Tancredo insists Miami is the murder capital of the world

Which it is, except for, you know, St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore and so on and so forth.

Fallout from the Ritter '06 campaign

I think I'm the only person in Colorado who's not applying for work with the Bill Ritter administration. From today's Denver Post:

Gov.-elect Bill Ritter on Wednesday said his transition team has received more than 1,100 applications for jobs in his administration.

While I'm not counting on Ritter for a job, in a way he helped Coloradolib get off the ground. Governor's race coverage, including posts like "Why do we call him Both Ways Bob," gave this blog what appears to be a large and permanent bounce.

While I'm reminiscing about the election, here's a link to a great article detailing just about every misstep made by Ritter's opponent, Bob Beauprez. It contains this gem:

It wasn't [GOP primary contender Marc] Holtzman who passed on illegally-obtained information used in an attack ad against Bill Ritter. At least we don't think it was. The FBI will sort that one out.

That's funny stuff.

Hitchens on religion, Coloradolib on Hitchens

The most eloquent post in my archives is "The ghost of Christopher Hitchens." In it, I attacked one of the world's sharpest writers for spending the last five years abusing his liver and making apologies for Tony Blair.

I don't have the heft to dent Hitchens. But I still thought long and hard before I clicked publish.

Hitchens is on my mind again because of his recent comments about Mormonism. From William K. Wolfrum via Crooks and Liars:

CH: "I say that anyone who believes that stuff is an idiot... Especially at a time when people are always saying it's the Republican Party that's run by religious crackpots and nutbags. And it's very important to point out these people have a big foothold in the Democratic Party, too... I think less of [Democratic Senate majority leader Harry Reid] because of the stupid cult of which he's a member."

Wolfrum goes on to write "Hitchens should be ashamed of himself for singling out Mormonism and apologize to all Mormons." But it's important to put the comments in context. Hitchens hates all religions. He once said, "I don't regard Islam as the enemy, I regard religion as the enemy." And in Letters to a Young Contrarian he wrote:

"I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful."

But right now, any stab at Mormonism stings especially hard. It is a religion under fire from evangelicals upset that the GOP's most conservative presidential frontrunner, Mitt Romney, is Mormon. It is a growing, young religion, the adherents of which may comprise 5% of America by 2042. And it is a religion concentrated in the West, which is crucial to longterm Democratic ambitions.

Hitchens' comments also cut deeply because they assail the very heart of politics. Compromise is based on respect between adversaries. How can Hitchens respect someone who says that a blue sky is red? What if 92% of America insists on it?

Is it any wonder that Hitchens has gone off the deep end? How many antitheist neocons are there these days? Not many.

Congratulations to Hitchens for having the courage to be completely alone. I hope that one day, I show the same strength. I just pray it doesn't drive me bonkers.

ProgressNow launches petition to bring the convention to Denver

Want the Democratic National Convention in two years? Sign the petition.

Tom Tancredo vs. Jeb Bush

Watching Tom Tancredo argue with Jeb Bush is like watching the Kansas City Chiefs play the Oakland Raiders. Is there any way they could both lose?

CoCo: "'Whistle-Blower' Gets Helping Hand"

Call it NCIC day on Coloradolib. Colorado Confidential just posted a story about who's footing the bill for Beauprez's crony's defense.

Is the wrong guy headed to the pokey?

Today's Rocky Mountain News reports:

The investigation of a man suspected of illegally accessing a federal database to benefit Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez has been referred to the U.S. Attorney for Wyoming.

Cory Voorhis, an agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, has been under investigation in the suspected leaking of information on illegal immigrants arrested in Denver. That information was used by Beauprez in a series of TV attack ads against Gov.-elect Bill Ritter.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation conducted a joint investigation of the leak with the FBI. That investigation is largely complete, and the U.S. attorney in Wyoming will decide whether to press charges.

The case was given to Wyoming authorities because Voorhis had worked with the Colorado U.S. attorney on several cases, creating a possible conflict of interest for that office.

