Of Debates And Other Stories
The debate last night, sponsored by the league of women voters, was overshadowed in part by the second death in a couple of weeks at a state university due to binge drinking. Coors' stance on the drinking age issue has been well documented, but perhaps mis-represented. He has always maintained that it is a state's rights issue, and has objected to the blackmailing of the states over federal highway funds. Most, if not all of the coverage has been portrayed in the light that he favors reducing the drinking age back to 18. Given that perception, it's easy to see why Coors was on the defensive.
As the Denver Post reports it:
Coors, a Republican who has said the country should possibly lower the drinking age, appeared to soften his position when asked about it in a debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
"It is not my agenda and it's not my desire, and in fact, this is a Colorado and state's rights issue," he said to a crowd of about 200 at Park Hill Golf Club in Denver.
Coors opposes the federal government dictating the drinking age to the states.
Salazar, a Democrat who said the drinking age should remain at 21, pounced on Coors, contending that he had "changed his position." He also said there were "significant questions" whether the beer commercials aired by Coors Brewing Co. are targeting underage drinkers.
You know, it really bothers me how no one can discern the seperation that exists between the brewery and the man. The difference does exist, despite attempts to breakdown the barrier. It's unseemly, but that's politics. On other issues, the candidates fell pretty much along party lines. Salazar is pro abortion and pro gun control, stating that he would vote to reinstate the recently expired assault weapons ban, even though he claims to be an advocate of the 2nd Amendment.
Coors is against any form of abortion without exception and stated that he would not vote in favor of the assault weapons ban as there was no proof that the ban had any effect on crime prevention. The diferences extended to the Patriot Act, where predictably, the liberal Salazar has issues with civil liberites:
Both candidates also diverged on the issue of the Patriot Act, enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to give the government more power in cracking down on terrorists. Key provisions expire in 2005.
Coors said he would reauthorize the act to protect the country from terrorism. Salazar said he supports the act, but also amendments that would protect privacy rights. Critics of the act have maintained that as written, it tramples on civil liberties.
I find it curious that the only debate the Rocky finds worth mentioning is this one between Beauprez and Thomas on Friday in the 7th District.
In other news, there was a recently published poll that shows Coors trailing by 11 points. Salazar must be feeling comfortable about it, but as we were witness to during the Primary, polls don't mean a whole lot.
Coors' campaign, obviously, takes issue with the results and states it doesn't reflect their internal polling numbers:
The Coors poll, conducted this week, shows the candidates in a statistical tie with Salazar at 46 percent and Coors at 44 percent, said GOP campaign manager Sean Tonner.
In addition, Tonner said Coors wins on the issues, from homeland security to taxes and reducing wasteful government spending.
"We know this is a tight election, but we feel Pete is better poised to win," Tonner said.
One of the key issues is voter turnout and the Republican advantage in voter registration, which the Salazar campaign is aware of:
Salazar's campaign manager, Jim Carpenter, agreed the election will be tight, as voter registration heavily favors Republicans.
"It's a steep hill for any Democrat to climb in Colorado because of Republican voter registration numbers, but Ken's had a lot of support from Republicans and independents over the years," Carpenter said. "People have a good sense of him, despite smear ads from Coors' allies."
Republicans hold a 181,000-registration advantage over Democrats, but unaffiliated voters - the second-largest voting block in the state, behind the GOP - help call the shots.
All in all, it's going to be an interesting election.
Cross posted at MangledCat
As the Denver Post reports it:
Coors, a Republican who has said the country should possibly lower the drinking age, appeared to soften his position when asked about it in a debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
"It is not my agenda and it's not my desire, and in fact, this is a Colorado and state's rights issue," he said to a crowd of about 200 at Park Hill Golf Club in Denver.
Coors opposes the federal government dictating the drinking age to the states.
Salazar, a Democrat who said the drinking age should remain at 21, pounced on Coors, contending that he had "changed his position." He also said there were "significant questions" whether the beer commercials aired by Coors Brewing Co. are targeting underage drinkers.
You know, it really bothers me how no one can discern the seperation that exists between the brewery and the man. The difference does exist, despite attempts to breakdown the barrier. It's unseemly, but that's politics. On other issues, the candidates fell pretty much along party lines. Salazar is pro abortion and pro gun control, stating that he would vote to reinstate the recently expired assault weapons ban, even though he claims to be an advocate of the 2nd Amendment.
Coors is against any form of abortion without exception and stated that he would not vote in favor of the assault weapons ban as there was no proof that the ban had any effect on crime prevention. The diferences extended to the Patriot Act, where predictably, the liberal Salazar has issues with civil liberites:
Both candidates also diverged on the issue of the Patriot Act, enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to give the government more power in cracking down on terrorists. Key provisions expire in 2005.
Coors said he would reauthorize the act to protect the country from terrorism. Salazar said he supports the act, but also amendments that would protect privacy rights. Critics of the act have maintained that as written, it tramples on civil liberties.
I find it curious that the only debate the Rocky finds worth mentioning is this one between Beauprez and Thomas on Friday in the 7th District.
In other news, there was a recently published poll that shows Coors trailing by 11 points. Salazar must be feeling comfortable about it, but as we were witness to during the Primary, polls don't mean a whole lot.
Coors' campaign, obviously, takes issue with the results and states it doesn't reflect their internal polling numbers:
The Coors poll, conducted this week, shows the candidates in a statistical tie with Salazar at 46 percent and Coors at 44 percent, said GOP campaign manager Sean Tonner.
In addition, Tonner said Coors wins on the issues, from homeland security to taxes and reducing wasteful government spending.
"We know this is a tight election, but we feel Pete is better poised to win," Tonner said.
One of the key issues is voter turnout and the Republican advantage in voter registration, which the Salazar campaign is aware of:
Salazar's campaign manager, Jim Carpenter, agreed the election will be tight, as voter registration heavily favors Republicans.
"It's a steep hill for any Democrat to climb in Colorado because of Republican voter registration numbers, but Ken's had a lot of support from Republicans and independents over the years," Carpenter said. "People have a good sense of him, despite smear ads from Coors' allies."
Republicans hold a 181,000-registration advantage over Democrats, but unaffiliated voters - the second-largest voting block in the state, behind the GOP - help call the shots.
All in all, it's going to be an interesting election.
Cross posted at MangledCat
posted by Jonathan | 5:38 PM
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