It seems that Montana’s Democrat Governor Brian Schweitzer has been out and about bragging to a gaggle of trial lawyers that he abused his power to help skew a close 2006 U.S. Senate election. Schweitzer now says it was all just a big joke.

Listen for yourself – just go and check out Montana Pundit for the whole scoop. It kind of hearkens you back to a book written by a national talk radio host.

Three months ago I asked the question: “What does Bill Ritter know about the Supreme Court to gamble taxpayer dollars?” Yesterday, the same sort of hubris was on display, following the oral arguments that were held before the state’s highest court to hear Gov. Ritter’s appeal in defense of his unconstitutional property tax hike.

The Denver Post reports:

Ritter’s office has downplayed the need for any contingency plans in the event the high court throws out the mill-levy freeze.

Evan Dreyer, a spokesman for Ritter, gave a low-key response.

“This is a complex case, and it is now in the hands of the court,” Dreyer said. “We appreciate that the court heard oral arguments so quickly, and we look forward to the court’s decision so we can all move forward.”

Given the Colorado Supreme Court’s recent partisan history, maybe leading Democrats in the statehouse are comfortable knowing the fix is already in. Forget the state constitution and the rights of taxpayers.

But it’s Friday: Can’t a fellow still dream that our state’s highest judicial body will transcend partisan politics and do the right thing?

Seven years later.

In case you had any doubts about the intentions of leading Colorado Democrats in bringing forward Amendment 59, Education Week brings you the straight skinny (H/T Rocky Mountain Right):

Colorado Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff praised the [National Education Association]’s state chapter as one of the “most aggressive and successful” groups assisting Democrats in their takeover Colorado’s Statehouse and governor’s mansion. State Treasurer Cary Kennedy (no relation to RFK Jr.) said that Democrats would win a ballot initiative to “drive a stake in the heart” of the state’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights [TABOR]–a conservative cost-cutting measure.

Yes, the Democrats behind Amendment 59 – Andrew Romanoff and Cary Kennedy – want to stick it to the taxpayer in the service of their liberal interest group masters (read: Colorado Education Association). While anyone who has been paying attention understands Romanoff’s and Kennedy’s basic intentions, it is somewhat surprising to see their unguarded opinions reported in black and white.

Complete Colorado has uncovered some unflattering information about one of Bill Ritter’s leading energy advisers:

After winning the election in November 2006, Governor Bill Ritter tapped life-long Yuma County resident Mike Bowman to be co-chair of his transitional energy team.

CompleteColorado.com has obtained documents showing in 1999, a Yuma County jury held Bowman liable for almost $4 million dollars in damages due to “fraudulent representation.”

Copies of the relevant documents are already posted there. How long before reporters for Colorado’s major newspapers and other media outlets start digging a little deeper?

No doubt the political season is upon us, and the hypocrisy of large special interest groups is on display. Nowhere is this more true in our state than with the political group Protect Colorado’s Future. Their spokesman said in an interview last week with Channel 7:

“When you have these out-of-state, or narrow corporate interests trying to divide Coloradans, it’s bad for all Colorado,” said Jess Knox, wearing a pin that says, “No on 47, 49 and 54.”

So Protect Colorado’s Future wants to make a big deal out of “out-of-state” campaign funds? Well, as Face The State points out today:

It’s no secret that out-of-state money is flooding Colorado from both sides. In the unions’ case, the out-of state money is coming from the pockets of hard-working union workers across the country, who most likely are unknowingly funding a ballot fight in Colorado they probably don’t care about.

Meanwhile, individuals who aren’t forced to give political contributions through their union dues can contribute to any campaign willingly and intentionally. If Knox is going to the be critical of “narrow” out-of-state interests playing ball in Colorado politics, than he need not look further than his own employer. Protect Colorado’s Future has seen 98 percent of its $3.3 million in contributions since March come from unions, and 67 percent, or $2.2 million, came from out of state. [emphasis added]

(more…)

Since I have several commenters here who insist upon trafficking in rumor and innuendo about Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, I feel impelled to post a couple useful links:

- FactCheck.org: “Sliming Palin”
- Pajamas Media: “Separating Palin Fact from Palin Fiction”

And yes, I know that Sarah Palin didn’t always oppose the “Bridge to Nowhere” and did accept earmarked federal funds years ago as Wasilla mayor, though she ended up strongly (and has remained) on the right side of the issue. Alaskans have taken for granted that Palin is responsible for killing the “Bridge to “Nowhere” (until very recently, even the Alaska Democratic Party even acknowledged as much on their website).