What Vooris allegedly did was bad. Criminal, even. But the Bob Beauprez campaign shouldn't be allowed to skate. Apparently someone there did one of two things:

1. Knowingly broadcast illegally gained information over the airwaves, in which case they were participating in a crime.

2. Didn't do any research on whether the information was true or false, which is also a crime.

The relevant statute here is C.S.R. 1-13-109, which states:

(2) (a) No person shall recklessly make, publish, broadcast, or circulate or cause to be made, published, broadcasted, or circulated in any letter, circular, advertisement, or poster or in any other communication any false statement designed to affect the vote on any issue submitted to the electors at any election or relating to any candidate for election to public office Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of this subsection (2), a person acts "recklessly" when he or she acts in conscious disregard of the truth or falsity of the statement made, published, broadcasted, or circulated.

The emphasis is mine. It seems to me that if the Beauprez campaign put those allegations on the air without researching them, they acted "in conscious disregard of the truth or falsity of the statement made."

Morgan Carroll, among others, is on the warpath for campaign reform. But what's the point if we don't enforce the laws we have?

I don't claim to be a lawyer or have any insider information. But I've followed this story obsessively since it broke. And from my perspective, it appears that there are two criminals out there. Voorhis has been thrown under the bus. And Bob Beauprez has been allowed to walk away.

Cross-posted to Square State, where discussion is underway. Hat-tip to ColoradoPols for the Rocky link. Before the election, I wrote a whole series of posts titled "Both Ways Bob is headed to the pokey." You can read some entries here, here and here.

Tancredo just can't stop himself

Four days ago, I was writing about Tancredo's return to hysterical rhetoric. And here we go again:

"Look at what has happened to Miami... It has become a Third World country. You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace. You would never know you're in the United States of America."

UPDATE: Tancredo's "Miami" quote first appeared in the same interview as his "North American Union" quote. I regret any confusion.

Steve Ludwig declares victory

I got the same email Square State and CoCo did.

ProgressNowAction launches Suthers petition

An update on my Friday post about John Suthers. ProgressNowAction has launched a petition to ask Suthers to stop "putting his office resources, paid for by the taxpayers of Colorado, toward politics in other states." Sign the petition at progressnowaction.org/StopSuthersNow.

Will Wayne Allard stay or will he go?

In July I thought Colorado's senior Senator would probably defend his seat in 2008. Today, signs point the other way.

Allard has been the target of national ridicule. He's considered vulnerable. And continued anti-Republican sentiment could doom him completely.

But the latter scenario seems unlikely. In fact, Democratic control of the legislature may help the GOP in the long term. Voters like divided government. And two years of vetoes and fingerpointing will remind them that neither party has a monopoly on virtue.

The GOP would probably like Allard to run again. With Tom Tancredo attempting to look as dumb as possible and Bill Owens expected to take a private sector job, the only real Republican contenders are relative unknowns like Bob Schaffer and Scott McInnis. Meanwhile, the Democratic favorite, Mark Udall, has a big warchest and has been campaigning for months.

Now Allard seems to be setting the stage for his own retirement. Today's Rocky Mountain News reports that Allard will hinge his decision on "What's best for Allard's family?" The answer to that question is usually a move as far away from politics as possible.

Plus Jason Bane claims that:

Republican sources say that Allard will not run for a third term to the U.S. Senate because of several reasons, most notably his pledge to serve only two terms in the senate and his wife Joan's dislike of Washington... Allard had only $120,507 cash on hand at the end of September, which is a miniscule amount of money to have in the bank if you are planning on running for re-election. Two-term senators can raise more money than that with a few phone calls.

Allard doesn't have the luxury of waiting. A Senate campaign costs big bucks, and if he's running, he needs to start pounding the phones immediately after the holidays.

Can you say, "Republican primary"?

Ritter plans modest inaugural, Suthers plans to let it slide

The Rocky Mountain News reports that governor-elect Bill Ritter is planning a (relatively) modest inaugural, with dinner seats priced around $50. At some point, tickets will be available at coloradopromise.org.

