When House Majority Leader Alice Madden announced Wednesday that she would not be a candidate for governor, an army of political activists quietly checked out of the race.
They were poised to hit the phones, ring doorbells, raise money. Now, they probably will vote in what’s shaping up to be the first governor’s race in Colorado in 40 years without a pro- choice candidate.
Probably.
But in this critical election year, they will apply their considerable clout elsewhere.
“I know things look really grim in the governor’s race in Colorado right now,” said Ramona Oliver, spokeswoman for the pro-choice political action committee Emily’s List, “but overall, things are looking really, really good.”
It was no secret that if Madden or Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald had decided to run for governor, Emily’s List would have been there for them. Under the Emily formula (Early Money Is Like Yeast – it makes the dough rise), the network of like-minded donors would have been mobilized.
Now those activists will look to other races, and Ellen Malcolm, president of Emily’s List, said there are several.
“We’re seeing a phenomenal outpouring of very strong women candidates across the country,” she said.
In fact, in the 21 U.S. House districts where Republican incumbents are considered vulnerable, pro-choice women are the likely Democratic standard- bearers in at least 10 races.
Emily’s List also has more members and more money than it did during the hotly contested 2004 presidential race.
So Malcolm doesn’t buy the line that the only way Democrats can win in states like Colorado is to abandon their long-standing support for abortion rights.
“There’s absolutely no evidence of that,” she said. “Every poll shows a majority of Colorado voters and voters across America remain pro-choice.”
Gail Schoettler, who was narrowly defeated in her 1998 run for governor, agreed, saying the anti-choice strategy being endorsed by some Colorado Democrats is “dead wrong.
“The undercurrent of pro-choice people in this state – both Republicans and Democrats – is very, very strong,” she said. “I think the Democrats would be better served by a pro- choice candidate.”
For her part, Schoettler has not given up on enlisting a pro-choice woman to run this year. “I still have a few more calls to make,” she said.
While some insist that choice is a low priority among voters focused instead on such issues as health care, education and the war in Iraq, Malcolm said the growth in membership in Emily’s List puts the lie to that too.
In fact, with the recent changes in the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court and growing concern about the erosion of privacy rights across the country, she said support for pro-choice candidates is exploding.
“The Terri Schiavo case was a real wake-up call to people about politicians getting involved in personal, family decisions. Just as voters overwhelmingly didn’t think politicians had a place in the Schiavo family’s decision, they also think that politicians don’t have a place in their family decisions, and that includes the decision whether or not to have a baby.”
The reason that no strong pro-choice candidate for governor has emerged in Colorado is the result of a series of pragmatic decisions by individuals about their careers, she said, nothing more. “It’s the roll of the dice.”
Heather Lurie said the lack of a pro- choice female candidate is “a disappointment,” but she respects the decisions of Madden and Fitz-Gerald.
“I will continue to work for pro- choice women running for office all around the country, and I will continue to train and support women running for office at all levels in Colorado,” said the founder of the Rocky Mountain Riveters and an activist at the White House Project.
“Next time, we’ll have a cadre of pro-choice women whose names will be mentioned early. We won’t ever be in this situation again.”
Diane Carman’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached at 303-820-1489 or dcarman@denverpost.com.
