Ned Lamont's victory in Connecticut should send chills up the spines of appeasement Democrats everywhere. In particular, Colorado's junior senator Ken Salazar should reconsider his July 5th statement that he would "support Joe Lieberman for the primary and beyond the primary." What happened in the Nutmeg State can happen in the Centennial State; what happened to Lieberman can happen to Salazar. But it's not clear that Salazar will change his accommodationist ways. Ever since the DLC and party insiders strong-armed Colorado Democrats into accepting Salazar as the 2004 US Senate nominee, almost every month we have had to swallow another Salazar betrayal. See below for some egregious examples...
Denver Post (1/7/05): Supporting Alberto Gonzales
Almost as soon as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee was done criticizing White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales on Thursday, Sen. Ken Salazar spoke up to endorse him for attorney general. [...]
"We both understand the struggles people face as they try to build a better life for our families in America," said Salazar, D-Colo.
Salazar, a friend of Gonzales, said it was not awkward to follow Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who questioned Gonzales' independence and criticized his stance on the use of torture in the war on terrorism.
"None of my colleagues on the Democratic side have criticized me," Salazar said. "I was very comfortable making the introduction."
Rocky Mountain News (8/2/05): Coddling Gun Makers
Last week, [Salazar] joined the Senate's Republican majority in voting for a bill that would prohibit most civil lawsuits against firearms manufacturers and sellers.
Denver Post (9/26/05): Supporting John Roberts
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar announced Sunday that he will vote for the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court chief-justice nominee John Roberts because Salazar believes Roberts will protect the rights of women and minorities.
"I don't think he would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade," said the Colorado Democrat, referring to the 1973 ruling that gave women the right to have an abortion. [...]
Salazar said he had been concerned by memos Roberts wrote earlier in his career challenging affirmative action, civil rights and women's rights.
But after talking with Roberts, Salazar concluded that the nominee "will not have an agenda on the bench."
Denver Post (12/23/05): Supporting Condi and the Bankruptcy Bill
By mid-February, Salazar had disappointed Democratic backers two more times. He voted to confirm Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state. And he voted for GOP-backed legislation that makes it tougher for people to write off their credit card debt by filing for bankruptcy. [...]
AP (1/19/06): Undermining Colleagues by Blocking the Alito Filibuster
Colorado Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar will vote against the nomination of Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court but will likely not take the next step and call for a filibuster.
In a statement Thursday, Salazar said he cannot support Alito, President Bush's pick to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, because he is convinced the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge "will move the Supreme Court outside the mainstream of American law." [...]
"Judge Alito is the wrong person for this seat on this court at this time in our nation's history," Salazar said.
Rocky Mountain News (3/29/06): Loving the War
Sen. Ken Salazar distanced himself Tuesday from fellow Democrats who are calling for an accelerated withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. [...]
"I think it would be a mistake for us to walk away from Iraq," Salazar told reporters before the White House visit. "I think we've already shed enough blood and limb and life in Iraq. What we need to do is figure out a way of moving forward and succeeding in Iraq."
Rocky Mountain News (7/6/06): Loving Lieberman
But Salazar said Wednesday [7/5] that he is in Lieberman's camp and that he will support him in an independent bid if he loses the Democratic primary.
"I will support Joe Lieberman for the primary and beyond the primary," Salazar said. "I appreciate his strong stance of independence. We need more senators like Joe Lieberman."
Denver Post (6/28/06): Flag Worship
By a single vote, the Senate defeated a constitutional amendment Tuesday that would have given Congress the power to ban desecration of the American flag.
Colorado's two senators - Democrat Ken Salazar and Republican Wayne Allard - voted for the measure, which fell one vote short of the 67 needed for passing a constitutional amendment. [...]
"I do not believe that laws narrowly prohibiting the desecration of our flag in any way undercut the principles embedded in the First Amendment," said Salazar.
Pueblo Chieftain (8/1/06): Loving the War Some More
A letter from House and Senate Democratic leaders urging President Bush to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq this year did not get support from Sen. Ken Salazar and his brother, Rep. John Salazar, both Colorado Democrats, on Monday [7/31].
The letter, signed by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, as well as other senior Democrats on key committees, said violence in Iraq is worsening and said the Bush administration's plan to shift more U.S. troops to Baghdad was only a plan "to avoid defeat." [...]
Asked to comment, Sen. Ken Salazar noted that both Republican and Democratic senators had supported a resolution last year that said Iraq should take more responsibility for its security in 2006 - but said he did not endorse setting a timetable for pulling U.S. soldiers out of Iraq.
"I want the United States to succeed in Iraq," Salazar said in a statement. "I agree with my colleagues that the administration has not articulated a coherent, sustainable strategy to stabilize Iraq. While I do not support linking the U.S. troop presence in Iraq to a specific timetable or hard deadlines, I continue to believe that 2006 should be a year of transition in Iraq, in which Iraqis assume greater responsibility for their own security. I have every confidence in our troops; they are performing remarkably in extremely dangerous conditions."