Mount Virtus

Thanks to Complete Colorado linking to this interesting Channel 7 story breaking down political campaign giving, I ran into some interesting data on the reported campaign contributions here in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District.

I’ve pasted a screenshot of the chart from Open Secrets: (more…)

Driving home from the office yesterday evening, listening to the tail end of the Caplis & Silverman Show on 630 KHOW, I could hardly believe my ears as Denver mayor and Democrat gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper assumed an uncharacteristically defensive tone when the hosts pressed him on his refusal to disclose any names of the charitable organizations his personal wealth has supported through the years. As the show’s closing music played, Hickenlooper lashed out at the show as biased and indicated he wasn’t too interested in coming back on the show again.

Complete Colorado has posted the audio.

Rossputin provides a great recap and thorough breakdown of the Mayor’s “strained” argument that raises more questions about the ideological bent of his giving and gives credence to the theory that Hickenlooper has a “political glass jaw.” (more…)

Editor’s note: Please welcome RMA and PPC blogger Night Twister from his original blogging home to his new digs as a guest blogger at Mount Virtus. Look for occasional contributions from him to help make up for my low blogging output, due to extra busy-ness of late.

After reading this , this, and especially this by Erick Erickson at RedState, I felt it necessary to write a response. A little background would be helpful first, however.

Over the past decade, Colorado conservatives have taken a beating. In 2000, we held the Governor’s Mansion, the state House and Senate chambers, both U.S. Senate seats, and 5 of 7 House seats. Even so, Colorado’s history includes dramatic swings from Democrat to Republican leadership. Much has been made of Colorado’s Purple State status recently, but in reality it has always been this way.

During that decade, there was a parade of failed campaigns, including former congressman Bob Beauprez (Gov), Pete Coors (Senate), Bob Schaffer (Senate), and even incumbents like Marilyn Musgrave (CD-4) were soundly defeated. This had as much to do with campaign mistakes as it did with the ton of outside money that came to Colorado for progressive candidates and the increasing apathy of conservative voters for the lack of fiscal discipline among GOP politicians both statewide and nationally.

The races for local, state and U.S. House and Senate seats in Colorado have been interesting this cycle, to say the least. We’ve seen candidates come and go and some switch to other races. I detailed much of this in my Colorado Political Analysis diary that I did for RS back in December. Even since then, we’ve had some changes. Bill Ritter (Gov) is no longer running for re-election, and Diggs Brown (CD-4) has dropped out and endorsed Cory Gardner.

Initially, Colorado’s U.S. Senate race was between Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier and Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck. There were and are some other bit players out there, but they’ve never had a chance to gain more than lower single-digit support from the voters. Frazier was the darling of the Tea Party crowd, and especially popular with small “L” libertarians and many mainstream Republicans. Both he and Ken Buck struggled early on to raise enough funds to get the attention of the national organizations. (more…)

Update: For comparison, a video of Ellen Roberts’ SD 6 assembly speech also has been posted.

It’s been a few months since I provided an update of Colorado state senate races. I rated Senate District 6 — in southwest Colorado, on the other side of the state — as the number one Republican target, noting with current Rep. Ellen Roberts remaining on pace fundraising with Democrat incumbent Bruce Whitehead that, “This seat remains the closest to an automatic party switch in the fall.”

But the people of Senate District 6 will have something to say about the matter first. Last Saturday the late-entry campaign of San Miguel County’s conservative Dean Boehler took some state political observers by storm by capturing 66 percent of the delegate vote at the SD 6 Assembly. The Boehler campaign has put together an 8-minute video featuring the candidate’s Assembly speech: (more…)

While a certain Democratic ex-President has been trying to exploit the memory of today’s terrible 15th anniversary to take a political cheap shot at millions of Americans, I prefer to commemorate a different anniversary.

Two hundred thirty-five years ago today, American patriots at Lexington and Concord ignited the cause of liberty on American shores. What was nearly unthinkable on April 19, 1775 — a ragtag band of Patriot colonists winning the hearts and minds of many countrymen, the support of the French crown and securing independence from Britain — eventually came to pass.

But the heroism of the farmers and craftsmen in small Massachusetts towns who stood tall against General Thomas Gage’s Redcoats, including of the dozens who gave their lives, deserves its own spotlight today: (more…)

A week ago I mentioned a new poll from Colorado’s 7th Congressional District showing Republican challenger Ryan Frazier in a statistical dead heat with liberal Democrat Ed Perlmutter. Compliments of the Frazier campaign, below are the details of the April 8 survey from Magellan Data Mapping and Strategies:

Ryan Frazier (R): 39%
Ed Perlmutter (D): 42%

(more…)

As Don Johnson has noted, U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck earned an important endorsement today from Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) and the Senate Conservative Fund:

“There are certainly other good Republicans in this race,” said Senator DeMint, “but I believe Ken Buck is a conservative standout who will fight the establishment in both parties when he gets to Washington.”

At lunch I joined the conference call, and was able to ask Senator DeMint if there was concern about the Buck campaign’s ability to raise money to wage a successful general election campaign. I paraphrase, but his response essentially was: (more…)

Update: If you can’t make it in person, you also can follow the Denver Tea Party online.

Do you live in Colorado? Are you sick of out-of-control government spending and encroachment on our liberties? The Tea Party of Northern Colorado has posted the most comprehensive roundup of this Thursday’s Tax Day Tea Party events I’ve seen. Check out the list below, find one of the 14 events near you, and come out for the festivities and to send a strong message to our elected officials: (more…)

Last Tuesday I received a review copy of The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care by award-winning 9News political reporter Adam Schrager and former Republican state representative Rob Witwer. Despite having a lot on my plate, I found time to read the book in two evenings.

