Say It Ain't So Already

Big Fight Shaping Up Among Democrats in Colorado

September 21, 2009 at 3:38 AM Leave a comment

When President Obama appointed then-Colorado Senator Ken Salazar to head the Interior Department, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) had the responsibility of appointing a successor to Salazar’s senate seat.  Average Democrats (as opposed to the elites who control things) across the state were hoping that one of several prominent, long-time state party leaders would get the nod.  But no.  Ritter appointed a guy no one had ever heard of. Literally.  He appointed the Superintendent of the Denver Public School System, Michael Bennet.

Bennet is a millionaire who made his fortune working for the conservative Anschutz Investment Company.  He has friends in high places, which obviously got him the appointment.  However, he has been a huge disappointment to state Democrats.  For example, he has flip-flopped on single payer and the public option (we don’t know where he stands now), and no one knows where he stands on the Employee Free Choice Act.

Meanwhile, last Wednesday, popular Denver Democrat Andrew Romanoff, a former member of the Colorado House of Representatives, launched a campaign for Bennett’s senate seat.  He is well known and well liked across the state.  Romanoff isn’t afraid to say that he is for EFCA and for the public option.  He’s a “real” Democrat, whereas Bennett is seen as a DINO.  And, since Bennet was unknown at the time of his appointment, and the citizenry didn’t have a chance to vote for or against him, there is a lot of excitement about having the chance to make our wishes known in the form of a primary.  We feel that Bennet was shoved down our throat and that he doesn’t represent of the kind of person the people would have chosen.  Let the democratic process work, right?

Well, not exactly.  The Democratic machine is trying to crush Andrew Romanoff so Bennet won’t have any competition come next year.  It is so intent on clearing the way for Bennet (and in stifling the democratic process) that literally hours after Romanoff announced his candidacy, President Obama endorsed Bennet.

Change you can’t believe in.  State Democrats are furious that the powers that be are working to limit the right of Colorado voters to decide for themselves who will represent them.  And it’s already getting ugly:  over the weekend the conservative Denver Post smacked Obama down for trying to limit the primary process:

Still, Obama doesn’t know who the best candidate is for Colorado. The issues in this race haven’t even been broached. Certainly we have no problem with the president endorsing someone — in fact, we like to do it, too — but c’mon, let’s have a campaign first.

Stay tuned.

Entry filed under: Democrats, Including Blue Dogs & "Liberals". Tags: .