Perhaps the most closely contested state legislative race of 2008 is the battle for Senate District 19 in Arvada and Westminster. But how close would it be if people really knew what Democratic candidate Evie Hudak stood for? Yes, the same Evie Hudak who has a bizarrely condescending view of homeschoolers and parental responsibility in education.
A revealing document goes even further, telling us just how much Evie Hudak is attuned to a rigid, Left-leaning ideology - far more than to the interests of everyday people in Senate District 19. On an online questionnaire for the Progressive Democrats of America, Hudak wrote:
I support the entire Democratic Party platform. I have supported the issues in previous elections as an active Democrat and as a candidate. I have been on the Platform Committee in the past, and I work with the members every year to ensure that it is good. In terms of which planks are most important to me, I have a hard time picking, because every topic is meaningful….
Based on this answer, it’s pretty apparent that Evie Hudak doesn’t place a high premium on independent thought. So what are some of the things in the Colorado Democratic Party platform that the lockstep liberal Hudak supports? And exactly which ones did she help to write? Here’s just a sampling:
Against traditional marriage: “We urge our elected representatives at all levels to vigorously oppose legislation or ballot initiatives that would narrow the definition of marriage to a partnership between two persons of opposite genders thus excluding other committed, but non-traditional relationships.”
Against free religious expression: “We are committed to…the elimination of the use of public property for the display of religious symbols such as the ten commandments [sic]“
Against all reasonable domestic energy exploration: “We urge the Department of Interior, the State of Colorado and Garfield County to prohibit any natural gas leases or any drilling on the Roan Plateau.”
Against free political speech: “We support reinstating equal time requirements (the fairness doctrine) and the principle of fair and balanced reporting. We further support laws requiring broadcast license holders to give free substantial airtime, equal in both quality and quantity, to all ballot qualified candidates, sufficient for substantial presentation of the issues.
Against taxpayer protections: “We request … [the] revocation of the TABOR amendment.”
Anti-business: “Regulating premium increases on health insurance; prohibiting pre-existing condition exclusions by insurance companies; and reinstituting ‘no fault’ automobile insurance coverage for medical expenses.”
Some reporter who is actually interested in balanced coverage of this election might want to ask Evie Hudak if she really supports the entire Democratic Party platform, and if so, explain what that will mean for the families and businesses of the people in north Jefferson County she seeks to represent.
If this disturbs you at all, please support the common-sense candidate in the race: Libby Szabo.
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?
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.
Watching hot air balloons might never have been so much fun as this: Americans for Prosperity’s Hot Air Tour is coming to Colorado, starting tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at Broomfield County Commons Park (13200 Sheridan Blvd).
What am I talking about?
Climate alarmists have bombarded citizens with apocalyptic scenarios and pressured them into environmental political correctness. It’s time to tell the other side of the story.
Americans for Prosperity is working hard to bring you the missing half of the global warming debate. What will the impacts of reactionary legislation be for you, your family and our economy?
And I’m told, all the Colorado stops on the Hot Air Tour will also be calling out Mark Udall for his energy record. Fun, information, and future savings for the whole family!
For more information, contact Jim Pfaff at jpfaff@afphq.org or (303) 957- 8600.
How refreshing … I haven’t had reason to truly be proud of Republicans in Congress in a long time. Just want to let the “guerrilla Congress” know that we’re watching you out here in Colorado and cheering you on - ready to do what we can to help get the word out.
Does it involve political posturing? Is it somewhat theatrical? Yes - but it makes the point: Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats don’t even want to debate about a comprehensive energy policy. They aren’t listening to the American people. Call Nancy Pelosi at 202-225-0100 - and your own Representative, too - to urge them to come back and debate the American Energy Act.
Maybe, just maybe, the Republicans finally are listening again.
And, of course, if Mark Udall hadn’t taken his “day off” and broken his promise, then none of this might even be necessary.
After seeing the Congress adjourned, Nancy Pelosi shut off the lights, kicked out the reporters, and fled from the issue of the nation’s domestic energy supply. But under his Constitutional authority, the President can call a special session of Congress to force our elected officials to remove the burdensome restrictions that keep the United States dependent on foreign oil and people paying $4 a gallon for gas.
Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111 Monday to Friday between 9 AM - 5 PM Eastern (7 AM - 3 PM Colorado time), and respectfully urge the President to call a special session of Congress.
Liberal Democrat elites in Congress like Pelosi, Harry Reid, Ken Salazar, and Mark Udall may not be concerned about $4 a gallon gas, but you can make your voice heard.
Saving energy may not be so easy after all. A television commercial featuring Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter was meant to show viewers how easy it is to save energy, but it showed Ritter using more, not less.
The original, which aired for weeks, showed Ritter turning a thermostat down from 72 degrees to 68. But during the summer, that means the air conditioner would work harder - and use more energy.
I would need to see this commercial to believe it. Apparently, some remedial education is needed as part of Gov. Ritter’s “Climate Action Plan”.
In today’s Rocky Mountain News, Colorado Democrat pollster Floyd Ciruli takes a cold, analytical look at Gov. Bill Ritter’s approval ratings — boiled down, the picture isn’t pretty for the potential one-term governor:
Surprisingly, new Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter may be in trouble. When compared with his Montana counterpart, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, in recent Rasmussen polls, Ritter’s job rating lags behind Schweitzer by 19 points. Only 45 percent of Colorado voters gave Ritter an excellent or good job rating, whereas 64 percent of Montanans rated Schweitzer as doing an excellent or good job.
Floyd Ciruli cites a litany of reasons for Bill Ritter’s sagging popularity, reasons that have been regular themes of this and other local new media sites:
As the second half of Bill Ritter’s term approaches, the question remains whether Republicans can field a strong and viable challenger to unseat the increasingly vulnerable incumbent in 2010.
A few days ago I had a conversation with some non-political family members about the pains of hosting a national political convention. One of them lives in the Twin Cities. The rest of us live in and around Denver. Doubtless this means some inconveniences and annoyances for denizens, regardless of whether it’s the Republicans or Democrats coming to your town.
Several Denver City Council members are questioning why the Democratic National Convention Committee has a contract with the city to fill up their fleet of vehicles with tax-free fuel.
The $466,000 contract, only $9,700 of which has been paid so far by the DNCC officials, allows them to use the city’s car wash and gas stations for their vehicles. The city’s fuel pumps should be used by government employees only because they don’t charge $.40 cents per gallon of state and federal taxes.
I’m not a lawyer, but this sure sounds like an unethical use of government tax-exempt status. Local media ought to give it further examination. And what about Denver mayor John Hickenlooper? The article cites Hick making a false claim that a similar deal was in place between Minneapolis and the Republican National Convention. What will the city do about the contract?
In the meantime, the rest of us private citizens pay $4 a gallon for gasoline, Democratic party officials get a standard 10 percent discount that takes resources away from funding our highways and other transportation needs. The DNC hasn’t even arrived in Denver yet, and you can already start to feel the public resentment and seething begin to rise.
After his recent Arctic show cruise with numerous liberal elites, Gov. Bill Ritter said he “improved his knowledge of climate change and reinforced his belief that his environmental policies at home are the right ones.”
Our governor picked some miserably bad timing that only makes him look sillier. As Joshua Sharf points out, the widely reputed American Physics Society has shined a growing light of credibility on dissent from the climate hysteria of man-made global warming. Joshua also points to a piece highlighting how Australia is starting to come to terms with the largely bogus nature of the alleged threat.
Meanwhile, Bill Ritter is awed by the visual evidence of Arctic ice caps melting in July - with both Ritter and the Denver Post failing to note the vast extent to which sea-ice levels have grown back in the past year.
Pointing to the report that came from Bill Ritter’s Arctic vacation, Civil Sense notes that its proposals - similar to the governor’s own special agenda for Colorado - “are all top-down, command and control ideas”. Unfortunately, the results for us of Ritter’s misguided policies are costly and intrusive.
Perhaps Bill Ritter should listen to an honest scientific debate rather than hobnob with Jimmy Carter and Madeleine Albright.
