Mount Virtus

You haven’t heard of the Steamboat Institute? Well, neither had I, until recently. But it’s an organization co-founded by my Leadership Program of the Rockies classmate Jennifer Schubert-Akin, and it’s dedicated to five principles:

• Limited Government
• Lower Taxes
• Free Markets
• Strong National Defense
• Individual Rights and Responsibilities

The group is getting off to a strong start by hosting a conference on August 28 and 29 at the Steamboat Grand Hotel in beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colorado, featuring some big name champions of the free market, limited government, pro-liberty movement, including:

• Grover Norquist
• Congressman Mike Pence, Indiana
• Michael Reagan
• Former president John Adams ???

Hey, I think seeing a 270-year-old Founding Father in the flesh might be worth the price of admission by itself. And what about the excuse of getting to spend a weekend in God’s country? If you can do it, go for it!

If you can make it to this event, please plug my friend Matt Arnold, and let him know with a Facebook message that he encouraged you to sign up for the conference (because he encouraged me to write this post). But please do it today, if you can!!

Rather than take the time to write a substantial, coherent post on any one topic on this Friday, July 31 — the birthday of the late, great Milton Friedman — I offer you four quick hits to amuse, inspire, frustrate, and activate. Without further ado: (more…)

If things keep up, we soon may be unable to fit all of Colorado’s Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in a phone booth. (How long before the phone booth loses broad cultural recognition? Where does Clark Kent go to change his identity? But I digress….)

Already in the race are Ryan Frazier, Ken Buck, and Cleve Tidwell. I received an email announcement today that Crested Butte attorney Luke Korkowski is officially on board. Senate Watch at Rocky Mountain Right reports that Tom Wiens is about to enter the race. And I’m hearing rumors that former Congressman Bob Beauprez soon may throw his hat into the ring.

If it all develops, we may start needing some sort of official guide to keep track of who’s who and what’s what. Regardless, the race can’t credibly sustain more than a few candidates — who need both strong fundraising and grassroots volunteers to survive. Depending on the decisions of Wiens and Beauprez, we may see one or two of the lesser candidates soon fade further into the background and quietly off the radar screen.

Meanwhile, for the political observer, it has the potential to be fun. So pop up some popcorn and sit back. It could be a crazy ride.

Last week we released the results from our mid-summer survey of Colorado’s political temperature. In the meantime we’ve added some more analysis that suggests profiles of support for certain candidates. Without further ado, here’s our amateur cross-tab analysis that raises the question … Is there a 2010 Republican “youth” ticket emerging here in Colorado, and what are the implications? (click on the magnifying glass icon to zoom in, or on the top icon right for a full-screen view): (more…)

El Presidente at Slapstick Politics followed up Tuesday’s top-notch coverage of the anti-Obama Care rally in Denver with links to Wednesday’s action further north and south along Colorado’s Front Range.

Andrew Boucher has the lowdown on the Fort Collins showdown that saw more than three times as many activists out in opposition to the government health care takeover than their counterparts.

Another source tells me that about 1,200 people showed up to protest Obama Care in Colorado Springs. You can find pictures from the event posted here.

Makes you wonder if our elected officials are paying any heed.

Back from technology-imposed blogging exile, Joshua has christened the new-look View from a Height with a terrific catch of Democrat state senator Morgan Carroll on a “fact-finding” expedition to prep the next round of attacks on the state’s privately-funded Pinnacol Assurance. Both he and I find Carroll’s response less than persuasive. What say you?

Talk about betraying your ignorance in service of political posturing. Looking for a way to cling to the idea that Colorado ranks 49th in something and bash the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights over the head, the Dead Guvs jumped on one particular set of rankings in the latest U.S. Census Bureau school funding data — with an attempted one-two punch on supporters of government spending limitations and on the Southern states:

We like to imagine that it’s Mississippi, Alabama, or another stereotype Deep South state that saves Colorado every year from ranking dead-last in education spending as a percentage of income. Okay, Florida then. Close enough.

