Hefley is very conservative and well respected in the district. And he is not an idiot. His remarks reflect the extreme distaste and frustration that Lamborn has generated among both the GOP establishment and the grassroots.
The sleaze and lies from the Lamborn campaign came to light late in the primary, and he actually lost on election day. The absentee ballots put him over the top. I would guess many who voted for him absentee feel snookered by Lamborn.
I would advise CO-5 Republicans to hold their noses and vote for Lamborn for the sake of keeping the House and insist that GOP House leaders send Lamborn on a two year junket to Bolivia if he wins. Then in two years, CO-5 Republicans can vote him out in the primary.
In any case, the winner of CO-5 is a one termer. The good news is that what's going on in CO-5 is not at all an indicator of a general national trend.
Sounds like Hefley has a bad case of sour grapes.
Crank, his candidate, lost the primary.
He should get over it and support the conservative Republican candidate who won the primary.
BTW, here is the list of coservative groups supporting Doug Lamborn:
National Rifle Association (NRA)
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps & Minuteman PAC
House Conservative Fund
National Right to Life
Eagle Forum PAC
Right March
Club for Growth
Republican National Coalition for Life
Gun Owners of America
National Right to Work Committee
National Pro-Life Alliance
Colorado Alliance for a Secure America (CASA)
Conservative Victory Committee
Rocky Mountain Gun Owners
"Distinguished Legislator Award" United Veterans of Colorado
Citizens United for Conservative Victory
"100% rating from Christian Coalition of Colorado"
"100% rating from Colorado Right to Life"
"Friend of Life" Award from Citizens for Responsible Government
A+ rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA)
Highest rated Senator by Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT)
Sursum Corda