"I supported Bob Schaffer's three races for Congress. But we all had concerns about whether he could win statewide. Then my wife suggested that I get it"
About this Quote
The line reads like a boardroom confession dressed up as domestic comedy: politics as a risk assessment, candidacy as a vacancy, and a Senate run as something you "get" the way you get a promotion or a franchise territory. Pete Coors is letting the audience peek behind the curtain, and what’s visible isn’t ideology so much as pipeline.
The specific intent is to normalize his entry into politics as reluctant, even practical. He begins with loyalty - he backed Bob Schaffer three times - then pivots to the operative question that drives modern recruitment: electability. "Could he win statewide" is the entire plot of late-20th-century party strategy condensed into five words. It implies polling memos, donor calls, and consultants hovering like weather reports. Principles are offstage; viability is the protagonist.
Then comes the subtextual masterstroke: "my wife suggested". It humanizes him while quietly laundering ambition. Spousal prompting is a culturally legible alibi, especially for wealthy, high-profile businessmen: I'm not power-hungry, I'm being urged to serve. It also signals something more elitist without saying it aloud: if the party can’t find a candidate who can sell statewide, the brand-name executive will do. Coors positions himself as the safe substitute - a recognizable label stepping in when the bench looks thin.
Context matters. In an era when politics increasingly borrowed from marketing, Coors's surname functioned like instant name ID, and the quote treats that advantage as almost self-evident. The cynicism isn’t bitter; it’s casual. That’s what makes it revealing.
The specific intent is to normalize his entry into politics as reluctant, even practical. He begins with loyalty - he backed Bob Schaffer three times - then pivots to the operative question that drives modern recruitment: electability. "Could he win statewide" is the entire plot of late-20th-century party strategy condensed into five words. It implies polling memos, donor calls, and consultants hovering like weather reports. Principles are offstage; viability is the protagonist.
Then comes the subtextual masterstroke: "my wife suggested". It humanizes him while quietly laundering ambition. Spousal prompting is a culturally legible alibi, especially for wealthy, high-profile businessmen: I'm not power-hungry, I'm being urged to serve. It also signals something more elitist without saying it aloud: if the party can’t find a candidate who can sell statewide, the brand-name executive will do. Coors positions himself as the safe substitute - a recognizable label stepping in when the bench looks thin.
Context matters. In an era when politics increasingly borrowed from marketing, Coors's surname functioned like instant name ID, and the quote treats that advantage as almost self-evident. The cynicism isn’t bitter; it’s casual. That’s what makes it revealing.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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