( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )

Around the state, those voters that have heard of Mayor John Hickenlooper know he’s the guy that helped folks out with the parking meters. He’s the guy that ingratiated himself to the downtown business community by pushing tax increases for FasTracks, the Justice Center, the local school district, Ref. C. and pledged to end homelessness in Colorado.

Rasmussen Reports has the first public polling on the post-Ritter gubernatorial race and Scott McInnis leads both Ken Salazar and John Hickenlooper:

Scott McInnis: 45%
John Hickenlooper: 42%

Scott McInnis: 47%
Ken Salazar: 41%

 From The Fix blog on the Washington Post website:

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will not run for governor of Colorado and instead will endorse Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, according to two sources familiar with the decision.

Is Ken Salazar preventing any domestic energy development? Rep. Mike Coffman makes a convincing case that he is:

On February 4th you canceled approved oil and gas leases in Utah, on February 10th you essentially restored the moratoria on the Outer Continental Shelf by unreasonably delaying the 5-year leasing program, on February 25th you stifled the development of oil shale by delaying additional oil shale research, demonstration, and development leases, on July 20th you placed a moratorium on mining in an area containing 40% of our nation’s uranium supply, and since taking office your agency hasn’t  approved a single new solar project even though the Department is facing a backlog of almost 200 applications,” Coffman stated to Salazar.

Coffman pointedly asked, “So we can’t drill onshore, we can’t drill offshore, we can’t develop oil shale, we can’t develop nuclear, and we can’t develop solar.  Mr. Secretary, why won’t you let Americans develop American energy?”  Continuing to press Salazar, Coffman stated, “Can you give me a straight answer?  Can you provide us with dates?”

( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right -)

Poor Ken Salazar is getting a taste of what it's like to block senate confirmations. The former senator now has to deal with the aggravation of senate confirmations as the new head of Interior.

According to a Denver Post article (www.denverpost.com/ci_12364433), Salazar was very upset with the Senate GOP minority for blocking one of his appointments. In the article, Salazar called the move "bitter obstructionism" and that "...to cast a vote against such a qualified and fine person is the height of cynicism." In response, Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah), who rallied the GOP votes against Salazar's appointment, said, "This is about the department's failure to respond to legitimate questions and concerns."

The shoe is certainly on the other foot. Back in June of 2007, Salazar blocked the confirmation of Bush's appointment to the Bureau of Land Management saying, "I'm doing it because of the fact the Department of the Interior and BLM have not been responsive in not allowing at least 120 days for Gov. (Bill) Ritter and others to review the Roan management plan" (http://tinyurl.com/q9kx5k).

Sounds familiar. Ken, where's your cowboy hat?

KEN SALAZAR CONFIRMATION HEARING KICKING OFF: Getting a sitting Senator confirmed by the Senate isn't much of a challenge.

BOB SCHAFFER NEW BOARD OF EDUCATION CHAIR: "I think this is going to be a particularly activist board on education leadership, and I think we're going to be able to accomplish our goals in a bipartisan manner."

BUESCHER SWORN IN: One of the greatest failures of Ritter's administration will surely be passing over qualified professionals like Rosemary Rodriguez for this job and instead using it as an unemployment offices for Democrats looking for the next office to hold.

JOHN SUTHERS: "The governor said his No. 1 criteria was to find someone who represented all of Colorado, I don't think Bennet fits the bill at all. He's very Denver."

DICK WADHAMS (AUDIO VIA COMPLETE COLORADO): The 2010 senate race is going to be wide open, we're going to field a strong candidate, and we're going to win this seat.

BEN DEGROW: Michael Bennet in U.S. Senate Creates GOP Chance - Not to Be Taken Lightly

SUSAN BARNES-GELT: "Here's yet another example of Bill Ritter making a strange choice that reflects nothing but the fact that he has not been listening to an overwhelming number of Coloradans."

FLOYD CIRULI: "9NEWS Political consultant Floyd Ciruli said Bennet is a risky choice for Democrats, who will have to spend millions of dollars defending that seat in two years."

