President (To Win Colorado) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Biden*

(R) Donald Trump

80%

20%↓

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

90%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

90%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(D) Adam Frisch

(R) Jeff Hurd

(R) Ron Hanks

40%

30%

20%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert

(R) J. Sonnenberg

(R) Ted Harvey

20%↑

15%↑

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Dave Williams

(R) Jeff Crank

(R) Doug Bruce

20%

20%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

90%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) Brittany Pettersen

85%↑

 

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(R) Gabe Evans

(R) Janak Joshi

60%↑

40%↑

20%↑

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

5%

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
November 16, 2014 09:05 AM UTC

Senate Dems Stick With Leaders As Bizarre GOP Leadership Choices Raise Eyebrows

  • 18 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Senate President Morgan Carroll (D).
Outgoing Senate President Morgan Carroll (D).

As the Durango Herald's Peter Marcus reports, Senate Democrats yesterday stood with their leadership from the past two years, re-electing Sens. Morgan Carroll and Rollie Heath to the equivalent top positions of their 17-18 minority that they held as an 18-17 majority:

Carroll defended her side of the aisle's work, suggesting that with Democrats in control, Colorado's economy grew and jobs were created. She also pointed to civil-rights issues, including same-sex civil unions legislation passed in 2013 and efforts supporting renewable energy, including passing a tougher standard for rural parts of the state.

"We will continue to move the state forward to address the real-world needs of the people of Colorado," Carroll said in a statement. "It is an honor to serve with and for so many great senators on behalf of the people of Colorado."

The caucus also elected Sen. Rollie Heath of Boulder to serve as assistant minority leader. Heath currently serves as majority leader.

"The election is over, and now it's time to start governing," Heath said in a statement. "We have a hard-working team. I know we will be effective because we hear one another out and collaborate within the caucus and across the aisle. We all have a shared goal, and that is to ensure Colorado is thriving."

Sen. Jessie Ulibarri was elected Democratic caucus chair yesterday, Sen. Matt Jones will service as minority whip, and Sen. Pat Steadman as senior Democrat on the powerful Joint Budget Committee. With the Senate Democratic minority leadership settled, we now have a full picture of what the legislature will look like when it reconvenes in January.

The only choices of leadership in either party that are really much of a surprise this time are in the Republican Senate Majority. Unlike Democrats, the Senate Republicans predetermined their leadership in private meetings before any vote was held. The selection of moderate Sen. Ellen Roberts as Senate President pro tem has been widely praised, but since then we've heard questions about how much power she might actually wield–suggesting the appointment was more window dressing by Senate President Bill Cadman than an honest intention to moderate his caucus leadership.

Sen. Kevin Lundberg (right).
Sen. Kevin Lundberg (right).

The idea that Cadman is trying to turn over a new leaf for his caucus is further undermined by two other new members of his Senate Republican leadership: Assistant Majority Leader-elect Kevin Lundberg and majority caucus chair-elect Vicki Marble. Lundberg (seen at right shaking hands with recalled anti-imigrant Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce) has a long history as one of the most stridently conservative and outspoken members of the legislature. That outspokenness frequently gets the better of Lundberg's good judgment, leading to embarrassment for him and his caucus–like the time he read the definition of "abstinence" on the Senate floor, mangling the word "vaginal" (video after the jump).

Fried chicken.
Fried chicken.

But for all of Lundberg's crazy-uncle conservatism, his appointment as Assistant Majority Leader at least has some justification in his long legislative experience. Not so with the election of Vicki Marble to the position of majority caucus chair. Nobody we've talked to can make sense of this appointment other than some kind of sharp stick in the eye to Democrats, and even then it seems like a really bad idea. Marble has given Senate Republicans some of their most embarrassing incidents in the last couple of years, with her infamous rant about "problems in the black race," barbeque chicken, and the "Mexican diet" resulting in much thinner brown people in Mexico making national headlines

That was not the first embarrassing moment for Marble, who previously made bizarre statements like "Democrats will do anything to control the way our children learn, live, and even how they act in intimate relationships." Or her speech against equal pay for women, declaring "I feel like we've outgrown the Equal Pay Act of 1963." As we said, there's no policy expertise or legislative experience that justifies Marble's new leadership position in the Republican Senate majority. All she has going for her that we can see is greater name ID from the headlines she has made–and they're not good headlines.

