In losing her bid for the Republican nomination for Gary Hartpence’s U.S. Senate Senate, Jane Norton ran nearly 14,000 votes ahead of Michael Bennet who won the Democratic contest. In fact, about 70,000 more people voted in the GOP primary than did in that of the president’s party — in a state he carried by a margin slightly higher than his margin nationwide. And this in a contest where the two leading Democrats, current President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, had endorsed the competing candidates.
One of our readers noted something interesting about the winner of the Republican primary, a man who ran 26,000 votes ahead of the candidate endorsed by Obama and 54,000 votes ahead of the candidate backed by Bill Clinton (not to mention 12,000 ahead of the candidate backed by John McCain):
I read online that Ken Buck was endorsed by the Tea Party, so I went to his campaign website. I do find myself curious about Republican (& Democrat) candidates and how they exactly they position themselves when it comes to gay marriage/ civil unions & other LGBT related issues.
On his website, he does describe himself as strongly pro-life, but he makes no mention at all about gay marriage.
I also did a quick search and found out, when he was District attorney in 2009, he prosecuted the murder case of Angie Zapata (a trangender woman murdered in 2008 in Colorado) as a “hate crime” under the Matthew Shepard hate crimes act, and he won the case.
Emphasis added. No mention at all about gay marriage? What? Huh? I thought all these anti-establishment Tea Party candidate were finding common cause with social conservatives eager to demonize gay people.
That’s right, Buck also successfully prosecuted of a man who murdered a transgender woman and wants to ensure that the cretin who committed the crime stays locked up for life:
Weld District Attorney Ken Buck said that adding up to 60 years to Andrade’s life sentence was meant to ensure Andrade never got out of jail in a political climate where the death penalty could soon be over turned, bringing life in prison next on the chopping block.
Through the comments to the article, we learn of one means to prevent such murders:
pawneeguy I have had a CCW permit for a long time! Three times I have had to draw my weapon and two of those times were to protect another transgender person. I have never had to fire my weapon and I hope it stays that way.
The only thing better than tough prosecutors who sends murderers to prison are concealed carry laws which prevent them from committing their crimes.
Any candidate that sticks to fiscal/constitutional issues will be a shoo-in. Once they start with the social issues, it all goes down hill very fast. Here in GA, the R race was very tight, probably because Deal ran some last minute, rather ignorant, misleading television ads that really played on homophobia.
Dan, were from the State of California.
Do you know if the Legislature has passed a ‘concealed carry weapon’ law recently?
I hope California voters can pass a ballot initiative (maybe in 2010 or 2012?) that creates the most strong gun-rights legislation in the entire country, if the Left-wing liberal California legislature can not. It is a great idea! Given the fact that California is a huge State with millions of people who just want to defend themselves. Do you want to be the proponent of such a ballot initiative in the near future or at least persuade someone you know who can? =D