Did you hear what Phil Gramm - former U.S. Senator, McCain for President economic adviser - said? If you’re reading this blog, it’s almost impossible to have missed it. (Hey - don’t whine at me if you haven’t heard what Gramm said!)
Remarks by former Sen. Phil Gramm (R), a top economic advisor to Sen. John McCain, are drawing heavy negative attention for the candidate in the latest media cycle.
1996 was a long time ago - it was the first Presidential election in which I was eligible to vote. Yesterday helped to remind me why the Phil Gramm campaign never left the ground. The man is an economic whiz and one of the most principled conservative statesmen to have served in the U.S. Senate in recent years, but he also is afflicted by a serious case of “foot-in-mouth” disease. Unfortunately, the political give-and-take of the campaign trail doesn’t care much about how accurate Gramm’s assessment was. He could have and should have spoken more artfully, and is paying the expected price.
The result? The mainstream media is all over the remark like maggots on rotting meat, creating the meme that John McCain and Republicans are out-of-touch economic elitists. Maybe, though, Phil Gramm’s biggest problem is that he lacks a certain Leftist messianic aura or the weak-kneed media crush that comes along with it. Barack Obama’s gaffes? Condescending cultural elitist remarks this week by the Democrat candidate himself got little attention from a media establishment that largely shares his views.
If you think there’s no double standard when it comes to Barack Obama, you just aren’t paying attention.
Liberal Democrat Rep. Gwyn Green, whose state house district covers part of Denver’s western suburbs, is a poster child for economic illiteracy. This fact has only been reconfirmed today by a Face The State report on her ill-informed but zealous refusal to attend a party sponsored by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association:
“I see no point in attending the COGA Conference,” she wrote. “Your announcement does not indicate any desire to moderate the ungodly profits the oil and gas companies are reaping at the costs for [sic] consumers.”
Of course, the report goes on to explain her fallacy:
According to the American Petroleum Institute, statistics through the first quarter of 2008 show that, on average, only 7.4 percent of each dollar paid at the pump is realized as profit by oil companies. Seventy percent of the per-gallon price is attributable to the cost of crude oil, with 13 percent paid in taxes.
But here’s the proof she hasn’t come close to learning her lesson from before:
Green said Tuesday she is interested in reintroducing legislation similar to House Bill 1251, vetoed by Gov. Bill Owens in 2006, to address alleged “price gouging” at retail gasoline stations. But that bill would have applied only during times of “emergency,” and only covered retail gasoline sales, not production.
Once upon a time, Rocky Mountain News editor Vince Carroll demolished Gwyn Green’s economically illiterate attempt to impose oil and gas shortages on the unsuspecting consumers she represents. You know what the real sad part is, though? The Republicans can’t find a strong, credible business-minded candidate to take on Green. How hard should that be in a state like Colorado?
The ads range from 10 to 30 seconds, and they send a simple message: Turn down the thermostat, unplug unused appliances, turn off lights and use alternative transportation.
Good advice. I think I’ll be turning off the television whenever this commercial comes on my set.
“Four bucks a gallon”: it’s the catchphrase that hits home all across America. Even putting the best face on it that they can, even federal government officials admit that gasoline prices figure to remain high for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand, Republicans in Congress have come forward with an appealing economic proposal that includes increased domestic energy exploration. But those of us in fly-over country remain skeptical about how serious the GOP is about achieving such reforms. And even if they are serious, it’s not likely they can do much to move the ball forward, especially since the reins of power don’t appear to be theirs for awhile.
Meanwhile, the Republican at the top of the ticket, John McCain, is really struggling to articulate a credible message on the energy issue. Powerline’s John Hinderaker sees an opportunity for the Republican candidate and offers him some sound advice: Will he take it? Don’t hold your breath.
Unless something dramatically changes, the energy issue figures to drive this year’s election. Will Republicans seize or waste the opportunity? Just don’t wager a gallon of gas. It might be worth more than you can afford to lose come November.
Our governor picked some miserably bad timing that only makes him look sillier. 
Meanwhile, Bill Ritter is awed by the visual evidence of Arctic ice caps melting in July - with both Ritter and the Denver Post failing to note the vast extent to which 
