As we have following every general election in Colorado since 2004, we're getting to the time of year when we start recapping the major events and personalities that defined the recently-concluded 2014 midterms. Over the next few weeks, we'll release our winners and losers of the 2014 elections, more about the role of the media in shaping both the electorate and public perceptions of candidates, and other storylines important to understanding everything that happened this eventful year.
Naturally, the discussion that takes place among our readers is an important part of our reckoning of events. This year, we want to acknowledge the one man or woman in Colorado politics who made the greatest impact–for good or ill–on our state's political history and future course of events. And we'll start by putting the question to our readers: who do you think is the Person of the Year in Colorado politics, and why?
We yield the floor.
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Everybody's going to take the easy way out and say Gardner, but I think Hickenlooper surviving the GOP wave tells a more important story.
Maybe they could be co-important. Gardner's win was huge for the Secessionists. Now they can feel like real Americans are in control again. Huge unifier for the white, fundamentalist minority out on the Plains. Hickenlooper, like Frank Sinatra, did it his way and won which caused untold grief among the Gun Fetish Idolaters. Both were big stories afirming and repudiating the doctrine of the righteous right.
Hick, no doubt. Gardner won a race in a year that favored Republicans against a democratic candidate that ran a crappy campaign. If anything, he should have won by a larger margin. Hick, on the other hand, won with the odds against him against a candidate that ran a respectable campaign.
Can I put in a presumptive pick for 2015? Dr. Chaps.
That would be my choice — as well as a strong future candidate for Person of the Millenia in Colorado politics.
he barely ranks among the numerous crackpots given office by the state's most conservative voters: Betty Beedy, Chuck whatzizname, Doug(las) Bruce, oh man…….and I've only been here since the 90s.
So many nut jobs, so little space. There's was Charlie Duke who used to have auditory hallucinations which he characterized as "the cackling of the beast."
There was Maryanne Tebedo. There was Kevin Tebedo. There was the Tebedo daughter who refused to obtain or possess a driver's license because it was excessive regulation.
There was the former mayor who insulted the gay and lesbian community immediately after Amendment Two passed when the bar association wanted him to explicitly tell the gay and lesbian they would be welcome to attend.
There was Will Perkins. There was Reverend Ted Haggard with crystal meth, man-whore and Bible in hand.
There's Doug Lamborn.
There's Terry Maketa.
Look at that list. Chaps is not all that odd…..
There was Dave Schultheis. There is Kevin Lundberg, Kent Lambert, and various crazies in the state House GOP caucus, too. Way-out right-wingers are not that unusual in Colorado.
Lundborg's body is actually from Loveland-Berthoud area, but in his heart, he belongs in the theocracy of El Paso County.
Thanks for reminding me of Schultheis. He was another piece of work…..
Tancredo was one of the cadre' we called the House Crazies back in the day. They were a caucus by themselves.
By 1978 standards, there were crazy. Standing next to the nut jobs today, the House crazies from back then were absolutely bland and vanilla.
I don't think either of those yutzes qualify. Gardner's handlers mayb,e since they built the roadmap for him to smile and lie his way to victory. Hick won because he's perceived as a genial fellow without any particular "fancy" ideas– the "aw shucks" road to office.
I think it has to be Mark "but Mom, he's lyyying" Fourteener
UterusUdall, whose campaign for a directorship on the Planned Parenthood board was likely a success, and good thing too, since the Senate is no longer an option. He might have run a good campaign and won, but, instead, neither of those things happened.P, I have to agree with you. Udall is the clear winner.
Hickenlooper. He took a courageous stance against the death penalty, even though this has been viewed by the CW as political suicide; stuck to his guns on this stance while under attack; more or less refused to campaign negatively; and took the high road while Both Ways engaged in nasty personal attacks. And he kicked Both Ways' ass in a "wave" year.
What the …? Commutation would have been a courageous stance and would have shouted out that Hick believed that the state has no right killing its citizens. Hick didn't take a stand, he took a sit, rose for a second, and sat back down saying, "Oh, never mind."
