Denver November 2004 Election
The U.S. Senate candidate's stand on healthcare is the subject of this article from the Denver Post [September 12, 2004, "Salazar, Coors tackle rising health care costs"]. From the article, "The candidates for Colorado's open U.S. Senate seat offer sharply contrasting views on how to cope with rising health care costs. Democrat Ken Salazar has proposed a tax credit for small businesses that provide health care to their workers - the cornerstone of a multifaceted plan to expand coverage to the uninsured and to control rising costs. Republican Pete Coors offers a simple solution to the nation's health care crisis: Get rid of the lawyers. He argues that malpractice lawsuits are sending medical costs soaring...More than half of the states, including Colorado, have imposed limits on lawsuits since the mid-1980s, but health care costs keep rising anyway. The number of tort cases declined 4 percent between 1993 and 2002, according to the nonpartisan National Center for State Courts. That survey covered 35 states, including Colorado, representing 77 percent of the U.S. population. Even though the median award has increased from $253,000 in 1992 to $431,000 in 2001, the number of medical-malpractice lawsuits that make it to trial has declined. The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, which reviewed cases in the nation's 75 largest counties, reports that cases fell from 1,356 in 1992 to 1,112 in 2001. Malpractice costs amounted to $24 billion in 2002, including premiums and settlements. That is less than 2 percent of the nation's overall health care spending, according to a January 2004 study by the Congressional Budget Office."
Peter Coors and Ken Salazar squared off for their first debate yesterday in Grand Junction as reported by the Denver Post [September 12, 2004, "Coors, Salazar trade attacks in first debate of Senate race"].
Here's a background piece about Ken Salazar's environmental record from the Denver Post [September 12, 2004, "Salazar law firm linked to polluters"]. From the article, "Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ken Salazar has touted himself as an attorney general who has cracked down on environmental polluters and rule- breakers. But as a private lawyer, Salazar was hardly at arm's length from those charged with violating environmental regulations. He worked as a director at a law firm that represented companies sued by state and private groups and cited by government agencies for polluting Colorado's land and water. He also worked as legal counsel for a company responsible for killing thousands of fish when it flushed tons of silt into the north fork of the Cache la Poudre River. And while running for the U.S. Senate, Salazar has collected campaign contributions from Newmont Mining Co., the world's largest gold mining firm. Newmont is fighting allegations in several spots around the world that its mining waste has polluted communities...Mark Longabaugh, political director for the League of Conservation Voters, says his group stands by its endorsement of Salazar."
8:30:02 AM 
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