Mount Virtus

In his latest Townhall column, George Will tackles the problem many union leaders have employing force rather than seeking favor:

Democracy is rule by persuasion, but the unpersuasive often try to coerce the unpersuaded. Recent days have provided two illustrations of this tendency, both of them pertaining to labor unions, whose decades of declining membership testify to their waning power to persuade workers that unions add more value to workers’ lives than they subtract.

Will devotes much of his column to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Davenport case. I won’t retread that issue now (previous Mount Virtus coverage featured here), except to say you can tune in at 10 o’clock this morning local Denver time to the Mike Rosen Show to hear me discuss the decision and its possible ramifications for Colorado with guest host (and my boss) Jon Caldara. Nice segue, huh?

In today’s edition, the editors of the Rocky Mountain News challenge Colorado’s junior U.S. Senator with the question: Who are you going to put first – the rights of Colorado workers or the interests of labor bosses? The poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act, which already passed the U.S. House, would rob employees of a secret ballot in workplace organizing elections. It would rig the process in favor of union officials.

America is great because workers have the right to volunteer to join and pay dues to a union. But equally respected should be the right of workers NOT to join and pay dues or fees to a union. The Democrat-sponsored legislation does not respect that right. It uses the excuse of declining union membership to justify giving the power of greater coercion to union officials, rather than affording them a chance to become more accountable to their individual members and to adapt their organizations to 21st century realities.

Currently, Democrat Ken Salazar says he sides with workers, at least insofar as he does not want to vote to shut off debate on the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. With pressure raining down from high-powered partisan lobbies in Washington, Coloradans cannot take his support for granted. The Senate needs to put this bad legislation to bed, and we should hope to see Salazar on the right side of the issue.

News comes today from state economists that the Referendum C “forever tax increase” projects to yield $5.9 billion in revenue:

That amount is $2.2 billion more than originally expected in November 2005 when voters approved Referendum C, suspending the state constitution’s revenue limit for five years.

Most telling from the piece in today’s Denver Post is the defensive response from the governor’s office – responding to questions of how to justify further tax increases (such as this one):

Jim Carpenter, chief of staff for Ritter, said voters sent Ritter to the Capitol to “solve problems,” which is what the commissions studying health care, transportation and higher education will do.

“It’s an easy thing to throw out this comment, off-handed, about tax increases,” Carpenter said. “We’re keeping faith with the voters.”

What about keeping faith with the voters who the Constitution says must be asked to approve tax increases? Details, details….

It’s just further proof that the Ritter administration, true to its Democrat party label, is devoted to big-government liberalism, specifically the notion that the state has all the tools to solve your problems. Ref C – which 51 percent of voters approved for an anticipated $3.7 billion, following a multimillion dollar lobbying campaign by powerful interests – just isn’t enough for their insatiable appetite to devour your money.

Some enterprising researcher, journalist, or blogger needs to go through the state budget to see where this year’s record $18 billion was spent before we start succumbing to the siren song of alleged government solutions. Keep holding on to your pocketbooks!

The specter of a possible independent presidential candidacy by New York City mayor and egocentric political maverick Michael Bloomberg has drawn some astute observations from John Zogby on the left and Cal Thomas on the right. Interestingly, they echo similar themes. Writes Zogby:

After more than a decade of harsh wrangling, likely voters tell me they are tired of the vicious partisanship. In a national telephone poll last month, 80% said it was “very important” that the next President be a person who can unite the country, and 82% said the same about the need for a competent manager. Bloomberg wins on both counts.

Another 58% said it was “very important” that the next President be able to cross party lines to work with political opponents, while just 42% said it was “very important” that he or she reflect the values of their own political party. As a Democrat-turned-Republican-turning-independent, Bloomberg fits the bill.

Put another way, the middle ground of the political electorate is expanding, the fringes are contracting, and Bloomberg could be sitting in the sweet spot.

Coming from the same page, Thomas explains:

The public is increasingly angry and frustrated with the extreme partisanship that passes for governing in Washington. Neither party seems to be willing to give the other a break. Neither appears ready to credit the other with any good ideas. Both indulge in finger pointing and focus on destroying the other. A growing number of us say it doesn’t matter which party is in charge, because both appear to act like the party of government. Republicans and Democrats seem to care more about gaining and maintaining power and position and seeing what they can get out of their tenure as “public servants” than they do about actually serving the public.

Since his re-election as an independent, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has spoken and acted like a liberated man. In this, he sounds like Michael Bloomberg.

Despite the views prevailing in some quarters, Zogby explains how a potential Bloomberg candidacy could harm Democrats at least as much as Republicans:

An important side note: Contrary to conventional wisdom, my polling shows he would likely take more votes from the Democrat than the Republican. Those who consider themselves part of that growing “moderate” political class are 38% Democrats, 25% Republicans, and 38% independents.

