Moderate Re-Set

The Denver Post has an interesting article today about Republican Colorado gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis, arguing that he has become more conservative over time.  In working with and watching McInnis' congressional office in the 1990s, I found him to be a thoughtful legislator who listened to his district, and was a practical moderate in the Western tradition.  My question:  will the conservative mood of the country and the West re-set the moderate line a little further to the right?  

Will Romanoff Play a Role in Stopping the Democratic Wave He Started?

Colorado's Democrats were ahead of  the 2008 national Democratic wave, putting Democrats in the majority in the statehouse and electing a Democratic U.S. Senator in 2004, electing a Democratic Governor in 2006, and replacing a second Republican U.S. Senator in 2008. As a young state representative, Andrew Romanoff was a leader in that 2004 wave.  But as he challenges U.S. Senator Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary -- with tough internecine warfare -- this once golden boy may become a negative force for Democrats.  I found Dana Milbank's column in the Washington Post today an interesting inside peek at Romanoff -- and it's not terribly flattering.   Seems to me that with his slash and burn tactics Romanoff is helping to stop the wave he was so instrumental in starting.  

Call in the best and brighest on Gulf oil "spill"

Let's face it:  BP has proved it is unable to stop the fountain of oil polluting the Gulf of Mexico, and it is way past time that others are called in to take charge.  This event is no "spill".  It is an unmitigated three-week-old environmental disaster spoiling the waters off Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida with thousands of gallons of oil a day.  Where are the Navy Seals, the Corps of Engineers, an emergency panel of the best engineering minds in the country convened by the President?  Enough of the stories about BP once again failing to stop the flow, and who will pay for the cleanup.  I'm looking for decisive and aggressive response from the government, not a reliance on  BP to get it done.

And Elena Makes Three

It's a great sign of progress that Elena Kagan's gender is almost a footnote in her nomination.  To date, women on the court have been a novelty rather than the norm.  Trailblazer and westerner Sandra Day O'Connor was nominated by President Reagan to the Supreme Court 29 years ago (1981), over 200 years into our country's history; twelve years later (1993), the second female justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was confirmed. Sonia Sotomayor came 16 years later (2009).  And now Kagan in 2010. If confirmed, that brings the total of women on the Court to three.   It's not quite yet commonplace, but the momentum feels great.