KNOW THIS: The State of State Politics: Anatomy of a Campaign: Colorado Senate Race
October 28, 2009
The Know Something Project explores issues of interest and concern to the general public. As the political landscape begins to shift toward the critical 2010 mid-term elections, our focus shifts to what goes on behind the scenes in political circles. Of top interest: How the pressures so often placed on candidates from the powers-that-be within their own party and the big money interests who have no allegiance to anything but personal gain impact not only who gets nominated and elected, but what a politician must do while in office to retain that office.
As Coloradoans, we are immediately concerned with and intrigued by the power players in our own state. For this reason, we will begin this series of articles on the impact of state politics with a look at what’s going on in our own backyard. We are also interested in how much out-of-state “big money” interests control or try to control Colorado elections.
As Americans, we know what happens at home also plays out in states across the country. The truly democratic system of electing public servants is in jeopardy everywhere. We not only believe but know this constitutes a threat to the public good, especially as the demands of the American public for reasonable solutions to the multiple wars and financial crises that have literally destroyed lives in the U.S. and abroad continue to be ignored.
But it all starts at the local level. For this reason, we’ll begin our series by analyzing a campaign currently at the forefront of Colorado politics: The campaign for the Senate seat currently held by former Denver Schools Superintendent and governor-appointed Senator Michael Bennet.
Bennet was appointed by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter earlier this year when former Senator Ken Salazar was sworn in as Secretary of the Interior. Bennet was not elected to fill this seat. He also was not required to file any personal financial disclosures OR state his positions on topics as critical to the general public as our involvement in Iraq and our strategies regarding the worldwide financial meltdown our own banks had triggered. This appointment, as a result, led to many questions and concerns among Coloradoans, including us. We responded with a post on Appointments versus Elections on our sister site, Imagine A Great Election.
Unfortunately, news of Bennet’s appointment did not result in a public uproar loud enough to stop it. And since taking office, Bennet has voted against legislation upon which President Obama campaigned. One important plank of Obama’s candidacy was to allow judges to consider mortgages in personal bankruptcy so individuals can be protected from creditors in the same manner in which big businesses such as GM are protected. Senator Bennet voted with the Big Banks against the troubled homeowner. In doing so, he joined other self-defined Blue Dog Democrats to defeat needed legislation and supported the financial institutions who gambled with the public’s savings and trust through risky ventures. The junior appointed senator also voted to allow concealed weapons to be carried across state lines. Meanwhile, until he was challenged to a primary run-off, he failed to support a public option in the proposed national healthcare bill. If such leanings had been made clear prior to his appointment, perhaps Bennet—a politician with no previous experience holding an elected office—would not have been appointed due to significant public protests, especially in a state capital with a Democratic base that had been fired up by a recent wildly successful Democratic National Convention.
But Bennet’s positions remained unknown since he was not required to disclose them. Is it possible Governor Ritter was pressured to appoint Bennet? Now that Bennet’s positions are known, will Coloradoans vote him out of office just as quickly as he was appointed? Or will Bennet’s in- and out-of-state connections to big money interests provide him with enough campaign funds to buy the primary? As we follow 2010 mid-term election campaigns across the country, we’ll continue to consider what led to the appointment of Michael Bennet to Ken Salazar’s vacant Senate seat and what needs to be changed so such appointments—with no public input—no longer represent the way national leaders are named…in Colorado or any other state.
—Sherry Seiber
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