Let’s catch up on a few political matters this fine Colorado Sunday.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the jabs Gov. Bill Ritter was taking from his left flank. A few party members had been calling him simply adequate and uninspiring.
That was nothing. Last week, he was heckled by union members with shouts of “liar” at a bill signing. A bill signing! Governors travel the state for bill signings because they’re typically positive news events — not opportunities for harassment.
It looks like Ritter’s base could be diminishing as he gears up for re-election.
For example, some pro-choice Democrats always have been a little leery of the pro-life Democrat. He has on occasion ticked off the teachers union. Those opposed to the death penalty now wonder where he stands on the issue. And now union members are calling him a liar in public. (Of course, taking flak from unions could solidify the governor’s stance as a moderate as they push him even more to the middle.)
Ritter still has environmentalists in his corner. Even though some will claim his rewrite of oil and gas regulations doesn’t go far enough, his push for renewable energy has won them over.
Ritter’s policy decisions aren’t based on what’s good for particular interest groups, his spokesman often says, but on what’s good for Colorado. It’s one of the perils of trying to govern from the center.
So why does all of this matter, if those left-leaning groups are going to vote for him over a Republican anyway?
Two reasons: money and feet.
Unions dump millions into political races, and the governor had a paltry sum of just over $100,000 in his coffers as of the last reporting date. And their members walk districts, going door-to-door in Ritter T-shirts to espouse his virtues and hang literature on door handles. They hold signs at rallies and organize voters. If that vanishes, he could be in trouble.
Republicans should be licking their chops, right? Instead, they’re preparing for an intra-party fight. The two leading GOP candidates for governor, Scott McInnis and Josh Penry, are both bent on running. A divisive or nasty primary — and they all get nasty — could seal the deal for Ritter.
If Republicans want to pick off Ritter, and avoid mutually assured destruction in a gubernatorial primary, Penry could wait for 2014. Or McInnis could instead run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Michael Bennet. McInnis still has money in his congressional campaign that can’t be spent on a state race but that could be re-routed to a Senate race. Neither option is likely to happen, so buckle up and get ready for the ride.
Costly date night?
President Barack Obama whisked away First Lady Michelle to New York City for a long-overdue “date night” last week. Taxpayers, of course, picked up the tab, which was more than $20,000 for security and travel alone. Heads across the country exploded. I say, consider it money well spent. Date nights are healthy for a marriage. And the last unsteady marriage we had in the White House cost us $40 million to investigate.
Now, that’s expensive.
So long, Al
Longtime Denver Post columnist Al Knight has hung up his pen.
Knight officially retired from The Post in 2003, but has been writing frequent columns for these pages ever since. For a long time, Knight was the newspaper’s resident voice from the right. But with staff additions like conservatives Vincent Carroll and David Harsanyi, Knight decided to leave the duties of “keeping the nation free and informed” to others.
All you need is Love
Turns out, Coloradans haven’t re-elected every governor who’s asked over the past 60 years, as I suggested here two weeks ago. In 1962, Republican John Love ousted Democratic Gov. Steve McNichols.
E-mail editorial page editor Dan Haley at dhaley@denverpost.com.
