Democrats like Sen. Michael Bennet aren’t exactly keen on touting their health care record:
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet staked his future political career on it, long before he’d ever faced an election.
U.S. Rep. John Salazar called it the passing of a torch. Democrats everywhere hailed it as historic, after spending much of 2009 and early this year forcing it through. Vice President Joe Biden, not knowing a microphone was on, called it a “big $#@% deal.”
And yet for Democrats like Bennet in this combative midterm election, health care reform is not so much a badge of honor as a bludgeon from which they cringe.
Bennet on the health care bill last year–”Yes” was the response to a question about casting a vote for the bill, and a willingness to lose his appointed job:
•“On the stump, Bennet has two modes: concerned and dryly humorous.”
•Former President Bill Clinton’s appearance with Bennet on Monday drew thousands to northeast Denver–now with full video of Clinton’s remarks:
•The Washington Post “The Fix” blog has Colorado at the top of it’s “Big Senate Six” watch list:
Colorado: Appointed Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and Weld County prosecutor Ken Buck (R) have been exchanging body blows on television for the entire fall. The back and forth is familiar to anyone paying attention to politics this cycle. Democrats say Buck is too extreme for the state, highlighting his positions on abortion and homosexuality. Republicans tie Bennet at the hip to President Obama — particularly on the economic stimulus package and the health care law. Two men enter; one man will leave. (And, yes, we just made a “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” reference.)
•The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s newest ad–”Our Senator, not theirs”:
•Buck vows no compromise on key economic issues:
Buck, who is in a tight race with appointed Sen. Michael Bennet (D), said in an interview that he would be willing to work with Democrats on some issues of importance to Colorado but not on the issues that have defined the midterm elections.
“I think it’s wrong to compromise your values to fit in with the social climate in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “When it comes to spending, I’m not compromising. I don’t care who, what, when or where, I’m not compromising.”
Buck said his goal is to bring the Republican Party back to conservative principles, almost as much as it is to roll back the Obama agenda. “I think the Republican Party is every bit as much to blame for the mess we’re in now as the Democrats,” he said.
When Republicans were in power, he said, they spent too much money, allowed the government to grow too much and made commitments that are unrealistic. “I think Republicans drifted, and I think we’re bringing them back to the base and the core message,” he said.
•The Bennet campaign is seizing upon Buck’s appearance yesterday with Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and the issue of global warming and Inhofe’s “hoax” comment.