EXCITING NEWS FROM THE SQUARE STATE-- JAY FAWCETT NOT SUCH A LONG SHOT NOW

This Saturday the Blue America series at Firedoglake is featuring two of the most promising and inspiring Fighting Dems we've met yet-- Bill Winter, who is taking on the egregiously racist (and KKK-endorsed) Tom Tancredo, and Jay Fawcett, who is taking on James Dobson's shill candidate in James Dobson's town... and this guy is every bit as horrible as Tancredo, just not as famous.

Both of these candidates are from Colorado and both are considered longshots and have been basically written off by the DCCC. They are both far too independent-minded for Inside-the-Belway careerist political hacks like Emanuel and both have refused to follow the losing DCCC game plan of soft-pedaling the Iraq occupation. Neither Bill Winter nor Jay Fawcett is likely to ever soft pedal anything.

Today Fawcett's campaign had some extraordinary news. The Colorado Springs Gazette is reporting that retiring, longtime Republican congressman, Joel Hefley is so dismayed by the over the top extremist who won the GOP nomination that he is considering jumping back into the race and-- in effect-- throwing it to Fawcett!

Many conservative Republicans in the district have actually endorsed Fawcett saying that Doug Lamborn is simply not fit to represent the district in Congress. "In meetings with national political consultants, Hefley and his supporters have come up with yard-sign designs and the key messages of a possible campaign... Hefley, who has represented the 5th Congressional District for 20 years, has been the subject of a three-week push by high-level Republicans to take this nearly unheard-of step..." To be a write-in candidate, Hefley must file by 5PM today.

Most of us are aware that frothing at the mouth Rovians like Lamborn can always be expected to call their Democratic opponents gay and commies and all that crap but it is important to remember that that is exactly what they do to mainstream conservatives in their own primaries as well. Lamborn upset many in the GOP when he and his shills tried to make his Republican primary opponent, a conservative endorsed by Hefley, sound like a tool of the homosexual conspiracy.

"Hefley, who criticized negative campaigning at the May GOP congressional assembly, gained a reputation in his later years as a champion of ethics in politics. He led the House ethics committee when it chastised Majority Leader Tom DeLay-- a member of his own party-- and later lost that seat and was ostracized by DeLay and his allies." He is eager to make sure someone as clearly recognized as unethical as is Lamborn, not take over the congressional district.

Be sure to join us Saturday at 2PM (EST) at Firedoglake to meet Jay Fawcett himself and hear how this whole thing is making his race very, very viable. Even the DCCC has had to take notice!


UPDATE: HEFLEY BLASTS LAMBORN BUT HE WON'T RUN

Reached in Oklahoma, Joel Hefley told the Gazette that Lamborn "ran the most sleazy, dishonest campaign I've seen in a long, long time and I cannot support it." (I guess ole Hef hasn't been paying much attention to Lamborn's teacher, Karl Rove.) In any case, as much as he detests Lamborn and hopes he loses, the 71 years old Republican says he's decided not to jump into the race. He said he was unsure at this point if he would endorse Democrat Jay Fawcett or not. But I think his supports kind of got the point.