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Fed-up moderates reflect GOP split

Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 4, 2006 at midnight

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Newly retired lawmaker Norma Anderson always referred to herself as an Eisenhower Republican, a conservative in search of solutions.

But some Republicans referred to the longtime-Lakewood lawmaker as a "squish" and a RINO.

Such names reflect a growing split in the GOP that pits moderates against conservatives and fiscal Republicans against social-issue Republicans.

"We don't know what the Republican Party in Colorado stands for," said Jon Caldara, president of the conservative Independence Institute think tank .

He's fond of the term "squish," saying it means someone who talks like a Republican but votes like a Democrat. Likewise, RINO is shorthand for Republican In Name Only.

Anderson abruptly resigned Tuesday before her 20th and final year in office, saying she is ready to move on.

But she also was sick of partisan bickering and barbs from the more conservative wing of the party.

And she isn't alone in her frustration.

The same complaints have been echoed by Rep. Mark Larson, R-Cortez, who opted against running for the state Senate, and former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Ignacio, who announced Tuesday he won't run for governor.

"Larson isn't running? That's terrific!" Caldara said Tuesday. "He's a squish.

"Norma Anderson and Mark Larson are great people. I like them. But they do not represent the values of the Republican Party."

Larson's response: "I care not what Jon Caldara thinks of me. I represent my district and the values of the Republican Party that I joined some 30-plus years ago. Colorado is not a right-wing, neo-con state."

House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, of Denver, said he believes one problem for the GOP is that the party is divided between what he called the the "Republicans and the Republican'ts."

But Bob Martinez, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, thinks talk of a division is just that - talk.

"When people have decided to get out of politics, then they're free to vent their personal frustration," he said. "I think a lot of it goes back to Referendum C and D, although I wouldn't say all of it."

Republicans last year were divided on the tax measures, with Owens working with Democrats and a minority of Republicans to get the issues on the ballot.

Caldara was the leading opponent and repeatedly attacked Owens, accusing him of supporting the largest tax increase in state history. Anderson and Larson also supported the measures.

"I'm not a social-issues conservative," Caldara said. "For me the issue is the size and scope of government, and those who believe the size and scope should be larger are simply not Republicans."

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