Romanoff: Obama's economic plan means jobs, federal aid for Colorado

DENVER--Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff (D-Denver) spoke out strongly in favor of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's economic plan Monday, while blasting Republican nominee John McCain for being "out of touch" with middle-class Coloradans.

Romanoff, who backed U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) during the Democratic presidential primaries earlier this year, said Obama's focus on a new energy economy "means 32,000 new jobs under an Obama administration, right here in Colorado."

"The McCain tax plan, on the other hand, would leave 72 percent of Colorado's households - or nearly 1.7 million people in this state - without any tax relief at all," Romanoff said during a press conference at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Denver.

"John McCain is so out of touch with what middle-class Americans and Coloradans are going through that he said we've made great economic progress under George Bush," Romanoff said. "(They are) the only two men in America, I think - John McCain and George Bush - who believe the economy is prospering under this administration."

Hispanic Denise Maes, who spoke before Romanoff, also lauded Obama's economic plan, saying it would cut taxes for all but the richest of Americans.

Contrary to Republican portrayals of Obama as a tax-and-spend liberal, Maes said Obama "is cutting taxes, not raising them," she said.

Maes predicted Hispanic turnout for Obama in Colorado would be in the "mid-60 percentage points."

"There's no question in my mind that the economic and tax cut proposals that Barack speaks of speaks to that (Hispanic) community," Maes said. "And to the extent that that message can get out and resonate, I wouldn't see any problem with (Obama) being able to pick up that vote handily."

A McCain spokesperson did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment Monday night.