I respectfully disagree. As someone who has been fighting the death penalty for over 20 years, I studied Hickenlooper's reprieve ruling carefully–as well as his follow-up. The reprieve order demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the issues surrounding capital punishment, and the deep structural problems with capital punishment. Here is a link to the reprieve order. In the order, Hickenlooper lays out a strong case for the conclusion that the death penalty is arbitrary, flawed, and unfair–in essence, irretrievably broken.
While I would have strongly preferred commutation of Dunlap's sentence to LWOP, Hickenlooper's action–and his willingness to publicly oppose the death penalty, even though a (shrinking) majority of voters continue to support it–took political courage. I suspect we will see an abolition bill coming up, with Hickenlooper's support, in 2016 (if they can get one Republican vote in the Senate) or 2017.
Yes, he did make the case against capital punishment. And then he ignored the obvious conclusion, commutation. I'm not saying anything about whether his reasoning was flawed. I think it wasn't. I'm also not prepared to call "courageous" the taking of half measures. Commute the sentence and then stand for election having shown what you're made of. Then you can be courageous. Absent that, you're hedging your bets.
He made his case and then left the inmate for the next guy to kill. He lacks the courage of his convictions. Saying, "oh he would have commuted the sentence if he lost," only points out the political nature of his decision and his unwillingness to do the right thing at the moment he knew it was right.
I'm sorry, I simply disagree with you. I'll save my plaudits for those who genuinely risk something by standing up.
I hope I'm right; and that Hickenlooper leads the effort to abolish the death penalty in Colorado. I also hope that he does the right thing by commuting the sentences of the 3 men on death row–all of whom are African-American, all of whom were under 21 at the time of the crimes, all of whom were prosecuted by the same District Attorney's office, and all of whom even went to the same high school–before he leaves office.
But, as a lifelong progressive Democrat, I am used to being disappointed by politicians in my party.
Commutation? That's scheduled for next month.
The sign of a good leader is someone who can get out front of the crowd, but not too far out front.
How about nominating Chuck Plunkett for having the greatest impact on Colorado politics this year?
And Mike Rosen. I'm pretty sure he would nominate himself.
Cory Gardner – no doubt about it. For a major statewide campaign, he started late but was still able to raise sufficient funds and put together a campaign that hit the right note for a majority of voters and above all he read the tea leaves correctly as the campaign developed.
Yeah, I hate to admit it, but it is Cory Gardner. His impressive campaign surprised everyone, and showed Republicans how to win in purple states. The Dems had better figure out a better way to counter the combination of being genial and charming, and flat-out denying anything inconvenient, like past and present political views.
How about if they ran on their economic accomplishments instead of getting stuck in the tar patch of social extremism allegations? How about if they offer a full throated defense of the president and his progressive policies? How about if they took some pride in being Democrats?
Yep, Gardner … as disappointing as that is to write.
Barack Obama…
A huge number of people voted against him, even though he wasn’t running…
Republicans were smart not to start impeachment proceedings, or it would have completely reversed the natural undertow from a sixth-year presidency.
I know. They got the memo from Newt Gingrich re: what happened in 1998.
Cory Gardner defined the year in Colorado politics. Cory broke us out of the Democratic stranglehold. His fresh positive message destroyed the Democrats fake war on women. Cory Gardner is a 21st Century Republican who points the way to a proud conservative future for Colorado and America.
You can repeat your success in '16 by choosing amongst Ken Buck, Doug Lamborn, Scott Tipton, and Coffman for your next nominee. Unless you want to go w/ Both Ways, Wayne Williams, the Bush Cousin or Cynthia L.N.U.
You do have a deep bench. I grant you that.
With the exception of Beauprez, all of those Republicans won this year.
You were saying?
Just wondering which of them you'd prefer to take on Bennet in '16? I imagine it's a tough choice. I'd narrow it down to Lamborn, Williams and Tipton.
Lamborn. Please, God, make it Lamborn!