Yet Another Test

Here's another test for Democrats closer to home. There is one Democratic candidate for governor right now. One. But Democrats are lukewarm. Why? Because he is self identified as pro-life (he's Catholic) and he failed to indict some police officers after some community shootings. Having lived under the Owens cloud in Colorado for the last 3 years I just have to ask -- what do you have to be smoking to not want a Democratic governor now? Do you honestly believe that Bob Beauprez or Mark Holtzman, they of the unstatemanlike positions to defend TABOR at all costs, even minor reforms like that currently on the ballot, will do a better job for the state? A Denver Post story over the weekend outlines Ritter's problems. I don't know the guy and don't know if he will make a good candidate. If you want to encourage someone else to get into the race, fine, do that. But if he is our candidate I don't see how you walk away from this race. For one thing, until the Court overturns Roe V Wade, the governor's position on it is irrelevant. Second, the handling of those shooting was done from a legal perspective and say nothing about the kind of governor Ritter will be -- the job is completely different. A local activist in the Latino community puts it best:

"'He didn't do what I wanted him to do (in the Lobato case), but it's not a deal-breaker for me,' Baca said. 'If you want to win the governor's race, let's grow up and look at the big picture.' "

Democrats should start holding people's feet to the fire on certain issues over which there should be no compromise - that form the core values of the Party. But our fate as a Party depends on whether those issues are narrowly cast like "Choice without limits" or broadly cast like "progressive taxation."