Meanwhile, Thomas sees a lesson for both major parties and their eventual nominees in the upcoming 2008 campaign:

I could be wrong (or naive) – and it wouldn’t be the first time – but a candidate, or candidates, who run on a consensus or common ground theme might attract more attention than Republican and Democratic candidates who indulge their lower natures by claiming the “other side” is out to destroy the country and that electing the other person means Armageddon for us all.

The parallels between Bloomberg and Ross Perot are real and scary, though there are definite limitations to the comparison. Still, could we be on track for an eerie repeat of 1992 (or maybe a better analogy would be the 1912 campaign, when Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party created a legitimate, three-way race for the White House that opened up the door to Woodrow Wilson)? In our age of new media, much of the conventional wisdom may have to go by the wayside for 2008.

H/T Real Clear Politics

Spot-on commentary from the GOP’s Presidential un-candidate Fred Thompson about union dues and the need for Ask First, the Supreme Court ruling in the Davenport case (hear more at iVoices), and the poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act. You can read Sen. Thompson’s post, listen to his podcast, or both – just go here.

Face the State has the skinny on a leading Democrat state lawmakers’ campaign ethics challenges. The conservative website has uncovered evidence that the House Majority Leader exceeded campaign expenditure limits, misused campaign funds for personal purposes, has received numerous fines for repeated late paperwork filings, and more.

In case you missed it earlier this week, Face the State exposed serious allegations that an ostensibly “nonpartisan” conservation group has manipulated votes to rate Democrats higher than Republicans.

They’re both worthwhile reads.

FYI – in case you might be interested and able to attend:

Dr. Malik and Seeme Hasan are hosting an afternoon reception for Newt Gingrich and his American Solutions for Winning the Future this Thursday, June 21st, to be held at the Denver Center for Performing Arts from 4:00 pm to 6:15 pm.

If you’re interested in listening to Newt and learning more about American Solutions, please RSVP directly to Seeme at rsvpseeme@aol.com or 970.620.0391. Reservations are required for security purposes.

Excellent editorial in Saturday’s Rocky Mountain News on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding individual free speech rights:

It is perfectly OK to require unions to get permission from workers before spending their dues on political activity, the U.S. Supreme Court said this week in a unanimous decision. Yet when Dennis ruled that unions obtain permission annually from every member before making donations to political campaigns from their “small-donor” committees, the outcry was such you’d have thought she’d raided Fort Knox. We agreed with critics that she acted without sufficient public debate, but we never doubted the basic good sense of her decision.

Nevertheless, the courts went against Dennis, with the state appeals court making the absurd argument that “(The secretary’s rule) effectively denies the First Amendment rights of the majority of union members for the benefit of dissenting members.” Memo to the court: The First Amendment protects an individual right to free speech, not the right of a majority to bully a minority into subsidizing speech it doesn’t like.

I’m in wholesale agreement with the Rocky‘s editors on this well-substantiated point. Nevertheless, they made a pessimistic observation that failed to take into account the voice of Colorado’s people:

Last week’s ruling won’t make much difference in Colorado, since this legislature isn’t about to approve a bill lessening union influence in politics.

The Davenport U.S. Supreme Court decision could give Coloradans the go-ahead to put forward support for Ask First as a statewide ballot initiative. Because we can all agree on the concluding point in the Rocky editorial:

“We believe there was an important public policy question at stake in this case, and that’s what caused us to write an amicus brief,” said Attorney General John Suthers. “No Coloradan . . . should be required to contribute to political issues or candidates without their consent.”

Indeed not.

BlogNetNews has launched its rankings of the most influential Colorado political blogs, and Mount Virtus has been ranked number four. Heh. I’ll keep aiming higher. Most intriguing to me is that 3 of the top 5 and 5 of the top 10 are right-leaning blogs. It’s trade secrets, of course, but I’m curious what the BlogNetNews methodology is.

All that being said, I will continue to wield my (great? hmm…) influence wisely and carefully.

What happens when you vote to jam a property tax hike down your constituents’ throats? People from the other major party can’t move fast enough to file the paperwork that will enable them to run against you in the next election. Just ask Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction:

Between six and 10 local Republicans are considering a run against incumbent Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, next year, according to senior members of the Mesa County Republican Party. Alan Farina, chairman of the candidate search committee, said his committee has attracted a series of serious candidates who could run against the two-term incumbent next year.

“We actually have several people expressing interest,” Farina said, “some really, really good candidates.”

As I pointed out in my April report for the Independence Institute, taxpayers in the Mesa Valley School District (read Buescher’s constituents) will be some of the hardest hit by the major policy change. Rep. Buescher may come to regret not having asked voters first before casting his lot with the tax raisers.

