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Best Colorado Politician
Andrew Romanoff, the Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, is a rising star in the Democratic party and an innovative lawmaker. After Colorado's economic downturn in 2001-2003, Romanoff worked with Republican Governor Bill Owens to craft Referendum C, a five-year reprieve from the spending limits of the TABOR amendment. The funds generated by Ref C (estimated to be nearly $6 billion by 2010) are used for education, health care and transportation. Romanoff is term-limited this year, but he is the likely choice to replace Mike Coffman as Secretary of State when Coffman gets elected to the US Congress. Keep your eye on Romanoff, he could be governor someday.
Best Political Writer
David Sirota was already one of America's leading political journalists when he decided to move to Denver in 2007. He writes a weekly column for the Denver Post in addition to regularly contributing to The Nation and The American Prospect. Here is Sirota's latest missive, a brilliantly written attack on the bailout bill. Legendary Texas political commentator Molly Ivins once said, “David Sirota is a new-generation populist who instinctively understands that the only real questions are ‘Who’s getting screwed?’ and ‘Who’s doing the screwing?’”
Best Political Radio Host
In a talk radio era dominated by reptilian Nazis, KHOW 630 host Dan Caplis conveys a sly comedic sense while satirizing the likes of Sean Hannity with deliciously twisted right-wing madness. His co-host, former tough-as-nails Denver Chief Deputy District Attorney Craig Silverman, plays against type as a caricature of the ineffectual Democrat in the Alan Colmes genus. Silverman hits his mark, listen to this show often enough and he'll convince you that a 10-year old kid could out-debate him. This brilliant Caplis riff (a little past the halfway mark in the podcast) on the Obama-McCain debate, featuring the comedic gem, "Obama, talking to this war hero, this older man who looked very young and virile," is his funniest recent highlight. Check out Dan and Craig every weekday from 3-6 p.m., I promise that you will not stop laughing.
Best Political Website
If you want to focus and narrow down your news sources in the last month leading up to the election, make PolitickerCO.com your homepage. The site has everything you need when it comes to Colorado politics.
Top 5 Historically Important Coloradans On The National Political Scene
1. Byron "Whizzer" White
Byron White was a star running back at the University of Colorado before being appointed to the Supreme Court by John F. Kennedy in 1962. His tenure on the court lasted 31 years and included the Warren Commission and Roe V. Wade, in which White dissented. The NFL currently gives out the Byron "Whizzer" White award to one player each year for charity work.
2. Ralph Carr
Ralph Carr was Colorado's governor from 1939-1943. As World War II broke out and Japanese-Americans began being interned in prison camps, Carr put his political career on the line and urged Coloradans to welcome the evacuees from the West Coast. Taking this stand cost Carr the governorship, but he has been redeemed by history... the Denver Post even named Carr its "Coloradan of the Century" in 1999.
3. Madeline Albright
Madeline Albright was born in Prague, but she grew up in Denver and attended the Kent Denver School. When Albright was confirmed as Bill Clinton's Secretary of State in 1996, she became the highest-ranking woman in American history. Interestingly, Albright's father founded the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver, where his favorite student was none other than Condoleeza Rice.
4. Caroline Churchill
Caroline Churchill was the leading figure in Colorado's suffrage movement in the late 19th century. In 1879, she founded the Colorado Antelope (later changed to the Queen Bee), one of the first American women's rights newspapers. In 1893, after Colorado's male voters approved the suffrage referendum, Churchill's Queen Bee headline shouted, "Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy, Come to Colorado Now, This Shall Be the Land for Women!"
5. Gary Hart
Gary Hart was a US Senator from Colorado from 1975-1987 and a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in both 1984 and 1988. Despite an illustrious career and a well-respected intellect in foreign affairs, Hart set the template for the "politician-forever-known-for-stupidly-being-caught-in-adultery" model that we are now all too familiar with.
