that favors conservatives, we should have every confidence that we can win in November in a Maes vs. Hickenlooper competition.

We must support our candidates. Dan Maes, Ken Buck, Scott Gessler, John Suthers, Walker Stapleton, and all our candidates in local races. They all went through the process, they're all Republicans, they're our Republican candidates, and they all deserve our enthusiastic support.

NEXT STOP: November!

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Craig Steiner
Secretary, Douglas County Republicans