Mount Virtus

I must say I’m glad I initially had the wrong information about who John McCain’s running mate would be. Sarah Palin was the best pick. What’s everyone else saying? Well, it’s rare to see such unanimous sentiment asserted. Here goes:

• Steven, the New Conservative, who long has been championing Palin to be McCain’s running mate, now says her selection was a “bad idea” … for the Left
• Michael at Best Destiny says it’s brilliant political Jiu-Jitsu
• Bob Agard calls the selection of the Alaska Governor “sheer brilliance”
• Jim at Thinking Right says “Outstanding!”
• Kenneth Davenport, writing at Backbone America, asserts that the choice is “a political masterstroke”
• Rocky Mountain Right calls Sarah Palin “an excellent choice”
• The Denver Post‘s David Harsanyi writes: “Palin is the most libertarian Republican that’s been on a major ticket for a long time. This ideological storyline should appeal to many Western voters.”
• Andrew Boucher really likes this aspect of Palin’s story: “For me, the biggest selling point is that she went after her own party when she saw that they were corrupt.”
• Face The State interviewed several GOP Convention delegates from Colorado, who used words like “brilliant” and “awesome” to applaud the addition of Sarah Palin to the ticket

Meanwhile, the Dead Governors desperately go deep into the attack arsenal, only to demonstrate how partisan and out-of-touch they are. Also posting a diary on their site, my liberal friend David Thielen breaks down Sarah Palin’s big speech yesterday. He’s apparently still suffering from a serious case of jealous, Joe Biden-induced heartburn.

But two different Colorado center-right bloggers put up strong defenses against the initial silly assaults from the Left:

• The Daily Blogster explains why the attacks on Sarah Palin are likely to backfire
• A watcher picks apart the predictable hypocrisy of the Democrats in attacking Sarah Palin’s “inexperience”

Now is the time to take some of that energy brought by the Palin selection and donate something to the campaign. Hey, did Barack Obama make some sort of big speech this week?

Update: Looks like I got headfaked, like many others. Pawlenty appears to be out. Speculation is on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Kudos to Steve if this is correct. In part he writes about her:

Not only is she a woman (which, like it or not, is an issue for some voters), but she also puts a fresh, future-oriented face on the McCain campaign. By upending Alaska’s corrupt political class, Palin has actually produced the type of change that Barack Obama can only talk about; and her collar is far bluer than Joe Biden’s ever was. Furthermore, she is arguably the only candidate who has the necessary expertise to address the single most pressing issue in this election: gas prices. As Governor of Alaska, Chair of the Interstate Oil
and Gas Compact Commission (America’s largest interstate organization), and a former Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Sarah Palin can run rings around almost anyone when it comes to oil.

Nothing is official at this point, but all signs point toward John McCain’s vice-presidential pick being Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. In the past few weeks I’ve seen Pawlenty more and more as the likeliest choice to be second man on the Republican national ticket. Once in awhile, my prognostications actually approach something near accuracy. Though I’ve never had a really strong feeling about this one.

In my estimation, John McCain could have done better, but he also could have done a lot worse. Tim Pawlenty is pro-life, has held the line against tax increases, is strong on education reform, and has some other assorted strong points. On the other hand, he’s gone a little too far onto the Green bandwagon and isn’t all I’d like to see from a fiscal conservative point of view. (But then again, we now have FRED PAC to rally around if we need to vent our frustrations and build for the future.)

All in all, the second-term Minnesota Governor is probably the best we could hope for in the current political climate. For those who have been championing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be McCain’s running mate, Pawlenty should be an acceptable second choice.

What are others saying? Red State’s Erick Erickson is happy, and has a good rundown of Tim Pawlenty’s positions and record (H/T Campaign Spot). The Next Right’s Soren Dayton is “excited that Pawlenty will be one of our leaders in this period.”

For now, one overarching question remains: If the Tim Pawlenty “Sam’s Club” Republican is the direction the GOP is headed, how long can I keep my Costco membership?

It’s normal for a major national political convention to give its nominee a “bounce” in the polls, so it’s too early to reach any conclusions. After all, the Obamessiah has yet to give his rock star speech at Invesco Field, which may cause the knees of middle America to swoon. But so far, Rasmussen’s daily tracking poll has yet to pick up on the signs of major Joe(Biden)-mentum.

No, wait, that’s not fair … Today’s results show “hints of a modest convention bounce building for Barack Obama”. Obama broke the tie with John McCain to forge a one-point national lead – still, not that compelling after last week saw the Democrat candidate with a consistent three-to-four point lead. And after three days of fawning media coverage of the Democratic National Convention, the more important analysis shows neither candidate at the magic total of 270 electoral votes, even with “leaners” factored in.

