Released from SoapBlox Colorado - A community/group blog on all things Colorado.
There's been nothing more entertaining than seeing the GOP eat itself over Referenda C & D. Be it Katy Atkinson, the GOP operative now employed by the 'Vote Yes on C & D' folks, ripping in to Holtzman, or the Holtzman campaign dubbing Beauprez as 'Both ways Bob', the current Referenda debate has fractured the usually lock-step party. This fissure was helped by the political maneuvering of the greatest Speaker of the House this state ever had, Democrat Andrew Romanoff, getting both the GOP Governor and 1/2 of the GOP legislature to sign on to passing Referenda C & D.
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In the early battles of the GOP primary for the '06 race, the candidates Holtzman and Beauprez having been falling over each other to say who is more against C & D. To even the casual political follower, Beauprez and Holtzman's dance to "out right" the other is just a symbolic attempt to look more "conservative" to the party faithful and base who vote in the primary. Both men are trying to raise their "conservative" credentials in hopes of winning the honor of running in '06.
One problem guys: what if C & D pass? Even bigger problem. What if C & D passes with 60% of the vote or more?
If (or when) this happens, the GOP candidate for governor will already be on the wrong side of the majority of the Colorado electorate. And it won't be a partisan poll saying this, but the certified vote count from the Secretary of State.
That GOP candidate will be on the record saying how disastrous and wrong-headed it is to pass C & D, and will be on the wrong side of an electorate that showed it wants to spend money improving roads, expanding health care, and lowering higher-ed costs. The GOP candidate will not have wanted the state to expand its revenue stream and increase services, and will disagree with a majority of voters. Why in the world would Colorado trust a candidate to manage the money from C & D effectively if they never wanted the money in the first place?
Regardless of whom the Dem contender is in 2006, I hope their campaign is keeping all the news clippings, commercials, and talking points Beauprez and Holtzman have been using so far. If C & D pass on November 1st, these statements could mean an early grave, a nail in the coffin, to the hopes of the Republicans maintaining control of the governor's mansion.
Released from SoapBlox Colorado - A community/group blog on all things Colorado.