New Democrat Update - December 2000
TELLING ELECTION
Last month's election sent a very resounding message - Coloradans remain skeptical of both parties and are searching for bipartisan action on centrist reforms of government and politics. The election results represent a repudiation of the old, narrow agenda of the left and right, and a mandate for centrist leadership based on bipartisanship, effectively, a call for a "third way."
In other words, the public genuinely wants the two parties to cooperate on efforts to make government an instrument for solving problems and helping Coloradans improve their own lives. Many Republicans and some Democrats are ill-equipped because they are conditioned to think of the public as either ignorant or conflicted. The poor uninformed people, many on both sides agree, don't understand they have to choose between big government and disabled government. Any third option is either impossible or unprincipled, they say.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, exit polls reveal that Colorado voters are not decidedly in the camp of either party. When asked how they view themselves, 35 percent picked Democrat, 36 percent Republican and 29 percent independent. Similarly, 46 percent consider themselves moderates, 29 percent conservatives and 25 percent liberals.
That is why voters opted for a more divided state government and elected a Senate Democratic majority for the first time in 40 years. The margin of victory came from New Democrats winning in the suburbs - Joan Fitz-Gerald, DeAnna Hanna and Sue Windels in Jefferson County, Bob Hagedorn in Arapahoe County, Peggy Reeves in Larimer County and Terry Phillips in Louisville.
What voters are demanding, non-bureaucratic activist government, is not only possible but essential -- not only plausible, but principled. The party that recognizes this reality early and often will dominate state politics for the foreseeable future.
FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS
The early post-election signs strongly indicate that Democratic legislators "get it." The Democratic Senate Caucus realizes that it was mainstream politics that put them in the majority.
That reality, combined with the fact that about two-thirds of the Senate membership are New Democrats, the Caucus unanimously elected Stan Matsunaka to be Senate President and Ed Perlmutter as Senate President pro tem (both are members of the New Democrat Caucus, a group of moderate, pro-economic opportunity state legislators). While Senate Majority Leader Bill Thiebaut is considered a traditional liberal, New Democrats chair six of the eight major Senate committees.
New Democrats scored a clean sweep in the House leadership. Minority Leader Dan Grossman, Assistant Minority Leader Jennifer Veiga and Caucus Chair Abel Tapia are all members of the New Democrat Caucus and have participated in the annual DLC National Conversation.
Again, almost two-thirds of the House membership are in the New Democrat camp. Again, Democrats were able to close the margin in the House by winning races in Arapahoe and Jefferson counties.
Heeding the wishes of voters, the Democratic legislative leadership has sounded the call for mainstream, bipartisan solutions to Colorado's problems. Unfortunately, (and hopefully subject to change), the early signs for bipartisanship from the other side of the aisle are not nearly as promising.
BUT SOME TROUBLING SIGNS...
Possibly missing the message of this election, the state GOP continues to be dominated by the hard right. Despite all the facts, conservative activists insist that it was centrist Republicans who lost their races and right-wingers who prevailed. The term, "Moderate Republican," is rapidly becoming an oxymoron.
While Democrats were electing mainstream leaders, Republicans picked two of their most partisan and ideological members to lead an even more conservative House (Speaker Doug Dean) and Senate (Minority Leader John Andrews). Both have been extreme opponents of sensible gun-safety measures and faithful supporters of rigid social conservatism.
Dean's initial moves have been discouraging to those wishing for bipartisanship. He has unnecessarily sowed division by overruling the Democratic leadership's committee assignments. Andrews' extreme positions, like doing away with public education and compulsory school attendance, may make it difficult to reach sensible compromises.
Two other Senate GOP leaders, Mark Hillman as assistant minority leader and Marilyn Musgrave as caucus chair, are of the same ilk. Musgrave's political career has been devoted to homophobia while Hillman's main claim to fame is having tried to block debate of a non-binding resolution opposing the Confederate flag flying over the South Carolina statehouse.
Despite those troubling developments, New Democrats sincerely hope that bipartisanship and substantive solutions are the mantras for the upcoming legislative session. Neither should be acts of heroism when needed on so many issues.
As the "problem-solving" wing of the Democratic Party, we have a special stake in demonstrating that a modernized state government can have a positive impact on the well-being of Coloradans. Hopefully, our GOP friends in the legislature will agree.
WEB SITE REPORT
The popularity of the Colorado DLC web site continues to grow in leaps and bounds. Launched just late July, over 23, 000 hits have already been recorded. Almost half of those occurred last month.
Become part of the action, be a regular visitor and let us know what you think. There is always something new, including over 150 ideas that solve our state's most important problems (Click on "State & Local Ideas"), along with the very latest on Colorado and national politics.