{"id":19008,"date":"2010-10-26T08:27:35","date_gmt":"2010-10-26T14:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=19008"},"modified":"2010-10-26T08:27:35","modified_gmt":"2010-10-26T14:27:35","slug":"why-im-voting-for-michael-bennet-and-john-hickenlooper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/10\/26\/why-im-voting-for-michael-bennet-and-john-hickenlooper.html","title":{"rendered":"Why I’m voting for Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper"},"content":{"rendered":"

I already did my ballot<\/a> proposition<\/a> analysis for Colorado this year.\u00a0 Now I’ll (briefly) tell you how I’m voting on our major state candidates this year.<\/p>\n

For Senate: Michael Bennet<\/h2>\n
\"Michael<\/a>
Michael Bennet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Campaign site<\/a> | Senatorial site<\/a> | Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>\n

I am not a huge Michael Bennet fan.<\/p>\n

Bennet was appointed to his position when Obama appointed Ken Salazar to be Interior Secretary.\u00a0 From the beginning, he tried to show he was “independent” of the Washington establishment and the Democrats, though he eventually came through on most votes.\u00a0 He is, by all accounts, a centrist Democrat (by sentiment or design). I find myself irked (not outraged, but irked) by him as often as not, and there are any number of candidates I’d prefer, but I don’t particularly dislike him. Damning with faint praise, I suppose that is.<\/p>\n

Bennet, though,\u00a0 has one huge, massive, undeniable thing going for him as candidate for the US Senate: he’s not Ken Buck<\/em>. Buck, who was the surprise candidate for the GOP\u00a0 is on the list of top crazy radical conservative Tea Partistas on the national ballot this year.\u00a0 Electing this loon to the US Senate would be a horrible mistake. Feel free to search around here, or online, for all of the zany stuff Buck’s been saying and doing and proposing.<\/p>\n

That’s why I’m voting for Michael Bennet.<\/p>\n

For Governor: John Hickenlooper<\/h2>\n
\"John<\/a>
John Hickenlooper, with running mate Joe Garcia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Campaign site<\/a> | Mayoral site<\/a> | Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>\n

I’m going to take the flip direction from the Bennet endorsement above.\u00a0 It’s true that Hick has the huge superior qualities of being neither ultra-conservative non-entity Dan Maes or xenophobic ego-balloon Tom Tancredo, either of which would be awful for this state.<\/p>\n

But, all things considered, I actually like <\/em>John Hickenlooper.\u00a0 He’s not a traditional politician, though he’s learned to move in political circles. He was a geologist, then went on to own a brew-pub.\u00a0 He’s been Denver mayor now for a couple of terms.\u00a0 He’s squarely pro-business, but not in a knee-jerk anti-consumer or anti-environment or anti-anything-but-profit way. He’s done some positive things, environmentally, as well as dealing with budget issues and trying to build coalitions. He has a good set of newspaper endorsements<\/a> from around the state.<\/p>\n

More importantly, he been running one of the nicer campaigns out there, his ads focusing mostly on … well, what he’s done, what his message is about, etc.\u00a0 A sampling:<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Now, there’s more to a politician than ads, but the combination of positive message, a sense of humor, and style that’s not polished to the max does say something.<\/p>\n

\"Hickenlooper
Plus, I really like this non-traditional campaign logo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plus, as I mentioned, he’s not Tom Tancredo<\/a>, a man so determined to prove that he’s indispensable to the nation with his message that “The Illegals are coming! The Illegals are coming!” that he broke (multiple times) his own pledge for term limits, ran (quite unsuccessfully) for President, and now, hating being out of the limelight, is running as the largely-self-appointed American Constitutional Party candidate for governor.<\/p>\n

