Is the 2nd CD this year's 5th CD fight?

Some of us were highly amused in 2006 to watch 5th CD fight wherein candidates Jeff Crank, Bentley Rayburn and Doug Lamborn punched it out, embarrassing themselves (or at least some of themselves) with such polarizing rhetoric that it eventually drew national attention.

Unfortunately so far the combatants in the 5th district re-match this year are generally comporting themselves with dignity.

Too bad.

But fortunately, for entertainment’s sake we now have the same kind of race in the 2nd CD.

“Maybe the Democrats have been too successful,” said one GOP strategist wishfully about the 2nd CD fight.

“It certainly looks like there is race by some candidates on the Democratic side to define themselves as very progressive,” says a Democrat from Denver.

Our Denver Dem points out, for example, the leftward march on the war by candidates in the 2nd CD where Jared Polis has come out strongly against the war in Iraq, a bellwether issue with Democrat activists.

In response to Polis’ accusation that she is soft in her opposition to the war in Iraq Joan Fitz-Gerald’s website says that she opposed any additional troops in Iraq last spring.

“While that’s great meat for the caucus, it’s not going to play well with the general population,” says our Denver Dem. “The so-called ‘surge’ has taken the issue off the table. Anyone who was against it looks silly right now. It could hurt us statewide.”      

But what’s unfortunate, says some partisan watchers of the 2nd CD race, are the personal attacks that have come from the campaigns recently, especially from the Polis side.

“Jared and Will both promised to run an issues-based campaign,” says one Democrat activist. “They don’t seem like they’re doing that. They look more like they’re crying.”

Over the last several weeks 2nd CD candidates Polis and Will Shafroth have been engaged in framing charges and counter-charges against each other of campaign finance violations.

The latest charge from the Shafroth campaign is that Polis may have stolen a proprietary email list.

With a plentiful bank account a guy like Polis could keep the entertainment up until August.