We’re not off to a great start.
Soon after Democrat Peggy Lamm conceded the Democratic primary race in the 7th Congressional District to Ed Perlmutter, Republican Rick O’Donnell sent a congratulatory letter and challenged the winner to a weekly debate for the next 12 weeks.
(Dear God, please stop them. One debate a month, OK – anything more is just abusive. Thank you.)
Perlmutter, mercifully, did not commit to this weekly duel, explaining that he had a daughter to send off to college.
“He wouldn’t understand that, that sometimes you have to take your kids to college,” Perlmutter said of a childless and unmarried O’Donnell.
I’m typically a fan of invective in politics, but this was a remarkably sanctimonious assertion. Since when does having children grant you the moral high ground or the know-how to govern? The only thing children guarantee is a serious hit on your sex life.
Just imagine the righteous anger we’d be hearing had a social conservative made comparable comments about a 36-year-old single, childless woman running for Congress. Deservedly so.
Yes, every word uttered by these two candidates will be dissected ad nauseam. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, the future of Congress – maybe even America – hangs on every negative ad and every 527 dollar raised in Jefferson County.
This race is so important that Perlmutter has already been asked to deliver the prestigious national Democratic radio address Saturday – which, like the presidential address itself, is heard by dozens of citizens nationwide.
O’Donnell, who went unopposed in a primary (lucky), has already been the beneficiary of fundraising visits from President Bush and Vice President Cheney (these days, not so lucky). He’s also built a war chest estimated at more than $1.3 million.
“Denver is an expensive media market, and because it is an open seat in a swing district, it is by its nature going to be a very expensive race,” says National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Jonathan Collegio.
Despite their optimism, I suspect Republicans are going to have a serious uphill battle winning in a district like CD 7, which is evenly divided by those sick of Democrats, those sick of Republicans and those sick of everyone.
Will poor poll numbers of politicians – particularly national Republicans – play an important role in a localized congressional race?
“Congressional races are not like gubernatorial races. They are generally seen as local elections that are contrasted by local issues between local personalities,” says Collegio – with a dash of wishful thinking, no doubt. “That’s what you see happening in local races like this one.”
To this point, O’Donnell’s biggest gaffe was committed at the age of 24 when he wrote an essay calling Social Security “un-American.” Gotcha politics is the name of the game, and this seems to be the main point of attack against O’Donnell.
Sen. Ken Salazar took time out from being magnanimous to accuse O’Donnell of writing his Social Security essay “just a few years ago.”
Which like most everything Ken Salazar says is sort of true.
A poetic truth, if you will.
Unlike Salazar, Perlmutter has been a principled liberal. He has dutifully blamed President Bush for all the troubles in the world. He’s opposed to permanent tax cuts, he’s pro-choice, pro-federal funding for stem-cell research, and he’d like to “redeploy” the troops in Iraq.
Conversely, O’Donnell has been a true conservative, a policy wonk and a social- issues Republican who opposes federal aid for stem-cell research and abortion. He also supports making tax cuts permanent and believes the Iraqi war was the right thing to do.
Residents of CD 7 should be grateful that they have a real choice. It’s rare.
Now all Perlmutter has to do is stop insulting single men and start concentrating on substantive issues … like how Karl Rove is really a Dark Lord of the Sith.
David Harsanyi’s column appears Monday and Thursday.
He can be reached at 303-820-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.
