January 14, 2008 1:45 PM
Rep.-elect Bruce alive, KICKING on House sidelines
By Alan Gathright
Rookie lawmaker Douglas Bruce may be weary of all the attention he stirred up by refusing to take the oath of office unless he's granted the unprecedented honor of taking the oath before a full House chamber.
After appearing on the sidelines of the House chamber this morning -- and kicking a Rocky photographer snapping his picture during the ceremonial prayer -- Bruce has agree to take the oath at 1:30 p.m. before an empty chamber, said House Majority spokesperson Katie Reinisch.
The irony -- he's being sworn in by House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, the Denver Democrat whom Bruce has been butting heads with over whether he should be sworn in during a private ceremony -- as all lawmakers are -- or with a full House "audience" of fellow lawmakers.
Bruce tried to make light of the gaggle of reporters and photographers following him around this morning.
But his patience snapped during the morning prayer as photographers from the Rocky and Denver Post crouched before the anti-tax crusader to shoot his picture as he stood for House's morning prayer.
Bruce gave Rocky photographer Javier Manzano a swift kick in the knee and said: "Don't do that again." (Click here for video of the encounter.)
Earlier, Bruce made small talk with a TV reporter, saying: "The staff has been wonderful. I've been very appreciative."
"I'm just sitting here waiting for the speaker to decide when the time is right," he added, referring to Romanoff.
"I'm here when I said I'd be here. I'm ready to be sworn in whenever (Romanoff) decides he's got 30 seconds."
January 14, 2008
1:39 PM
BillyFred writes:
Doug Bruce is such an embarrassment to Colorado he should be run out of town on a rail. They should have not sworn him in, declared the seat vacant and had the governor appoint someone. If the people of his district have any sense at all they'll vote for ANYBODY over this guy in the next election.
January 14, 2008
7:52 PM
JoeyB writes:
Doug Bruce is an egotistical sociopath. The Republicans who voted 22-1 to remove him should have after he committed assault against a Rocky Mountain News photographer. He is an embarrassment to his party, the state of Colorado, and those of us who voted for TABOR in 1992. If I had declined to show up at my job for five days as he did, I would be fired - and Bruce should be, too.
January 15, 2008
7:24 AM
Gary H. writes:
Good to see Bruce alive and kicking. Keep him in the House. Allow the voters of Colorado to see the depth of the Republican Party in the State. He's like a spoiled brat who deeply believes he's an important figure in political history. I saw him at the Press Club a number of years ago wandering around shaking hand with people who would have crawled under the table for a better lunch.
Go get'em Bruce show em whose boss.