Besides, do Barack Obama and Joe Biden really want to make an issue of Palin’s maturing opinion, in light of the larger context of her undeniable reform record as Alaska Governor and the fact that both Obama and Biden both voted to earmark money for the “Bridge to Nowhere” instead of hurricane relief.

The Left’s tactics have backfired. It only remains to be seen whether they have learned their lesson, or whether they want to keep baling water on their candidate’s sinking ship.

The Denver Post has a great feature story today about Colorado state employee Dave Ohmart, who has been challenging the union organizing power with a mixture of tenacity, fair-mindedness, and self-deprecating wit:

The self-described “nonunion rep” worries that the nascent state workers union will eventually draw dues from even employees who voted against it, a specter other states have faced. It’s a scenario Colorado union organizers flatly reject.

Nevertheless, Ohmart in June began offering counter-points to union pitches through a group dubbed “Colorado LOSES,” a jab at the three-union coalition Colorado WINS that won the right to represent all 31,000 eligible state workers last month.

“I don’t want someone forcing me to join something,” Ohmart, 59, said. “I want my money to come here and help me and my friends, to help solve problems at work. What they want their money for is political advantage.”

LOSES’ 50 members, who Ohmart affectionately calls “losers,” are a tiny sum compared to the nearly 7,700 state workers who supported unionization.

If nothing else, Dave Ohmart has found a clever way to counteract the self-aggrandizement, greed, and political ambition of union leaders. Faithful readers of my blog may remember Ohmart as the state employee who had a legally-placed poster torn down and received subtle threats from the in-house Colorado WINS representative.

Good luck to Dave Ohmart as he battles the growing specter of monopoly union power and apathy, too – potentially the bigger foe of the two.

I wonder what it takes for a non-state employee to become an honorary “loser”.

What’s that sound I hear? A bounce for McCain-Palin from the Republican National Convention that exceeded my expectations (H/T Rocky Mountain Right). A 10-point lead among likely voters … seriously?

At this point, it’s an outlier, but the trend is undeniable. The Republican ticket leads in the Real Clear Politics average (which includes McCain’s 1-point Rasmussen edge and 3-point Gallup Tracking Poll lead but not his 4-point tilt from Zogby) for the first time in about six months.

There’s a lot of campaigning left to do, but John McCain is in significantly better shape at this point than almost anyone would have forecast him doing. As I see it, the Presidential contest has moved from “Obama’s race to lose” to “a toss-up.” I’ll take it.

In an article printed today, the Denver Post‘s Jeremy Meyer asks why Colorado school district leaders are pushing a massive slew of construction bond proposals on the ballot:

But presidential elections produce large voter turnouts, and 90 percent of Colorado school ballot issues pass when they are on the general election ballot.

“My hypothesis is the larger turnout means (districts) are reaching into a voter base that is generally less informed about local issues and more inclined to give money to schools because it sounds like it is the right thing to do,” said Ben DeGrow, education-policy analyst for the Independence Institute, a free-market think tank based in Golden.

On the other hand:

DeGrow, however, said he thinks Colorado residents might be growing weary of tax increases.

“Taxpayers keep getting taken for more and more,” DeGrow said. “That adds up and tends to make a difference over time.”

I also made a strong point about the need for greater online financial transparency in school districts that wasn’t included in the story.

When local reporters are looking for a different perspective on school district bond and mill levy elections, they seem to know whom to call.

It’s national election season, which means perspective on the economy is badly needed. Thanks to Rossputin for highlighting this article from economists Brian Wesbury and Robert Stein.

Read the whole thing for yourself, but interesting tidbits are that family income last year hit its first all-time high in 7 years, income inequality declined faster than at any point in the previous 45 years, and the poverty rate stayed below its pre-1999 norms. Yes, economic growth has lagged, causing the country to flirt with recession. But according to Wesbury and Stein, “these figures bolster the case that the underlying fundamentals of the US economy were sound in 2007, before the Federal Reserve decided to try to inflate our way out of financial market turmoil.”

This report is something to remember as you listen to politicians from all sides demagogue, pander, and pontificate about the economy. Also worth a quick look is King Banaian’s graph showing how the current trend of employment loss compares to four recent recessions.

