Rocky Mountain News endorses Shafroth

The Rocky Mountain News on Friday endorsed Will Shafroth in the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary, calling him “a professional conservationist who could add a needed perspective to the Washington debate.”

But the editorial spent more time blasting the other two CO-2 Democratic candidates – Joan Fitz-Gerald and Jared Polis – than it did praising Shafroth.

The Rocky “part(s) company with the liberal Shafroth” on “many issues,” such as his belief that conservation and renewable energy sources are adequate to handle future U.S. energy demands.

But it sympathized with Shafroth’s proposal to obtain universal health care through both government and private insurers, and stated “What sets (Shafroth) apart is his lack of shrillness on issues generally, his proven ability to work with people across the political spectrum and his realism on critical issues such as health care and trade.”

More than a third of the editorial, however, was devoted to bashing Polis.

While the Rocky editorial board “actually had hope for Polis' campaign given his obvious intelligence, attractive record as a entrepreneur and avid support for educational choice,” they soured on his populist message against Big Oil – which, the editorial stated, “mimics Huey Long” by “talking trash” but gives only “simplistic” analyses of what the oil industry has actually done wrong.

The Rocky also criticized Polis’ promotion of the “flawed, heavy-handed” Amendment 41 “without bothering to vet properly for problems.”

Fitz-Gerald didn't escape criticism, either.

The former state Senate president is “smart and tenacious,” the editorial stated, but edit board members disagreed with her support of single-payer healthcare and – especially – her opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement.