Perhaps he actually is being an unpatriotic, troop-endangering, grandstanding, out-to-lunch liberal schmuck.

Trust me, Ken Gordon has heard much, much worse this week. It is why he hangs back just a bit, almost deer-in-headlights-like, when you first approach him about his measure.

Exactly how hard is he going to have to work with THIS inquisitor, he seems to be thinking. Is this guy going to hammer me, or does he really want to know?

I have to say I have enjoyed the pre-debate debate on Senate Joint Memorial 2, the "Get Out of Iraq - Now!" measure coming up for consideration today at the Capitol.

It has been fierce, name-calling ugly for weeks, the battle lines almost precisely partisan.

The debate has been loaded with fear, deliberate misinformation and outright lies.

All of which is why I wanted to speak with Ken Gordon, the Democratic Senate majority leader from Denver who co-authored the joint memorial with Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder.

You cannot turn on the radio without hearing someone attacking Gordon. Think Benedict Arnold handing over Gen. David Petraeus' war plans for Baghdad to Osama bin Laden. That is talk radio's portrayal of Ken Gordon.

"I have certainly taken some flak recently, but that is part of this job" is as much as he will offer.

So exactly where did he get the idea for what everyone incorrectly calls his "resolution?"

It is an eight-paragraph document that simply says Colorado supports and honors its servicemen and servicewomen, will support Congress in ensuring that they receive sufficient resources but that it is not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military force presence in Iraq.

It is why, every day, he is handed his head.

Ken Gordon shrugs.

"I don't just think each and every American has a right to speak out. I think each of us has a responsibility to do so when our leadership does something that is against the best interests of the country and the people," he says firmly.

He says this numerous times in conversation, as if he is pointing to the sky and trying really hard to convince the rest of us it really is blue.

It almost makes him chuckle, he says, when callers and radio hosts continually pose the question of whether he truly believes passage of the memorial by the Democratic-controlled state legislature will have a true effect on the war's outcome or the military's "surge" in Iraq.

"Actually, it is modeled on a Vermont resolution that called for the impeachment of the president," Ken Gordon chuckles. "Here in Colorado, we are not quite that . . . um, forceful."

He calls it part of the growing national dialogue and referendum on the war.

"When states and everyday people speak out, things can change," he says.

He cites the uproar over conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., as proof that simple nodding silence can no longer be tolerated.

"People stood up and spoke out immediately and forcefully, and this administration took action, fired people and launched an investigation," he said.

It is no surprise I am with Ken Gordon in this.

After four years of this war, having personally traveled twice to Iraq to walk with soldiers fighting it, it is clear we are long past due on turning up the heat and demanding real leadership on this mess.

Seeing what I've seen firsthand, I know, too, we cannot simply pick up and leave. Yet I also know that no amount of American military power is going to "win" it, either.

Four years ago, I walked on that turf with the toughest, most fearless, best-trained soldiers we've likely ever produced. And we are still there.

Will an additional 20,000 to 50,000 now likely battle-weary troops subdue that country?

But God, I do hope so.

It is why I want Ken Gordon's passionate, roof-raising noise, and why I am foursquare behind a competing Republican state Senate resolution being sponsored by Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton.

It expresses "our profound appreciation and gratitude" and general support and "respect for the hard work" of American troops serving in Iraq.

Mike Kopp didn't return my calls, so I don't know if he would have introduced his resolution, a no-brainer, if Ken Gordon hadn't introduced his.

My guess is he would not have done so.

And that is because the real issue isn't whether we support the troops, but rather whether this war we have sent them to fight is worthy of their volunteerism and their to-the-death commitment to this country, and whether we are smart enough to properly define for them the terms of "victory."

To hide behind their service, to simply and unthinkingly use "support the troops" to stifle calls to truly examine the propriety of this war does everything but "support" them.

I asked Ken Gordon if he will support Mike Kopp's resolution.

"He may very well get everyone to vote for it," he said. "I think I might very well vote for it myself."

johnsonw@rockymountainnews.com or 303-954-2763

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