December 17, 2009 09:07 PM UTC

The Way Things Used To Be

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• by: Colorado Pols

A glimpse of the good old days, as the Denver Post reports:

Prominent Republicans are favoring Denver lawyer John Walsh III for the job of Colorado’s U.S. attorney and have written letters supporting his nomination to Democratic Sen. Mark Udall.

Walsh was one of three names submitted by Udall and former Sen. Ken Salazar to the White House in January, but President Barack Obama didn’t nominate him…

Former Colorado U.S. Attorney Troy Eid wrote a letter to Udall on Tuesday that said Walsh is “ethical and a person of unimpeachable character and integrity.”

“I know from my own experience that United States Attorneys are entrusted with tremendous power over life and property,” Eid wrote.

“Colorado’s chief law enforcement leader must act in an ethical and nonpartisan way that’s beyond reproach. Our civil rights and community safety are at stake.”

Former Republican state Sen. Norma Anderson said she sent an e-mail to Udall’s office supporting Walsh.

Anderson has known Walsh for quite a few years and said he is “unbiased (and) open- minded and works well with both parties.”

“We’re not going to get a Republican appointed, so why not take the best of the Democrats?” she said.

Take careful note of that last from Norma Anderson, who we certainly don’t always see eye-to-eye with but remains a fixture in moderate Republican politics. That used to be how things worked for the minority party. A realization that the majority is going to drive the agenda, so the best course is to cooperate, improve the deal, and offer conditional support. Thats how it’s supposed to work.

But it’s not the world we live in anymore: not in Washington, and certainly not in Colorado with Josh Penry as Senate Minority Leader.  What could Republicans, just as one example, have done with FASTER had they been willing to offer a few more votes in exchange for moderating the bill–relaxing late penalties for seasonal vehicles, or giving counties more discretion in imposing fines?  If they had really been interested in ‘protecting citizens,’ that would have been the bargain.  But they weren’t. They wanted contrast–they wanted an electoral issue in 2010.

Like we said, we won’t always agree, and come election time there’s no question that sides will be taken, and every advantage pressed. But when it comes time to govern, to do right by the people who elect them, there are too few Norma Andersons remaining in Colorado.