Gov. Bill Ritter has learned that when when life gives you bad publicity, make money.
Republicans earlier this week crowed about ambushing the Democratic governor when he appeared before a U.S. Senate committee to talk about energy.
Ritter responded today by sending out a fund-raising e-mail accusing Republicans of “foiling forward-thinking energy and climate policies.”
He noted that his chief attacker, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., views climate change as the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”
“My very presence at the hearing seemed to agitate Sen. Inhofe, as he told me ‘I’m kind of wondering why you’re here,'” Ritter wrote.
“It was his polite way of telling me, ‘Go home, so that we here in Washington can go back to stalling progress and dragging our feet on meaningful energy and climate legislation.'”
Two Republicans trying to unseat Ritter, Scott McInnis and Josh Penry, ripped the fundraising letter and accused the governor of being unable to answer a simple question.
Ritter appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Tuesday at the invitation of the chairwoman, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who is considering her own climate control bill. The controversial House climate bill is known as Waxman-Markey after sponsors U.S. Reps. Henry Waxman and Edward Markey.
Inhofe asked Ritter whether he supported Waxman-Markey.
“I very much support climate legislation that is joined with a national energy policy to get us to the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals that are set for 2050,” Ritter said, in part.
The Republicans took that to mean that the governor didn’t endorse Waxman-Markey, and rushed out a news release and YouTube video.
Penry, the Senate minority leader, and McInnis, a former congressman, added their own criticism today.
“Washington, D.C., is too partisan,” Penry said. “But it’s easy to understand why the senators would be frustrated by a governor who traveled 2,000 miles only to refuse to take a position on the cap-and-trade bill that was the subject of the hearing.”
And McInnis noted that Ritter’s appearance came at the same time the state Department of Labor is struggling to process all of its unemployment claims, and delaying some payments to the end of August.
“Take a look at where Ritter’s effort has been the last 48 hours,” McInnis said. “Its’ to raise money to get re-elected instead of getting down there and sending in the Marines, so to speak to the Department of Labor.”
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
