George Lilly, a Republican candidate for congress in Colorado’s First District makes this following lofty statement on his website:
The oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution is a sacred oath, and will not be violated by me under any circumstances. Compromising on principle is unacceptable to me under any circumstances! A candidate with principles is hard to find and they are few and far between. You have a chance to vote for one now if you’re tired of all of this corrupt non-sense going on in Washington D.C.
Sadly enough, the man hasn’t even been elected yet, and he is already violating his oath.
On June 9, 2008, the Rocky Mountain Right (RMR) blog carried an announcement that the RMR was endorsing Charles Crain, Lilly’s rival in the Republican primary. In delivering that endorsement, the RMR said that while it remained neutral in most primaries, George Lilly was not worthy of such hands-off treatment by a blog that identifies itself as “Colorado’s Conservative Grassroots.” The endorsement of Crain said, in pertinent part:
George Lilly converted to the Republican Party last year from the Constitution Party for the express reason of running for Congress. At his public appearances at Denver County GOP events he has launched tirades against the Schaffer and McCain campaigns and has made it clear that he will not support the Republican ticket in November. Supporters of Lilly’s were responsible for many of the pointless disruptions of the Colorado Republican Convention several weeks ago. His supporters made clear they would not support John McCain or Bob Schaffer and pulled several stunts that included parading around in Uncle Sam outfits while screaming at Dick Wadhams at the podium.
George Lilly is no Republican. While it is doubtful we can win this seat, George Lilly’s presence on the ticket could be disruptive enough to harm other Republican candidates running statewide.
Vote Charles Crain in the Republican CD-1 Primary. Tell George Lilly to go back to the Constitution Party.(source)
That sent Mr. Lilly running for the phone to call the waaaambulance.
Mr. Lilly may not be fully aware of this, (but my readers are) the First Amendment is part of the Constitution — accordingly I guess that it is a damn good thing that Mr. Lilly won’t be taking that oath of office after all. The most sacred of all First Amendment rights is the right to free speech on matters of political importance. Even Robert Bork agrees with that! However, Mr. Lilly seems more inspired by Lee Kuan Yew than Thomas Jefferson. He issued this threat to the publisher of the RMR:
You have libeled me with your blog. I have contributed money to Bob Schaffer on two ocasions for his Senatorial bid, and I have spoken well of him on many occasions and told people like Ryan Call (State Republican Legal Counsel for the Republican Party) as well as others, that I support Bob. I have known Bob for close to twenty years, and I think he is an excellent person and legislator. He is also friendly with Ron Paul, and thinks very highly of him as do I. I recommend that you print an immediate retraction of your false allegations against me and issue an apology, or I will seek legal redress against you.
…
I have made a copy of your blog which I am keepiing on file, and I am sending this email to my supporters, so that you may get a “heads up” from someone other than myself.
Lilly identifies himself as a “Ron Paul Republican.” As such, I have a natural affinity for him. However, his actions have revealed him as not only a phony, but a hypocrite with absolutely no right to hold office of any kind. It isn’t as if he was qualified in the first place. See his TTT resume here.
The Republican party has already conceded that it can’t win Colorado’s First District. I encourage any Republicans in that district to write in Charles Crain or vote for a third-party candidate. A person like George Lilly deserves nothing better than a humiliating and crushing defeat at the hands of his own party.
Oh, and by the way Lilly, I dare you to send me a cease and desist — or better yet, file a lawsuit against me. I promise you a good old fashioned in-court pimp slappin’ in response.
Hat Tip: Citizen Media Law Project
