Battered recently by Republicans over oil drilling, Colorado Democrats have found a liquid issue to throw right back: water.
Top Democrats have repeatedly attacked GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain over comments he made last Thursday that the multistate Colorado River water compact should be “renegotiated.” McCain, who represents the lower-basin state of Arizona, first made the comments in talking to The Pueblo Chieftain.
Leading Colorado Democrats, along with Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer, torpedoed the idea.
McCain sent Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., a letter this week to clarify his stance.
“My recent remarks may have been mistakenly construed as a call to rescind the Colorado River compact and commence negotiations for new water allocations,” McCain wrote. “Let me be clear that I do not advocate renegotiation of the compact. I support constructive, continuing cooperation and dialogue among the states and the water users in a manner that is fully consistent with the compact.”
But Gov. Bill Ritter and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar continued the Democratic attack on McCain in a conference call Wednesday. Other Colorado Democrats will hold another conference call today on the issue.
Ritter said McCain’s statements on the water compact “just showed to me either a naivete or even a hostility toward water usage in Colorado.”
Salazar said the comments reflect “a fundamental lack of understanding of the legal foundations of the water allocations among our states.
“The political disruption that would result from any renegotiation of these allocations would create a water war across the West.”
Democrat Barack Obama’s campaign has helped organize conference calls with Coloradans.
Some of the harshest words came from Schaffer, who said McCain “will not have a more fierce fight from a United States senator than he will from me.”
Schaffer said Wednesday that after reading McCain’s letter to Allard, “it’s obvious to me that when Sen. McCain was in possession of sufficient background information, he quickly came to the right and proper conclusion on the Colorado river compact.”
Staff writer Michael Riley contributed to this report.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
