November 24, 2009 11:59 PM UTC

Head, Meet Brick Wall. Commence Banging

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• by: Colorado Pols

We’ve been tough on Democrat Andrew Romanoff and his bizarre campaign for U.S. Senate, but we’re not saying anything that a lot of political observers aren’t.

Romanoff continues to be silent in terms of any sort of platform — hell, we haven’t even seen talking points — that mention what he believes in and why you should vote for him over incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet. While Bennet makes national headlines with his bold statement that he would risk losing his seat over his vote on health care reform, Romanoff says…nothing. About anything. (Well, except for talking about how he’s a leader and stuff, which is, in a word, pointless).

The criticism aimed at Romanoff’s campaign has largely been about the total absence of any position, yet inexplicably he keeps feeding the beast. Witness, if you will, an email sent today from the campaign with this headline” “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

We’d normally make a joke here, but this narrative has gone from amusing and ironic to confusing to just, well, just plain sad. A candidate criticized for not having a position on anything sends out an email with the headline “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Are they trying to look silly?

Full text of said email below.

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

I was reminded of that line today when I read about the GOP’s new Contract with Colorado, dubiously dubbed the “Platform for Prosperity.”  We should educate our workforce, rebuild our roads and bridges, and save for a rainy day, the platform says – but we don’t want to pay for it.

Click here to call their bluff.

This is not a new trick.  It’s one of the oldest in the political playbook: Promise the voters anything they want, and then hope that no one bothers to do the math before the election.

Such short-sighted schemes are one of the reasons our economy is ailing.  It’s the same sort of fact-free snake oil that so many seductive salesmen – from politicians to predatory lenders – have been peddling.  

Instant gratification, by definition, doesn’t last.  And the side effects can be devastating: ever-deepening debt, rising foreclosure rates, a crumbling infrastructure.

We can do better.  We can put an end to partisan gamesmanship.  We can demand leaders who solve problems rather than point fingers or pick fights – and we can hold those leaders accountable.

Principled leadership.  That’s what I’ve sought to provide for the past eight years, first as a state legislator and then as speaker of the House.  It’s what I’ll bring to the U.S. Senate.  The stakes we face are too high to settle – or fall – for anything less.