TV, September: Armies must settle this

The “Head On” debate between former state Sen. John Andrews (R) and former Denver councilwoman Susan Barnes-Gelt (D), seen daily on Colorado Public Television since 1997, began its September series this week. Andrews dismissed the chimera of UN mediation in Lebanon, recommending: "Let the fighting resume." Other topics this month include the 7th congressional district race, Islamist threats against British air flights, a proposed minimum wage hike, and Beauprez vs. Ritter for Governor.

1. LEBANON CEASEFIRE: WHAT NEXT?

Susan: Both Israel and Lebanon are backing away from the 10-day UN brokered cease fire. Escalating rhetoric resulted from the deaths of three Lebanese soldiers and an Israeli killed by a land mine in south Lebanon. The international community is polarized and prospects for peace are dim.

John: The Lebanon war was started by Hezbollah, a spearhead for Iran in the larger design to destroy both Israel and the United States, after subjugating the Arabs and neutralizing Europe as intermediate steps. The UN is a fraud, and Israel’s cooperation with them is folly. Let the fighting resume.

Susan: And what, exactly, does that mean? Terrorism on steroids? Nuclear war between Iran and Israel? John –the consequences of all out war in the Mideast are dire. I’m not certain that Israel, the United States, the European Union or even Lebanon, Syria or the Saudis are prepared.

John: Democratic Israel, our heroic little ally, confronts a deadly Islamic enemy both north and south. Unless crushed militarily the enemy will never agree to coexist politically. Steely determination is needed in Jerusalem and Washington. No amount of UN rhetoric can settle this. Armies have to.

2. PERLMUTTER-O’DONNELL FOR 7TH CD

John: Suburban voters who liked having Bill Owens as their governor and Bob Beauprez as their congressman will naturally prefer Rick O’Donnell for Congress this year. O’Donnell was terrific as an Owens cabinet member. His experience and his principles make him the right successor to Beauprez. Nancy Pelosi’s friend Ed Perlmutter is not the guy.

Susan: Let’s see. Young Rick O’Donnell thinks Social Security should be eliminated – he wrote about it when he was working for Newt. I don’t think suburban voters are comfortable with that position- nor are they comfortable with his ‘joined-at-the-hip relationship with the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld White House. Rick is an empty canvas.

John: Perlmutter’s a nice guy, but he’s a big-government Democrat. When we were senators together, he was too chummy with organized labor, teacher unions, enviros and the spending lobby. O’Donnell is a better fit for the 7th congressional district. There will never be a doubt that he supports the troops.

Susan: Whoa there Trigger – there’s no doubt that Perlmutter supports the troops. He has a strong record of being elected and re-elected from the western part of the District – conservative JeffCO. He’ll attract plenty of votes in more liberal Boulder and Adams County. Experience trumps Bush’s young friend – O’Donnell.

3. BRITISH AIR TERROR PLOT

Susan: 24 suspects are in custody, thanks to Scotland Yard’s stunning uncovering of a terrorist plot to blow-up airplanes flying to the U.S. from London. It’s critical for the world community to come together to deal with the increasing aggression of terrorism. Unilateral action is not an option.

John: Although September 11 was five years ago on the calendar, it’s as fresh as today in the plans of our bloodthirsty global enemy, the Islamic fascists. This is not just a police problem, it’s a world war. That’s the message from London. Unfortunately the Democrats still don’t get it.

Susan: John you are too smart to sum up the precarious state of the world as a failure of the Democrats to ‘ get it.’ America’s moral authority is gone, The hope for rational debate and action among democratic nations is dimming – and Americans are being asked to shop?

John: America’s moral authority is just fine, thank you. I’m proud to be a citizen of the freest, bravest, most generous nation on earth – I’ll bet most viewers feel the same. Our country, unlike many others, still has backbone, and we will defeat the Muslim murderers, with or without allies.

4. MINIMUM WAGE HIKE FOR COLORADO?

Susan: The Colorado Minimum Wage initiative - Amendment 42 on November’s ballot - would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.85 an hour, with annual inflation adjustments. Congress hasn't raised the federal minimum wage since 1997, though they’ve enjoyed eight pay increases. Colorado’s working people deserve a fair shake.

John: Minimum wage laws are brutally unfair to black and Hispanic workers looking for entry-level jobs. They penalize teenagers and other young people seeking employment. Amendment 42 is a cruel joke from those people’s standpoint. Its 30 percent boost in labor costs would lead many employers to simply hire no one.