The book is a quick read but remarkably packed with substance. Political insiders who have followed the past three election cycles in Colorado will find a good amount of familiar material, and may learn a few things on the way. Everyone else, buckle up. The transformation of Colorado’s political power structures from Republican to Democratic dominance is a worthwhile and important study — one that points to the importance of a permanent and coordinated infrastructure. But not at state party headquarters.

“Because of campaign finance reform, political parties are essentially dead,” co-author Rob Witwer told me in a Friday interview, when asked what his most significant and startling discovery was in researching the book. “The infrastructure necessary to support a political movement can only be done through a network of non-profit entities.”

Recent electoral history (especially 2004 and 2006) makes Witwer’s case, something he and Schrager lay out effectively in the book. To get a flavor of The Blueprint, simply check out the excerpt printed in yesterday’s Denver Post perspective section. The stunning upset takeover of the Colorado state legislature was launched with a “Roundtable” gathering of the familiar “Gang of Four” liberal money machine.

But their money wouldn’t have won them the power and acclaim if not spent effectively. “What the Left’s donors figured out was you can have a much bigger impact on public policy if you flood local races with resources then if you just chip around the edges on big races,” said Witwer. “And that’s what they did.” (more…)

Yesterday morning I was at the Jefferson County Republican Assembly. If you saw Lynn Bartels’ picture of the sea of signs, you know precisely where I was. There isn’t a whole lot to report on, other than the doughnuts I ate too many of were really good. We forwarded a slate of strong candidates for county office–including incumbents Sheriff Ted Mink, Clerk Pam Anderson, and Treasurer Tim Kauffman–and (hopefully) my next state senator John Odom.

And these events are somewhat like political family reunions — this time with a good amount of new, enthusiastic faces in the crowd. Sources say 980 delegates and alternates in all crowded the El Jebel shrine next door to Denver’s Willis Case Golf Course. That sounds about right to me.

The only disputed Jeffco race was in my House District 27, where despite a temporary procedural “glitch” that held up proceedings, my friend Libby Szabo won a convincing 88 percent of the delegate vote. She looks to carry the Republican banner in one of Colorado’s likeliest pickup opportunities in November. (more…)

Today — April 9, 2010 — will go down as a memorable day. First, my native state of Michigan officially declared it Ernie Harwell Day in honor of what looks very much like the legendary Hall-of-Fame baseball broadcaster’s last Detroit home opener with us (and bless the Tigers, they beat Cleveland 5-2). Can’t say it enough: Thank YOU, Ernie Harwell.

I’ve also learned that lawmakers from my adopted home state of Colorado have declared today David Benke Day, in honor of the selfless, heroic teacher at Deer Creek Middle School who doubtless helped save student lives from a deranged gunman. I’m honored to have met both of these fine, humble men, and am glad to know they share the same commemorative day. They are both most deserving, each in his own way.

But there’s one other reason to make April 9, 2010 memorable: It’s the 145th anniversary of General Robert E. Lee’s famed surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House — most beautifully and eloquently captured in the memoir of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, The Passing of the Armies — bringing the great hope of peace to an American nation ravaged by the Civil War. (This one is for you, Snags.)

For the two or three of you who might be wondering, a quick update on the Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature.

Yes, the original plan was to launch the April edition today. But I and others have been busy, and — more importantly — the survey is undergoing a formal re-design to make it sleeker, quicker and easier to take, and more accessible to a wider audience, while retaining its basic substance. Look for the survey to be available all next week in a brand new venue.

Thanks for your interest in Colorado politics.

How many truly bad ideas can come up in the course of one Colorado legislative session? More than you may think (or maybe not). The latest hasn’t even been formally introduced yet, but the backlash has grown strong. Fox31 News reports on a proposal that would open up Colorado’s election system to fraud and abuse:

The 68-page draft bill, likely to be sponsored by House Speaker Terrance Carroll, D- Denver, and introduced later this week, would allow Colorado voters to register just three days before the 2010 election.

Currently, Coloradans must register to vote up until 29 days before an election. Carroll says allowing a longer registration period will open the door to greater voter turnout. But Republicans see it as a blatant attempt to bolster Democratic voter ranks ahead of an important election.

“I think it’s 100 percent politically-motivated,” said state Rep. Carole Murray, R-Castle Rock, the former Douglas County Clerk and Recorder. “I can’t understand how someone would present such dramatic change to election law just short of an upcoming election, unless they had some ulterior motives.”

(more…)

Our incumbent U.S. Senator Michael Bennet stunned some in the political world with the announcement that he would seek to petition onto the ballot in addition to go through the Democratic Party’s assembly process. Fellow RMAer Don Johnson hypothesizes about Bennet’s strategery, based on the luxury of his heavily-bankrolled campaign.

But should we be surprised at such an extra-cautious strategy from the junior Senator who last year boldly blurted that he would vote for heavily unpopular Obama Care even if it cost him his appointed job?

No, not really. Michael Bennet after all is an elected official known for more than a year of legendary indecision on the union card-check bill (unless you count his vote for the Craig Becker NLRB appointment).

Bottom line: The Andrew Romanoff-Michael Bennet primary figures to get more interesting before Colorado Democrats decide between the unpopular, handpicked Appointed One and the once rising star now shunned by the party establishment.

Luke 24:1-9

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.

9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. (more…)