More reasons Ritter is vulnerable in 2010

Every day, the evidence continues to mount showing Gov. Bill Ritter is weak and growing weaker.

For months, the media has reported how Ritter has alienated power brokers within his own party after his failure to show leadership on key issues, including vetoing or refusing to support union-payback bills, and appointing the largely unknown Michael Bennet to the U.S. Senate. Insiders have even speculated that Ritter could face a primary from former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver. Ritter also performed poorly in a recent poll from Public Policy Polling, which found that 49 percent of voters surveyed said they did not approve of the job he is currently doing.

In this morning's Denver Post, liberal columnist Mike Littwin discusses Ritter's woes. As Littwin sees it, Ritter's problems stem from lack of charisma and political acumen, and the ability to take credit on issues that involve "windmills" (i.e. his "new energy economy" and not, of course, referencing the Democratic National Convention's Wray wind turbine debacle last year).

Littwin writes: "[Ritter] doesn't have the ear for politics of his predecessor, Bill Owens, who was a conservative who knew how to look moderate, except when he was on national TV railing against, say, JonBenet's 'killers.' Ritter also lacks the self-promotional chops of a Ken Salazar, who was a moderate who looked like a moderate but who seemed to always be immoderately doing something near a TV camera. This is a problem for Ritter. It's one thing to claim the political center. It's another to be stuck, like Ritter, in the middle, somewhere between his union pals and business buddies. Meanwhile at the legislature, liberals grumble Ritter is not enough like them and Republicans grumble because that's apparently the party's national game plan."

Littwin's piece follows another carried in this weekend’s Post written by political reporter Lynn Bartels. In that article, Bartels prompted Democrat and Republican lawmakers to give Ritter’s performance a one-word assessment, comparing their responses to those given on the same subject in 2007. Bartels notes, “Some [lawmakers] praised the governor just as lavishly as they did three years ago, but others clearly are frustrated.”

For example, Rep. Michael Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, and Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, went from describing Ritter as “visionary” two years ago to “mixed” and “measured" today. Both men are chief stewards of the state's teachers' unions, a key Dem constituency. Without labor support in 2010, Ritter will struggle.

Ritter's own description of himself? After a long pause: "leading."

On top of waning support from the far left of his party, Ritter only raised $118,000 in the first quarter of this year. Additionally, insiders suggest he will have a tough time raising more funds because of a perceived vulnerability to a Romanoff primary.

While it might be wise for Ritter to move on to another gig, we sure hope he decides to run in 2010. It’ll be fun watching him squirm. And plus, Colorado voters have supported their incumbent governors in every election since 1974. It could take a lot more messing up for him to lose.