To learn more about the Democrats’ property tax increase, just in case you missed any of my observations and analysis the first time around, please read from the following:

- May 10: “Ritter signs property tax hike, sticks finger in taxpayers’ eyes”

- May 9: “Yes, it’s time to sue: arrogant tax hike leaves little choice”

- May 3: “iVoices: Hear AG Suthers explain need for vote on tax hike”

- May 3: “Harsanyi: Why not ask voters first?”

- May 1: “Colorado Dems ram through bill, snub voters, raise taxes”

- April 25: “Colorado schools keep raising funds from property taxes”

Michael at Best Destiny highlights yesterday’s huge U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of individual workers’ free speech rights (Davenport v Washington Education Association). More information available at the Independence Institute website. The big takeaway from the case? The First Amendment free speech rights of individual workers trump the First Amendment free speech rights of unions. If you want to use a worker’s money for politics, just Ask First!

Michael writes:

The REAL question for us here in Colorado, is how to make use of this ruling. We can be fairly certain that this state legislature will NEVER pass a law saying that unions have to get permission to use dues for politics–Big Education would have a cow! So it is incumbent on interested members of the public–THAT WOULD BE US!–to get an initiative going to take away a big chunk of the unions’ power.

I’d be happy to work on that committee, if anybody out there has the expertise to actually get this going.

Ditto. I’ll join you there. It shouldn’t be the case that certain people or groups can buy elections using money taken from people’s paychecks without their permission. Good government, clean elections, and workers’ rights. These are things most Coloradans support.

What a night for Detroit Tigers fans! The reigning American League Rookie of the Year put to rest any lingering rumors of a possible sophomore slump in dominant fashion, with a stellar Comerica Park performance. Justin Verlander, the 24-year-old pride of Goochland, Va., denied the Milwaukee Brewers a single basehit in an impressive 4-0 victory tonight at Comerica Park in Detroit. Here’s the bottom line: a 99 MPH heater, a wicked Uncle Charley, 112 pitches, 12 strikeouts, 4 walks, only 3 balls hit outside the infield, and one spectacular double play in the 8th inning.

Drafted by the Tigers in 2004, Verlander (7-2, 2.79 ERA) recorded only the sixth no-hitter in Tigers’ franchise history, the last time coming on April 7, 1984, when Jack Morris mowed down the Chicago White Sox at Old Comiskey. Verlander was barely a year old then. The last Tiger to throw a no-hitter in Detroit was Virgil Trucks, who amazingly performed the feat twice in the same 1952 season.

After a recent slump, Detroit has pulled back into a first-place tie in the American League Central with the Cleveland Indians. Loyal Tiger fans everywhere look forward to many more seasons with Justin Verlander in the rotation. Can’t you hear the ROAR?

Colorado’s Lefties are all atwitter with having discovered the initials of the Republican 2008 candidate for U.S. Senate. When their side is stuck with the tax-and-spend record of Boulder liberal Mark Udall, I guess you have to resort to silly, juvenile distractions like this one. Oh, well. As time wears on, more adults will be choosing to support Bob Schaffer.

Behind the liberal snickers lurks a clump of anxious knots in many stomachs. It may be time for some of them to find more productive uses of their time.

Cross posted at Schaffer v Udall

A great story in today’s Denver Post about the innovative program at the city’s Arrupe Jesuit High School. It is a private parochial institution that predominantly serves poor and Hispanic students, with significantly higher attendance and graduation rates than surrounding public schools.

The success of Arrupe Jesuit (also highlighted today at the Head First blog) is tied to its innovative Corporate Work Study Program, that requires every student to spend time working entry-level, corporate jobs to provide valuable experience and to offset tuition. Per-student costs are $7,500, compared to $10,000 or more for Denver Public Schools.

The report “Rethinking High School” by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation highlights Arrupe Jesuit’s innovativeness and success. As a private school, A-J doesn’t administer the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) to its students. But I would be interested to see its comparative results over time on the norm-referenced Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

Arrupe Jesuit is certainly not THE way to do high school, but it appears to work very well for those families it serves. It’s a good reminder to keep working for public policy that expands access to innovative and successful education options for students and families of every color, creed, and income. Hurrah for freedom!

It sure seems early, but the campaign for the most competitive 2008 U.S. Senate race in the country is underway. Republican Bob Schaffer has started rallying the party faithful and commonsense independents and Democrats to his cause with his new campaign website. Check it out, donate, sign up to volunteer, whatever you’re able to do: and be sure to spread the word! The race against Boulder liberal Mark Udall is on.

Cross posted at Schaffer v Udall