There were early concerns that Amendment 41 would impact the inauguration. But Republican Attorney General John Suthers has agreed that the private function lies outside the intent of the law. A pretty obvious ruling, but still one which indicates some degree of bipartisanship.

More rightwing blog hysteria

First it was disgruntled Marc Holtzman supporters using the blogosphere to run an elaborate hoax. Next it was Townhall admitting that the rightwing blogosphere can't hold a candle to the left. Today it's ToTheRight running a mixture of common knowledge and outright lies about ColoradoPols and claiming its a major scoop. Yawn.

Steve Ludwig's race still too close to call

The Denver Post says that Steve Ludwig's race for C.U. regent is still too close to call, and may well be headed for a recount. December 1 is the deadline for the Secretary of State to certify election results. If Ludwig winds up losing this thing by less than, say, 12,000 votes, it's a good bet that the voting problems in Denver cost him the election.

Nobody (short of Bill Ritter) campaigned harder than Ludwig in the months leading up to the election. He put something like 20,000 miles on his car and even debated on the Mike Rosen show.

Tom Tancredo puts his tinfoil hat back on

Every other October, Tom Tancredo pretends to be a moderate. And then it's back to saying stuff like this:

"I'm telling you, that everything I see leads me to believe that this whole idea of the North American Union, it's not something that just is written about by right-wing fringe kooks. It is something in the head of the president of the United States, the president of Mexico, I think the prime minister of Canada buys into it."

Yup, CD6. Your representative thinks that the president is plotting to merge the United States with Mexico and Canada.

Hat-tip to davewolfusa at Square State.

UPDATE: CoCo weighs in here.

John Suthers fighting partisan battles in other states

This blog hasn't had the friendliest relationship with Colorado attorney general John Suthers, his alliance with the Trailhead Group, and his dishonest campaign against 44.

The latest reason to believe Colorado's voters made the wrong choice on election day is in the Denver Post:

One of state government's top budget writers is challenging Colorado Attorney General John Suthers for spending taxpayer money to join fights in other states over controversial issues such as gay marriage and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, wants Suthers to explain why the attorney general's office is plunging into partisan legal battles in other states while begging for more money to protect Colorado consumers from fraud.

"If they don't have the resources to go after people defrauding consumers," Pommer asked, "how do they have the resources to go around the country filing 'friend-of-the-court' briefs?"

Putting the question in such black and white terms isn't quite fair. But I would like to know what interest Colorado's taxpayers have in some of the cases Suthers' office has taken on:

According to its 2005 annual report, the attorney general's office joined other states to:

Defend a Nebraska law that defines marriage as the union between a man and woman.

Argue that Kansas juries do not need to be instructed to reject the death penalty in certain cases.

Defend a Virginia law that allows the voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.

Argue that the District of Columbia should not be allowed to hold out-of-state firearm manufacturers strictly liable for gun-related crimes committed in the district.

Suthers should spend less time arguing gun cases in Washington DC and more time worrying about the people who elected him.

Money matters in Colorado politics

Wonder why candidates spend so much time dialing for dollars? Check out The Green Papers. In six of the seven 2006 Colorado congressional races, the candidate who raised the most money won.

The sole exception? Ed Perlmutter won in CD7 despite being out-fundraised $2,404,037 to $2,650,967.

Hat-tip to ColoradoPols.

Thanksgiving namechecking

I'm thankful for all the friends I've made at SquareState, Progress Now Action and Drinking Liberally.

And while I'm linking, was that a clip of Jeralyn being interviewed by CNN I saw on a rerun of the Daily Show? Yes, yes it was.

Jon Caldera out to destroy his own credibility

Independence Institute wonk Jon Caldera had a bad 2006. His Ref C refund didn't make the ballot. And as Curious Stranger wrote on election night:

Tonight's losers?...John Caldera, who was "very surprised" on 9 News that all of the ballot measures he or his buddies were behind - Amendments 38, 39 and 40 and referendum J - went down in flames. Once again, the voters of Colorado reject the Independence Institute's constellation of anti-good-government anarchists.