Susan: The cruel joke is employers – desperate for workers – are using gift cards, signing bonuses and extra vacation days to recruit and retain employees - instead of affordable heath care and a living wage. $6.85 an hour translates to $274 a week, adding up to $13,700 a year – hardly a king’s ransom.

John: If I need work and you need work done, the pay scale is strictly between us. It’s not your neighbor’s business. It’s not the government’s business. Minimum wage laws kill jobs. They hurt the most vulnerable workers. On Amendment 42, the compassionate vote is a no vote.

5. RITTER-BEAUPREZ IN HOMESTRETCH

John: The best way to think about the contest between Bob Beauprez and Bill Ritter to be Colorado’s next governor is this: Beauprez is a Republican businessman who agrees with Ronald Reagan that government is more often the solution than the problem. Ritter is a Democratic lawyer who believes the opposite. I’m for Beauprez.

Susan: Some days Beauprez – like Grover Norquist – thinks government needs to be drowned in a bathtub. Just last week he said, “Public education in Colorado needs a massive cash infusion.” If Beauprez thinks government is the problem – why doesn’t he go back to his real job as a banker?

John: The governor’s race isn’t about banks or bathtubs, Susan. It’s about leadership. Beauprez’s record as an entrepreneur and congressman exemplifies that. Ritter was indecisive as a prosecutor, and as a candidate he’s wobbly on issues like immigration and abortion. The leader we need is Bob.

Susan: Both ways Bob stepped into it on a women’s right to choose by claiming that 70 percent of those seeking abortion are African American. Somebody ought to tell the Congressman that stereotyping and making stuff up isn’t OK – even for a seasoned politician.

TV, July: Special session not so special

The “Head On” debate between former state Sen. John Andrews (R) and former Denver councilwoman Susan Barnes-Gelt (D), seen daily on Colorado Public Television since 1997, began its July series this week. Andrews gave a barely passing grade to the recent legislative session on immigration. Other topics this month include the Denver mayor’s tax fetish, the narrowing field for governor, North Korean missiles, and Mexico’s new president.

1. SPECIAL SESSION LACKED BANG

Susan: Coloradans paid $75,000 for a special session that was more whimper than bang. Immigration is a federal issue – State government departments can’t even itemize what they’re spending. The session was a circus – all about posturing and politics. The legislature turned a tough human and economic problem into stupid soundbites.

John: Democrats controlling the legislature did the least they could to make illegal aliens less welcome in Colorado. Their weak bills reflected the softness of Salazar, not the toughness of Tancredo. Still the special session was not in vain. Immigration lawbreakers are less welcome here as a result. Secure borders are one step closer.

Susan: John, you are too smart to reduce the complexity of immigration to simple answers. The U.S. must have a secure border – that’s a federal solution. Industry needs workers – that’s a federal solution. The future of 11 million people already in this country demands a federal solution. All else is nonsense.

John: Federal, shmederal, Susan. One billion dollars in taxpayer costs from illegal aliens is a Colorado problem. Two billion dollars in smaller paychecks because of illegals is a Colorado problem. Our ballot issue offered a Colorado solution, but Democrats killed it. Voters should fire them in November.

2. DENVER MAYOR STARTS 4TH YEAR

Susan: Hickenlooper kicked off his re-election campaign at his State of the City address on July 12. His popularity remains strong and he’s stumped successfully for some good stuff – including FasTracks. The focus for his next term will be sustainability – Greenprint Denver, and the 311 system.

John: Typically for a Democrat, Hickenlooper loves tax increases. He’s “stumped successfully” for higher city taxes with the jail, higher metro taxes with transit, higher state taxes with Referendum C. He has shown little interest in better education and little support for law enforcement. Denver’s attractiveness for job creation is at risk.

Susan: Investments in public infrastructure and a well-educated workforce are critical to a healthy economy. Hickenlooper’s support for FasTracks, Denver Public Schools and his new early childhood proposal all focus on those core principles. Hickenlooper’s priorities are right and his values solid. He deserves another term.

John: Oh yeah, the preschool tax. Thank you! I knew there was another Hickenlooper tax hike that I hadn’t mentioned. Be careful, Mayor: Rob Reiner, television’s Meathead, recently lost big in California with his preschool tax. Will Denver voters say no as well? Hick could be heading for trouble.

3. GOV’S RACE DOWN TO TWO

John: After having run for governor, as I once did, you feel differently about would-be governors in the future. The jilted lover is less interested in who else gets the girl. But conservative businessman Bob Beauprez would clearly do a better job with the budget and the economy than liberal lawyer Bill Ritter.

