.
Governor Ritter said early in the process that he would appoint whoever would be best for Colorado,
not exactly the same thing as appointing
A)__ whoever would be best for himself personally;
or
B)__ whoever would be best for his party.
But all of the discussion on this topic at this website so far has focused on either “A” or “B” above.
I think you missed Ritter’s point. This is a truly once-in-a lifetime opportunity, considering that the incoming Administration hints that they, too, will focus, at least initially, on what’s best for the nation, rather than on
A)__ whatever would be best for the Administration personally;
or
B)__ whatever would be best for the Democratic party.
I haven’t been contacted, so he must not see ending the war in Iraq as all that important to the state.
Or he expects Obama to end it.
.
.
I suspect that Bill sees the state’s, and the states,’ biggest challenge as the healthcare situation.
I predict he will appoint someone not affiliated with either of the two major parties who has extensive knowledge of the health insurance industry, and maybe who has written or testified on the subject.
Who is also a Colorado resident.
.
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Is one more vote against cloture. And that means a Democrat.
And Barron, you’re actually not the only person in Colorado who’s opposed to the war in Iraq. Almost all Democrats are too.
but they don’t mean it as intensely.
.
Or are you poking fun at me ? I try to see the best in folks, even folks associated with New Mexico.
To SXP 151 (are we related ?)
there are over 1 million Coloradoans opposed to the war.
But only one of them ran for Congress this last cycle on the promise to move to Iraq and keep the the nation’s attention focused on what happens there in our name, day after day.
I don’t believe Obama will end the war, any more than I believe he can “graduate” from the crony patronage politics of Chicago.
He parses his promises on Iraq pretty finely.
It would break your heart if you took a couple hours and studied his utterances on the topic.
He inherits the mantle of “War President,” pretty heady stuff. Life and death, power-of-God type stuff.
No, just like with Vietnam, this Iraq War will only end when the Congress ends it, in opposition to the President, any President, who will drag it out as long as possible.
And since the Congress is mostly busy about getting reelected, and averse to risk or taking principled positions, and intimidated by the Obamandate, it ain’t gonna happen with the current Congress, unless something significant makes the body uncomfortable.
Right now, there are smarter people than me in Congress (Jan Schakowsky comes to mind) whose opposition might even exceed mine, but she has not been able stir the conscience of the Congress. Feingold, Byrd and Kucinich, among others, have opposed it more eloquently. But what have they accomplished ?
Now, I have no death wish, but if I had been living there as a US Rep and got killed, you’re darn tootin’ the Congress would sit up and take notice.
But since it’s mostly just poor white trash that’s getting killed there now (shorthand for “people like my friends and neighbors,”)
it doesn’t even make the paper anymore.
Right now, all the MSM reports about Iraq come verbatim from the US military, or from their propaganda contractors like the Lincoln Group. Unless you read the foreign press, you’ve got no idea what’s goin’ on there. The troops on the ground are crammed with propaganda. They mostly don’t know.
We continue to occupy Iraq today because we occupied it yesterday.
There’s no mission or national security issue at stake; its just inertia.
…..
I offered to serve the folks of the 5th Congressional District by ending the War.
Like the gentleman they reelected, voters here want the War to go on until we achieve “victory.”
If I got the nod from the Gov, I’d decamp to the Emerald City immediately. Sure, I’d be a crappy legislator, missing almost every vote, but the country ain’t gonna legislate its way outta this mess we’re in, until something upsets the status quo. The other 99 can handle the rites and rituals of the Senate just fine.
And, by the way, Dems don’t need 60 votes for cloture, they need the GOP to have less than 41. I won’t be voting for any continuations from Baghdad, so its as good as having a Dem in the seat, on that score.
And I wouldn’t vote with the GOP all the time, anyway. I’d vote pro-Constitution, which is different in important ways. If I was there to vote, which I wouldn’t be.
Being an effective Senator takes skills and experience I’ll never have. But I can use the position to embarrass the Congress to providing the leadership that the country needs right now.
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It sounds like you have someone specific in mind. Any reason you’re not just saying who fits your criteria?
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Everyone knows what a big fan I am of Malik Hasan, having attended the MBA program that he endowed down in Pueblo. But he isn’t as political as the rest of the family, and may not be interested. Or maybe not being political makes him the best selection.
I’m not even sure that restructuring the health care delivery system is the top priority; a lot of things need immediate fixing. But this is the only time in my lifetime that a Colorado Governor will be able to do something so darn good for the body politic,
and I’m guessing that Jesus Christ reaches out and touches Governor Bill’s heart on this one.
I don’t believe that he’s the party loyalist many seem to think he is. He is captivated by a higher loyalty; not everyone sees that.
This might be his best opportunity to do something structural to make government actually work better.
Which is why I think he might appoint himself – not out of selfishness or ambition, but out of devotion, knowing it means his political career is over in 2010. I prohibit any comparison to RB Cheney’s VP Search. There is no comparison.
The way things are trending, he could appoint Bob Schaffer and the Dems would still win the seat back in 2010.
.
Not gonna happen. I asked Evan Dreyer about that Friday and he said Ritter has categorically ruled out appointing himself.
That is a big compliment – I’ll forward it to Dad – he’ll be happy to see it
however – Dad is a Democrat, and a pretty proud one, at that
My mother and I are the Republicans
None. This is silly if you can’t read between the lines and/or distinguish between rhetoric and reality. Ritter will appoint a DSCC-approved, electable democrat. Period.
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And what’s so great about reality ?
.
He’s a nut. But, for some reason if Ritter appoints him and there’s a special election for the district, the GOP will give it all they’ve got, while trying new tricks and grassroots to win as practice for ’10.
The governor appoints the senator until 2010, when the seat is up for re-election for a full term.
…if Perlmutter is picked.
You’re right, J-bob. Carry on.
misunderstood what you wrote.
If you think Republicans would play this game as a non-partisan appointment, I have some news for you…
There can be no unilateral disarmament of partisan appointments. What we can hope for is someone who will work for the good of the country over the good of a party, and will work hard for that goal. We have a wealth of Democrats who fit that description here in Colorado, including most of those who have expressed an interest (or have been put forward by others) as strong candidates.
should get the job. Can we be serious about reform for once?
available?