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Colo. guv debate lights up

Gloves come off in second face-off

DENVER – Gov. John Hickenlooper and Republican challenger Bob Beauprez came out swinging Tuesday night during the second gubernatorial debate of the Colorado campaign season.

The gloves truly came off when the two candidates had a chance to ask each other questions during the one-hour debate moderated by The Denver Post.

Hickenlooper, a Democrat, grilled Beauprez, a former congressman, on abortion, more specifically whether he supports so-called “personhood,” or assigning constitutional rights to the unborn.

The governor tied the question to a program in which Colorado provided contraception to teens, resulting in a 40 percent drop in the teen birth rate.

“Congressman, you switched on personhood this election, but you’re still convinced that abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, should be illegal. ... Do you support giving public money for these contraceptions?” he asked the challenger.

Beauprez said he does not support the personhood amendment but he does support personhood as a concept.

“... Some believe that personhood refers to life beginning at conception,” Beauprez said. “I have no problem with people using contraception. I have a big problem ... with publicly funding contraceptions that are actually abortifacients.”

Beauprez said he considers intrauterine devices to be abortifacients.

In his second question, Hickenlooper poked fun at Beauprez for suggesting he would send the Colorado National Guard to Texas to deal with the humanitarian crisis of stranded immigrant children on the border. Beauprez later clarified that he would send the National Guard only on a humanitarian mission.

Hickenlooper tied the question to federal lands, pointing out that Beauprez supports the state considering taking over federal lands. The overall question had to do with how to fund such proposals.

Beauprez said both comments were taken out of context.

“John, to suggest that somehow bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., know how to better take care of Colorado land than Coloradans, that’s an insult to Coloradans,” Beauprez said.

When it was Beauprez’s time to ask questions, he first hit Hickenlooper on the Affordable Care Act. Beauprez pointed out that the Colorado Division of Insurance didn’t believe it had the authority to allow the state to extend policies that didn’t comply with the ACA. The division reversed that decision and allowed insurance companies a one-year extension, a policy that is potentially at odds with state law.

“Why’d you break the law?” Beauprez asked Hickenlooper.

The governor answered the question by pointing to the benefits of the health-care act.

“Certainly, I would have done health care in a different way. ... But I do think it’s worth pointing out that there are now 411,000 people in Colorado who have health insurance who didn’t have any insurance before,” Hickenlooper said.

He said that there was a less than 1 percent growth in individual insurance premiums in Colorado after the act, and 2.4 percent for the small group market – a significant decrease over previous double-digit numbers.

“That is amazing progress,” Hickenlooper said.

Beauprez then jabbed the governor on a familiar topic: Hickenlooper’s temporary reprieve from execution for convicted killer Nathan Dunlap. Beauprez pivoted to James Holmes, who is standing trial for the 2012 Aurora movie theater massacre.

“If a jury were to convict James Holmes and sentence him to death, would you grant a temporary reprieve there as well?” Beauprez asked.

Hickenlooper hit right back, pointing out that Beauprez had been hesitant earlier in the debate to answer hypothetical questions.

But then the governor answered, maintaining his opposition to the death penalty.

“In terms of other killers that are on trial right now, I still think government shouldn’t be taking people’s lives,” Hickenlooper said.

The debate also touched on other issues, including a new law that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license. Beauprez said he would repeal the law, while Hickenlooper said it has benefits, including curbing hit-and-run incidents.

Hickenlooper and Beauprez also disagreed on climate change. Beauprez said he does not believe climate change is significantly caused by humans, while Hickenlooper said he now believes global warming is primarily human-caused.

On the economy, the two candidates disagreed greatly.

“The first and foremost thing we have to do after four years of his administration is make sure that all of Colorado gets moving,” Beauprez said.

He suggested that surrounding states with Republican governors are doing better economically, especially around job growth.

Hickenlooper called Beauprez’s comments about the economy “ludicrous.” The state’s unemployment rate has dropped from 9.1 percent to 5.1 percent under Hickenlooper’s administration.

pmarcus@durangoherald.com

Oct 23, 2014
City Span to air guv debate


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