I attended last night's dinner of the Washington Policy Center, a local center-right think-tank. Colorado Gov. Bill Owens was the keynote speaker. P.J. O'Rourke gave a very funny talk before the dinner. He explained why he hates politics and knows that the WPC is a good organization because not all of its policy recommendations entail politics. Politics, O'Rourke says, is not the right solution to every problem in society, just as frying is not the right solution to every problem in the kitchen. He also told an hilarious tale of watching a cow being artificially inseminated (visualize a man with his entire arm rammed up the cow's fundament), and likened the expression on the cow's face to the expression on his own face after reading the $180 billion federal agricultural subsidy bill.
Gov. Owens started his after-dinner talk with some examples of how he has improved state government. The most interesting to me was his executive order to end payroll deductions for the union dues of government employees, which had long been done without proper statutory authority. Union membership fell by 70%. Obviously, this protects the paychecks of the majority of state employees who don't see value in paying union dues. It also prevents the union from using its skim of tax dollars to engage in inappropriate influence of the political process. A similar measure would do a world of good here in Washington State.
Then Owens shifted to foreign policy. He talked of America as a fundamentally isolationist nation that onlly reluctantly got involved in the three great wars of the 20th century. He told of his own uncle who fell in battle in World War I; he quoted Life Magazine of January 1946 which claimed that we were losing the peace in Europe and that "a great many Europeans feel that the cure was worse than the disease". He pointedly observed that the media got it wrong then as they are getting it wrong now; he twice quoted Edmund Burke "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing", once before and once after his anecdote from one of his many visits to Russia where he has seen for himself the victims of Communism. The point being that the many good men did too little to stop the small band of Bolsheviks who took over and destroyed a great nation. By implication we good men must also prevail to prevent tyranny from re-establishing itself in Iraq, in spite of what the reflexively wrong might say. We must also prevail to turn back the slow encroachments on freedom here at home, including, for example, standing up to the public employee unions in order to defend the economic rights of both taxpayers and public employees.
Gov. Owens is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2008. For a governor to spend half of his speech on foreign affairs is an indication that he's working towards higher office. He's a compelling speaker and demonstrated clear thinking on both foreign and domestic issues. I have no idea who else will be running in 2008 and it's a bit too early to really think about it. But I'll be looking at Gov. Owens with great interest in the next few years.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at September 30, 2004 12:40 PMHere's a tidbit of info for my favorite fellow blogger - Gov. Owens debated former Gov. Howard Dean, MD in San Fran at the latest ACLU convention. He was good and passionate and well-armed with facts... but I rooted for Dean a bit more than him :-).
You're always more than welcome to check out http://josef-a-k.blogspot.com and reply...
Posted by: Josef on September 30, 2004 05:34 PM(Sigh) The ditches of New Hampshire are lined with the bodies of visionaries who had too many ideas to survive the Race to the "Lowest Common Denominator" that is the modern primary process: Pete DuPont, Steve Forbes, Howard Dean...
The primary process demands a well-known name whose politics are too bland to make him a lightning rod. 2008 belongs to McCain or Giuliani.
Posted by: Matt J Kurlander on October 1, 2004 10:14 AMHmmm, obviously these Owens fans aren't from Colorado. It's quite well known here that Owens' personal picadillos make Bill Clinton look like a saint.
Or doesn't that matter since Owens is a Republican and a FOG (friend of George)?
Posted by: sharonna on January 10, 2005 05:10 PMBill Owens isn't qualified to be a small-town dog catcher. He's merely fiddled while Colorado has burned, both socially and financially. Bill's been in over his head since 1998, but so have many of his butt-buddies in the legislature who have systematically played to the most greedy nature of the middle-class by scuttling human services, culture, and higher education. People keep living here despite him and his lack of vision. When is the last time Bill or any of his ilk have said anything positive about Colorado?
Posted by: Thomas Paine on February 28, 2005 06:24 PMHave you folks seen this gaffe by the Governor today?
"DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- Colorado Gov. Bill Owens apologized for saying "the natives are getting restless" during a conference on tribal gambling.
Owens made the remark at the Western Governors' Association Summit after a participant's microphone wouldn't work and he urged it be fixed quickly. Some attendees told the Rocky Mountain News the audience fell silent, then groaned and chuckled.
"It was an inadvertent comment that the governor regrets," Owens' spokesman Dan Hopkins said Thursday. "He apologizes to anyone who was offended."
Well, if the governor cannot be trusted to keep derogatory comments to himself in such a controlled atmosphere, then it appears that he isn't mature enough to hold even the position he currently occupies.
He apparently either does believe that Native Americans are a lower class of people or he just doesn't care. A governor is expected to keep a balance of care for all people in his or her state plus not to be so quick to utter racial statements.
Too bad for Colorado. The hidden problem here is that a Governor that is insensitive is also prone to not care about taking care of the state that depends on him. Political ambitions appear to be the driving force for this governor.
Colorado deserves far better than this. We all do.
Posted by: Robert Sherrell on April 1, 2005 12:48 PMSilly angry libs...
Owens is widely liked in Colorado and is responsible for creating one of the most fiscally responsible states in America.
Comments on possible adultery has to be one of the most offensive things I have ever heard and Sharona you should be ashamed. Owens approval ratings are among the highest for a governor in America, I understand he may not fit your political beliefs, but fortunatly, you are in the minority.
The 'natives' comment is so ridiculously not serious, that it shows how weak the liberal argument against Owens in Colorado is.
As for Mr. Paine's comments about his intellectual capability, I hope you seek to research your claims for Owens is highly respected on the national level for his ability to run a state. So much so, he was recently named the Best Governor in America by the New Republic.
His candidacy for 2008 would be without a doubt one of the strongest among the current field of candidates.
Especially considering that Mr. Kurlander's comments are very off. John McCain cannot win a Republican primary unless if his Gang of 14 happens to come off as a strong faction that ensures the nominations of conservative justices to the supreme court. Anything less and he will again lose to a more conservative politician.
Currently the frontrunners are George Allen, Mike Huckabee, Bill Frist, and Mitt Romney and Bill Owens, but I feel that Tom Tancredo's candidacy will definitely make waves with the media and he may prove to be a dark horse. However, my pick to get the nomination would be Owens.
Posted by: Steven K on July 14, 2005 10:28 PMI would just like to say to sharonna, there is no proof that Owens had an affair, and yet you say it like it is well known that he did. It is just pure specualation as to why he and his wife split.
I for one think he would run a great campaign, and be an even greater president. Also, to Matt, as much as I like McCain and Giuliani, I don't think either of them would win the primary. They're, if there is such a thing, too moderate, Giuliani in pro-choice. Republicans are going to look for someone more conservative, like Owens.