CO-04 (Special Election)
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(R) Greg Lopez
(R) Trisha Calvarese
90%
10%
President (To Win Colorado)
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(D) Joe Biden*
(R) Donald Trump
80%
20%↓
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
90%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
90%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(D) Adam Frisch
(R) Jeff Hurd
(R) Ron Hanks
40%
30%
20%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert
(R) Deborah Flora
(R) J. Sonnenberg
30%↑
15%↑
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CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Dave Williams
(R) Jeff Crank
50%↓
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CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
90%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) Brittany Pettersen
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CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(D) Yadira Caraveo
(R) Gabe Evans
(R) Janak Joshi
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35%↓
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State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
May 19, 2012 09:12 PM UTC
37 Comments
you did the right thing and when one does they often suffer exoriation and abuse. It is honorable
in 2009.
Re-read the story and the comments. It’s all the same stuff.
But last time, it was the Independence Institute and the church of Reagan. This time it’s Focus on the Family and the Church of Phelps.
Dogma is powerfully scary.
It happened to Bill Kaufman when he represented the Loveland area.
B.J. will be viewed as a courageous legislator and no one in her district will admit that they once opposed gay marriage. It’s rough today for her with all the hate directed at her. But long term I think she will feel very satisfied with her decision.
As to the bigoted haters directing venom at B.J. – you are the ones that will end up in hell.
You are a wonderful and courageous leader, Rep Nikkel
The true leaders always have arrows thrown at them – history will alway be on your side, Rep Nikkel!
The tough find out who their real friends are. Unfortunately, the fight for civil rights is filled with hate, violence and retribution on both sides of the aisle.
Hang in there Representative Nikkel – you did the right thing.
The second sentence is a fraud.
Hate, violence and retribution are not on both sides of the aisle. There is anger on one side of this debate over the continued imposition of two classes of citizens but the hate, violence and retribution belong to only one side.
I wasn’t speaking of the current bigotry and hysteria in the Republican party over gay rights/marriage. I was looking back to a time in the 60’s when I was personally attacked by Democrats for supporting school integration and the Civil Rights Act. Further back still, before my time, was the right of women to vote. Both parties were filled with men who hurled expletives at the women who fought the good fight.
Sorry if you misunderstood my meaning. I’ll try to make myself clearer next time.
Thank you for supporting school integration and the Civil Rights act. It is inspiring you are still fighting for civil rights today. 🙂
They are the same bigoted people who changed parties because of Johnson.
My point still holds.
Democrats were hardly unified in support of gay rights, much less gay marriage. In fact, until a few weeks ago, the leader of the party was to the right of Dick Cheney on the issue.
with this comment that both sides are “filled with hate, violence and retribution”.
How many married couples live in fear of being mocked or harassed by gays?
Maybe President Obama wasn’t leading edge on gay rights but “Don’t ask Don’t tell” has been abolished and he did speak out in favor of gay marriage in an election year right after a swing state repudiated it. He’s not exactly chicken on the issue either.
and your attempt to reduce this to a Democrats Good, Republicans Bad argument is wrong, especially if you can only make that case by asserting that the Democrats who wielded “hate, violence and retribution” were really Republicans.
Good for Obama for abolishing DADT and coming out in favor of gay marriage. You might have noted that it was the previous Democratic president who formulated both DADT and DOMA.
On the whole, of course Democrats are better on civil rights since the modern realignment of the parties, but that doesn’t mean Democrats are always on the right side or that Republicans are always on the wrong side, except to blind partisans.
He signed it, but it was Republicans who wanted to make it an issue (and Clinton probably signed it quickly more out of cynical expediency than ideology). DADT was his baby, but DOMA was not.
And Dick Cheney’s view on gay marriage doesn’t matter even a tiny bit now that he’s out of politics. As I recall, while he was in office his position was somewhat to the right of most Democrats, and that’s when it mattered.
I understand the desire to be above partisan politics and to claim that both sides are equally good or bad (I’ve seen it often enough in others on this site, so I know it must feel pretty good) but let’s not get crazy.
That would be as ridiculous as the other claims that Democrats have always been on the right side (and when they weren’t, they were secret Republicans!), or painting Republicans with the same broad brush.
You’re right about DOMA and Clinton, but I don’t think Cheney’s endorsement of gay marriage is as irrelevant as you suggest.
If you’re going to claim I’ve gone David, I will remind you that I’m not liveblogging some European singing competition and leave it at that.