And that’s why I’m voting for John Hickenlooper.<\/p>\n

Note: Bennet has been running behind Buck, but has pulled up close to him.\u00a0 Hickenlooper originally had a commanding lead over the split Tancredo\/Maes opposition, but as Maes has justly faded away, Tancredo has pulled closer. Thus one of my reasons for posting all of this, in case it makes any difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I already did my ballot proposition analysis for Colorado this year.\u00a0 Now I’ll (briefly) tell you how I’m voting on our major state candidates this year. For Senate: Michael Bennet Campaign site | Senatorial site | Wikipedia I am not a huge Michael Bennet fan. Bennet was appointed to his position when Obama appointed Ken … Continue reading “Why I’m voting for Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections-2010"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/michael-bennet.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19093,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/11\/03\/colorado-election-wrap-up.html","url_meta":{"origin":19008,"position":0},"title":"Colorado election wrap-up","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 3-Nov-10 8:56am","format":false,"excerpt":"On the major state offices: John Hickenlooper (D) won handily over Tom Tancredo (ACP) and Dan Maes (R) to be the next governor of the state.\u00a0 That's ... a good thing.\u00a0 On the other hand, the GOP seems to have taken back one, if not both, houses of the state\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Elections 2010"","block_context":{"text":"Elections 2010","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/elections-2010"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/coloradoflag.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/coloradoflag.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/coloradoflag.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/coloradoflag.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15625,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/08\/21\/tweets-from-2009-08-21.html","url_meta":{"origin":19008,"position":1},"title":"Tweets from 2009-08-21","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 21-Aug-09 11:30pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Woot! Tix for Brew at the Zoo purchased for Sept. Beer, food, and wild animals - a hard-to-beat combo. # To Sen. Michael Bennet: Please support meaningful health insurance reform this year. http:\/\/bit.ly\/vvuXU #hc09 #CO #80112 # To Sen. @MarkUdall: Please support meaningful health insurance reform this year. http:\/\/bit.ly\/vvuXU #hc09\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~Tweets"","block_context":{"text":"~Tweets","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/tweets"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19105,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/11\/03\/tweets-from-2010-11-03.html","url_meta":{"origin":19008,"position":2},"title":"Tweets from 2010-11-03","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 3-Nov-10 11:43pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Election news no better this morning. Already tired of smug GOP triumphalism. Will Dems be defiant, or apologetic? I sadly predict latter. # Arriving at 6a at the office, news trucks were still parked on block, and Hickenlooper was being TV interviewed on the plaza. Fun. # CO Senate race\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~Tweets"","block_context":{"text":"~Tweets","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/tweets"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18114,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/08\/11\/unblogged-bits-wed-11-aug-10-0601.html","url_meta":{"origin":19008,"position":3},"title":"Unblogged Bits (Wed. 11-Aug-10 0601)","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 11-Aug-10 12:01am","format":false,"excerpt":"Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries .... Deliciously fun facts about bacon [infographic] - Holy Kaw! - BACON! And ... I've found myself a new patron saint. Fischer: \"No More Mosques, Period\" - To his credit, Fischer is voicing what so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Potpourri"","block_context":{"text":"Potpourri","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/potpourri"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17138,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/04\/17\/unblogged-bits-for-sat-17-apr-2010-200pm.html","url_meta":{"origin":19008,"position":4},"title":"Unblogged Bits for Sat, 17 Apr 2010, 2:00PM","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 17-Apr-10 12:00pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries .... Bennet and Romanoff Want to Clean Up Washington? - Transparency ... it's so ... so ... plebeian! No wonder Senators (and Senator-wannabes) don't like it. A New Space Vision: What I think [Starts With\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Potpourri"","block_context":{"text":"Potpourri","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/potpourri"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18399,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/09\/02\/unblogged-bits-thu-2-sep-10-1730.html","url_meta":{"origin":19008,"position":5},"title":"Unblogged Bits (Thu. 2-Sep-10 1730)","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 2-Sep-10 5:30pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries .... Mothers of the Disappeared: Eric Martin Dan Maes Facing Mounting Pressure To Drop Out Of Gov. Race [UPDATED] - Oh, please stay, Dan! Don't let The Man drive you out! David Limbaugh Pushes Obama\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Potpourri"","block_context":{"text":"Potpourri","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/potpourri"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}