Tom Tancredo

He calls himself an "unconventional" candidate, and even his critics probably would agree with him on that, as former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a 2008 candidate for president, launches – even if reluctantly – a campaign to be governor of Colorado.

He has called the president a bigger danger to the United States than al-Qaida, takes on a constant stream of ridicule from left-wing columnists and pundits and even has raised the ire of officials within the Republican Party he represented for years in Congress.

But he's been a favorite among tea-party activists and confirms on his new TancredoForGovernor2010.org website that his "oath to the Constitution" means his allegiance is to the nation, "above my loyalty to any political party, and it should be to every American."

Tancredo told WND today his work – he's coming into the race just 90 days before the election – leaves him with nothing but confidence even though the Democrat candidate, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, and two GOP candidates, former congressman Scott McInnis and businessman Dan Maes, have been on the trail for weeks.

"We can win things," he said. "This could be a game-changer for American politics."

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"I think I represent the most unconventional politics around," he said. "There are a lot of people who have recognized me as a maverick … for years."

In his statement announcing his candidacy with the banner of the American Constitution Party waving, Tancredo said he has the focus and the skills to solve the state's issues – from jobs lost to government regulation to new taxes imposed on a population under the guise of "fees."

"We are losing jobs at an alarming rate with both large and small employers wondering whether they will be able to make payroll," he said. "There are thousands of unemployed and underemployed workers struggling … we have a public-employee retirement system that is functionally bankrupt … our schools, hospitals and jails are burdened by thousands of low-skilled, low-wage illegal-alien workers."

Tancredo said his campaign "will bring solutions to the challenges facing our government."

"The first thing we must do is change the antibusiness culture of the state," he said. "We need to hang a sign out saying 'Colorado is Open for Business.' We have adopted a plan entitled, 'Freeing the Entrepreneurial Spirit', which lays out a plan for getting businesses back on their feet and putting Coloradans back to work. This plan has worked successfully on a micro-level in Colorado Springs. Our message to businesses should be: 'Don't expect taxpayer handouts to come here but you will be treated fairly by our great state.'"

Tancredo was largely in support of the GOP platform and even offered advice to the McInnis campaign. But then a couple of scandals emerged, leaving both McInnis and Maes as unelectable, according to Tancredo.

Rather than give up the election to Hickenlooper, a Democrat virtually guaranteed to govern in the mold of the previous Democrat governors in Colorado, Tancredo offered the GOP candidates the option of facilitating the appointment by the GOP of a candidate he believed would be viable, or he would bid for the post himself on the Constitution Party ticket.

They didn't, and he did.

"Three short weeks ago I could never have imagined that I would be here," he said in his announcement. "I am in this election to win it."

Maes was plagued by a series of questions about his campaign financing and a number of mileage payments earlier in the campaign. Then reporters documented a series of apparent plagiarism episodes involving McInnis after he quit Congress and was in the pay of a private foundation to address water issues in Colorado.

The two circumstances, Tancredo believes, will hand the election to Hickenlooper's Democrat Party without an alternative being offered.

"That disaster would not be limited to the loss of the governor's race but of many 'down ticket' races. The grass-roots electorate would lack any incentive to get to the polls," he warned.

Tancredo said he offers real solutions.

Regarding illegal aliens – an issue on which he's worked for years: "The Hickenlooper 'Sanctuary City' policy is not unique to Denver. Colorado is essentially a 'Sanctuary State' and as a result our schools, hospitals and jails are burdened by thousands of low-skilled, low-wage illegal-alien workers and their families."

On entitlements, he cites the state's Public Employees Retirement Association and says, "We must look at the repeal of the 1997 Act which we now know was far too generous. We must also think about changing the system from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan for all new hires."

And on taxes, "This is very simple. There will not be any new taxes unless the people of Colorado agree to them. The word 'fee,' which politicians love to toss around these days, is just a euphemism for tax!"

The Democrat-controlled state legislature, under Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter, famously decided to raise "fees" on vehicle licenses, sometimes by several hundred percent, but refused to call it a "tax."

Tancredo promises a "zero-based" budget, under which each expenditure has to be justified annually – there is no automatic funding just to continue jobs that were there previously.

He said the developments regarding McInnis and Maes "create[d] an unprecedented situation in the race. … The two candidates vying for the Republican nomination have, in my opinion, lost any hope of carrying out a successful campaign."

The campaign cited a Denver Post–News 9 poll showing Tancredo polling ahead of McInnis and in a tie with Maes on the day he opened his campaign.

Tancredo, who has written columns for WND, said the entire political establishment needs a thorough cleaning.

While at a rally for Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck, he said, "In my opinion, President Barack Obama poses a greater threat to the Constitution and to our freedoms than al-Qaida. Al-Qaida is an avowed enemy who wants to kills us, but we can mount a defense against avowed enemies like al-Qaida and radical Islam. But it is far more difficult to defend against an enemy of the Constitution who sits in the White House."

The result, he continued, was that he was criticized for being extreme.

But he was just warming up, and in a column in The Washington Times he asserted Obama should be impeached because he is "an enemy of our Constitution, and, as such, he is a danger to our safety, our security and our personal freedoms."

Tancredo warned that Obama does not feel constrained by the rule of law and refuses to live up to his own oath of office to defend the United States against enemies – both foreign and domestic.

"The obvious question is: What are my chances of success as a third-party candidate? My answer is this: Whatever the odds against me in that scenario, they are better than the odds of the Republican Party's victory if McInnis or Maes is the candidate," he said.

"When the road you are on leads only to certain defeat, it's time to try an unconventional path, one that at least offers the chance of victory," he said.

"Our nation is facing unprecedented challenges and dangers because political leaders in Washington, D.C., have failed us. We have a chance in November to set our nation and our states on a new path, the path of fiscal sanity and common-sense solutions. Should we not ask and demand that leaders and candidates for public office think 'outside the box'? Is it not time for creative and courageous solutions, not business as usual?"

On a Fox News forum page, Tancredo's decision to run for governor was met with enthusiasm.

"More power to Mr. Tancredo," said one contributor.

"Congressman Tancredo is the man we need in the White House to tend to Islamic extremists, and illegals in our country. He is tuff, and means what he says! More strait shooters like Tancredo NEEDED!" added another.

"If the citizens of Colorado have anything between their ears, they will vote for Tancredo," added a third.

One forum participant dubbed him "Mr. T" and said, "We need more people in office like you."

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