Southern Democrats held sway for a century and were definitely the party of bigotry and segregation. Even in the north, the Democrats were the right wing party at least until FDR. Woodrow Wilson segregated the civil service!
it had been integrated since the Republican Grant Administration.
Wilson was also admantly opposed to women voting. Read “lies my teacher told me” to learn a few truths about the Democratic Party even in the progressive era.
What you’re saying is that both sides have always espoused bigotry, hatred and violence but I don’t remember reading any examples of this from those who supported civil unions in the recently concluded legislative session.
Do you happen to recall any instances when civil union supporters resorted to hate, violence and retribution to achieve their goals? We’re not talking about another state or another era. We’re talking about right now in this state.
When did supporters for civil unions engage in any of these repugnant activities in public? Then you have to calibrate the degree of these activities against those by Republicans who resort to emotional incitement instead of reasoned logic as their only argument. Let me know if both sides engage in the same level of egregious behavior.
Pita was right. You were wrong.
Here, for your belated edification, is her post:
You were wrong. Admit it and move on, otherwise you just look like a fool.
I asked you for specific incidents here in Colorado by those who supported civil unions who acted in hateful, violent and vengeful ways and all you can do is sputter about how I’m wrong.
Man up dude and produce some proof or apologize to those whom you have maligned.
who yelled out “I hope you all fucking die” from the House gallery doesn’t count?
Of course both sides don’t engage in the same level of egregious behavior on the same issues. Democrats were a lot worse than Republicans on civil rights in the ’50s and ’60s, and since then it’s changed.
Republicans were bending over backwards to deny an up or down vote on this legislation.
Wow. I am so impressed at your research to find such egregious behavior. I guess that balances the books with the preacher who wants to herd all gays into an electrified pen and keep them there. Maybe make them take some showers. Thanks for setting me straight on how horrible those damn gays are. Wow. What powerful testimony. I am in awe of your powers to find equal fault with Democrats. Thanks man. You are too cool.
and I gave you one.
It didn’t take any “research,” anyone who was there that night remembers it.
But you’re the only one who thinks this finds “equal fault with Democrats.” You invented that out of thin air.
So what are all the Dems who have been fighting this fight and so many other civil rights battles–chopped liver?
It’s a sad, sad travesty to humankind when anyone–anyone–is assaulted by such dangerous, ignorant, animal behavior. But it’s nothing new. And to the barbaric, filthy religionist right it will never grow old.
You think Sen. Steadman and Rep. Ferandino (and some on this site) haven’t suffered through this crap? Those two strong, passionate, persevering guys are the real leaders in all this.
Rep. Nikkel gets my thanks. When she tells her party and her church to fuck off and disassociates herself from them publicly, then she’ll earn the status of leader.
Though she did something she was going to pay the price for and I thanked her for doing the right thing in that instance. This intimidation may be nothing new, but it is still wrong.
Instead you want her to tell everyone she associates with to fuck off and hole up friendless? Gee, that’s a nice thought.
+1
Rep Nikkel already IS a leader
you make a great point GalapagoLarry, that every Dem who ever stood up for Civil Unions has also put up with abuse. Maybe not from their own party, but there are lots of people in the general public who hate on this issue. Whichever side of the aisle one is on, there is courage involved in doing the right thing.
I seen that guy going down I-25 in that ugly truck.. He looked like he was a few sandwiches short of a full picnic basket… More than one driver honked and gave him the finger as they passed him..
who said she felt BJ Nikkel was very sincere in her vote — that she felt voting on the side of compassion was the right thing to do. I want to publicly apologize to Senate Nikkel for being cynical that her vote may have been more political than compassionate.
Thank you for being a moral leader within your party, Senator Nikkel. May your leadership inspire others to do the same.
Senator Newell is the gold standard for doing what’s right, even when it is not politically expedient. http://senlindanewell.com/
…is ridiculous. Definitely was slowing up traffic as it circled and people were trying to figure out what the heck it was about. Wish someone had a picture, though. Any takers out there?
to suffer the “slings and arrows” of outrageous republicans. Her treatment is not uncommon, however.
Just call former Democratic representative Kathleen Curry and ask her about how she was treated when she crossed the republicans on oil and gas issues. It was truly despicable.
Rep. Nikkel should just consider joining MAH in defecting to the Dems. I sure she will be as welcome as was Ali. The repubs will most likely never forgive her.
Doubt she’ll come over, but if she did, I am here to welcome her.
What says the Republican establishment? Does BJ Nikkel deserve the excoriation she’s getting?