The problem is threefold, and bears out when you look at the actual rankings (PDF). First, measuring spending as a percentage of personal income punishes states with greater earning power — the best way to increase your ranking is to make less money. As a result, West Virginia ranks fourth, Georgia 10th, Arkansas 11th, Mississippi 13th, South Carolina 16th, Alabama 21st. Meanwhile, Connecticut ranks 33rd, Illinois 35th, Maryland 37th, Minnesota 42nd, and Washington state 48th.

Second, there is absolutely no correlation between funding as a percentage of personal income and any measurable outputs in education. Florida, the only state below Colorado on this particular ranking, has been one of the most remarkable success stories in achievement gains — especially among its poor and minority populations — due to its wide-ranging reforms that promote choice, accountability, and excellence … without a huge infusion of funding.

Third, and it’s a minor point, Colorado hasn’t even ranked 49th in this particular category for several years.

Besides, it all depends on how you measure per-pupil spending. And even the Denver Post knows enough to observe that “Spending should not be viewed in isolation.”

It’s sad to see the Dead Guvs stuck in a tired debate that has moved forward. Find another way to do your TABOR-bashing.

Update 3: Also a good article about the rally in the Gazette. And guess who was out and about peeping near the State Capitol?

Update 2: Slapstick Politics has the best visual coverage of the anti-Obamacare rally earlier today — not that I could hope to generate for his site even a modest fraction of the traffic produced by an Instalanche. And, oh yeah, the Denver Post has a story, too.

Update: Alex at Colorado Political News also has posted his letter to Perlmutter opposing the government health care takeover in HR 3200. Let’s hear from some more Colorado bloggers!

And if you want to shout, and not just write, don’t forget about the rally at the Colorado State Capitol at 11:30 AM.

Now is the time to write your Congressman and tell them to oppose HR 3200, the Obama Care anti-health care freedom bill. This morning I wrote Democrat Rep. Ed Perlmutter:

I’m urging you to oppose HR 3200 and its economically destructive, anti-freedom brand of so-called health care reform. Please don’t tax us to death to create a “public option” that inevitably will drive private insurance out of business and leave middle class people like my family without any option but to accept government medical service. Especially now, with the economy suffering, this costly approach would be disastrous.

As Shawn Tully did, please read the fine print of HR 3200. Please don’t take away what freedom my family has to choose our health insurance plan and physicians.

I have written before urging you to oppose bad legislation, but this one excels them all. There are other real health-care reforms (eg, allowing the expansion of insurance pools across state lines; limiting punitive damages on malpractice; incentivizing the use of health savings accounts; creating refundable tax credits for the few million people who actually are in need — not the grossly misleading 47 million number).

Oppose HR 3200.

To learn what other key members of Congress you can contact to target with phone calls, faxes, and emails on this legislation, Erick Erickson has posted a list over at Red State.

(H/T Vodkapundit) The Daily Mail reports on a study that says women are getting more attractive. Ain’t nothing wrong with that! But then it contains this gem:

Researchers demonstrated that beautiful people are 36 per cent more likely to have a daughter than a son as their first born child.

That’s the lovely Mrs. Virtus I’m talking about.

Popular opinion is fickle. It seems highly likely that Barack Obama will at some point cross over 50 percent approval like he did during his first six months in office. But if he keeps arrogantly following the path of socialist policies and foot-in-mouth disease, don’t expect it to occur anytime soon. Rasmussen reports that Obama has a 49 percent approval rating and has a net-minus 11 among those with strongly held opinions. John Hawkins at Right Wing News declared yesterday “Upside Down Day”.

As long as President Obama has lashed his political capital to the ship of government medical overhaul, I hope his numbers continue to plummet.

Update: As El Presidente points out: “Crosstabs and other analysis will follow in the next week.” We didn’t want political junkies to get their fix all at once. Besides, a little suspense never hurt anyone.

Introducing the top-line results from our recent survey of Colorado’s political temperature. More than 600 people participated in the project. Thanks to those of you who took the time to help out!

