CO-Sen: Romanoff to Challenge Bennet; Buck Out, Norton Likely In

Lots of big moves in the Colorado Senate race to report.

First, comes the big whopper. After Michael Bennet appeared to succeed in deterring any primary challengers from emerging in the many months since his appointment, former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff is going to take the plunge, according to the Denver Post:

Former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff is poised to mount a Democratic primary campaign against Sen. Michael Bennet.

Urged to challenge Gov. Bill Ritter as he seeks re-election in 2010, Romanoff has instead turned his attention to next year's U.S. Senate race, sources close to Romanoff told The Denver Post. One source reported that Romanoff offered a campaign position to a veteran Democratic strategist.

Romanoff could not be reached for comment Friday night, but several people close to him said they expect him to announce next month.

Wally Stealey, a longtime lobbyist and political mover in Pueblo, said Romanoff called him Friday morning to tell him he had decided to run.

Romanoff was apparently under a lot of pressure from labor officials and activists to challenge Gov. Bill Ritter in the Democratic primary. (Ritter, as you may be aware, has utterly poisoned his relationship with organized labor in the state by issuing veto after veto of union-backed legislation.) It seems that Romanoff considers the fresh outta prep-school Bennet to be the easier target. While Bennet hasn't been awful in office, he hasn't exactly endeared himself to anyone in particular yet, either. This will be a primary well worth watching.

On the GOP side of the equation, it looks like the race is beginning to streamline around the NRSC's pick, former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton. With Bob Beauprez's drop-out still fresh in the press, it appears that Weld County DA Ken Buck is also going to pull the plug on his candidacy on Monday, clearing another obstacle for Norton. Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier is still in the race, but his fundraising has been well below par, as is unknown businessman Cleve Tidwell. Former state Sen. Tom Wiens may also make a race of it, but there's little doubt that he's under pressure to stay out.

http://www.swingstateproject.com/diary/5494/cosen-romanoff-to-challenge-bennet-buck-out-norton-likely-in

I'll admit I've warmed to Bennet a bit, since he seems to be decently in support of the public option, but at the same time, I haven't forgotten Bennet's vote against bankruptcy reform. He needs something like this to make him earn his seat. That's what primaries are for - making sure Democrats don't stray too far from the party base. Besides, he needs to be tested before he runs against a Republican - we don't want him dropped into a live general election without finding out if he can win.

And hey, Romanoff's a solid guy - I was hoping Ritter would pick him for the seat.

Archbishop Chaput, an enemy of President Obama, who claims to be a Democrat but has opposed every Democratic presidential candidate since being appointed a bishop, has come out with outright distortions concerning health care reform. In his weekly column in response to a British Catholic Journal article that encouraged Catholics to salvage Obama's health care plan for the common good he states that these ignorant people that don't live in the United States those "...same pious voices that once criticized U.S. Catholics for supporting a previous president now sound very much like acolytes of a new president...And fourth, the growing misuse of Catholic "common ground" and "common good" language in the current health-care debate can only stem from one of two sources: ignorance or cynicism.

Now here is the kicker: He states an out right lie taken from the Republican talking points. "No system that allows or helps fund-no matter how subtly or indirectly-the killing of unborn children, or discrimination against the elderly and persons with special needs, ca bill itself as "common ground." Doing so is a lie.

The fact of the matter he is the one who is the liar. He went on to include a lengthy letter he had received from a couple on the East Coast whose second child was born with Down syndrome. The mother outlined the special needs of the child concludes that she fears that reform would jeopardize the heath care plan that they enjoy. Of course they could afford insurance, but want if any regard from the millions that can not. Screw them, we have ours and don't in anyway jeopardize our comfortable position. What Chaput and this selfish couple fail to present is any facts that their insurance would be threaten.

What was Chaput's response directly after the conclusion of the letter? He writes, "Of course, President Obama isn't the first leader to make clumsy gaffes." He is one of the reasons that I will never again step inside a Catholic Church. It, like the Republican Party, has been taken over by extremists. In the case of the Catholic Church it is the Opus Dei cult of fanatics and if given their choice they would gladly destroy the Republic and create a theocracy that would be a return to the Dark Ages.

Sometimes it appears to be hopeless.

One of the smartest people I've ever met.

saw him at the park one day and encouraged him to challenge Bennett - he said then, he was thinking about it.

Bennett may be popular with his rich friends, but the rest of us are not impressed so far.

so I'm thrilled about Andrew Romanoff - he's a great guy and I think he'll really shine. Bennett's been a milquetoast and gets railed on by not taking a stand. Romanoff seems very decisive on the otherhand and I think I'm gonna have to do some volunteering for his campaign. Thanks for the news!

Not happy with Ritter, either.

Hopefully we can get a challenge to him also.

He is brilliant. I hope he runs. He has my support.