Obama’s chances right here in the toss-up state of Colorado – which Rasmussen currently slates in the Democrat column but sees as slowly sliding toward McCain – may be significantly upset by a major Denver traffic jam while Colorado’s busiest stretch of highway is closed.

The John McCain campaign had braced itself for a 15-point Barack Obama bounce from the DNC. Unless Obama can significantly outdazzle a typical David Copperfield performance in tonight’s Invesco appearance, that certainly doesn’t look it’s going to happen. The forecasted hype has yet to materialize – whether for Obama’s scripted cast at the convention podium or, as Peoples Press Collective has shown, for the numbers of protestors in the street. Simply underwhelming.

At least Hillary’s speech got her off to a great start for 2012.

So much for all the DNC-related action happening in downtown Denver. On my drive to work this morning I spotted this unmistakable display on Table Mountain between Arvada and Golden, displayed here in a photograph taken by a friend:

9News apparently was on the scene, as well:

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and Open Space Rangers struck a deal with the protestors allowing them to take a break before hiking back up the mountain and removing the sign.

The group behind the sign was not immediately known but roughly 50 anti-abortion protestors are in the area.

My friend who took the picture said she was told the sign was constructed from 2,500 bed sheets, and that students from Maranatha Christian Center did the hard work to make the message known. Whoever was responsible, it’s good to see them complying with law enforcement to take it down in a timely manner.

Their message was heard – or at least read – loud and clear, much like those who had their words scrubbed away by DNC officials at the Pepsi Center last Friday.

Over at the Denver Daily News, my op-ed on the recent union elections in state government is up. The piece begins:

Some pundits and hopeful partisans speculate that our upcoming national election may see less apathy among younger voters. Coloradans might also wonder about the apathy among their state employees.>

Forty-nine percent of Americans between 18 and 29 voted in the 2004 national election, a slight rise from previous showings. While at least one candidate has made more appeals to the youth on the bases of “hope” and “change,” it’s unclear whether the trend will continue.

Overshadowed recent news in our own backyard shows even greater voter apathy outside the sphere of electoral politics. When faced this year with deciding on union representation, two-thirds of state workers never cast a vote. Fewer than one in four affirmatively chose the union. All are stuck with the result.

It seems a safe bet the story will continue to be overshadowed this week by the events at the Democratic National Convention.

If you are interested in following events in and around the Democratic National Convention, you should be checking in regularly with the grassroots media coverage of the Peoples Press Collective. A lot of photos and video are up from the weekend’s protests, with more exciting coverage to follow today as the DNC actually kicks off.

Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s vice-presidential nominee, can speak for himself.

First, a video put together by Rocky Mountain Right:

Second, Joe Biden talking about Barack Obama, via The Next Right:

I need to pinch myself again. Obama really picked Biden – er, Cliff Clavin?

Update: Another Colorado blogger added to the list below

Barack Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate … seriously? When I first heard the news late last night, it sounded too good to be true. My first reaction was that Obama must have made the pick from an insecurity about Obama’s personal and political weaknesses. Example? There’s no way Biden’s long-winded, incoherent ramblings could upstage the Obamessiah’s cultish appeal at this week’s Democratic National Convention.

Beyond the DNC, what does Barack Obama have to look forward to in having Joe Biden as a running mate? What do we really know about Biden? Here’s a quick rundown from Colorado bloggers: (more…)

Bringing the Democratic National Convention to town means not only cleaning up the homeless off the streets but also cleaning up any vestiges of apparently offensive speech. One of the capable Peoples Press Collective video journalists caught it on video in front of the Pepsi Center today:

“Obama, stop abortion!” … “Stand for life” – All getting washed away. I doubt there will be any debate inside the Pepsi Center about the Democratic Party’s abortion platform. Free speech can be a matter of convenience sometimes.

The Denver Post this morning gives a sneak peek of the Democratic National Convention podium inside the Pepsi Center (H/T Complete Colorado). My first reactions to what the podium looks like: An acid trip back to the 1970s (can you imagine Jimmy Carter giving a speech there opening night)? The set of a cheesy Fox TV reality show (Bill Clinton might just fit in onstage)? …

Or how about the movie Tron?

Whatever it is, the podium may be another piece of the poor planning that may threaten a Barack Obama post-Convention bounce. Or maybe he can just get bounce from a Lightbike ride…

The DNC craziness has just barely begun. Keep up with coverage you won’t find anywhere else at the Peoples Press Collective.

