Sometime late in the last decade, the good old Aughts, I set up the state of play as Colorado Republicans (currently 21-14 in the minority) seek to take back the state senate. Following the release of fourth quarter reports on the Secretary of State’s campaign finance site, I have ranked in order an updated list of the eight seats — out of 19 up for grabs — most likely to change party hands: (more…)
Do you live in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, but are undecided about whom to support? Interested in hearing more from the candidates directly? Well, a forum is scheduled for tomorrow that might appeal to you — details below the fold:
One day after a refreshing U.S. Supreme Court victory for free speech, today we mark the 37th anniversary of Roe v Wade — a somber occasion for our nation. I recommend to you a well-written “In Memoriam” by Red State’s Erick Erickson. A couple key passages:
The truth that these children are biologically human and biologically distinct from their mothers is beyond question to anyone who believes in the most basic tenets of science. Why, then, are they declared so totally bereft of rights in our society? The fact that a woman can, with the protection of the law, kill her child on the day of its planned full-term delivery, indicates clearly that the only answer to this question is “physical location within their mother’s womb.” If a child is in this place, it may be killed with impunity; if it is in another, to kill it is murder….
In most places across Colorado, you can tune in and listen this Saturday or Sunday to the Face The State Weekend Edition — locally, here in Denver on AM 710 KNUS on Saturday at 5 AM or Sunday at noon. During part of the show I will be discussing with host Brad Jones the latest results from the survey of Colorado’s political temperature — an independent project co-sponsored by People’s Press Collective managing editor Michael Sandoval and yours truly.
A couple days ago I told you about my friend Libby Szabo running for House District 27. Well, you also ought to know a bit more about the incumbent Democrat who she is trying to unseat: Rep. Sara Gagliardi.
“We need to do something in this country, and I am in favor of single-payer national health care reform—so I would not support this initiative at all,” said Rep. Sara Gagliardi, D-Arvada, who is vice chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee.
Yes, that’s right. My state representative thinks the current Obama Care proposals rejected by a majority of Americans — and most recently, Massachusetts voters — don’t add enough government controls to medicine. At least my fellow Arvadans and I have a clear choice come November. Go Libby go!
Voters who elected Republican Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Edward Kennedy for 47 years sent a clear message that they expect Washington to listen to their concerns, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet said.
“Last night, the voters of Massachusetts didn’t just elect a senator; they sent a message to Washington that I have heard all across Colorado — they want their leaders to listen to them and not the special interests,” Bennet said. “They want us to focus on jobs, on lowering the cost of health care, and holding Wall Street accountable. They expect results, and it’s up to me and the rest of Washington to deliver.”
Senator Bennet should have added, “And after a year of being in the Senate, I’ll finally start paying attention to you and making up my mind on important issues to Colorado, rather than kowtowing to liberal party leaders and hiding under a rock to avoid sharing an opinion on the Big Labor card-check bill. (more…)
The bills in Congress hardly enjoy runaway popularity. But the problem isn’t that health-care reform itself is unpopular. It is that people are turned off by the current debate about it. And those repelled by what is happening in Washington include a lot of liberals as well as conservatives. In a recent nationwide CNN poll, for example, 10 percent of respondents opposed reform from the left because they felt it was not liberal enough. Another 40 percent supported reform outright, bringing the total supporting the current bills or something more liberal to 50 percent — compared with 45 percent who oppose the bills because they think they are too liberal.
Brilliant! So why don’t we try health care reform that’s more “conservative,” i.e., that promotes more liberty and less regulation? Maybe some tort reform, fewer purchasing mandates, Health Savings Account (HSA) expansions, allowing consumers to purchase insurance across state lines, etc. — ideas touted by many (and captured on video by Ari) who attended yesterday’s “Freedom of Health Care” rally. Because clearly 85 percent of Americans (40 percent who support the current reform plus 45 percent who oppose it for reasons other than it’s “not liberal enough”) would support that, right?
There’s no reason to believe that if the bill was made even more “liberal” (e.g., a straightforward single-payer government medical system), that any of the current 40 percent supporting the bill might change their minds, right?
I’d love to know how to become a tenured professor at one of our nation’s “elite” universities.
Thanks to the Democrats in the state legislature, a new tire-waste disposal fee isn’t good enough: You’re also getting taxed on the fee! Yes, that’s right. Check out the new report created by my Independence Institute colleague Todd Shepherd:
Imagine paying for your new car tags, and the person behind the counter also assesses a sales tax on your total tag price. Or imagine paying a government toll on a highway, and sales tax is assessed to the toll as well.
