BERTHOUD, Colo.—All politicians want to appease voters who disagree with them, and no one knows it better than Democratic Rep. Betsy Markey, one of Colorado’s newest members of Congress.
She’s a freshman Democrat in a district where Republicans dominate, a district the size of South Carolina that sent Republicans to the House for more than 30 years before picking her last year over three-term GOP incumbent Marilyn Musgrave.
On a recent Saturday, Markey held a meet-and-greet with constituents in this Larimer County town. She criticized government spending on bank bailouts, then defended her vote for her party’s $787 billion economic recovery plan.
She reminded the crowd about tax cuts in the recovery package, then explained why she voted to expand federal hate crimes legislation.
After the meeting, she listened patiently to one man who told her global warming is “poppycock.” Next: A talk with a woman who wants government to take over health care.
“You can never make everybody happy. But you know, you’ve just got to let the chips fall where they may,” Markey said after the meeting. “I think it’s balance.”
Markey’s early voting record shows she’s trying to strike that balance, remaining a loyal Democrat and trying not to anger conservatives back home.
She voted for President Barack Obama’s recovery package but against his $3.4 trillion 2010 budget. She signed a letter praising the administration for strengthening the Endangered Species Act, but joined Republicans in asking Obama to change his mind on reauthorizing a federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.
Markey supports the Employee Free Choice Act, a labor-backed bill vigorously opposed by some business groups and most Republicans. But she says she’ll vote for business interests most of the time.
How not to look like a waffler?
It’s a tall order, and at times her comments in Berthoud seemed a bit bland. To one conservative, Markey sounded more like a beauty pageant contestant than a lawmaker when she said that despite party differences, “we still have the best government, I think, on the face of the Earth.” The man rolled his eyes.
Still, political observers say it won’t be easy for the GOP to reclaim Markey’s seat next year. It needs a candidate who can beat her.
First up: A Republican member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents, Tom Lucero of Loveland. Lucero announced he’d challenge Markey before she even took office in January. He has a lengthy behind-the-scenes career working for Republicans, including former three-term Rep. Bob Schaffer.
But Markey is swamping Lucero in the money race. She raised about $300,000 in the first quarter of the year, setting a record for a freshman member of Congress from Colorado. Lucero managed just about $13,000.
“The wind was certainly at (Democrats’) back next year, but has the district changed significantly? No,” said a confident Lucero.
Another hopeful is Republican state Rep. Cory Gardner of Yuma. Gardner, a lawyer and state lawmaker since 2005, announced for the job in May and hasn’t yet filed federal campaign disclosures.
Gardner says he’ll stick to classic conservative themes to peel support from Markey. She may be likable, Gardner said, but heavy spending by Markey’s Democratic colleagues in Washington will sour that support.
“Congresswoman Markey has become part of the problem in Washington, spending billions of dollars … to put our children and grandchildren in unbelievable debt,” Gardner said.
Republicans have reason to believe the conservative appeal can work. The district chose Republican John McCain for president last year, and Republicans say they must simply tie Markey to national Democrats to beat her.
“She’s just been following the Obama administration and throwing money down the drain,” said Conrad Bostron, a corn and alfalfa farmer from Moreno and chairman of the Logan County Republican Party. “We’ve got great candidates, and we just need to return our party to its conservative roots.”
Markey’s betting she’ll hold on to enough conservatives to be re-elected. There are more than a dozen House Democrats who represent districts considered more Republican than Colorado’s 4th District, based on the way those districts voted for president in 2008. So it’s unclear how high a priority the district will be for national Republicans.
“It’s really Republican down here, but when I talk to people, they say she’s doing a good job,” said Kay Lynn Hefley, chairwoman of the Baca County Democratic Party. “She’s made a lot of headway in this area.”
In Berthoud, conservatives weren’t sold.
Fred Wagner, a 57-year-old pilot from Wellington, listened to Markey and said he finds her likable and sincere. But he said she’s too liberal for the district.
“Last year, I think there was a national wave against us, you know?” he said. “I think even I could’ve gotten elected last time if I was running against a Republican.”
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