There’s nothing like internecine warfare within a political party to enhance the other party’s chance of winning an election.
The best news for Colorado Republicans lately has been former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff’s decision to challenge Sen. Michael Bennet for the Democratic nomination in 2010. The GOP nominee will be taking notes and storing ammunition as the two Democrats rough each other up, especially since Romanoff regards Bennet as the Johnny-come-lately usurper who cheated him out of his rightful appointment to the Salazar vacancy.
With Romanoff running to Bennet’s left, Bennet will be under pressure to slide left himself. But that will be only for the primary. Whichever one wins will immediately jog right to appear more moderate in the statewide election. That will be a charade.
As I’ve often explained, in politics, party trumps person. In Europe’s multi-party, parliamentary democracies, governing coalitions are formed after an election. In our constitutional republic, with only two significant parties, the coalitions are already in place.
The Republican coalition is an alliance of conservatives, middle- and upper-income taxpayers (but not leftist Hollywood millionaires and George Soros), individualists who prefer limited government, those who are pro-market and pro-business, believers in American exceptionalism and a strong national defense, social-issues conservatives and supporters of traditional American values. The Democrat coalition includes guilt-ridden liberals, collectivists, welfare-statists labor unions (especially the teachers’ unions), government workers, academics, plaintiffs-lawyers, lower- and middle-income net tax-receivers, identity-politics minorities, feminists, gays, enviros, nannyists and activists for assorted anti-gun, anti-capitalist, anti-business, anti-military, and world-government causes.
Following an election, a party’s coalition and its agenda will be served. And, realistically, there are only two parties in the game. Bennet and Romanoff are bright enough fellows and while neither is a left-wing radical, they’re both basically liberal. There’s really not much difference between the two.
Think of them as Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
As Democrats, they’ve cast their fate with the party’s coalition and can only operate within its boundaries. As senators, their voting records would be indistinguishable.
With barely a year to go before the election, Bennet has been tap dancing around a number of controversial issues — from “card check” to cap and trade — so as not to offend powerful interests on either side. His waffling has frustrated some of his coalition’s militants while doing nothing to win the trust of business, much less conservatives. Romanoff is, opportunistically, courting support from labor unions and Hispanic activists like former state legislator Polly Baca. State legislators are mostly supporting Romanoff; while Bennet has the endorsement of Gov. Bill Ritter, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, some members of Colorado’s congressional delegation, U.S. Senate leaders and President Obama.
I’ve never bought the notion that Colorado has become an indelibly blue, Democrat state. We may not be reliably Republican red anymore, but we’re probably closer to swing-voting purple. The 2008 election in this state, a clear victory for Democrats, was likely more a reflection of a national anti-Bush, anti-GOP, anti-war, anti-economic-downturn backlash than a fundamental political realignment. With Democrats now firmly in control of our national and Colorado governments, voters are increasingly coming to realize that campaign promising is a lot easier than governing and that all change isn’t necessarily for the better.
Popular support for President Obama, Gov. Ritter and Democrat legislators is dropping sharply in the polls, especially among swing-voting independents. The 2010 Senate race in Colorado may well be a bellwether of a Republican recovery.
If enough voters perceive that we already have a surplus of liberal Democrats in our state, Bennet or Romanoff could be among the casualties.
Mike Rosen’s radio show airs weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon on 850-KOA.