It may sound far-fetched, but when you purchase new tires, it’s happening. (more…)
I’m excited to be able to share the news that conservative Republican Libby Szabo — one of my favorite people — has announced she is running to be my next state representative. She will be a formidable challenger to incumbent Democrat and Ritter disciple Sara Gagliardi in a very winnable race.
Below the fold is a copy of Libby’s press release announcing her campaign: (more…)
(H/T Complete Colorado) The new Colorado News Agency gets the scoop and breaks down the details on a series of bills and debates that will make one of the hottest stories out of the legislative session this year: the proposed repeals of late fees in Governor Bill Ritter and the Democrats’ 2009 FASTER legislation. Pardon the pun, but the state’s fiscally conservative bloggers definitely need to get up to speed on this issue… and fast.
So the Democrats’ Research 2000/Daily Kos crew has released a poll today showing incumbent appointed U.S. Senator Michael Bennet one point ahead of leading Republican challenger Jane Norton. But, you say, wasn’t it just Friday — three days ago — that Rasmussen had Norton up 12 points on Bennet?
Rasmussen’s margin of error (MOE) is 4.5 points, which means at the bottom end Norton is ahead of Bennet by 7.5. Research 2000′s MOE is 4 points, which means at the top end Norton is ahead of Bennet by 3. Since the two polls were conducted at virtually the same time, the obvious conclusion is that one (or both) of them simply is wrong. So whom do we trust?
I don’t have access to any of Rasmussen’s internals, but Research 2000/Daily Kos shows that 239 Democrats were sampled, compared to 224 Republicans. We can make even further inferences from their internal numbers — which show Bennet winning among Democrats 74 to 5, Norton winning Republicans 79 to 6 and independents somehow splitting for Bennet 37 to 34.
If you apply the actual percentages of active registered voters from the Colorado Secretary of State (35.2% Republicans, 33.7% Democrats, 31.1% Unaffiliated/Minor Party), then the outcome looks a little different than Research 2000 says: Instead, Norton beats Bennet by 2 points (41-39). (more…)
Introducing the detailed release of results from our January edition of the Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature (click “Fullscreen” for best view):
Thanks again to everyone who participated. And congratulations to our candidate winners this time around: Dan Maes, Ken Buck, Cory Gardner, Ryan Frazier and J.J. Ament.
Our plan is to work on some limited cross-tab analysis of these results. If you have any interest in any particular cross-tab (e.g., how did people vote in a particular race by age group?), please email me or leave the suggestions in the comment box by Tuesday night.
Update, 1/19:(H/T Business Word) According to Denver Post political editor Curtis Hubbard, Maes’ 4th quarter campaign take is actually lower than the previous quarter. And his campaign treasurer “seems to be missing in action” to turn in the report. It almost goes without saying that this adds up to seriously bad news for the upstart candidate.
Perhaps the biggest knock against the upstart Republican gubernatorial campaign of Evergreen businessman Dan Maes has been his weak fundraising. He only pulled in $12,194 during the third quarter, from a total of 37 contributors.
No one realistically expects Maes to achieve fundraising parity with frontrunner Scott McInnis (who brought in $544,779 and $479,575 in the two recent reporting periods, respectively). But it would help Maes’ cause greatly to be in the same league.
Today’s editorial from the liberal- leaning Denver Post urges Colorado Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet to vote against the “bad medicine” of Obama Care. If that doesn’t tell you how blindly out of touch the national Democratic Party has become, and the political dangers awaiting them on the near horizon, I’m not sure what will: Maybe a “Massachusetts Miracle” by Republican Scott Brown?
Update, 1/22:Two other Republican candidates — U.S. Senate hopeful Ken Buck and 7th CD contender Ryan Frazier — also have signed the “Repeal It” pledge.
The Club for Growth has created a “Repeal It” pledge for candidates running for Congress in 2010. It reads:
I hereby pledge to the people of my district/state upon my election to the U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Senate, to sponsor and support legislation to repeal any federal health care takeover passed in 2010, and replace it with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government.
There’s a cause the majority of Coloradans (and indeed, Americans) can rally around. Kudos to Republican 7th CD candidate Lang Sias for being the first non-incumbent from our state to sign (GOP 5th District Congressman Doug Lamborn also has signed).
Just because Sias is the first Colorado candidate to sign and have his name appear on the “Repeal It” site, I would be greatly shocked if others in the 7th CD race — not to mention candidates for the U.S. Senate and other Congressional districts — did not join him shortly.
