An Interesting Republican Pickup Opportunity

I wonder whether the dems will be able to turn out Hispanics or their young white voters especially considering that Obama appears to be going down the "realist" route when it comes to foreign policy; will the young white voters show up when they find out their party is essentially following down the same path as Bush with the only difference being that troops are now being moved for an extended stay in Afghanistan.  13% of the voters from the exit polls considered Iraq to be their #1 issue and Obama won these voters 64-35; I would bet that the majority of the 64% were from the 18-29 demographic though no data was taken from this demo.

Obama tying the economy to energy may be the biggest gift.  He lost the energy issue in Colorado among voters that considered energy to be the #1 issue 52-47 whereas he won the economy 56-42; Obama and the dem's refusal to tap the Colorado oil shale which would create an enormous number of jobs should help us close the gap.

We really should let these guys get card-check through; unions aren't very popular in the libertarian West as evidenced by the two no votes from the Montana dems (did Ben Nelson even vote); let's get the new green dem that takes over Salazar's seat a yes vote on card-check.

Obama actually performed worse with Hispanics in this state than John Kerry believe it or not.  I don't know what that means but this one should be a barn-burner if we get Owens or Elway, or Lynch to run (are any of the three pro-life b/c we could use a strong turnout from Colorado Springs)

Ken Salazar will make a great Secretary of the Interior especially because as a Dem Senator, he's behaved like a Blue Dog (check out his voting record). I am glad I won't have to support him in 2010.

But in the larger scheme, sorry Sean, you and Chris Cillizza are way off the mark on this one.

Colorado is getting blue-er and blue-er, sending people like Marilyn Musgrave home and approving things like public transportation and pro-environmental initiatives. Ken Salazar's brand of New Dem Interior will help Dems like Schweitzer, Tester, Sibelius, Kulongowski, Doyle, Freudenthal, Henry, RIchardson, and Beebe as they continue to create opportunities for Progressive Dem candidates in Plains and Western states.  Salazar will have quite a mandate to turn around eight years of catastrophic pro-mining, pro-agricorporate, pro-big timber, pro-global oil mistakes that have undermined the future of the people who live and make their living in the great open spaces of this country, and his selection shows Obama's team once again really understands what's at stake.

Besides, you want to know who the GOP front-runner is for Salazar's seat?  Tancredo.  Yes, Mr. Popularity with Moderates, Independents, Hispanics, Native Americans  and other large voting blocs.

Good luck with that, y'hear?

Ken Salazar and his brother have been called "centrist Democrat". I would argue that label is meaningless or wrong. Here's where the new Secty of Interior and current senator Ken Salazar is on energy and drilling ... dyed-in-wool liberal against domestic drilling:

http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Ken_Salazar.htm

• Voted YES on tax incentives for energy production and conservation. (Jun 2008)
• Voted YES on addressing CO2 emissions without considering India & China. (May 2008)
• Voted YES on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies. (Jun 2007)
• Voted YES on making oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. (Jun 2007)
• Voted NO on factoring global warming into federal project planning. (May 2007)
• Voted YES on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR. (Nov 2005)
• Voted YES on $3.1B for emergency oil assistance for hurricane-hit areas. (Oct 2005)
• Voted YES on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%). (Jun 2005)
• Voted YES on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Mar 2005)
• Tax credit for gas stations providing 85% ethanol fuel. (Apr 2005)
• Rated 50% by CAF, indicating a mixed record on energy independence. (Dec 2006)
• Designate sensitive ANWR area as protected wilderness. (Nov 2007)
• Set goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025. (Jan 2007)

Against FMA, for abortion 'rights', against private accounts in social security, for giving citizenship and social security to illegal aliens, supports affirmative action quotas (U MIch case),  voted YES with liberal Dems on redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008. (Mar 2007)

On taxes: Rated 100% by the CTJ, indicating support of progressive taxation. (Dec 2006). Voted NO on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax. (Mar 2007) Voted NO on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million. (Mar 2007) Voted NO on permanently repealing the `death tax`. (Jun 2006) Voted YES on $47B for military by repealing capital gains tax cut. (Feb 2006.

These pols are liberals who make a few token votes to fool the uninformed, while for most of the real issues voting lockstep with their liberal Dem leaders and colleaues. Its 'centrist' only in a token sense. Even though Salazar is 'pro-gun' for example, he hasnt done anything of note to advance that issue, just enough to not get dinged in 30 second ads on it.

And he goes to Interior to advance the anti-drilling anti-energy policies of the liberal President that he will serve.

Here's a rating for the members of Congress.

http://intherightplace.blogspot.com/2006/10/evaluating-congress-2006-ele...

True moderates of either party would, by definition, be somewhere in the general area of a 40-60 RPI. Any Congressmen or Senators, including those so-called "mainstream" Democrats, who claim to be "moderate", but do not meet this standard, are full of it!

37 John Salazar (D) CO-03
[44, 44, 41, 75]

23 Ken Salazar (D) CO Sen 2010
[28, 32, 40, 100]

By this rating, Ken has a rating of 23%, brother John 37%. Centrist? Nope, just less dyed-in-wool straight liberal vote than the loonies on the far left like Waxman, Kucinich, etc. Being less extreme doesnt make them 'centrist' by any stretch.

On the news of the day, more here:

http://rockymountainright.com/?q=taxonomy/term/97

What makes this interesting is that Ritter could appoint someone and there still might be Dem challengers. The GOP should aim on a clean sweep here - Gov and Senate.  Former Rep McInnis for Senate?

Sean,

Your analysis omitted Andrew Romanoff, former state house speaker and an ambitious, charismatic young Democrat politico. I think he's the frontrunner for Ritter to appoint to the Senate seat, though he's also on the short list for the Secretary of State vacancy.

On the GOP side, Jim Dandy is wrong: Tancredo is NOT the frontrunner. That sounds to me like information based on wishful thinking from the Left. It's hard to deny a shorter bench on the GOP side. Former Guv Owens would be the best bet if he wanted to run. AG Suthers doesn't excite the base. Someone like former Congressman Scott McInnis might do it. Former state legislative leader Mark Hillman would have to be considered in the mix.

I'm hoping Republicans in Colorado are growing awake, alert, and focused.

Ben

I'm a Colorado native and currently a Denver resident (and a Democrat, fyi).  You expressed doubt about Hickenlooper partly because in many states there's a rift between big cities and the rest of the state.  Just letting you know, that isn't generally the case here.  Sure, it's OUR big city... but compared to Chicago, New York, LA, etc. it feels much more compact, and a nice change from the expanding suburbia. Especially with the whole state moving to the left, it's not hard to envision Hickenlooper taking that Senate post.  He may be a Democrat, but we don't feel like that defines him.  See, we have a bit of an inferiority complex; we feel like we're up-and-coming, but don't get much national attention (till the political coverage this year).  But Hickenlooper pushes for Denver to become a hub of culture - for music, for art, for food.  The public transit initiatives are useful, because everything is much more spread out here than it is on the East Coast, but these days half my friends don't even drive a car!  And we're still building, renovating, growing, despite the economic hardship in the country.  It hasn't hit us as hard here.  We trust him.  The only question is, are we willing to give him up as our mayor?  I'm still undecided on that point.  Don't underestimate him.

Colorado should be the natural GOP pickup opportunity this cycle.

Unfortunately, until we publicly reject a derriere-hole like Tancredo the rest of us will be slandered with him.

Governor Palin, I'm waiting....

Adam