Hickenlooper sides with ranchers on Pinon Canyon

Gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper got his first chance Sunday to speak directly with landowners in the path of the Army's proposed expansion of its Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. Hickenlooper, who owns a lot of property in Denver, said he was behind the ranchers in defending their property rights. "In the end, it's your property. So as far as I am concerned, I will come down every time on the side of the ranchers," Hickenlooper said. "The reality is that what happens here sets a pattern for the whole state right?" Hickenlooper is running against Republican Scott McInnis, who supports the military's position on site expansion. The 238,000-acre training site for Fort Carson is northeast of Trinidad...more

So, we have a Democrat who wants to limit federal expansion and protect property rights and a Republican who wants to expand the federal government and diminish the amount of private property in his state.

I'm having a hard time grasping this picture.