On Monday night, October 18, 2010, Denver Mayor and candidate for Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper held a statewide live internet streamed “get out the vote” house party where he reiterated his distaste for negative campaign ads.

During his opening comments he explained that, “When you attack a product or a candidate, you dismiss the people that support the candidate. You can’t always win them back.”

In his “cleanest” television ad yet, Hickenlooper is shown walking in and out of the shower fully clothed trying to wash “dirty” politics away.

Rather than sling mud like his competitor Tom Tancredo, he says that, “with all the challenges we face, Colorado needs a governor who brings people together to create jobs and cut government spending. Pitting one group against another or one part of Colorado against another doesn’t help anyone.”

In addition to his revolutionary stance on negative ads, he defended his position on immigration law explaining that inequitable and inconsistent state laws cannot take the place of comprehensive federal policy.

Surprisingly, he defended the Tea Party because he agrees that we should work towards a more efficient government reducing waste and working smarter.

When asked about the slow moving Colorado RTD FasTracks program, Hickenlooper replied that while the regional transit expansion program has slowed due to a reduced tax base and is only used by a small percentage of Denver metro commuters, its expense is justified because it significantly reduces rush hour traffic congestion for a regional population that is expected to grow to 3.39 million people by 2025.

Thus far, John Hickenlooper has run “a clean campaign” based on job creation and economic development despite repeated attacks from American Constitutional Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo. Hopefully, a win will send a clear picture to other political campaigners that the vast majority of people are just plain tired of negative campaigning.

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