Caldera has responded not by contemplating the issues, but by lashing out at Governor-elect Bill Ritter. Check out Jon Caldera's latest, courtesy of Media Matters for Colorado:

CALDARA: [Ritter is] a guy I'd trust to baby-sit my kids -- I mean, I'd count the silverware first, of course, but I would still trust him to, to, to baby-sit the kids. He's a, he's a good guy.

JOHN STRAAYER: He would bring extra silverware and leave it for you. That's the kind of guy he is. Don't you think?

CALDARA: He would bring that little plastic stuff from McDonald's and take the good stuff. He's still a Democrat; let's not, let's not make up things.

So Ritter's a good guy, but he's a Democrat so he's necessarily a bad guy?

This is more than a monumental both-ways. It's a partisan lie. On the national level, it is Republicans like Bob Ney, Jack Abramoff, Duke Cunningham and Mark Foley who've broken the law. And here in Colorado, Republicans like Joe Stengel, Marilyn Musgrave and Bob Beauprez have made corruption an art form.

It must be scary to be Jon Caldera. He's decided that half the people in America are crooks. And the worst part of it is, he's got the wrong half.

Stay strong, Raf

You make a difference.

Colorado Democrats nice, national Republicans jerks

Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff in The Denver Post:

[Romanoff] laid out an agenda for his fellow Democrats that matches [Governor-elect Bill] Ritter's program. At the same time, he reminded his colleagues that working with Republicans will remain a key part of his approach. "The golden rule is not 'Do unto the Republicans as they had done to us,'" Romanoff said. "We will run it the way I wished it had been run when we were in the minority."

Ritter's goals for the next four years include improving Colorado's child immunizations, introducing a healthcare reform package, creating a more efficient budget process, revamping Colorado's transportation system, getting more children into early childhood education and establishing Colorado as a national renewable-energy leader. That audacious agenda requires bipartisan support. So kudos to Romanoff for asking the legislature to play nice.

But at the national level, things aren't so rosy. Pacified points out that the outgoing U.S. House Republican majority is purposely mucking things up for the incoming Democratic legislature and its agenda:

The bulging workload that a Republican-led Congress was supposed to complete this year but is instead punting to 2007 promises to consume time and energy that Democrats had hoped to devote to their own agenda upon taking control of Congress in January for the first time in a dozen years... Some Republicans also look forward to using unfinished budget work to gum up an early Democratic agenda that includes raising the minimum wage, negotiating lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, cutting interest rates on college loans and repealing some tax breaks for oil companies.

I'm not sure whether to applaud my party for taking the high road or bash the opposition for being dirtbags. Let's just say that Democrats get results while Republicans would rather play petty partisan games. And we'll leave it at that.

Bill Ritter talks about Western voters

From USA Today via Haley's Comment:

Can Democrats hold their gains? "It depends on how the Republicans choose to respond," Freudenthal says. "If they move toward more moderate candidates, then it becomes competitive."

Ritter, Colorado's new Democratic governor, says the trend will last "if we govern well. If we squander this because we don't appreciate the Western electorate, then it'll be short-lived."

He says the success will continue if Democrats focus on "how government intersects with where people struggle. It's about running a smart government, not a big government."

Freudenthal's assesment is too simplistic. As I wrote after the election, Republican victors overwhemingly emphasized social-conservative views. The GOP middle doesn't really exist anymore.

CDP praises Dean in face of criticism

The Washington Post reports that Democratic strategist James Carville, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee head Rep. Rahm Emanuel and DNC chairman Howard Dean are slapfighting about whether Dean's 50-state strategy paid off in 2006:

When Democrats picked up House seats Nov. 7 in unlikely places such as Kentucky and Indiana, Dean felt his strategy was vindicated. But Carville disagreed, comparing Dean's performance to failed Pentagon war strategies.

"I would describe his leadership as Rumsfeldian in its incompetence," Carville said at a post-election forum, according to news accounts. Carville asserted that the Democrats could have won more seats in the House than the 29 they have picked up thus far had a shrewder party leader been in place.