One key to helping hasten economic growth – besides cutting government spending and promoting free trade policies – is to join the National Taxpayers Union’s “I Don’t Vote for Tax Hikers” movement and get a free bumper sticker (H/T The Next Right).

A source in El Paso County tells me that this Saturday’s John McCain-Sarah Palin event in Colorado Springs has long since exhausted its 10,000 ticket supply and has put thousands more on waiting lists. I’m told this is bigger than President George W. Bush’s appearance in Colorado Springs in 2004 – not surprisingly, as the conservative base has received its biggest jolt of inspiration since Ronald Reagan was running for President.

Also, remember in last night’s speech when Sarah Palin pointed out that her husband is a member of the United Steelworkers Union? Today, National Right to Work sends an open letter to Todd Palin informing him that he is inadvertently helping to fund attacks against his wife but can get some of that money back. This might get some media attention.

Big Labor … hmmm. Is that another reform effort Sarah Palin will lead?

Peter Blake yesterday wrote a great Rocky Mountain News column about one of the major initiatives on Colorado’s statewide November ballot – Amendment 49:

As [Jon] Caldara, head of the Independence Institute, likes to put it, government would no longer be able to act as “the bagman for political special interests.”…

No doubt passage of No. 49 would make it more difficult for unions to collect dues. But Caldara said that in the age of automatic bank transfers, union members can easily arrange to have dues deducted if they want. “Taxpayers don’t have to be on the hook for doing the accounting, the bookkeeping and collection work for special interests and their lobbyists.”

Caldara maintains it’s a conflict of interest for, say, school board officials to be funneling money to local unions through paycheck deductions and then getting a check back from the same unions in the form of campaign contributions.

Government employees can arrange to stop dues deductions from paychecks now, but it can be a difficult process.

Read more about Amendment 49 here and here.

(Full disclosure: I also happen to work for the Independence Institute, which has provided the intellectual ammunition behind the Ethical Standards Initiative.)

After last night’s amazing speech, I’m jealous. Alaska, you can have Bill Ritter. Can we have Sarah Palin? Then I thought, in a few months she has a very good chance of being our vice-president. I’ll settle for that.

Interestingly, the Denver Post reports today about Gov. Ritter’s lackluster speaking performance at last week’s Democratic National Convention. A broken teleprompter appears to have been part of his problem. It seems Sarah Palin faced the same teleprompter problems, but went on unfazed to deliver a homerun. Could the same be said of Bill Ritter – or for that matter, Barack Obama – when they’re off teleprompter?

Broken teleprompter or not, I like this take from Michael at Best Destiny:

But let me just leave this first impression: the Bewitching Mrs. Best Destiny, who has the most active Bull S%*! alarm I’ve ever seen (a fact which has caused me no small amount of consternation over the years), and who, because of that, has almost no tolerance at all for politicians, WAS RIVETED by Sarah Palin tonight.

I was an easy sell–I wanted her to succeed; my wife had no stake in it, and loved what she saw.

This morning, Lefties are either suffering some serious heartburn, or in a terrible state of denial.

Going to the Republican National Convention as a blogger never was really an option for me this year. But my friend and colleague El Presidente is on location and filing dispatches.

Hadn’t heard any complaints really until I flipped over to Pajamas Media and saw this report from Rick Moran:

Here on what is passing for “Bloggers Row,” there is plenty of grumbling about the accommodations supplied by our hosts. Some descriptives are not printable. Most reflect a huge disappointment with the way the GOP has shunted most of the bloggers off to the side, far from the action, dispersed throughout a gigantic “Press Filing Center” where the working media comes to hook up to the net and file their stories….

…The dungeon that the GOP has put bloggers in this time around would be familiar to Torqumada and his buddies who made the Spanish Inquisition such a great party. And the labyrinth one has to navigate to find the darn place would tax the abilities of a carrier pigeon….

The Spanish Inquisition … really? No one on Bloggers Row must have expected to be placed in this sort of dingy conditions. I thought the Convention would be more focused on Sarah Palin, but for some bloggers it seems that visions of a red-cloaked Michael Palin are more prominent:

On the other hand, this is the picture snapped by El Presidente:

I’d be interested to get our Colorado correspondent’s take on the RNC’s blogging accommodations.