Susan: My you’ve changed your tune – an active partisan feigning indifference – Puleeze. . I sense you’re frustrated with both-ways Bob – watching him change his position on Amendment 38, making it easier for citizens to get to the ballot – because his money boys don’t like it. Next he’ll flip on TABOR!

John: I’m a Beauprez partisan because Beauprez is down the line for Bush. He’s all about cutting taxes, defending the family, winning the war. He’s stronger than Bush on immigration. With liberal lawyer Bill Ritter, who knows? Ritter’s immigration position seems to blow with the wind. Red-state Colorado voters have to prefer Beauprez.

Susan: Ritter’s immigration position is clear: Public agencies should verify citizenship – before providing benefits other than those required by federal law. Employers must be held accountable. The Bobble-head – I mean both ways Beauprez – did nothing during 4 years in Congress – on an issue the federal government must solve.

4. NORTH KOREAN MISSILES

John: The axis of evil is very real and increasingly dangerous. North Korea with its nuclear blackmail and missile shots understands only the language of force. It supports our enemies in Iran with encouragement from China. It threatens our allies in Japan and Taiwan. The US should not rule out military action.

Susan: Slow down there, pardner – Even President Bush favors informal bi-lateral talks and a diplomatic solution. We don’t have proof that Kim Jong Il has the kind of nuclear arsenal the Korean leader is bragging about – and Bush – appropriately wary of opaque intelligence reports – is urging caution.

John: Go to Tony Snow if you want the official White House position. The position from here is more blunt – never give America’s sworn enemies the benefit of the doubt. North Korea and Iran are two of those enemies. China and Russia may also be. We need to carry a big stick.

Susan: Walk softly there, John. It’s way to soon to reveal the big stick. That’s what Pacific policy experts on both sides of the aisle are cautioning. The real issue is whether to begin informal, unilateral discussion with North Korea as a prelude to 6-party talks. Let’s not “fire, aim, ready.”

5. MEXICAN ELECTION

John: Congratulations to our neighbors in Mexico for a clean election and a wise presidential choice. Voters rejected Lopez Obrador, the anti-American leftist, and chose the more conservative Felipe Calderon. Bush should urge the new president to expand economic opportunity through free markets, and stop sending Mexico’s problems northward.

Susan: The remarkable thing about July’s elections was that after nearly 70 years of dominating Mexican elections, Mexico’s “official party” the PRI – the Institutional Revolutionary Party is out of power. They even lost their control of Mexico’s Congress in this past election. It’s a new day for our neighbor to the south.

John: It’s healthy for the PRI to finally have some competition from the PAN party. Calderon is the second consecutive president PAN has elected. Yet Mexico still has no major politician or party offering a real alternative to the collectivism and corruption that make the country so dysfunctional.

Susan: It’s too soon to tell how far Calderon – a well-educated man with an excellent reputation, can advamce more transparency and accountability in Mexico’s government. Vincente Fox made some strides and the big party shifts in Congress bodes well. True reform takes time – or revolution. Let’s hope it’s time.

TV, June: Gore should chill

The “Head On” debate between former state Sen. John Andrews (R) and former Denver councilwoman Susan Barnes-Gelt (D), seen daily on Colorado Public Television since 1997, began its June series this week. Andrews zinged the liberal hysteria over global warming, led by hyperbole-prone Al Gore. Other topics this month include Colorado judges coddling illegal aliens, alleged ballot-issue overload, Iraq after Zarqawi, and the Unity '08 splinter party.

1. GLOBAL WARMING: HOW REAL?

John: The great environmental bogeyman of the 1970s was global cooling. Today the bogeyman is global warming. The common denominator is hostility to capitalism, faith in government, media hype, and shaky science. Panic is not called for. The collapse of the Kyoto Treaty proves that. Memo to Al Gore: chill out.

Susan: The science in 2006 is much better than science in the 1970’s. That’s progress. Capitalistic countries like China and members of the European Union are profiting from energy-smart green technology. We’re nuts if we think wasting water, land and energy doesn’t have consequences. Is your head cooler in the sand?

John: Al Gore actually said it’s okay to slant the evidence in order to win his holy war against fossil fuels. Mainstream media are helping with his scare campaign. Experts like CU’s William Gray are punished for daring to disagree. Central planning trashes the environment. Look at the USSR. Free markets are more earth-friendly.

Susan: It’s not about free markets. Legislation protecting the status quo has inhibited innovation and profits for new technology. Your free market protects auto manufacturers (a tax credit for a giant SUV??), energy companies and corporate polluters. It’s the golden rule – the guy with the gold – rules – not the free market.

