The Colorado Sun’s Taylor Dolven and Jesse Paul published a friendly sit down with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet about his run for governor, recorded on stage with publisher Larry Ryckman at the Texas Tribune Festival. Bennet framed 2024 as a “catastrophic failure of leadership” for national Democrats and said he is running to tackle affordability.
Bennet said he never considered running until “some people” urged him, joked that his mother opposed the idea, and argued that his private sector stint and time leading Denver Public Schools prepare him to “push the envelope” on costs. He also said Democratic governors are on the “front lines” while DC Democrats have not processed why Trump won again.
Policy highlights were classic big-government: he reiterated support for universal health care; said child care should be free for all families over time; backed an inheritance tax; praised banning smartphones in schools; and complimented Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s homelessness work. He added that affordability persists because Democrats have been “coloring inside the lines” and failing to build a coalition to do “hard things.” He faces AG Phil Weiser in a primary and says he would pick his own Senate replacement if he wins.
The Bullet Point Brief
- The setup: Sun Q&A with Bennet at the Texas Tribune Festival. Soft lighting, softer questions, lots of “affordability.”
- The origin story: he was nudged to run, mom said no, he said yes. Colorado gets another DC résumé with solutions only government could love.
- The platform: universal health care, free child care someday, an inheritance tax. Affordability by adding costs via policy.
- Culture add-ons: ban phones in schools, praise Denver’s mayor on homelessness. If only mandates could pave roads.
- The promise: he would even pick his own Senate successor. Bold plan. For him. Not for you.
My Bottom Line
Here is my problem. Michael Bennet has lived inside the Beltway long enough to think government is the only hammer and every Colorado problem is a nail. Affordability. He says he has answers. Great. Start with step one. Get out of the way. Markets lower prices. Government raises them.
Name one major policy win he delivered for Colorado families that made your life cheaper, your commute faster, or your street safer. One. I am still waiting. Meanwhile, the interview is a greatest hits list for bigger government: universal health care, free child care, a new inheritance tax, bans in schools, and a pat on the back for Denver’s homelessness strategy. None of that unleashes housing supply, trims red tape, clears encampments, fixes roads, or lowers your utility bill.
Colorado is paying the price for 15 years of one-party rule. Crime up. Roads a mess. Schools coasting. Cost of living among the highest. The cure is not more mandates and a fresh coat of slogans. It is less regulation, fewer fees, faster permits, energy abundance, serious sentencing for repeat offenders, and a school system that funds mastery, not bureaucracy. If Bennet wants to be different from the last decade and a half of governors, say these words out loud: cut rules, cut costs, and let the private sector build.
Time for Colorado to wake up. Affordability is not another task force. It is a thousand permits approved faster, a thousand regulations hauled to the curb, and a thousand small businesses breathing again. If the Sun wants to toss softballs, fine. Voters should swing harder.
Source: The Colorado Sun