The Colorado Democratic Party seems to stand behind Dean. In a newsletter released Sunday, communications director Brian Mason writes:

As you know, Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee instituted a 50-State plan this year so that Democrats would compete in every state. Although the effectiveness of this plan is being debated nationally, it clearly benefited Colorado. Because of resources from the DNC, we had professional regional coordinators in every area of Colorado, working with the local parties and communities and helping turn out a historic vote for Democrats.

Carville ought to be slapped for comparing Dean to Rumsfeld. Even though the 50-state strategy isn't about short-term gains, we still saw immediate results in CD5 and slew of other districts where Democrats made inroads for the first time in recent memory.

You can read my diary about Gigi Dennis at Square State

If you're so inclined.

Bill Owens backtracks on FasTracks

Outgoing Republican Governor Bill "Both Ways Bob" Owens flip-flops on FasTracks, courtesy of Media Matters:

KUSA 9News co-anchor Bob Kendrick reported that, during a ceremony marking the occasion, Gov. Bill Owens (R) thanked Coloradans "for making it possible," without noting that Owens was an ardent and vocal opponent of the 2004 FasTracks ballot initiative...

According to a recent poll, Owens is Colorado's most popular politician. Maybe. But he's not all that well-liked by conservatives, who blame him for losing control of the state legislature and supporting Referendum C.

Tom Vilsack kicks off 2008 campaign, stumps in Colorado

2008 Democratic presidential hopeful Gov. Tom Vilsack was in Colorado yesterday. According to the AP:

Vilsack said after the speech [renewable energy] will be one of the "pillars" of his campaign platform and pointed to his state's leading the country in corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel production.

"I think I'm the one person in this race who's doing something about it. There are a lot of people talking about it, but we've actually done something to promote renewable fuel," Vilsack said after the speech at the University of Colorado School of Law.

Even Tom Tancredo is flirting with the idea of a 2008 run. Gag.

I'm hosting a poll at SquareState.net to see who Colorado's early choice for our party's nomination is.

Allard's seat among nation's most vulnerable

Hat-tip to ColoradoPols for pointing me to this story in The Washington Post:

Regardless of whether Allard runs, Democratic Rep. Mark Udall is in the race and is the likely frontrunner; he showed more than $1.2 million on hand just prior to this month's election.

Debate over mercury controls continues

Governor-elect Bill Ritter's New Energy Economy can't get here fast enough. In the Rocky, an industry lobbyist argues against tougher state mercury standards because "the type of mercury produced by burning Colorado- and Wyoming-produced coal tends to linger in the atmosphere for months and has more of a global impact than a local one..."

John Andrews writing fiction

Thanks to Luis at SquareState for pointing out John Andrews' column in the Rocky, in which the wingnut cheerleader tries to resurrect the tired and silly idea that a liberal media exists, favors Democrats and ignores illegal immigration:

You remember the endless stories about a federal agent with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement who allegedly gave the Beauprez campaign information on a criminal alien who had benefited from a plea bargain allowed by Ritter when he was district attorney. The media compliantly played up the Democrat's attack on his Republican opponent for using the information in an ad.

Andrew has stepped outside the realm of spin into a world of fantasy. The truth is:

1. The media, in its quest to appear fair and balanced, equivocated between Ritter's allegedly poor judgement and Beauprez's apparent violation of state and federal laws. I dare you to find one article on the Medina scandal in the Post or the Rocky that doesn't contain the word "immigration."

2. The media did not play up the Democrats' attack at all. In fact, it consistently portrayed it as a subset of the illegal immigration debate.

3. As Media Matters and this blog (here, here and here) have reported, the Colorado media consistently attempted to help Beauprez back into the race.

It must be terrifying to be John Andrews. He's convinced himself that mysterious forces have plotted a vast conspiracy against him. Imagine his despair when he realizes that he's not important enough to merit the effort.