There were some definite winners in the candidate races, but given the unsurprisingly large share of undecideds at this point in the race, no one approached 50 percent. You can read the release below for more details — which also includes some information on the issue questions and demographics of those who took the survey:

July 2009 Colorado’s Political Temperature Results

In its latest release, the Ryan Frazier for U.S. Senate campaign effectively goes after a weak link in incumbent appointee Michael Bennet’s political armor:

GOP Senatorial candidate Ryan Frazier today asked why Senator Michael Bennet has not stood up to the Democratic Congressional Leadership in Washington to protect Colorado small businesses and jobs from being destroyed due to an expensive surtax being proposed to help pay for President Obama’s health care reform legislation. The Democratic Congressional leadership has proposed a 5.4 percent surtax on families making more than $350,000 a year, or individuals earning $280,000, to pay for health care reform.

“A proposed surtax to pay for health care reform will place an enormous burden onto small businesses that could seriously hurt Colorado employees and their families. The media has heard Congressman Jared Polis stand up to this, but why hasn’t Senator Michael Bennet? When will Senator Bennet break his silence and stand up for Colorado? We all want to improve our nation’s health care system. Unfortunately, we do not have Senate leadership in our state that will help tackle the challenges facing our nation in a bipartisan manner. The people of Colorado deserve a Senator who will fight for what is right and not blindly follow the leadership of any political party.”

Someone has to keep the pressure on Bennet, especially after Harry Reid’s announcement laying over the health care bill grants the junior senator another reprieve from having to make a decision on behalf of hard-working Coloradans.

Michael Bennet’s hollowness and malleability would be comical if it didn’t carry such great consequences. What about having to ask the permission of New York’s liberal gun-control Senator Charles Schumer in order to cast a phony vote in favor of concealed-carry rights?

And of course, Bennet’s indecision on the costly, union-backed EFCA bill has become legendary.

Ryan Frazier and the other potential Republican challengers would be wise to continue this line of attack.

The Denver Post reported yesterday that state representative Don Marostica, R-Loveland, resigned his seat to be appointed by Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter as the state’s economic development director:

Larry Carillo, chairman of the Larimer County Republican Party, said Marostica called him this morning to tell him he was resigning his seat.

“He was excited,” Carillo said. “He explained he thought it would be a good thing for economic development in Colorado and a good thing for the Republican Party.” [emphasis added]

A double-edged sword of a statement if ever there was one. And it’s definitely good for Bill Ritter, who can beef up his “bipartisan” bona fides without having to sacrifice any of his agenda or program. (more…)

Marc Morano at Climate Depot brings our attention to a brand new peer-reviewed scientific study, another major piece of evidence blowing apart the man-made global warming scare:

The research, by Chris de Freitas, a climate scientist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, John McLean (Melbourne) and Bob Carter (James Cook University), finds that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a key indicator of global atmospheric temperatures seven months later. As an additional influence, intermittent volcanic activity injects cooling aerosols into the atmosphere and produces significant cooling.

“The surge in global temperatures since 1977 can be attributed to a 1976 climate shift in the Pacific Ocean that made warming El Niño conditions more likely than they were over the previous 30 years and cooling La Niña conditions less likely” says corresponding author de Freitas…. (more…)

Update: Michael at Best Destiny also has a great take on last night’s Obama press conference — “Color me unimpressed.”

President Obama’s press conference last night didn’t exactly bowl them over. With the plummeting support for the government health care Trojan horse plan before Congress, it will be interesting to see if last night moves the needle on public support at all. Great takes on the presser come from Ace of Spades’ Gabriel Malor, Allahpundit at Hot Air, and the editors of National Review.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal points out Obama’s use of Chicago-style intimidation politics behind the scenes to move the government health care takeover forward.

But whichever way the political winds may seem to be blowing at the moment, stay strong in the fight and stay tuned to these great resources:

• Patient Power Now on Obama Care
• Great Obama Care videos
• We Stand FIRM
• CATO on Health Care Reform
• The Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights

And if you live in the Denver metro area, make your voice heard by showing up next Tuesday, July 28, at 11:30 AM at the State Capitol for the grassroots event, Rally Against Government-Run Health Care. Hope to see you there!