Here is my code:
.blue { color:#6E99E1; font-size:9px; }
<span class="blue">::<a href="/equipment_new.php">CLICK HERE</a>:: to view our New Equipment inventory. <br /><br /></span>
I've somehow triggered something that prevented the <a> tag from inheriting color of parent <span>.
<a>
<span>
In addition to firebug (which should be your first port of call), the IE developer toolbar will also tell you where a given style is sourced from, just in case IE - shock, horror - should be different.