Posted on 01/07/2010 7:39:47 AM PST by truthandlife
Something doesn’t smell right. Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter gave his press conference yesterday announcing his withdrawal from his re-election bid. By his own admission, his fund-raising had been going swimmingly. The decision took his staff by complete surprise. And the idea that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar wanted to return from the Beltway swamp to take over the governor’s mansion just doesn’t wash. He’s an incurable Washington creature who loves where he is.
So, let’s examine Ritter’s did-it-for-the-children card. While one Denver Post columnist lavished praise on Ritter’s ostensible sacrifice for family, other veteran observers point out that it doesn’t add up. Two of his college-age children no longer live at home. The others are teenagers who’ll be leaving the nest in short order. Ritter choked up when he said he hadn’t made his family a priority and called the step-down an “intensely personal decision.” That’s a carefully-chosen phrase which signals to the press: Back off. Don’t ask any more questions. But if he isn’t really stepping down over neglect of his children, who was he referring to when he spoke of failing to make family his priority?
I said the other day that the whiff of the Stephanie Villafuerte scandal taint was noticeable. Denver Fox affiliate KDVR’s Julie Hayden was the only one at the press conference yesterday who dared raise the issue. Ritter tersely dismissed her question.
Quick refresher: Villafuerte is entangled in the railroading of Denver ICE agent Cory Voorhis — whom federal prosecutors tried to punish after he blew the whistle on sweetheart deals for criminal illegal aliens during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. A jury acquitted Voorhis of all federal charges. He’s trying to get his job back. At least one of his supervisors (whom Hayden asked Ritter about yesterday) has admitted lying. Villafuerte served on Democrat gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter’s campaign team while on leave from the Denver D.A.’s office and from all local news accounts was deeply involved in the witchhunt against agent Voorhis. Last month, Villafuerte withdrew from her nomination as U.S. Attorney in Denver amid growing questions about her role in the Voorhis railroading and the accessing of federal criminal databases for political purposes.
Villafuerte remains Ritter’s deputy chief of staff. But she was noticeably absent from the press conference yesterday.
The local buzz about a rumored affair involving Ritter and Villafuerte hasn’t died down. Her absence and Ritter’s sudden and bizarre withdrawal aren’t likely to quell the rumors.
Whatever the real story is, Ritter’s not telling it yet.
I love the smell of Democrats self-destructing in the morning.
Democrat=Criminal
if you have a penchant to lie,cheat,steal and have the morals of an alley cat,have we got a party for you!
A whiff of Stephanie,okay.
I wonder who he’s buggering or being buggered by.
Does he play golf with Tiger Woods?
Leni
A bit of info on the relationship.
I understand Mr. Ritter has just been hired as the new “Sham Wow” guy. No, really.
I didn’t see the press conference yesterday, but it was noted on a local radio station last night (KOA) that another noticeable absence from the press conference was Ritter’s wife.
Some of the terms are the same - wood, drive, hole, trap, up and down in two - but that doesn't mean it's golf.
No, she was there. She almost siezed up when a reporter asked if Voorhis had anything to do with his decision.
Caldera said she wasn’t there. Sorry for the mistake.
No worries. Shades of Bea Romer.
Maybe the deal was made that if he steps down he won’t be named as an unindicted co conspirator.
Shesh, this woman has all the qualifications to head the TSA. /sarc.
http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/12/01/colorado-gop-continues-to-press-for-answers-about-villafuerte/
I have thought all along that the Obama administration has been conducting oppositional (and very personal, destructive) research on all politicians, both Dem and Repub. I think his minions have been using what they’ve learned to get Dems to vote for whatever Obama wants to pass. They’re scared and they’re leaving government.
No, hikes with Mark Sanford.
I was wondering the same thing myself. I think the Dodd retirement is unusual as well. The dems don't quit - they just steal elections. Something funny is going on.
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