(crossposted at Daily Kos)
Among the Senate Vacancy appointments this year, Colorado's Michael Bennet by Dem Governor Ritter surprised many.
Bennet was not in the top ten or twenty for possible selections for the vacancy, puzzling democratic activists.
As a Senator, Bennet quickly upset democrats by joining a centrist group of Senators headed by Evan Bayh, which was quickly labeled the "Conservadems" by Rachel Maddow. My main concern on this group was their vocal support for blocking Climate Change legislation.
But, I did not become vocal about this curious Senate appointment until I heard the number of complaints from rural democratic party members across the state. Their voices were united in wishing the Governor had appointed outgoing Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.
Now, it seems he has heard enough from Democratic supporters to jump into the Senate race as the Denver Post Reports. Update - Nate Silver
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com...
Overall, this seems like a win-win for Democrats. If Bennet holds on, and that is more likely than not, he'll have gained some experience as a campaigner and may become a stronger general election candidate. If Bennet proves to be too wet behind the ears, the Democrats will have a capable candidate in Romanoff to replace him. And in the meantime, even if the challenge is not explicitly on ideological grounds, Bennet will be under increased pressure to toe the party line, potentially giving the Democrats one less headache on issues like health care and the climate bill.
This highlights my main argument as I stated here to RSB:
It is my humble hope that this primary will force Bennet and Romanoff to say where they stand on the issues that are important to Democrats - especially the Progressive democrats.
My own gripe is that the Conservadem movement will be part of the hold up of any meaningful Climate Change legislation - and the legislation they would stand in the way of, does not go nearly far enough to stop some of the catastrophes our planet faces.
Will Romanoff step up? don't know - will it make Bennet define himself for the party - yes.
Voters will benefit in this case.
Former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff is poised to mount a Democratic primary campaign against Sen. Michael Bennet.
Urged to challenge Gov. Bill Ritter as he seeks re-election in 2010, Romanoff has instead turned his attention to the U.S. Senate race, sources told the Denver Post. One source reported that Romanoff offered a campaign position to a veteran Democratic strategist.
Romanoff could not be reached for comment on Friday night.
People close to Romanoff, 44, said the former House Speaker will make an announcement next month.
A source said Romanoff would need to keep the support of people who had pledged to back him if he challenged Ritter. Labor officials, in particular, have expressed displeasure with Ritter over several controversial vetoes and were eager to funnel money toward a primary challenge.
Governor Ritter has been very troubling to Democrats. First he replaced our Latino Senator Ken Salazar with an unknown white male when perhaps a latino could have been selected.
(Ritter did not select the DPS vacancy)
Next, Ritter vetoed 2 labor bills in a row, which has earned him more disapproval among the base.
It also did not help Senator Bennet to have no response on his support for Employee Free Choice Act in this video with Darcy Burner and David Canter - candidate for CO-6 - which created this fairly negative ad by fellow democrats.
Maddow on the Conservadems:
I hope this primary challenge by Andrew Romanoff will give voters a chance to vote for a more progressive democrat.
Join Andrew's volunteer's facebook page here or his volunteers webpage here
Disclaimer: I am just a simple blogger,no affiliation with Andrew Romanoff in any capacity.
