Ken Buck just learned how hard it is to toe the teabagger line, and remain a viable candidate for Senate. Last week after supporter Tom Tancredo let loose his crazy, treasonous rant about Obama being the greatest threat that ever existed to America, Buck had to distance himself from the comments. It's what happened next that's telling about the movement.
Buck tried to distance himself at the time, saying, “I think he has created a new word. It is called a ‘Tancredoism.’ I don’t agree. I think that there are a lot of threats in this country. I don’t think that the man in the White House is the greatest threat to this country at all.
“I am concerned about the direction of the country. I love Tom, but I don’t always agree with him.”
Saturday, speaking after Tancredo at the Conservative Western Summit, where the former congressman reiterated his previous remarks, Buck said, “The other day my good friend and supporter Tom Tancredo said that the greatest threat to this country is the man who occupied the White House, Barack Obama. And there is a lot of truth, a lot of truth in what Tom Tancredo said....
“The greatest threat folks is not a single man, but rather the progressive liberal movement that is going on in this country. It is the $13 trillion of national debt; it is a huge threat to our security and financial system; Obamacare, cap and trade, card check, our disintegrating relationship with Israel. It is a huge threat to this county....”
Having to maintain his "mainstream" cred meant disagreeing with Tancredo. Winning his primary requires agreeing with Tancredo, so to try to not look like to much of a craven fool, he has to try to qualify it. It's not the man, he says, but everything he represents that's worse than the threat of nuclear annihilation.