After all the hoopla this week about Republicans retaking the Colorado Senate, which boiled down to a surprise win of a single seat by under 1,000 votes, the leadership decisions made by that new majority have received little attention other than noting the amiable Roberts' appointment as Senate President pro tem. But when the legislature gets down to business next year, the elevation of two of the most gaffe prone among the new one-seat Senate Republican majority may become the bigger story.

Along with Rep.-elect Gordon "Dr. Chaps" Klingenschmitt! If you think about it, the worst-case scenario for next January is pretty darn bad for Colorado Republicans opticswise. In that event, all we can say is that they were amply, amply warned.

Comments

18 thoughts on “Senate Dems Stick With Leaders As Bizarre GOP Leadership Choices Raise Eyebrows

          1. He could. He would make an excellent Governor, except he buys the "natural gas is clean energy" bullshit a little too much, I think. All the same, I would still prefer Senator Carroll in the Governors' seat.

            1. I think Udall sees it more as "cleaner than coal' and a transition fuel – which it is, on both counts. I don't see him as an apologist for O&G on the order of Hick.

              Udall would be a solid Dem governor candidate when 2018 rolls around.

              I, too, would like to see Sen. Carroll take on Coffman for CO-06. If my calculations are correct, I believe she's term limited for 2016, making her freshly available for the next run against Coffman. That's assuming she wants to make the leap to DC…

  1. I do like the D team. Representative of forward, humane thinking. The R team seems to me to be a cauldron of simmering hate not needing much more heat to boil over. 

    Will the Rs continue to defend Marble, Chaps, et al when they utter ignorant, hateful statements founded in fear and ignorance?

  2. Everything is great with the Dems and Awful with the R's?

    So how is it that the voters elected more R's than Dems?

    Oh I get it, the voters, not the Polsters, are stupid.

    1. Ebb and flow, probably as much as anything – 2014 was a remarkably well positioned year for the GOP. The real questions is, why couldn't the state GOP do better? The answer to that question is, Colorado is more blue than red, and GOP candidates and leaders such as Chaps, Waters/Woods, Cadman and Lungren are going to find that out. 

    2. Hmm. 17+35 = 52 Ds and 18+30=48. Those darn experts and their math! AC, your party sucks and it's only "success" in CO in the last decade was getting us labeled the "Hate State". Well- and now trying to make sure computer classes are replaced with cursive handwriting. 

       

    3. Three years ago Republicans were gnashing their teeth over how "partisan" the judge-imposed, Democrat-drawn maps were for this state. Yet is was those maps that gave Republicans SD-16 – long a seat held by Democrats – and the State Senate majority more than any ideological superiority or campaign genius.

      Given how close the outcome was, I wonder if Colorado voters actually voted in the majority for a Republican-led Senate. I don't have time to add it all up right now, but at a guess, I'd say they didn't.

  3. They’re aren’t really all that bizarre choices. What did they have to work with: laura Waters Woods, Tim Neville, Ray Scott? They’re freshmen. Their leadership represents experience. And there’s only one RINO and she got a post. They had to work with the talent that they had. Warts and all.

    1. "Warts and all".  No kidding!  I expect more of the same antics and idiocy from Cadman, Lundberg and Marble.  They all will live up to their past history — don't expect them to learn a darn thing from their past mistakes.

Leave a Comment

Recent Comments


Posts about

Donald Trump
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Lauren Boebert
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Yadira Caraveo
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado House
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado Senate
SEE MORE

62 readers online now

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!