SETH MASKET, POLI SCI PROF AT DU: Michael Bennet? Seriously?

ROCKY MOUNTAIN RIGHT: He has no name identification outside of the city of Denver, and even there it might be iffy. He has no fundraising base and will have to contend with a national party that wants him to step aside.

The major newspapers are now confirming Michael Bennet will be announced by Bill Ritter to replace Sen. Ken Salazar.

If you're like most Coloradoans, you're asking "who the hell is Michael Bennet?"

In short, he's the superintendent of Denver Public Schools. He was expecting an administration job in Washington, but was passed over by Obama and had been rumored to be looking for a consolation prize. He has no name identification outside of the city of Denver, and even there it might be iffy. He has no fundraising base and will have to contend with a national party that wants him to step aside.

So what was Bill Ritter thinking? There are really only three scenarios:

1) Bill Ritter wants to stay out of the way of the up-and-comers in the Colorado Democratic Party. By appointing Bennet, he has appointed someone who will be gone in 2010 either due to a primary or stepping aside. Ritter already had to make a tricky choice with the Secretary of State appointment and probably isn't relishing getting in the middle of a fight between Rep. Ed Perlmutter, Andrew Romanoff, and John Hickenlooper.

2) By some twisted logic, Ritter thinks that appointing a candidate with no name I.D. and no fundraising base will "take the Republicans by surprise" and sweep Bennet to victory in the 2010 general election. After all, if a relatively unknown Denver District Attorney could avoid a primary and win by 17-points in the gubernatorial race, why can't a relatively unknown Denver Public Schools Superintendent do the same in the senate race?

3) Ritter is using Bennet as bait. By appointing someone who looks incredibly easy to pick off to the senate seat, Ritter might be hoping to push any serious Republican challengers out of the governor race and into the senate race.

Either way, Ritter and Bennet are going to fielding a lot of irate phone calls from the DSCC.

STATE: The King of Saudi Arabia has been revealed to have donated $10-25 million to the Clinton Library. Oman, Qatar, and Brunei also made multi-million dollar donations.

JUSTICE: Eric Holder's confirmation hearings have been delayed as his role in the Marc Rich scandal is probed.

COMMERCE: Bill Richardson bolts out of a press conference after being asked about a grand jury investigation into one of his campaign financers.

LABOR: WSJ: "Ms. Solis is expected to push for a piece of legislation many business groups abhor, the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for unions to organize workers."

TREASURY: "Asleep at the switch?" Timothy Geithner was CitiBank's chief regulator.

INTERIOR: Rumors abound that Ken Salazar's nomination may be yanked due to undisclosed past issues.

SCIENCE: Obama names an anti-technology, anti-private sector, pro-population-control alarmist as science advisor.

Rep. Diana DeGette certainly isn't helping Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's chances of being appointed to fill Ken Salazar's seat. The Denver Post has for some reason made the video of DeGette's remarks inaccesible to the general public as of this writing (you guys might want to get on this whole "interweb" bandwagon before you end up the next paper to tank) but they do provide this print excerpt:

"The pundits say, well Diana is from Denver and she's too liberal to run statewide. John Hickenlooper, who's the mayor of Denver, is the frontrunner. It's like...hmmmm. And I love John. But frankly I would bet you - he doesn't have a Congressional voting record - but if you look at some of the things he's done, he's probably at least as liberal as me."

That's going to haunt Hickenlooper. If this is what Diana does to someone she "loves," I'd hate to see her angry.

Now that Ken Salazar has been officially announced by Barack Obama as his pick for Secretary of the Interior, his nomination is turning out to be surprisingly contentious. Michael Roberts at the Westword is reporting that Salazar is coming under heavy fire from environmental groups.

