October 27, 2009 06:58 PM UTC

Romanoff v. Bennet... Is Either a Strong Candidate?

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• by: cunninjo

I think many Colorado Democrats, like me, have yet to make up their mind in the senate primary. It seems like both Michael Bennet and Andrew Romanoff have their predictable bases in order. Bennet has captured the ‘Obama can do nothing wrong’ crowd primarily because OFA has been campaigning for Bennet since the appointment, and we all know about the Obama endorsement. Romanoff’s camp is filled with many of his former colleagues and folks that helped the Democrats capture the majority in the state a few years ago. These simplistic reasons of support are strictly political and have virtually nothing to do with which candidate can be a stronger U.S. Senator.

I’m having a hard time deciding between the two, myself. On one side I see a guy who has been handed everything his whole life and I’m worried he can’t win a state-wide election. On the other hand I see a guy who is a career politician at the local level, but can’t seem to attract much wide-spread support (particularly financial) across the state, or really differentiate himself from his opponent.  

Michael Bennet comes across to me as a guy who can’t relate to the average Coloradan. He grew up on the east coast with wealthy parents. He went to a top private grade school, then on to a private university that his father would later be President of, which surely helped him get into Yale Law. His father was very connected inside the beltway in DC. Bennet’s father hooked him up with a job in the Clinton Administration which probably looked pretty good on his resume when applying for the Anschutz job. Now to his credit, Bennet did work his way up in that company. That shows some ambition and drive. But, then his east coast connections got him the job as Hickenlooper’s Chief of Staff, the man who later helped him get the DPS Superintendent appointment. From there he was yet again ‘appointed’ to the U.S. Senate. Now his big selling point is that he has filled Ted Kennedy’s seat on the HELP committee. But, this just seems like another political maneuver. Did he earn that seat, or did he just benefit from the death of his predecessor? Or is it that the HELP committee was only significant because Sen. Kennedy made it significant? Prior to Kennedy’s tenure, that committee was pretty low on the influence totem pole.

The rebel challenger Andrew Romanoff undoubtedly knows how to make political friends. You have to if you want to be Speaker of the House. But he has never run for anything beyond a historically democratic house district. I was intrigued by Romanoff when he first announced and wanted to hear what he had to say. But then he didn’t say anything. He’s never stated why he’s a better choice than Bennet. He has no clear message. If you’re going to gamble on a primary challenge, you better have something important to say.

I, like many others, was not happy about the Bennet appointment. I was disgusted by the charade of wanting the people’s input and then choosing a person that surely was not on anyone’s list. It screamed back-room deal to me, and with Bennet’s history of political dealings, I’m sure it was.

But, for the same reason Bennet should not be anointed the nominee, Romanoff shouldn’t either. Just because he is not Michael Bennet doesn’t make him a strong candidate. He is very poised and charismatic. But with no message, you have to be concerned.