Letter to the Editor - Backward Thinking in Rural Colorado

By Marsha Looper

This year’s election is one for the books! First, Governor Ritter the entrenched incumbent decided not to run for re-election and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper leaped in to fill the Democratic candidate void. Next, the GOP candidate is in a meltdown. And now, the American Constitutionalist Party candidate is in a statistical dead heat with the Hickenlooper.



Hickenlooper has dropped another doozie of a declaration against rural families in Colorado. As reported on October 22, 2010 by Michael Sandoval of the National Review Online, Hickenlooper during a 2009 interview made a comment insinuating people living outside of the Denver Metro area are backwards thinking. Here is the Mayor’s comment:

“I think a couple things, I mean, you know, the tragic death of Matthew Shepard occurred in Wyoming. Colorado and Wyoming are very similar. We have some of the same, you know, backwards thinking in the kind of rural Western areas you see in, you know, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico.”

Hickenlooper and his “GIDDY UP’N VOTE BUS TOUR” have swerved into a ditch and over the next couple of days they’ll be trying to steer the bus back on the road to win over the voters in rural Colorado.

The Democrat apparently doesn’t value the fact that hard working men and women in rural Colorado have been growing the crops and raising the cattle that feed the families in this state, this country and the world for generations. Not only do these same farmers and ranchers provide a bounty of food for our nation, they are now providing fuel for our cars and trucks.

Hickenlooper doesn’t seem to value the contributions our agriculture communities in rural Colorado make to our economy and our nation’s security. Does the Mayor even care? Colorado’s 37,000 farms and ranches contribute more than $20 billion annually to Colorado’s economy and provide more than 100,000 jobs in rural Colorado. Colorado agricultural producers rank 2nd in the nation for market sheep & lambs; 4th for cattle on feed; 6tth for winter wheat and 8th for overall hay production! These national rankings reflect the ingenuity, hard work and intelligence of the citizens in our rural communities – not a “backwards thinking” mentality that Hickenlooper claims in his interview.

It’s time for Denver Mayor Hickenlooper to apologize to the people of rural Colorado and appreciate their contributions to Colorado’s quality of life, economy and national security. The millions of people living outside of Denver deserve better representation and leadership than the Democrat candidate who thinks he can insult rural Coloradans and still earn their support in his drive to become governor.

Marsha Looper,

Colorado State Representative-Calhan