Left-wing Alternet speculates that Ken Salazar may become Obama's "most controversial cabinet choice" and that "questions about Salazar's past may bring more unwanted negative attention to Obama." They even go on to cite inside sources that say Salazar may see his nomination withdrawn due to issues in his past:

Questions about Salazar's past may bring more unwanted negative attention to Obama, who already finds himself fending off questions about Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. One reliable source in the DC environmental community just told me that the Interior Secretary position "may not be closed" because Salazar "has some issues from his past that may come out."

Make sure to read through today's earlier post on Salazar that detailed some of his questionable fundraising activities.

It's impossible to say how Barack Obama wanted this nomination to turn out, but it's probably safe to say this isn't it.

Sen. Ken Salazar, Barack Obama's pick for Secretary of the Interior, has been the beneficiary of campaign contributions from a staggering number of questionable sources.

Even as Ken Salazar's Democratic colleagues in the Senate prepare to return thousands of dollars in donations from disgraced investor Bernard Madoff; Salazar has neglected to return money from individuals at the center of pay-to-play corruption probes and criminals convicted of illegal political payoff schemes.

Richard Stadtmauer, a contibutor to Ken Salazar's 2004 campaign, was recently found guilty of illegaly funneling money into Democratic campaigns:

Stadtmauer, 49, whose sister is married to Kushner, was charged with helping create bogus partnership tax returns by illegally writing off millions in charitable and political contributions, entertainment expenses, gifts and capital improvements as business expenses.

Stadtmauer appeared to have been continuing a scheme that landed his business partner and brother-in-law, Charles Kushner, in prison in 2005.

Salazar was also a major beneficiary of campaign funds from the law firm of Scarinci Hollenbeck, a firm that found itself the target of FBI raids after one of its partners was indicted on eight counts of criminal corruption related to pay-to-play scandals. Salazar also had money coming his way from a marketing firm caught up in the same case.

Perhaps most disturbing is that Salazar appears to have had a major conflict of interest during the 2004. Salazar was still Attorney General in October of 2004, the approximate timeframe he took campaign funds from Scarinci Hollenbeck. During this time, he came under fire from Colorado residents seeking action against leasing companies involved in a telecommunications scam for allegedly dragging his feet. Several of the leasing companies involved were represented by Scarinci Hollenbeck. An excerpt from an AP article on October 15, 2004:

"Our attorney general is essentially telling us to go out and get our own private attorneys," said Robert Reed, who owns Reed Photo Imaging in Denver. He said he has collection letters from out-of-state finance companies stating he owes them $50,000 for phone and Internet service he never received.

"I don't think the attorney general understands the magnitude of what's going on," Reed said Thursday.

All of this is only scratching the surface on Salazar's campaign contribution record. The Obama transition team's vetting of Ken Salazar appears to have been as sloppy as it was with Bill Richardson.

KEN SALAZAR NOMINATION IMMINENT: Announcement to come at 9:45 AM (MST).

RICHARDSON IMPLICATED IN PAY-TO-PLAY SCANDAL: Barack Obama's pick for Commerce Secretary might be in for a rough confirmation hearing. On top of Blagojevich, this is the last thing Obama needs. He better hope none of his other nominees have problems.

It's official: Ken Salazar is going to be Secretary of the Interior. This obviously makes his seat one of the hottest in the country going into 2010. Bill Ritter will appoint a replacement for Salazar, but they will have next to no time in office making this basically an open seat. This also has the effect of causing some major upheaval in the Republican primary fields for the statewide races in 2010. Everyone had been seemingly lining up to challenge Bill Ritter because he looked more vulnerable than Salazar. Now, with Salazar gone, many candidates who were previously considering gubernatorial campaigns will go over to the Senate race.

Josh Penry, who has been rumored to have been looking at both CD-3 and the Governor's race, would be a more logical candidate for Salazar's Senate seat at this point. Penry's relatively young age could be a problem running against an incumbent for an executive office. A run for the open Senate seat would play to Penry's strengths on the other hand. His experience as a State Representative, Senate Minority Leader, and staffer for Scott McInnis make him just as qualified as anyone the Democrats could put forward for the seat.

