U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter and Congressman-elect Jason Crow have gotten themselves, and the constituents they represent, into a political jam.
Both promised not to vote for Nancy Pelosi to control the U.S. House as speaker — it was a huge issue in Crow’s campaign — but now Nancy is the only one running.
What to do, what to do …
They can either break their promise, their word, and forever be labeled “liar, liar, pants on fire.”
Or, they can keep their promise and make an enemy of the most powerful Democrat in Washington. Add to that mixture their alienation of the Republican president, and what happens then?
They deliver exactly squat for their district and constituents.
This might not be as big a problem for Perlmutter — no one in Washington knows who he is, anyway.
But Crow’s name is already popping up in the national news as a “no” vote for Nancy, because he made a big deal about the promise.
Not helping Colorado at all, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette is challenging the Democratic whip for his seat. So when she loses that bid, voters in her district will also pay the price.
PeakNation™ will recall that DeGette, a white woman who has served for 21 years, is challenging a black man who’s served for 25 years on the grounds of needed diversity and fresh leadership.
The only Democrat left in the delegation who hasn’t pissed off Democratic leaders, is incoming Congressman Joe Neguse, who was elected to fill Jared Polis’s seat.
According to Roll Call, Neguse is one of a handful of candidates nationwide who managed to escape the Pelosi question and get through the entire campaign without a single reporter getting his stance on the record.
Which puts Neguse in the awkward position of splitting with the Colorado delegation in leadership votes, or joining them in pitting newly powerful Democrats against out state.
Ironically, a talking point against Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton in the 3rd Congressional District — if Democrats take the House, the Western Slope would lose their influence and get nothing from Washington.
Luckily for the Western Slope, they ignored those whispers and now they have Tipton in the House, Republicans ruling the Senate, and a Republican president who looks favorably upon western issues.