Stem cell breakthrough could lead to muscular dystrophy treatment

You know, Diana DeGette said this might happen. From BBC News:

An Italian-French team found transplanting stem cells into dogs with a version of the disease markedly improved their symptoms.

Writing in the journal Nature, the team said the work paved the way for future trials in humans. Scientists said it was a major step forward and bolstered the idea that stem cells could be used to treat MD.

Bill Ritter names senior staffers

According to a press release, Bill Ritter has named the first three senior staff members of his new administration.

Ritter's chief of staff will be Jim Carpenter, who is currently Senator Ken Salazar's state director. Carpenter was Salazar's campaign manager in 2004, and he helped put together the urban-suburban-rural coalition that ensured Salazar's victory.

I've been reluctant to compare the Ritter and Salazar campaigns too closely, even though they both followed the Western pragmatist playbook. But Ritter is obviously paying attention to the steps Salazar has taken to become a popular Senator in Colorado and a major player in Washington DC.

2008 Convention Host Committee, Ritter launch sites

DemNotes points to the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee's new site. Looks great. Although I found it a bit ironic that the committee is being co-chaired by a Beauprez-backer.

Who'll be accepting our party's nomination? Six months ago, the field of Democratic contenders looked almost impossibly rich. Then Gov. Mark Warner and Senator Russ Feingold bowed out. Right now, I'm leaning towards John Edwards. But Andrew Sullivan got me thinking about whether Edwards is the right guy to manage the foreign policy and budget disasters that George Bush will bequeath to the next president. So I'm leaving room for Evan Bayh or Al Gore.

Anyway, while I'm linking, the site for Bill Ritter's inauguration will be coloradopromise.org. Eventually.

Ken Gordon concedes

From an email I just received from Democratic secretary of state nominee Ken Gordon:

The Associated Press called yesterday and said that there weren't enough votes left to change the outcome of the race. It appears that Mike Coffman will be Colorado's next Secretary of State...

I am not done with my public life, and the young people who participated in the campaign will also be active for years to come. None of us have become cynical. We are all still optimistic and idealistic. When all is said and done, I'm proud of the campaign. I believe we did something good.

Ken Salazar gets Finance seat

Colorado Senator Ken Salazar has been given a seat on one of the Senate's most powerful committees. But that hasn't made his votes for eavesdropping and torture any more popular.

Meanwhile, much to my disappointment, Diana DeGette announced she will not run for majority whip.

Ballots still being counted in Denver

Looks like Ken Gordon and Steve Ludwig are going to be waiting a little while longer. From the Rocky:

Denver is still counting votes a week after the election because bar code misprints on 70,000 absentee ballots required five days of hand-sorting of 23 ballot styles.

What kills me is that VoterJones and ColoradoPols and the whole world said this was going to happen. And it still happened.

UPDATE: Colorado Confidential reports, "Ludwig has taken the lead in the unofficial vote count."

Giuliani announces vanity candidacy

Apparently Beauprez booster Rudy Giuliani just likes to see his name in the papers.

Media Matters has final say on pro-Beauprez spin

I wrote several times about how the media seemed determined to give Bob Beauprez the benefit of the doubt. Now that the election is over, Media Matters takes a look at how some news outlets repeated Beauprez's last, desperate claim that he was closing in on Bill Ritter:

In the days leading up to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter's landslide election victory, three news outlets - the Fort Collins Coloradoan, the Associated Press, and KDVR Fox 31 - each echoed Republican candidate Bob Beauprez's assertion that recent polling showed he was "closing the gap" on Ritter... [T]he reports cited no polls to support their claims. These reports also appeared to ignore the most recent polls, some of which showed Ritter's lead expanding within those polls' margins of error.

2006 post-mortem: Democrats win on the issues

The more I look at the election results, the better I feel.

The first theme I see is the slow shift of business groups and Libertarians into the Democratic camp. As I wrote on Saturday, in Colorado the GOP is completely in the hands of paleoconservatives and theocrats.

