Republicans applaud Ritter's change of tune on Gitmo detainees

Republican lawmakers leading the charge against bringing Guantanamo Bay's foreign terrorists to Colorado reacted favorably today to Gov. Bill Ritter's apparent about-face on the issue.

In his regular monthly appearance on 850 KOA radio's Mike Rosen Show, the governor seemed to retract his controversial support for relocating the detainees to the federal Supermax facility in Florence.

After learning of the governor's change of heart, Sen. Ken Kester, R-Las Animas and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, said they were glad to see the governor come around to seeing things their way.

"I'm glad Ritter seems to now realize the very real threat that bringing these prisoners to Florence would pose to Colorado," Kester said. "We never wanted to make this a political dogfight, but we just wished the governor wouldn't have been so impulsive when the public's safety is at stake."

On the Rosen show this morning, Ritter said he thinks we should find "some other place" to house the Gitmo detainees, observing that some neutral foreign country would be much better suited to handle the suspected terrorists.  Ritter nodded to Pakistan as a viable place to send the detainees.

"After asking for RSVPs at Florence, it looks like Ritter has pulled back the invitation and I'm glad he's seen the light," Gardner said.

After President Barack Obama declared that one of his first orders of business as head of state would be to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, on the Cuban island, Ritter told the Associated Press through a spokesman that he thinks the Supermax facility was built to handle exactly the kind of inmate it would receive from Gitmo. He said he would not say, "not in my back yard."

Republican state lawmakers immediately fired back by gathering signatures on a petition urging Ritter to rescind his support in offering Colorado to house the detainees.  The petition gained the support of Republicans and Democrats.