John Suthers considered running for Wayne Allard's seat this year. He is very likely to consider running again now that the field is wide open.

Mark Hillman narrowly lost a statewide race in 2006. He has statewide name ID from that race and from his long record as a state legislator. Hillman would be running in a more favorable environment for Republicans than 2006 and could escape the circular firing squad that the CD-4 primary is likely to be.

Bob Beauprez and Tom Tancredo have both floated their names in the Governor's race. As Congressmen, a Senate contest would make more sense for them. It's hard to see Beauprez gaining traction in a statewide campaign though, and Tancredo's high negatives make winning a Senate race just as impossible as winning against Ritter.

Former Gov. Bill Owens, who has been seemingly disinterested in running against Ken Salazar, may reconsider joining the 2010 race now that the seat is open.

Two-time CD-5 candidate Bentley Rayburn is likely to make noise about running for Senate, just as he inexplicably did last time.

The fields for the Governor and Senate races are going to take shape quickly over the coming months. This is a positive devlopment for Colorado Republicans not only because Salazar's seat is even more vulnerable, but also because some of the deadlock in the Governor's race will be alleviated.

Barack Obama has just announced at his press conference that he will be announcing his pick for Secretary of the Interior later this week. The Rocky Mountain News is now reporting that Obama has formally offered the job to Ken Salazar:

One Democratic source who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Salazar traveled to Chicago late last week, that he was offered the job by Obama and now must decide whether to accept it.

Pushback against a Salazar selection is already starting on some environmentalist blogs, such as this post at Land Use Watch:

After all, Salazar was Norton’s understudy at Colorado’s Attorney General’s office. Both are beholden to big mining and big ranching. Obama, you suck.

If Reuters is correct, than Ken Salazar is back in the mix to be Secretary of the Interior:

He is also close to naming a secretary of the interior -- the federal department that leases public lands for oil and gas drilling. Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado, who once practiced as an environmental lawyer, is the leading contender, sources close to the transition said.

Now that John Salazar is unlikely to head the USDA, it seems that Barack Obama may be falling back on Ken to fill his "guys named Salazar from Colorado" quota for the cabinet.

Coincidentally, Salazar has cancelled his regional meetings for the week due to weather difficulties.

A BLUE CHRISTMAS?: Bill Ritter will announce the finalists for the Sec. of State position by the end of week and pick one by Christmas.

BEN DEGROW BLASTS HUCKABEE'S "CORLEONE-LIKE" LEADERSHIP: I've always thought the Colorado blogosphere needed more references to mob movies.

The New York Times is reporting that Ken Salazar is among the top three Republican targets in the 2010 Senate races:

Republicans have their sights on several Democrats in 2010, including Ken Salazar of Colorado, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Harry Reid of Nevada, the party leader in the Senate.

One thing is certain, Ken Salazar is going to have a fight on his hands to retain his seat. Whether it comes from a strong Republican challenger or a snubbed Democratic politician venting their rage at the party establishment remains to be seen.

It seems that talk of a primary against Ken Salazar is spreading beyond the blogosphere. The Denver Post reports that Ken Salazar is kicking off his fundraising early, in part because of anticipation of a potential costly primary:

A few factors could drive up campaign costs, he said.

Ritter, who's earned the ire of the deep -pocketed oil and gas industry this year, will have to boost fundraising efforts if Republicans quickly field a candidate with money and name recognition on par with his own, Saunders said.

And discontent with Salazar's moderate stances has some left-leaning Democrats hoping for a primary challenger.

Republicans will have a challenge in both races when it comes to fundraising. A former congressman with a Washington fundraising base (i.e. Scott McInnis) or someone with strong statewide name I.D. (i.e. Bill Owens or Mark Hillman) would be the most competitive in Senate race fundraising. As for the gubernatorial race, at least two potential candidates (Marc Holtzman and Don Marostica) would have the option of self-funding.

Whomever Republicans field as their candidates in these two races, conservative bloggers need to take the lead this election cycle in helping to raise money.