The second theme is the demand for competent leaders. After six years of ill-planned wars, skyrocketing deficits and stagnant wages, voters were ready to return the keys to a party that had a successful track record.

If the polls hold, somewhere between 15% and 20% of Republicans voted for Bill Ritter. And they didn't defect because of Ritter's position on gay marriage.

Ritter won because he embraced the issues that matter. He was out in front on healthcare, transportation and energy. I'd argue that he had a superior track record on immigration reform and balanced budgets, too.

Like Brian Schweitzer and Jon Tester, Ritter shows a willingness to lead on issues that cross party lines. Call them Western pragmatists or grassroots populists.

This is the best reason of all to be a Democrat in the year 2006. We are the party of solutions. Education, healthcare, energy, ethical government and fiscal responsibility matter to every voter in Colorado. And they're issues that we absolutely own.

Photo of me discussing election returns on the Jay Marvin Show courtesy of the Coloradolib spy satellite.

Feingold will not run for President in 2008

Democratic Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold has decided against a 2008 presidential run. Feingold was a friend to our congressional candidates in 2006. And he deserves our thanks.

2006 post-mortem: The GOP is worse than you think

For four days, I have been trying to figure out why I'm so glum about the 2006 elections. After all, my party scored a historic victory. I shouldn't be moping around my home and office, drinking coffee and mumbling.

I think I may have finally stumbled upon the cause of my malaise.

Common wisdom says that Republicanism in Colorado is permeated by a six-shootin', stay-offa-my-property libertarian streak. After Tuesday night, common wisdom is hanging from a tree somewhere. Colorado's Republican voters sent their leaders a clear message. We don't trust you to govern, but we do need you to tell us what to do in our bedrooms.

Republican candidates who made claims to low-tax, pro-business, personal-privacy credentials were punished. See you, Both Ways Bob. Adios, Rubber Stamp Rick. Six years of President George W. Bush's big-spending mismanagement proves you don't have the courage of your convictions.

But Republicans who are famous for taking far-right stands on gay marriage, illegal immigration and abortion pulled out victories and in some cases landslides. How d'ya do Musgrave, Tancredo, Lamborn, Kopp and Schultheis?

Amendments suffered a similar fate. Voters leaned left when it came to good government (See: Amendment 38, 39, 40 and 41), but right when it came to social issues (See: Amendment 43, 44, Referendum I).

In many cases, I'm talking more about perception than reality. The state's Democratic legislature has passed illegal immigration reform; the country's Republican legislature has not. And yes, O'Donnell and Beauprez did attempt to jump on the anti-illegal immigrant bandwagon. But after years of ignoring the issue, their attempts were perceived as opportunism. And this is politics. Perception matters.

Little known fact. In 1992, I considered myself a Republican. I believed it was the party of individual responsibility and social libertarianism. In 2000, I changed my affiliation to Democrat. I have never been surer that I made the right choice. Today's GOP is, more than ever, the party of big government, theocracy and hate.

I'm sorry to see the party of Lincoln choose this path. I'm sorry to see the voters cheer them down it. But it makes my life easier.

Democrat. All the way down the ticket. For the foreseeable future.

This post is loosely based on a comment I made on a thread at SquareState. I'm currently working on a companion post about what the 2006 election means for Democrats.

Bill Ritter launches transition website

As DemNotes wrote, "now the hard work begins." In some cases, that means recounts. And in some cases, that means damage control. But for Bill Ritter, it means making good on The Colorado Promise.

The first step is an orderly transition so that Ritter and his team can hit the ground running on January 9, 2007. To that end, Ritter has launched rittertransition.org, which makes it easy to apply for a job and follow the transition process. There will soon be a separate website dedicated to inauguration activities.

During the campaign, Ritter set concrete goals, like introducing a healthcare reform package within a year of taking office. There's no time to waste.

Photo of Ritter on the campaign trail courtesy of Bill Ritter for Governor.

DeGette will (likely) run for House Majority Whip

Roll Call (via SquareState) reports that CD1 Democratic representative Diana DeGette will run for House Majority Whip. I contacted the congresswoman's office. And while they wouldn't give me a definitive answer, I got the feeling she'll declare either today or Monday.

