February 19, 2010 11:00 PM UTC

Andrew Romanoff is a GREAT GUY....

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• by: peacemonger

I was very disturbed to hear from a friend that some ardent Romanoff campaign insiders are accusing me of blogging under more than one name, and saying negative things about Andrew Romanoff and his closest supporters. I don’t. I haven’t. I wouldn’t. I am offended by the gossip.

For the record, Andrew Romanoff is a great guy. The State of Colorado is a better place because of his hard work, dedication, principles, leadership, and vision. There isn’t a single Democrat I know in this state who doesn’t agree. If you don’t believe me, listen to Senator Bennet say it himself here. Clip from Denver Young Dems Debate

All of my criticism of his campaign, his timing, and his advisors, is just that. None of it lessens my respect for Andrew Romanoff, the Former Speaker of the House in CO. (Oh, and while we are on the subject — he has a Damn good website, too.)

Senator Michael Bennet apparently agrees that his opponent is someone who deserves our respect — he said as much at the DYD debate on Tuesday. Senator Bennet’s record closely mirrors the beliefs and principles of our Former Speaker. It is truly unfortunate these two strong progressive leaders are running against each other, rather than joining forces to affect real and lasting change.

On that note, the whiney emails and irrational videos put out by the Romanoff campaign and/or its surrogates, I am guessing, were not Speaker Romanoff’s doing. They are not consistent with the kind of person we all admired during the last decade at the State Capitol. They are consistent with Fox-news style campaign tactics, and the displaced anger of a few people who prefer to scapegoat Senator Michael Bennet than examine what kind of message will help us all to unite again under one banner.  

Andrew never should have jumped into a race nine  months after his opponent — many of us here told him that, and he wouldn’t listen. Andrew also shouldn’t have chosen to go negative — that was a costly mistake in a state that prides itself on independent thought. Andrew made some very unfortunate campaign decisions in hiring Caddell and Trippi. Andrew’s refusal to accept PAC money in this political climate, while admirable for its idealism, is foolish. We can’t change the system unless our guys (or women) are in office and have a vote. It’s that simple.

As Senator Mark Udall pointed out at the Obama/Bennet rally on Thursday, the reality is, it takes a lot of cash to win a Senate race in Colorado. We may not like that reality, but the alternative is having a Republican like Jane Norton decimate our schools, our environment, our social safety nets, our diversity, and our way of life in Colorado. Are we willing to take a chance to let that happen?

Colorado — if Andrew Romanoff drops out of this race and jumps in early into another at some point in the future, I hope you will join me in working to get him elected then. The 2010 Senate race is not his race, but another one down the road may be his to claim.  

Who’s with me?