Waiting for Joe

Colorado's lieutenant governor is a hard man to pin down -- no ifs, ands or butts.

A A A Comments By David Holthouse Thursday, Jun 20 2002

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Phillips nodded in tentative agreement as Rogers picked up the check.

Three days after her lunch with the lieutenant governor, having had a weekend to mull over the content of their discussion, Phillips said she agreed with Rogers on the issue of disciplining children. "I came from a very strict mother. Sometimes I thought she was trying to beat the hide off me. It's just common sense: If your kid's out of line, you spank that butt. But I really didn't understand all of what he was saying, because I wasn't there to talk about spanking."

Jay Bevenour

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Phillips said that Rogers "seems like a nice man" and that she appreciated him buying her lunch. She also appreciated him not telling her only what she wanted to hear. "I think he was honest, because what he had to say to me, I definitely didn't want to hear," she said. "I just can't understand how he can be so pro-family but still be in favor of the mandatory minimums that tear families apart. In my mind, you can't be in favor of both.

"And all that 'my people' and 'our people' stuff. I might sound a little crazy, but I believe the war on drugs is a war on all the citizens of the U.S. It's impacting the black community more heavily right now, yes, but it's not a black thing; it's a U.S. citizen thing.

"I'm glad to have finally met the man, but I feel like he was still dodging the whole group, and it was the whole group he insulted, not just me. He can forget their vote."