Want to get ahead in politics? Don’t say stupid stuff. Someone tell Douglas County Commissioner George Teal and state Rep. Ron Weinberg, both Republicans.
Also watch what you post. Social media for the Democratic candidate for Congressional District 8, Manny Rutinel, featured a Canadian mountain range in place of the Colorado Rockies.
Fortunately for him, that gaffe will be a little easier to live down than Teal and Weinberg’s unfortunate comments.
Frustrated that his attempt to pass a home rule charter for Douglas County in a special election was going down in flames, Teal accused the opposition of being nefariously funded. “Here’s a nationwide [effort], funded by China, funded by a communist organization that is actually trying to work against the people of Douglas County having a say on local control issues,” Teal told a rightwing radio station audience without providing one lick of evidence.
He doubled down on the bogus conspiracy theory, telling 9NEWS that No Little Kings In Douglas County, a group that opposed Ballot Issue 1A, was the one to which he referred in the radio interview. Turns out the group was created and funded by Highlands Ranch doctor Eiko Browning, an American citizen of Japanese descent with no connection whatsoever to China or its communist party.
Teal had an opportunity to apologize this week at a county commissioners meeting. Multiple Douglas County residents asked him to retract the false information and apologize for impugning a local resident based on her perceived ethnicity. He did not. Fellow Commissioner Abe Laydon then defended Teal as having no ill will toward anyone of any background. He said they had heard there was an active federal investigation into foreign influences in the national No Kings Campaign. He didn’t know if it was true, but since the local campaign had a similar name, his colleague may have drawn a connection.
Just a little free advice guys: if you don’t know whether it’s true, don’t say it. Then weigh the odds of the claim you’re considering. Would a foreign government go to the trouble of financing opposition to a relatively minor change of ordinance in a county in the middle of the U.S.? Douglas County constitutes .02% of the country’s total landmass, but I’ll wager the odds are even less than that. Do your credibility a favor and apologize.
There are, however, worse ways to put your foot in your mouth, which brings me to another bit of free advice. The list of appropriate topics for discussion at a public event is nearly infinite. Nearly. You can discuss former Senator Dick Durbin’s just announced retirement, Senator Ron Johnson’s vote on the Big Beautiful Bill, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi’s European tour, or Anthony Weiner’s current run for New York City Council.
But bring up yours and the moment will come back to haunt you as state Rep. Ron Weinberg, a Loveland Republican, discovered this week, when he had to step down from his run for House minority whip for inappropriate comments made to women while apparently drunk at events. Weinberg says he doesn’t remember making the remarks and has hired an attorney.
Even if he sticks with mocktails from now on, the damage is done.
Krista L. Kafer is a Sunday Denver Post columnist. Follow her on Twitter: @kristakafer.
Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
