Colorado GOP Loses a Critic

The Colorado Republican Party is likely smiling at the news that Ken Clark, former KLZ talk-radio host and GOP thorn-in-the-ass, is leaving Colorado for a job with Citizens for Self Governance, where he'll be working to organize a "Convention of States" as allowed by the U.S. Constitution to, as Citizens for Self Governance puts it, "restrict the power and jurisdiction of the federal government."

"If you believe in what you're doing, you have to do what you need to do to reach the goal," said Clark, who repeatedly butted heads with fellow Colorado Republicans. "That's why I was willing to leave Colorado. This is capable of saving the Republic."

But, he says, he won't be going away.

"You don't spend the last decade-and-a-half in Colorado and just shut off the spigot," he said. "It doesn't work that way. I'm going to be back a lot. I'm still going to be involved in Colorado politics. This is more of a, 'See you later,' than a good bye."

Clark leveraged his talk radio job to push the state Republican Party toward Tea Party positions and to stop the establishment Republicans from undermining Tea Party activists and legislation. Colorado Republican Chair Ryan Call once reportedly said that Clark and others like him are "no friends" of the Republican Party.

Clark resigned from KLZ, along with two other radio hosts, after management ordered them not to do any interviews with Colorado Republican leader Steve House or Rep. Tom Tancredo, a pariah within the Republican Party.

What's his best memory as an activist?

"Too many to count," he responds. "I'll miss going down to the capitol, fighting for and against legislation, being in front taking the arrows and leaving those who are doing the real hard work to get it done."

Asked if he likes progressives more than establishment Republicans, Clark said, "It's hard for me to tell them apart, quite frankly."

Clark had my kid on his radio show once, talking about arming school teachers. My kid was against; Clark for it. And they had a good conversation, at the end of which Clark offered my kid free gun classes. I was sure he'd take the offer. But I was proud and surprised when my son decided against it, because he's scared of guns like I am.