A new Quinnipiac poll shows Colorado’s incumbent Democratic governor John Hickenlooper down ten points to Republican challenger Bob Beauprez.
Michelle Malkin explains why:
It was Hickenlooper who caved to East Coast gun-control zealots and partisan White House lobbying. As Democratic state legislators rigged the hearing process, snubbed Colorado constituents and insulted Second Amendment-supporting women during hearings last year, Hickenlooper was chumming it up on the phone with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Vice President Joe Biden.
You may remember how well ramming through gun control initiatives worked out for Colorado Democrats: Two Democratic state senators got recalled and a third resigned rather than face a recall election.
Hickenlooper was a key player in getting those unpopular measures passed, and this year he may pay the price for it, despite his incredulity at the issue being held against him. (“”What the f—? I apologized!”)
For all the talk of Colorado turning blue, keep in mind that Obama only won 51.5% of the vote in 2012. And if Hickenlooper loses, that will leave exactly one Democratic governor “left standing between California and Missouri.”
Even a Washington Post piece that poo-poos the Quinnipiac poll notes that Hickenlooper has “refused to make clear his position.” They were talking about his position on the Keystone pipeline, but the description applies just as well to a number of other issues Hickenlooper has refused to take a stand on. Long-time political observers know exactly what such reticence indicates: A liberal politician unwilling to let voters know exactly how far-left and out of touch his core convictions are compared to theirs.
One of those issues is flip-flopping on whether to allow the execution of a convicted murderer:
Last month, Bob Crowell — father of 19-year-old murder victim Sylvia Crowell — blasted Hickenlooper for indefinitely delaying the execution of mass murderer Nathan Dunlap. When Hickenlooper confided in CNN that he might grant Dunlap clemency if he loses in November, Crowell didn’t mince words. “I think that’s the coward’s way out, and I view John Hickenlooper as a coward.”
After the recall, I wrote “Bottom line: If you’re a politician, and you choose to listen to Nurse Bloomberg rather than your constituents, you will be replaced.” I suspect that John Hickenlooper is about to learn that, good and hard.