In a January 21 editorial (“True colors: Senator's moderate mask seems to be slipping”), The Gazette of Colorado Springs listed -- and in one instance, misrepresented -- three initiatives advanced by Colorado Democratic U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar as evidence that “Salazar's more liberal streak seems to be showing.” But the editorial omitted the fact that the measures it listed enjoy bipartisan support.

The Gazette stated that it had received three press releases from Salazar's office in the previous week that “suggest the senator may be losing his centrist moorings”:

He's no Ted Kennedy or Barbara Boxer, to be sure. He's savvy enough to keep a safe distance from the party's lunatic fringe, by occasionally casting a contrarian vote. But if part of how one defines a liberal is a reflexive reliance on governmentcentered solutions, a distrust of markets and a willingness to spend money wildly, Salazar seems to be drifting in that direction.

Three press releases we received from his offices in the past week suggest the senator may be losing his centrist moorings. One indicated that Salazar wants to add $5 billion -- that's 5,000 million dollars -- to a supplemental military spending bill, for farmers and ranchers hit hard by drought and winter storms. Another had Salazar doing a classic Washington straddle, saying he supported a federal minimum wage hike, but wanted to ease the burden this might impose on small businesses by giving them some tax breaks. A third had the senator rolling out a package of bills he says -- with all due modestly -- will “break America's addiction to foreign oil.” How will he do it? By getting American addicted to corn drippings (read ethanol) instead, and -- what else? -- boosting federal supports for “biofuels ” and “renewables.” We're still waiting for the fourth press release, announcing that he'll part the Red Sea or end poverty in Africa.

Agricultural relief

On January 12, Salazar issued a release (“Sen. Salazar Works with Senate Leadership to Introduce Ag Disaster Relief; Legislation Would Benefit Farmers and Ranchers Hit by Colorado Blizzards”) noting that he and “a bipartisan group of Senators today introduced the Emergency Farm Relief Act of 2007.” Of the 14 senators who had co-sponsored the bill (S. 284) as of January 23, three were Republicans: Norm Coleman (MN), Chuck Hagel (NE), and John Thune (SD).

The release noted that in March 2006 Salazar and another bipartisan group of senators introduced a related agricultural relief measure, S. 2438, and that the Senate incorporated that bill into H.R. 4939, which provided emergency supplemental appropriations totaling $96 billion for U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and for relief efforts in response to Hurricane Katrina. Coleman noted in an April 6, 2006, release that the then-Republican-dominated Appropriations Committee incorporated the agricultural assistance measure on a unanimous vote:

Senator Norm Coleman today announced that the Emergency Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act was adopted yesterday in a unanimous Appropriations Committee vote as part of a larger supplemental bill. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) and coauthored by Senator Coleman, is aimed specifically at protecting those affected in the wake of a natural disaster, and will provide emergency funding to farmers and ranchers who have suffered weather-related crop production shortfalls, disease, and high energy prices caused by the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Minimum wage

On January 16, Salazar issued a release (“Sen. Salazar Introduces Small Business Tax Incentives to Balance Impact of Minimum Wage Increase”) about “The Business RAISE Act” (S. 297), legislation the release noted was intended “to balance the needs of small business with an expected increase in the minimum wage.” The Gazette called Salazar's initiative a “classic Washington straddle” but failed to note that it is strongly supported by the leader of the Republican Party, President Bush. As the Associated Press reported on December 21, Bush's insistence on linking a hike in the minimum wage to tax relief for small business represents “a catch” that might be “potentially a tough sell for Democrats”:

President Bush endorsed one of the Democrats' top priorities for the new Congress, a $2.10-an-hour minimum wage increase -- and on a faster timetable than they have proposed.

But his support comes with a catch.

Bush said at a Wednesday news conference that any pay hike should be accompanied by tax and regulatory relief for small businesses, potentially a tough sell for Democrats, who are about to reassume control of the House and Senate.

The AP article quoted Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), who criticized linking the minimum wage to a tax break for business:

“Minimum wage workers have waited almost 10 long years for an increase,” responded Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who has said that boosting the federal minimum wage will be his chief goal when he takes over as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. “We need to pass a clean bill giving them the raise they deserve as quickly as possible.”

At his December 20 press conference, Bush explained his reason for linking the business tax break to the minimum wage hike:

Another area where we can work together is the minimum wage. I support the proposed $2.10 increase in the minimum wage over a two-year period. I believe we should do it in a way that does not punish the millions of small businesses that are creating most of the new jobs in our country. So I support pairing it with targeted tax and regulatory relief to help these small businesses stay competitive and to help keep our economy growing. I look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats to help both small business owners and workers when Congress convenes in January.

Salazar used similar language to explain his bill:

“We must ensure that in our enthusiasm to increase the minimum wage we do not unnecessarily harm small businesses,” said Senator Salazar. “An increase in the minimum wage is long overdue, but small businesses are the engine of our economy. These tax incentives strike a balance between the need to protect small business while we help working families.”

Energy independence

On January 19, Salazar issued a release (“Sen. Salazar Introduces Multiple Bills to Break America's Addiction to Foreign Oil”) announcing four bills that he had introduced or co-sponsored during the previous 36 hours. The Gazette stated that the release “had the senator rolling out a package of bills he says -- with all due modestly (sic) -- will 'break America's addiction to foreign oil.' ” But in fact, the release announced the “breaking” of the addiction as a goal and indicated the legislation was merely “a starting point” to be combined with private-sector efforts:

“This country's addiction to foreign oil puts our national security at risk,” said Senator Salazar. “Just as the government defends our borders with advanced military technology and manpower, we must also protect our nation by breaking this addiction, which funds both sides of the war on terror. These bills will move us towards that goal.”

[...]

“These bills are merely a starting point,” added Senator Salazar. “These initiatives must be combined with the continuing entrepreneurial drive of the private sector to find sources and uses for renewable energy. They must also work in conjunction with an honest effort on behalf of the American people to conserve energy wherever possible.”

Three of the four energy bills have bipartisan support:

• The DRIVE Act (S. 339) introduced on January 18 had 24 original co-sponsors, six of them Republican: Sam Brownback (KS), Coleman, Lindsey Graham (SC), Jeff Sessions (AL), Richard G. Lugar (IN), and Susan M. Collins (ME).

• The Gas Guzzler Act (S. 319) Salazar introduced on January 17 has no co-sponsors.

• The Alternative Energy Refueling Systems Act (S. 331) Thune introduced on January 18 had two original co-sponsors, Salazar and Hagel.

• The 25 x '25 Congressional Resolution (S.Con.Res. 3) Salazar introduced on January 17 has 24 co-sponsors, nine of them Republicans: Colorado's Wayne Allard, Brownback, Thad Cochran (MS), Coleman, Chuck Grassley (IA), Hagel, Lugar, Sessions, and Thune.