Barack Obama really, really, really needs a bounce from the Democratic National Convention. First, nationally, as political guru Michael Barone points out:

Realclearpolitics.com yesterday had John McCain ahead of Barack Obama by 274 to 264 electoral votes, counting leaners. RCP has Obama carrying just two Bush ’04 states, Iowa and New Mexico, with 12 electoral votes. McCain’s lead in two other Bush ’04 states, Virginia and Colorado, with 20 electoral votes is microscopic, but then so is Obama’s lead in New Hampshire, with four electoral votes.

Showcasing Jimmy Carter on the opening night of the DNC is not a good way to separate Barack Obama from the obvious comparison with the malaise president or to generate a national bounce.

And Barack Obama needs a bounce in Colorado, too, as the latest Rasmussen survey reveals him in an incredibly tight race with Republican John McCain. However, Obama appears to be writing the How-Not-to-Win-Crucial-Swing-State-Colorado manual, closing the state’s busiest highway for his Thursday ego-fest.

This is the baseline to see what the Democratic National Convention does to sway public opinion in the race for the White House.

For more of the latest coverage of Denver’s Democratic National Convention (Mon, Aug. 25 – Thur, Aug. 28), bookmark the Peoples Press Collective (PPC). My boss Jon Caldara explains on his blog:

They are a team of Colorado bloggers who will be armed to the teeth with point and shoot cameras, video cameras, and live streaming cell phones to document all the shenanigans, beat downs, hippie love-fests, and wacky protests going down in the streets. Basically anything the mainstream media won’t be around for, they will. Some pretty big time Colorado bloggers like the Rocky Mountain Right, Rossputin, Slapstick Politics, and Drunkablog have already signed on. They’ve got some cool features on their site like a quick 1 minute DNC preview video, a DNC blog post aggregator, and even a comprehensive schedule of DNC events.

Mount Virtus has been added to the aggregator. In fact, you may be reading this post on the PPC site. And the colorful and accurate tagline that blogress extraordinaire Michelle Malkin likes for the DNC: “A Mile High and an Inch Deep”.

My friend Libby Szabo – candidate for State Senate from Arvada, Colorado – is the subject of a new television ad created by the Senate Majority Fund:

A “can-do attitude” is one of the truest descriptions of Libby Szabo that I know — and a real contrast with her opponent’s can’t-do attitude when it comes to parents who choose homeschooling.

The Denver Post reports today that the price tag for Regional Transportation District (RTD)’s taxpayer-funded FasTracks plan has jumped again:

The price of the FasTracks rail expansion — if it is to be completed by 2017, as promised to voters — has jumped from $6.1 billion to $7.9 billion, according to officials familiar with RTD’s latest analysis of the program.

Approved by voters in 2004 for $4.7 billion, estimates later rose to $6.1 billion – a 30 percent increase. Now they have skyrocketed to $7.9 billion, nearly 70 percent higher than original estimates. According to the Post, RTD either has to narrow the scope of the project, delay its implementation, or ask for more tax money:

Centennial Mayor Randy Pye, who heads the 37-member Metro Mayors Caucus, said Wednesday that “the option of a tax increase is not palatable to the mayors.”

I think the superb cartoonist Ben Hummel has it best:

Visit the Independence Institute’s Center for the American Dream to learn about the problems and cost of FasTracks, which also includes the “Human Cost of FasTracks”:

$7.9 billion …. Now what?

Andrew Boucher, whose claim to fame may be that he is a Colorado conservative with blogging credentials to the Democratic National Convention, made a great point yesterday about the larger significance of John McCain’s upcoming selection of a vice-presidential running mate:

There aren’t many “natural” McCain volunteers. There will be even fewer if he turns off the base with his VP pick.

Or, as I put it bluntly in a campaign planning meeting last week: If it’s McCain-Ridge, we’ll have 25 new GOTV volunteers in Fort Collins. If it’s McCain-Romney, we’ll have 250.

Remember: the Romney team made thousands of grassroots volunteer phone calls in Larimer County for caucus and won with 60 percent.

(As a frame of reference, Bush-Cheney had 110 walkers in Fort Collins on the Saturday before the election in 2004).

The ramifications down-ballot are terrifying…

I think the point applies beyond Boucher’s backyard of Fort Collins, too. The other side will have union-organized walks and other paid activists to push their grassroots efforts. This factor needs to be taken into careful consideration when McCain picks his Veep.

Rocky Mountain Right’s recommendation of conservative Eric Cantor would probably play better in this department than pro-choice Tom Ridge, but the energy and organization from Mitt Romney’s candidacy that showed up at the caucuses earlier this year will be hard for any other potential running mate to duplicate.