Priceless, as the Denver Post reported this morning:
What was supposed to be a reception honoring the new Colorado Oil & Gas Association president turned into a political brouhaha after Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, the Democratic candidate for governor, addressed the crowd.
President Tisha Conoly Schuller announced that Republican contender Scott McInnis also had been invited but had another engagement, but that didn’t stop Republican lawmaker Josh Penry from firing off an angry e-mail to oil and gas officials.
Penry, the Senate minority leader, was furious that Hickenlooper got to schmooze the industry Wednesday night at the Sheraton.
“Mayor Hickenlooper is a geologist and he gives a great, ‘Aw shucks’ speech, but he was in Copenhagen with Hugo Chavez talking about climate change. He supported Amendment 58, the largest tax increase on energy in the history of Colorado,” said Penry, R-Grand Junction.
“He is not a friend of the industry.”
The mayor, when asked about the attack, provided his own ammo.
“Aw shucks,” Hickenlooper said. “Look, lawyers and lobbyists have their roles. I was just glad to speak directly with people from an industry I’ve worked in and one that’s important to creating jobs for Coloradans.”
Penry declined to share his e-mail, but said the gist was “the new president was more than a little naive to give Hickenlooper a stage without questioning him on how he’s been consistently silent or dead wrong on the issues facing this industry.”
Of course, Colorado appears to have issued more drilling permits than our neighbors in the last year while Josh Penry was forecasting Democrat-engineered doom and gloom. Since it’s likely that a lot of people from COGA are aware of this, maybe it’s time for a better naysayer?
And hey! We just realized who Hickenlooper meant by “lawyer and lobbyist.” Nice return service.
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Hick looks like he has what it takes to cut into the Republican base that McInnis needs. He’ll slice away at least some of the cash that Scotty planned to raise from these folks, and he might even siphon off a few votes, too.
Bad news for McInnis.
Riiiight.
Or are you channeling Libby tonight?
Keep whistling past the graveyard, Dems. Riiiight.
But I think we’re starting (finally!) to respond well. If Obama sticks with this new approach, we move the financial regulation and jobs bills through, and the economy keeps going, November could be a very good month.
But we do need to keep executing perfectly.
LB buddy you’ve got to do better than throwing around names trying to scare us. Hickenlooper has more in common with the Oil and Gas Industry being an ex-geologist than Penry ever will. He is going to pick up a lot of corporate cash before this thing is done. You have to admire the Aw Shucks line for decimating Penry’s arguments as blatant stupidity.
The Obamster crushed the life out of any Palin candidacy on Wednesday when he asserted that he was no quiter. He pulled the trigger on her Achilles heel and blew away any ideas that she would ever be a major political figure in America ever again. Also in case you missed it he shone the spotlight directly on the radical judicial activism being practiced by the Roberts court. After all these years of screaming about how terrible judicial activism is he pointed out it was conservatives who were at the heart of the matter.
I think the biggest worry you have about getting a pony this fall is that Obama is not Bush and he has the capacity to learn which means your favorite filibuster folks are going to be in for some painful lessons learning that he is far tougher than you can possibly image.
I actually like Hick quite a bit. If he wins, he’s still going to be much, much better for business than Ritter was, which will be good for all of us.
What’s the deal with this Palin fixation you guys have I said months ago that I didn’t think she’s ready for office, but will be a great fundraiser for us (kind of like Obama after 2012).
You are kidding yourself if you don’t think it’s a big deal that a Republican just took Kennedy’s seat.
How are things up in the hills, btw? I’m itching to get up to the cabin and to a little x-country skiing, but I’ve been so stupid busy…
It’s just that she’s such an easy target. The Tonya Harding of politics. Don’t know what to write? You can always right something about Palin, cause there’s always something there.
But I didn’t write it.
Republicans provide the alternative people will get behind? As long as both parties fail to get things done–and I tend to blame the obstructionist GOP here more, but not completely–then the electorate will continue to vote them out of office–GOP and Democrat.
There is another valance, besides the 20th Century polarity of conservative v liberal, and that is the disgust and frustration that most people have vis a vis politics as usual.
Successful candidates will tap into that frustration and successful politicians will heed it, at least some. I contend that politicians from both conservative and liberal camps could exploit this.
Coakley was a poor candidate. If the Dems think that they are entitled to anything anywhere then they will see a bleak 2010.
If the GOP thinks the TeaPartiers–and, to a lesser extent, Palin–represent party loyalty, then they too are in for some schooling. Dancing with these folks is not a good strategy, at least for GOP leadership.
The NY 23 seat, held by R’s for 100+ years, now a D seat, means the doom of the R Party. (thank you, Palin and teabaggers) And do you like Hickenlooper enough to vote for him as you liked Obama enough to vote for him?
“The days of McCain and McInnis are over.” -Don Bain, former chairman of the Colorado Republican Party
That race is unique. The D in that race was running to the right of the fake-ass Republican, Scozzofava. She endorsed the D after she dropped out, and that was the difference.
She supported card check, for crying out loud. That seat will be back in R hands in two years. Watch.
Who’s better off in the end? The R’s winning back NY23 or the D’s winning back the Senate seat? Small victories….
This fall is going to be every bit the bloodbath for Dems that 2006 was for the Rs.
“Aw, shucks…”
This is a whole different ballgame for the governor’s race now.
Ritter wouldn’t have had that panache. Ritter’s a good man, but Hick’s a natural.
Then he has only himself to blame that Hick gets all the press. Ellie or someone else from the McInnis campaign – what was the other event that was more important than this?
he’s sunk.
🙂
He must have been sucking on Kathy Hall’s fracing fluid. How in the world can he believe that he is the one who can tell a private organization who they can or cannot invite as a speaker. If Scooty thought COGA was important enough, he would have attended. Mcinnis giving the finger to COGA smacks of Gardner ignoring Veterans.
Penry obviously does not want his own mendacity or the McInnis lies to be exposed.
“Three or four years from now, we’re not going to have a conversation about jobs and all of that kind of stuff.” -Scott McInnis
Hickenlooper displays a politically brilliant move, and Penry looks foolish (yet again).
…the science geek pwns the jock.
More of this please.
Penry is slowly but surely losing any relevance he might have had, in a couple of years he will be all but forgotten.
after his term is over. He’s still among the brightest and most eloquent politicians the state GOP has, which might not be saying much.
I’m sure that’s not the last time we’ll hear that one.
Let me give it the ol’ Penry charm:
Besides that, “he’s ridiculous,” as was accurately observed by a Der Spiegel reporter.
behind this. And now the CDPHE head is an avowed believer in science. Clearly, tyranny has arrived.
With Penry chastising COGA’s new president, isn’t that like biting the hand that feeds you? Bet the lap dog got a midnight call from his master’s campaign.
Campaign tip: McDrill’s MO is never to be in the same room as his opponent.