Ten Years Ago this week in The Colorado Statesman … Gov. Bill Owens ended a “scorching hot July” by signing 10 controversial immigration bills that emerged from a special session called at the beginning of the month. The centerpiece of the bipartisan package was a piece of legislation Owens called “the toughest law dealing with illegal immigration enacted anywhere in the country,” which required government agencies to verify an applicant’s legal status. “The goal is to stem the tide of illegal immigration coming into Colorado,” he said. “Fortunately, in a bipartisan effort we have been able to take meaningful action.” …

… Colorado was Ground Zero in one of the hottest debates of the mid-term election year over the ethics of embryonic stem cell research, and the fight was just getting started, said U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette. President George W. Bush had issued his first-ever veto in July, killing a bipartisan bill sponsored by DeGette to provide federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. But at a protest in Denver, DeGette promised a crowd of research advocates in the parking lot of the First Universalist Church on Hampden that she would do everything in her power to keep the issue in front of Bush “every day, in every way.” As Air Force One was touching down at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora – the president was joining fellow Republican 7th Congressional District candidate Rick O’Donnell for a fundraiser – DeGette told the crowd, “I say shame on Bush. He said ‘no’ to hope for millions of Americans. He said ‘no’ to promising scientific research. And he said ‘no’ to 72 percent of Americans who support [embryonic stem cell research] in a solid bipartisan majority.” It was unacceptable, she said, that Bush had refused to meet with her before the veto but had time to visit her district to raise money for O’Donnell at a $1,000-a-plate luncheon. “Are you mad today?” she asked. “I’m mad too. I’m mad because President Bush is just a mile that way in a sealed-off enclave raising money for an anti-embryonic stem cell research candidate.” She pointed out that when Bush vetoed the legislation, he used the babies born from adopted embryos as a reason for his opposition. “But God forbid those beautiful babies develop diabetes or Parkinson’s disease,” she said. “God forbid their parents get that late-night phone call saying their child has been involved in a debilitating car accident. We are all just one phone call away from needing the cures that stem cells hold. What the president is saying to those babies is, we got you here, now if anything happens to you, you’re out of luck.” …

… A heated GOP primary in Jefferson County’s Senate District 22 was getting even more scorching, charged Justin Everett, one of three candidates vying for the nomination. He claimed that fellow candidate Mike Kopp had “decided to use the judicial system for a cheap shot, short-term political gain and to get his name in the newspapers,” and had at least attained the latter goal. Kopp had encouraged supporters to file a campaign finance complaint against the incumbent and third candidate in the race, Kiki Traylor, who had been the target of another Kopp complaint when she was appointed to the seat by a vacancy committee earlier that year. “Mike is at it again,” Everett said. “He prefers to drag fellow Republicans to court versus taking on these issues in a public forum.” Everett warned that, if elected, Kopp would continue taking Republicans to court to get his way. “Being a law school graduate, an arbitrator and a mediator for Jefferson County courts, I firmly believe that we should avoid going to court whenever possible, especially on frivolous charges such as these,” Everett said. Traylor said she had accepted the endorsement of the Colorado Education Association and Jefferson County Education Association but had torn up the $1,000 CEA check and the $2,000 JCEA check they gave her as soon as she received them. State Reps. Don Lee and Rob Fairbank filed the complaint, saying she nonetheless should have reported the contributions, although the secretary of state’s office said that, unlike cash, check donations aren’t considered accepted until they’re deposited. An administrative law judge was hearing the case. …

… Stephen Stills, of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young quartet, introduced the haunting ballad “Helplessly Hoping” at a fundraiser for congressional candidate Ed Perlmutter and dedicated it to the Republicans. It was just one of numerous barbs tossed at the GOP in the back yard of the Haddon Morgan Freeman law firm a few hours before Stills was set to perform at a sold-out show at Red Rocks, reunited with his three bandmates. “We used to think Richard Nixon was the bogeyman. This man makes Nixon look nice,” Stills said, referring to President George W. Bush. Stills was a longtime friend of former Sen. Gary Hart and Hart’s longtime campaign manager, Hal Haddon. He heartily endorsed Perlmutter in his Democratic primary for the 7th Congressional District seat being vacated by gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez. After singing the Buffalo Springfield classic “There’s Something Happening Here,” Stills took aim at the Bush administration and Republican-controlled Congress. “This economy is based on a house of cards that defies gravity,” he said. After Stills sang the final song of the evening, “Teach Your Children,” Perlmutter said the crooner ought to be running for office. “People have had enough,” the actual candidate asserted. “Enough of Cheney, Rove, Bush and the Republican chokehold on Washington.” While campaigning around the suburban district, Perlmutter added, he’d run into plenty of Republicans who had become Democrats. Perlmutter said they used what he called the “F” and the “A” words – “fascist” and “authoritarian” – when they told him about it. “We’re not safer than we were before,” Perlmutter added.

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com