Colorado empty apologies

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MikeG

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At a conference of county sheriffs Friday, Governor Hickenlooper apologized for the way last year's gun control bills were done and admitted he didn't listen to law enforcement on them.

http://www.fox21news.com/news/story.aspx?id=1058036

No word on how he ignored the flood of e-mails, letters and personal visits from ordinary citizens opposing those laws.

I suspect he's seen the writing on the wall concerning his prospects for reelection this year and is trying to ease the antagonism from his actions.
I don't expect it to help.
 
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Technosavant

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If he isn't leading the charge on a full repeal then he isn't sorry enough.

Sounds more like he realized his actions are going to have consequences for his career and he's trying to forestall the reckoning. Hopefully the CO voters don't buy it.

It is interesting to me, though, that he's trying to walk this back- by doing that he's more or less tossing out any support he might have received for the vote. Even the politicians who support gun control know it's a losing proposition with the voters. I'd admire their courage if their position wasn't so poorly thought out (but in this guy's case, it's evident there is no courage of belief- he does what he thinks he can get away with and only what he thinks he can get away with).
 
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BarryLee

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While this is a very important issue for some people is it a very important issue for most voters? While I suspect the average person may not support the new gun control policies do they care enough to vote out the sitting governor? Do they care enough to even vote?

I have no knowledge of recent polls or voter mindset, but is there any real chance these laws will be repealed?
 
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Tom Servo

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I have no knowledge of recent polls or voter mindset, but is there any real chance these laws will be repealed?
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I'm cautiously optimistic. They did manage to recall two sitting Senators over their votes for gun control, and a third stepped down when she saw the writing on the wall.

That said, this is the same governor who signed the legislation in question, even when he knew Magpul would leave the state and take over $100 million from the economy by doing so.
 
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zoomie

New member
He still has reliable support from the voting populace in Boulder, Denver, and Summit County. More conservative counties are quickly losing their voice.

2012 Presidential:
405px-Colorado_presidential_election_results_2012.svg.png
 
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doofus47

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technosavant:
If he isn't leading the charge on a full repeal then he isn't sorry enough.
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He's politically sorry. Political sorrow comes from somewhere deeper than the heart, deeper than the belt, if you follow me... :rolleyes:

I think that Hickenlooper's job is safe insofar as the firearms issues go.
I think that the loss of Magpul revenue would have been a noticeable financial hiccup, except that it was completely negated, then swamped by an increase in revenue from the sale of marijuana.

His job will hinge on the fracking issue. This is a bigger issue to the blue counties on the front range. The state of Colorado has taken to suing cities and municipalities that have banned or set a moratorium on fracking within their limits via publicly voted measures. Some citizens have taken to suing him personally.
If Republicans want to win, they need to propose a candidate who is
a) not crazy
b) doesn't have 19th C views on women, jobs, race
c) recognizes that a goodly chunk of the Colorado population cares about their local water and air environment more than whether a few people get rich off fracking.
 
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MarkCO

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All lies. I saw the sheriffs walk in en masse during the hearings. I personally met with his cheif of staff and legal council. He knew what a mess the law was. He knew the populace was opposed. He thought it would buy him a national position. I met with Rhonda Fields, and the Democractic leadership and many of the conservatives as well. It was clear, this was a Bloombergian trashing of democracy and the democractic process.

In actuality, he only apologized for lack of communication. This is a quote from Justin Smith, the Larimer County (has the City of Ft. Collins) Sheriff:

Given these facts, I simply found it incomprehensible that he claimed he didn't know of our opposition. I have to tell you that I was utterly flabbergasted at the response he made. From about 10 feet away, the governor looked me in the eye and snapped "I've already apologized, what the f*** else do you want?" Now, I'm a big boy and won't pretend for a moment that it's not language that's foreign to me- but I found that type of attitude and response to be well below the dignity of the office of governor. This was a sitting governor, in a public meeting, responding to another elected official.
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While some have ceeded victory to the liberals, there are still a lot of us left fighting, and working and trying to save our state.
 
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Tom Servo

Staff
He thought it would buy him a national position.
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Bloomberg promised protection to these guys if they voted for gun control. When Giron and Morse were recalled, Bloomberg's reaction was "I'm sorry they lost their jobs. On to the next state." That's an actual quote, BTW.

No doubt Hickenloper knows that and feels the vultures circling.
 
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steve4102

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Tom Servo said:
I'm cautiously optimistic. They did manage to recall two sitting Senators over their votes for gun control, and a third stepped down when she saw the writing on the wall.
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Not exactly. These two recall victories may have had more to do with the fact that there were only two choices on the recall ballot, a Democrat and a Republican.

If you recall, Hudak won in 2012 with only a 0.76 margin of victory over the Republican Sias. While the Third Party (L) Sweeny took home 6.7% of the vote. If there would have been a Third Party (L) spoiler on the ballot for the recall elections, the Democrats would have remained in office.

Make no mistake, the Democrats will indeed fund enough third Party (L) spoilers to ensure Democrat victories across the board come November.

Count on it.
 
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Jay24bal

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More conservative counties are quickly losing their voice.
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That sound about right in my neck of the woods in Ohio. We have a handful of heavily populated areas that always vote Democrat, but the state is 80% for Republicans (by land mass, not population, hence how Obama won OH in 2012).

Here is the map for OH.
 
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Tom Servo

Staff
HIckenloper tries to dial it back

The headline reads, "Colorado governor tries to apologize for gun control measures, blames staff, then curses." That's actually a pretty good summary of the situation.

You may recall that 55 of the 62 elected sheriffs brought a suit to challenge the constitutionality of the gun-control laws Hickenloper signed last year. You may also recall that state Senators Morse and Giron (bonus sad clown tears here) were ousted in a historic recall election, and that Senator Hudak resigned just as she was about to be recalled.

Now, when he has to save face, he tries to spread the blame and claim he just didn't realize what a "kerfuffle" his signature would cause. Just...wow.
 
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Aguila Blanca

Staff
How do you know when a politician is lying? His lips are moving.

Hickenlooper also said he felt pressure to sign the bill into law because a member of his staff “made a commitment.”
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Since when do governors make decisions and sign laws on the basis of what some staffer did?

What a dweeb!
 
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Theohazard

New member
I say, make him put his money where his mouth is: Unless he encourages the legislature to repeal the laws, his apologies are obviously meaningless.
 
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Tom Servo

Staff
In a humorous turn of events, Hickenlooper may find himself unemployed this fall.
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That would be necessary to get the various laws overturned, but it'll also depend on at least a couple of seats changing hands in the legislature.

That will depend on driving the same people to the polls who went for the recalls.
 
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MarkCO

New member
The TV ads are flooded with disturbing campaign trash. The potheads have mellowed out and the conservatives are mad as heck that East and west Coast transplants have liberalized the state. I still have hope that we can take the state back, but it will be a long and continued fight.

I am sure that the Dems will get a lot of people going door to door "helping" people fill out their ballots, just hope not enough to give them the margin of victory.

Hick is a lying conniving woos. He has basically threatened to set a murderer free if he is not re-elected, that might be the undoing in and of itself.
 
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