2. DEFEND-COLORADO PETITION TOSSED OUT

John: Illegal aliens continue flooding into Colorado. The cost to taxpayers is one billion dollars a year. A popular petition cutting off handouts to illegal aliens was halted by a horrible Supreme Court ruling. The justices were afraid voters would pass it. Gov. Owens should call a legislative special session.

Susan: Now that choice is off the table, Colorado Republicans are desperate for a wedge issue. Sadly and inhumanely, it’s going to be immigration – which is really requires a federal solution. If there’s a special session, the ill-conceived, poorly written, mean spirited amendment will be presented more accurately.

John: Our state must do its part, along with Congress, in taking down the welcome sign for this invasion of illegals by the millions. Illegal aliens hurt public budgets, family budgets, national security, national identity, and the rule of law. Shame on the state Supreme Court for encouraging them.

Susan: Truth in advertising. The bill title should say “Should any Coloradan the right to sue a school, church or hospital for providing services to an undocumented person?” Or “Shall an employer hiring an undocumented worker be fined and jailed?” That’s what Dick Lamm and Tom Tancredo concocted. It’s rubbish.

3. TOO MANY BALLOT ISSUES?

Susan: Colorado’s November ballot may be the longest in nearly 100 years – 15 referred and initiated amendments may qualify. Last time I checked the US was supposed to be a democratic republic. The Colorado constitution mimics Denver’s zoning code – a phone book on steroids – full of neither rhyme nor reason.

John: We’re fortunate that legislative power in Colorado originates with the people. Elected politicians have no monopoly of wisdom. I know, I was one. Citizen petitions are a good way to settle such as issues as the definition of marriage, illegal immigration, education policy, tax refunds, and judicial term limits.

Susan: The threshold should be higher for citizens to put constitutional changes on the ballot. As it is the legislature’s ability to meet Colorado’s needs is inhibited. Partisan political issues – whether it’s the definition of marriage or judicial term limits – don’t belong in the state constitution.

John: Citizen backlash is inevitable when out-of-control judges twist the constitution to devalue traditional marriage, as happened in Massachusetts and could happen here. Stronger constitutional protections are needed. Better restraints on the imperial judiciary are needed too.

4. IRAQ AFTER HADITHA & ZARQAWI

Susan: Dramatic events in Iraq offer opportunity for the U S to regain public credibility. The U.S. military justice system must address the massacre of civilians in Haditha swiftly and severely. The tracking and elimination of Zarqawi at his safe house is a victory for America and a democratic Iraq.

John: General Sherman, fighting for American liberty against the slave power, said truly that war is hell. But war remains preferable to slavery. In today’s Iraq, with Saddam gone, Zarqawi was Bin Laden’s man in Baghdad. Now he too is gone, and victory is one step closer. America must accept nothing less.

Susan: Perhaps the best thing to happen in Iraq is the news that Baghdad finally has a cabinet – including a Sunni Defense Minister. If Prime Minister al-Maliki can draw some of the dissidents into the mainstream government, a stable Iraq is possible. That’s how I define victory.

John: Liberals keep having to define and redefine. They said Al Qaeda was not in Iraq. Now they say the destruction of Al Qaeda’s prince in Iraq doesn’t matter. They said intelligence and police shouldn’t coordinate. But that very coordination recently saved Canada from its own 9/11. This is truly a world war.

5. UNITY PRESIDENTIAL TICKET IN 2008?

Susan: The founders of Unity ’08, the web-based, presidential selection effort, may be on to something. Both major parties are turning off mainstream America due to pandering to special interests and big money. The politics of polarization aren’t working and it’s time for an alternative.

John: This fantasy of a fusion ticket for President, dreamed up in Denver and nominated in cyberspace, sounds like a bad Warren Beatty movie. Retreads from the Carter and Ford administrations want to turn 2008 into that ‘70s show. Not funny. America is better off with Republicans and Democrats competing, not converging.

Susan: A civil, partisan debate is the best way to choose a leader. However, when partisanship sinks to irrelevant carping on both sides – it’s time for a new model. Extremists in both parties dominate and distract from the nation’s real problems – health care, the deficit, national security. It’s time for meaningful change.

John: You’re dreaming, Susan. Splinter movements like Unity ’08 are childish escapism. They sometimes trigger unintended consequences in a big way, as when Perot helped elect Clinton in 1992 and Nader helped elect Bush in 2000. In presidential elections, as on a date, three’s a crowd. I say no thanks.