Reflections on Ritter
Two things were made clear to me at a recent grass roots Democrats meeting:
1. Bill Ritter's anti-choice views make his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor completely unacceptable to many party activists.
2. Nobody knows who the hell Bill Ritter is.
The second question is easy to answer. Ritter is the ex-Denver district attorney. He has a long career putting crooks behind bars, which will play well outside of liberal Denver. And the bio at ritterforgovernor.com paints the picture of a lifelong Coloradoan who was born into poverty and has worked his ass off all his life.
Of course, the knowing the answer doesn't solve the problem that some party activists don't even know the guy. And it doesn't solve the problem that the pro-choice crowd is adamant that the Democrats run a pro-choice candidate.
The name everybody kept bringing up was Denver Mayor Hickenlooper. Who despite being a Denver liberal, plays well in the suburbs. I know this because during the last election, many Republicans swore to me that Hickenlooper was a Republican. I didn't even try to convince them otherwise.
This is sort of a silly conversation. Hickenlooper has said he is not running. But the fact remains that the Dems need a pro-choice candidate with srong name recognition. If you can think of anybody but Hickenlooper, please let me know.
1. Bill Ritter's anti-choice views make his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor completely unacceptable to many party activists.
2. Nobody knows who the hell Bill Ritter is.
The second question is easy to answer. Ritter is the ex-Denver district attorney. He has a long career putting crooks behind bars, which will play well outside of liberal Denver. And the bio at ritterforgovernor.com paints the picture of a lifelong Coloradoan who was born into poverty and has worked his ass off all his life.
Of course, the knowing the answer doesn't solve the problem that some party activists don't even know the guy. And it doesn't solve the problem that the pro-choice crowd is adamant that the Democrats run a pro-choice candidate.
The name everybody kept bringing up was Denver Mayor Hickenlooper. Who despite being a Denver liberal, plays well in the suburbs. I know this because during the last election, many Republicans swore to me that Hickenlooper was a Republican. I didn't even try to convince them otherwise.
This is sort of a silly conversation. Hickenlooper has said he is not running. But the fact remains that the Dems need a pro-choice candidate with srong name recognition. If you can think of anybody but Hickenlooper, please let me know.
2 Comments:
Riiter's exact statement on choice, from http://coloradopoliticalnews.blogs.com/colorado_political_news/2005/06/bill_ritter_qa_1.html:
"Voters do have a right to know where I stand on this issue. I am pro-life as a matter of personal faith. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, and the decision of whether or not to legalize abortions reverts to the states, and if the Colorado Legislature passes a bill banning abortion, I will sign the bill only if it provides protections for women who are victims of rape or incest, or to protect the life of the mother. However, should the Colorado Legislature pass a complete ban without these protections, I would veto that bill. That said, Roe V. Wade is the law of the land and abortions are legal. As Governor I will act in the same way I did as DA. I will respect the law as it stands, and I will not act to undermine the right of a woman to choose to have an abortion. For example, as Denver DA, I prosecuted those who caused damage and created disruption at family services clinics. "
Thibault. Romanoff. Gordon.
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