OPINION: Salazar and his replacement
Congratulations to Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., who President-elect Barack Obama reportedly has chosen as interior secretary. Coloradans should be pleased to see one of their own in Obama's Cabinet, especially in a position that oversees oil and gas drilling on public lands. It's not that Salazar has been a "drill, baby, drill" advocate, not by any stretch. But nobody else Obama was likely to choose would be more of a drilling advocate, and at least Salazar is someone Coloradans know and understand. At least, one might hope, he would have more motivation to help Colorado's economy than others on Obama's short list.
Salazar's appointment leaves Gov. Bill Ritter to make a valuable Senate appointment, which he's not likely to sell. This isn't Illinois, after all.
For limited-government advocates and freedom-minded individuals, none of the likely suspects sound good. Conventional wisdom has an "A" list that consists of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper; U.S. Reps. John Salazar, Ed Perlmutter and Diana DeGette; former U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland, and outgoing state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. All are statist liberal Democrats, so that's what we're going to get.
Ritter should give extra special consideration to Romanoff, who's an impassioned, bright, articulate and tireless young politician with a promising future. Whomever Ritter picks, let's hope he or she makes individual liberty and the needs of Colorado top priorities in Washington.
