Colorado Republicans had a gubernatorial debate Tuesday, and they put to rest any doubts that the party takes women seriously, with a lighthearted introduction to the debate that framed it as a political Dating Game -- so kawaii, so fetch! Ain't no "war on women" you guys, becauseRepublicans just looove the Ladies!

At the start of the “Women and Colorado’s Future” debate, the moderator explained that it would be like a dating game, where a panel of four women could interview the three “bachelors” -- former Congressman Bob Beauprez, former state Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, and Secretary of State Scott Gessler. The fourth candidate, ex-congressman Tom Tancredo, did not attend.

The moderator invited the women to join the stage, saying, “It’s so much more ornamental if the four of you would be on the stage with the four of us.” Theme music from The Dating Game TV show played as the panelists took their seats.

Sadly, the video cuts off right after the announcement; we were looking forward to the lady panelists' innuendo-laden questions to the lucky "bachelors" -- although the host was careful to point out that all the candidates were married, really. Still, what a creative way to appeal to women!

For what it's worth, the Colorado Independent notes that the candidates

had no specific policy proposals regarding women’s issues and barely mentioned women, a voting bloc that has come to decide statewide elections over the years and one that increasingly has turned away from the Republican Party ...

There was nothing of note said about the heated subject of women’s health -- about efforts in Washington and state capitols around the country including in Denver to shutter reproductive health and abortion clinics, to defund Planned Parenthood, to restrict access to contraception at state clinics, about the hardline anti-abortion “personhood” proposal likely to land on Colorado voter ballots this year -- nothing on domestic violence policies and protections, university campus sexual harassment and assault, equal opportunities at school and in the workplace, discriminatory insurance policies, affordable day care, or even in any depth gender disparities in pay[.]

Even so, there were some excellent discussion of other important women's issues, like the need to loosen regulation of the oil and gas industry. Debbie Brown, head of the Colorado Women’s Alliance, pointed out that that's totally a ladies' issue, because jerbs are important to ladies. Especially if there's lots of fracking, because what housewife doesn't appreciate a kitchen sink that doubles as a Bunsen burner?

Oh, and the candidates also took a hardball question about which woman they admired most, and they were not even allowed to say their mother or their wife. One mentioned an employee, another named a woman who supported his campaign, and a third named Susan B. Anthony and Helen Keller. He really likes that deaf dumb and blind girl, because not only did she play a mean pinball, she also overcame her problems without relying on big government programs or playing the victim. The Independent noticed a problem with Helen Keller as a hero of do-it-yourself libertarianism, though:

He didn’t mention that the progressive-era American icon worked to win expanded voter rights, that she was an ardent socialist, a staunch supporter of worker rights, a fervent pacifist and a champion of birth control.

Isn't that just like the biased liberal media, just nitpicking like that? He named a woman, for godssake, what more do you crazy harridans want?

[Colorado Independent via ThinkProgrss]

Follow Doktor Zoom on Twitter. He admires Helen Keller because she was such a good sport about all those terrible junior high school jokes.