DeGette has the credentials. She's a leading advocate for progressive values (here and here); Net neutrality (here); environmental causes (here); and stem cell research (here, here, here and here, among others).

When I was banging on doors for Bill Ritter a couple Saturdays ago, I ran into an elderly woman who would not let me leave until she told me how much she loved DeGette for "standing up for seniors." The woman quite literally said she was supporting Ritter purely because he was in DeGette's party.

The original headline for this post read "DeGette will (likely) run for House Minority Whip." Changing the word "minority" to "majority" felt wonderful.

Checking in with the Democratic Governors Association

During my pre-election conference call with the DGA, executive director Penny Lee admitted to feeling "cautious." I checked their website to see how Democratic gubernatorial nominees fared across the country:

Democrats last night won a majority of governorships for the first time since 1994. Governorships switched parties in 6 states - New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Colorado, Arkansas and Maryland...

"Our victory in Colorado and Democratic governors' victories across the country show that Americans want to see their states move forward..." said Colorado Gov.-elect Bill Ritter. "Here we call it the Colorado Promise, but the promise of better health care, better education, and a commitment to renewable energy is promise we as Democrats should keep to every state in the nation."

There has been lots of speculation about the factors that led to Ritter's landslide victory. But my favorite quote comes from The Denver Post:

"This is a campaign that had a policy staff before it had a polling firm."

Our state deserves a governor who puts ideas before politics. On Tuesday, we elected one.

Photo of Bill Ritter courtesy of the Ritter for Governor blog.

The 2006 election still isn't quite over

Steve Ludwig reminds us that the winner of the at-large seat on the Univeristy of Colorado Board of Regents is still TBD.

Bill Ritter appoints bipartisan transition team

Governor-elect Bill Ritter has named a transition team that includes Republican Norma Anderson. Coloradolib readers may remember that Anderson resigned her State Senate seat in January. As Colorado Luis wrote at the time:

When I've argued with fellow Democrats about whether there are any reasonable people left in the Colorado Republican Party, Norma Anderson was always Exhibit A that there were. Not because she was necessarily a "moderate," although she did campaign on behalf of Referendum C last year, but because she earned a reputation for toughness on her own Republican side (where for a while she was the only female Senator) while also being known as someone Democrats could negotiate with in good faith.

Anderson's presence on Ritter's transition team is ironic, when you consider that it was her resignation that started the chain of events that ended with SD22 electing the "starboard-tilting Mike Kopp."

(Or maybe it's not ironic. Maybe it's just coincidental. Ever since that stupid Alanis Morrisette song, I can't tell them apart.)

The day after: Part two

I'm supposed to be happy today.

Across America, voters chose responsible, ethical government over divisive cultural bickering. Rumsfeld is out for good; Nancy Pelosi is in for now. In Colorado we held on to the state house and the state senate. We passed a minimum wage increase. And most importantly, we elected Bill Ritter governor of Colorado.

More than a dozen people have stopped me today to say, "Congratulations." Or, "You won." Or, "I bet you're happy."

What can I tell them? Yes, I'm happy. But it's not like I'm doing cartwheels down the 16th Street Mall. As partisan as I am, for me yesterday wasn't only about D's and R's. About likely pickups and tense recounts. About red and blue graphs on a TV screen.

It was about people who I've come to like and respect.

Today is the day after Bill Winter and Angie Paccione and Jay Fawcett and Angela Engel and Keely Marrs and Mollie Cullom and Fern O'Brien and Paula Noonan lost. After a wretchedly managed system in Denver may have cost Ken Gordon and Steve Ludwig the election. After hundreds of voters walked away from crowded polls without casting ballots.

Politics is not a football game. Nothing is ever black and white. I am happy. But I'm also tired, sad and a bit hungover.

In the newspaper stands around Denver, I see big headlines. They say that this is my day. It's just not that simple.

Photo courtesy of Colorado's governor-elect, Bill Ritter.