Loose Ends: From the sandbox

The annual spring fling for state politics has arrived. Gubernatorial candidates are jockeying into position for the fall election. Not long after Gov. Bill Ritter announced he was not seeking re-election, sand was kicked up by possible candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties.
The Dems wouldn’t say how they felt about the tight drilling rules instituted by Ritter, while the GOP jumped on it instantaneously. Republican McInnis had been complaining openly about the new oil and gas rules since their inception and continued to speak out about his intent to dismantle the new regulations if he was elected, while recently Democrat Hickenlooper spoke out recently saying that he objected to the tighter regulations, as well. Let the sandbox politics commence.
The last time any of us had a spokesman was in school. It starts in the earliest elementary school classes. Walk into any school cafeteria and you’ll hear such phrases as “She cut. He was first.” It appears to be the ol’ “Me first, mine” argument. Go to a playground and stay awhile. Notice the small skirmishes that arise and quickly end each day.
The springtime partisan political climate seems to have gone back to the playground. That old playground tactic of finding someone else to explain away one’s behavior has already emerged. Every candidate seems to have a spokesman, whose main job is explaining the candidate’s position on various issues.
In response to Hickenlooper’s change of plan for dealing with the more stringent regulations, the GOP might as well scream elementary school-style, “No fair.” The sand throwing will just turn into a sandstorm and none of us will be able to see or hear the real message of the candidates clearly. The problem is that when the dust settles, the lines in the sand won’t be visible anymore.
The issue of who addressed these issues first won’t make any difference at all.
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