Posted on 09/06/2009 11:25:09 AM PDT by george76
Andrew Romanoff set his sights on a race for the U.S. Senate only after the breakdown of several months of backroom negotiations with Gov. Bill Ritter to find an alternative political opportunity for the popular former state House speaker.
the potential deal centered on appointing Romanoff lieutenant governor when Barbara O'Brien — who was considering other options — stepped aside.
Romanoff allies said Ritter finally told the veteran state legislator in a meeting between the two men in late June that he would not get the job. That set off a chain of events that led Romanoff to consider a primary challenge against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and open a potentially damaging divide among state Democrats.
Those discussions, which included three face-to-face meetings between Ritter and Romanoff over more than six months, partly explain the timing of Romanoff's consideration of a primary bid — months after allies advised him to and long past the deadline most political strategists considered wise.
Sources close to Romanoff insist the 43-year-old lawmaker believes he was offered and accepted the lieutenant governorship.
Ritter appears to have missed a key opportunity to avoid an intra-party fight while providing fodder to critics of his political acumen.
"This is mind-staggering," Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli said. "This puts the focus back on this whole decision-making process that left one of the most talented and grassroots popular Democrats in the state out in the cold."
"If you're the nominal leader of the party and you drop the ball on this, you should start to think of your next line of work,"
(Excerpt) Read more at denverpost.com ...
Interesting to watch how Bennet votes on Cap & Trade, Card Check , and Health Care
This gives an extra diminsion to how the ‘Rats in Colorado have been unable to unite. Now, we wait for Andrew Romanoff and Jane Norton decide.
It’s gonna get ugly. Just as the incompetent RINO Bill Owens handed the rodentry complete control of CO, Auggie Ritter is gonna hand us a good chunk of it back (did you see some of the comments calling Ritter the equivalent of a stealth Democrat ?).
Bennett will vote for them unless his vote isn’t needed and then Reid will let him skate to save his seat. Bennet does not vote on principle, he’s another Democrat lackey.
However Dingy Harry tells him to.
LOL they basically call Ritter a DINO.
DINO is malarkey, nothing remotely Republican or Conservative about Auggie. He’s just what we call incompetent. Lousy for Colorado, but a gift to the GOP (even if we don’t deserve it).
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