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UPDATE: It’s important to note Michael Hancock’s statement on last night’s debate:

Tonight at the Denver Democratic Party Debate, during a quick-fire round of Yes/No questions, the candidates were asked, “Do you believe Creationism and Intelligent Design should be taught in schools?” Michael misunderstood the question and answered “Yes.”

Michael released the following statement to clarify his position:

“While I am a man of great faith, I believe Creationism and Intelligent Design are religious beliefs that have no place in a public school curriculum. The best place for religion to be taught is at home or a place of worship.”

Hancock says he misunderstood the question. We think that’s possible — these rapid-fire yes/no debate questions can get kind of muddy — but this is the second time now that Hancock has essentially affirmed his belief in creationism. Either way, Hancock should be able to answer a yes/no question without getting confused. What makes this even more priceless is that just three days ago, Hancock released this statement about Romer:

“Voters should be concerned by how quickly Romer will alter an entire policy position just for the sake of a political endorsement,” said spokeswoman Amber Miller.” “If the people of Denver cannot count on Romer to stay steady for only four weeks as a political candidate, how can they count on him to stay steady for four years as mayor?”

So Hancock calls Romer out for changing a policy position, and then just a handful of days later, does the same thing overnight?

Keep paying attention, folks. The back and forth between the candidates is only going to get worse.

Original post follows.

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We knew that Michael Hancock‘s previous statements on whether or not he believes in evolution would prove to be a minor chink in his armor. That is to say that we didn’t expect Romer to attack Hancock on the issue, but we knew it would upset some progressives.

Last night, however, at the Denver Young Dems Mayoral Forum at East High School, Hancock made his views open to attack. And attack Chris Romer has:

ON VIDEO, MICHAEL HANCOCK SAYS YES TO TEACHING CREATIONISM AND INTELLIGENT DESIGN IN DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS

(Denver) – Statement from the Romer campaign:

“Chris Romer believes real science, not creationism, should be taught in Denver schools, especially as we strive to improve math and science proficiency among Denver students. Both candidates were asked the question whether creationism and intelligent design should be taught in Denver public schools clearly by the moderator. Chris Romer said no. Michael Hancock said yes.”

Transcript:

Moderator: Should creationism or intelligent design be taught in Denver Public Schools?

Hancock: yes

Romer: no

Folks, we don’t think that a candidate’s religious views should define them as a candidate. However, the Mayor does serve as Denver’s chief public policymaker. When Hancock states that he would like to see creationism taught in public schools, we can only assume that is a view he would share when elected Mayor and when he would have the ability to create public policy.

Whether or not creationism should be taught in schools is an issue on its own. However, Hancock did open himself up to attack with his answer last night, and Romer’s doing the smart thing: by targeting Hancock on an issue that progressives hate, Romer’s hoping to lessen progressive support for Hancock. That attack point may sway former Linkhart and Mejia supporters who haven’t made up their mind yet, and that’s support that Romer needs.