In Colorado, Drilling Some Holes in the Republican Base

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Washington Post

The Bush administration's aggressive drive to promote oil and gas drilling on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains has sparked growing anger here among traditional Republican constituents who say that the stepped-up push for energy development is sullying some of the country's most majestic landscape.

The emerging backlash from ranchers and sportsmen, which is occurring despite an economic boom driven by drilling, is threatening GOP primacy in at least one corner of what has been a solidly Republican West. Long the most reliably conservative expanse of a state that has gone red in six of the past seven presidential contests, Colorado's western third shows evidence of the "purpling" that has made Colorado look increasingly like a swing state.

Support from the western slope was seen as pivotal in the elections of Democrats Bill Ritter as governor last year and Sen. Ken Salazar in 2004, the same year Salazar's older brother, Rep. John Salazar, was elected to Congress from a western Colorado district that had given 66 percent of its vote to the Republican candidate four years earlier. All three Democrats found support in GOP enclaves while calling for "balance" in energy extraction.

"I can only speak for myself and I'm a registered Republican, but last year I voted a straight Democratic ticket. First time in my life," said Bob Elderkin, 68, who heads the town of Rifle's chapter of the Colorado Mule Deer Association, a hunting group that has made common cause with environmentalists against drilling. "The Republicans have kind of lost touch with reality."



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/15/AR2007091500893.html?hpid=topnews

[truthisfreedom]

1. "The Republicans have kind of lost touch with reality."

Kinda, yeah.

[0rganism]

2. Heck, they've moved out of Reality altogether and settled in Fantasyland

Remember how Bush was always happy to talk about "creating reality" a few years back? Granted, he was severely fucking up Reality for many people, but he also had this wack notion about the new "reality" he and Uncle Dick were working on, that it was some kind of theme park for defense contractors which would somehow turn the entire Middle East into a peaceful vacation paradise for white capitalists. "Democracyland, now opening in Iraq!"

[Joe Bacon]

4. Don't you mean LASSEIZ FAIRYLAND®????????

I've got the answer as to why the Republicans are getting further and further out of touch with Americans. You see, they love to float up, up, up in the rarified air of their Ayn Randian LASSEIZ FAIRYLAND® where there is so little oxygen left, it kills most of their brain cells :evilgrin:

[trusty elf]

6. That's excellent !

What's the deal with the "®" ? Have you really registered that as a kind of trade mark?

You'd better fix the typo-it's "laissez faire".

:eyes:

[aquart]

8. Oh, that's simply perfect.

I blow you kisses.

[0rganism]

9. I hope you don't mind, I'm going to have to steal that phrase from you

I see all-to-frequent opportunities for its application. Damn those lazy fairies!

[here_is_to_hope]

13. Not the Faeries fault! Its the Nomes!

[opihimoimoi]

3. Bush just doesn't know how to make himself look good....as such ..the Nation does'nt look good...

Pathetic....

[Liberty Belle]

5. An old Indian told me, "Our govt. is now treating everyone the way it used to treat just Indians."

That pretty well sums it up, if you ask me. Fortunately the more people the GOP screws over, the more are finally seeing the light.

[happygoluckytoyou]

7. THE CHEAP-LABOR REPUBLICANS BEST LIE

The best lie the republicans ever put over on america, was that it was in THEIR best interest that things remain the same.

Most conservatives BELIEVE that they actually benefit from the low-tax, low-wages, etc.

Those who have actually looked at the $300 "break" handed out years ago would realize that they have lost so many benefits and services which the gov't once provided that they are actually BEHIND. Only the wealthy who recuped $30000 are ahead.

The middle class use libraries, public parks and pools, sports programs and after school stuff for the kids.

When the FEDS went belly-up and pulled all of the state and county perks--- the states and counties had to pass it on to the rest of us. My $300 went to put my son in park-baseball and basketball for the summer and fall.... once a FREE program, now $150 per season.

TAXING THE WEALTHY IS A FORM OF REDISTRIBUTION OF THEIR WEALTH TO ALL OF US..... DOES ANYBODY NOT SEE THE BENEFIT ?

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRY RANCHERS AND SPORTSMEN.... BOO HOO HOO.... GUESS YOU ARE WEARING THE BLUE DRESS NOW

[pretzel4gore]

12. the wealthy have no wealth

just being a stickler here, but want to clarify the contextual state of all wealth, income. THere are thousands of Bill Gates in Mali, for example- most w/out a pot to piss in! That's cuz their country has never developed, due to such things as slavery and tribal conflicts and lack of resources/water/animals etc, and too many enemies nearby at the wrong time etc. We were vastly lucky our countries developed in relative peace w/out golden hordes wiping out every 3rd ruling class along the way, our best/most imaginative folks hauled away to slave in others fields etc (everyone should read 'guns, god and steel' by jared diamond- it's thesis forever removes racism and other selfish concepts of superiority from freeper types, nyuk nyuk, to explain why their country works as opposed to a Haiti or Bangladesh etc)
The old adage about the lie being long gone to town before truth gets its shoes on rears its ugly head a little in your crediting the rich for their own fortune, when Bill Gates etc owes EVERYTHING he has to the rest o us!
:)

[Vinca]

10. NIMBY. Tell 'em to drill in Alaska . . . right? nt

[Doctor_J]

15. And I don't remember a lot of outcry when Appalachia was being maimed

As Michael Moore would say, "Do we want to be a me society or a we society?"

[Kolesar]

11. There is a double-digit percentage of the electorate who are emigrant retirees

They have money and brains and they moved to Colorado to enjoy nature. They know the environmental issues and they are the bane of the party of ranching and mining.

Same thing happened in Montana. The new senator is an organic farmer.

[Robb]

14. The WaPo eventually gets to the meat of it out here

...in the second page, where there's a paragraph about surface rights. This isn't a political issue at all.

In Colorado, we have what's known as "split estate" real estate laws. It's not a given that, if you own the surface, you own the mineral/oil/gas rights beneath it.

There are two kinds of ranchers in Colorado: those who are also involved in the petroleum industry, and those who are not. All three of the biggest cattle growers in my neck of things began as oil companies, either here or elsewhere, and migrated into cattle -- it requires a lot of capital to start up a ranching operation that will pay off.

Those ranchers were savvy enough to recognize a little extra money spent on lawyers and forms early on would guarantee they could continue to do business later, and secured their subsurface rights. The other kind of rancher didn't.

Guess which ranchers are crying foul and will now rally support behind whoever wants to slow down oil and gas development -- even if it means getting in bed, however briefly, with environmentalists.

[DuaneBidoux]

16. I've thought Colorado was tipping blue for several years now. In '08 they may fall in the blue!

[otohara]

17. The Salazar Bros....Ugh

The John, el congressman is a member of Blue Dog Dems, so he can justify voting w/ republican's, brother Ken joined the "Gang of 14" to justify his voting w/ republican's. Many times I call Salazar's (the senator office about various things, and I always ask - how have the calls, been, for or against (what ever it is at the time) and it is ALWAYS more liberals and progressives calling asking him to vote one way, and he votes the other way. Salazar doesn't much care what his constituents think!

Since they both have the Hispanic vote locked, they both know they have a good shot at having a long, long career in Washington and therefore they don't have to pay attention to all those annoying phone calls pleading with them to vote one way. Otohara is Hispanic and she won't be supporting Ken in 2010 unless he changes his GOP ways when we have a meaningful majority.

Mark Udall is looking good in the polls, maybe we can have a real democrat as our second senator in 09.