Mount Virtus

With the depths of election season upon us, most of the political advertising on TV and radio has us gasping for fresh air and a hot shower. Not so Michael Fallon, whose new attack ad on liberal incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette makes a sharp point effectively without being obnoxious or offensive:

The ad follows a clever 30-second spot that aired in September, introducing Fallon to voters in the largely Democratic Denver First Congressional District. I know he has rejected any longer-term aspirations for political office, but the grassroots and leadership of the GOP ought to be able to come together on recruiting Dr. Fallon for a future bid. He is doing the Party and the cause of limited, fiscally responsible government a real service.

With so much going on in the final weeks of election season, you don’t want to miss the point of why Colorado needs to adopt Amendment 63 on our statewide ballot. Watch this terrific 30-second healthcare reform video (and I’m not just saying that because my voice plays the all-important role of Felon #1), and pass it on to all your eligible Colorado voting friends and loved ones:

If you need the serious in-depth arguments for Amendment 63, read this Denver Post op-ed or visit the informative Patient Power blog. Or just remember… if you hate Obama Care, you’ll love Amendment 63!

If there’s one easy clear issue to support on the November ballot, it’s Amendment 63 — Colorado’s right to health care choice. Among other things, the amendment protects Coloradans from the unprecedented and counterproductive federal mandate to purchase health insurance. You know, the one that came with the Obama Care “We have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it” package deal?

In that spirit, here’s a great opportunity to get educated about Obama Care at a series of live town hall gatherings held throughout Colorado on Thursday, September 30, and Friday, October 1. Meetings will take place at various points along the Front Range, from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins and several Denver metro area locations. Check here for the details. (H/T Michelle Morin, aka Mom 4 Freedom)

Mike Fallon for Congress has gone up on the air in his long shot bid to unseat Denver’s Lefty Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette:

For more on Dr. Fallon, see my impressions from our face-to-face meeting this summer.

National Review Online’s Michael Sandoval breaks more news this afternoon by bringing our attention to a new Magellan Strategies poll of my own 7th Congressional District. Bottom line: Republican Ryan Frazier edges out incumbent Ed “Don’t Call Me Pelosi” Perlmutter, 40-39.

Some observations on the survey:

• The voter sample was 38 percent Democrat, 35 percent Republican and 27 percent Unaffiliated, a reasonable model given expected high GOP voter intensity. If you weight the voting sample in line with actual active voter registrations (which would assume Democrats and independents are as enthused about voting this year as Republicans), Perlmutter still only leads 40-38. In other words, this race is absolutely a statistical tie.
• The incumbent is in rough shape to be tied with around 40 percent support two months before the election. Unlike the challenger Frazier who has 22-11 favorable-to-unfavorable and 60 percent name recognition, there’s very little room for Perlmutter to go up: 37 favorable, 39 unfavorable and nearly 97 percent name recognition. Expect the Democrat to step up the negative campaign forthwith.
• Among voters in Perlmutter’s home base of Jefferson County, Frazier maintains a 40-38 edge while outpolling the incumbent 43-36 in his own Arapahoe County backyard. Perlmutter narrowly wins the Democratic-leaning Adams County 41-37.
• In addition to the fact that 7th CD voters believe the country is on the wrong track by a 65-35 margin, they also substantially disapprove of Obama’s job performance (57-39) and have a strong negative opinion of Nancy Pelosi (61-28). Among CD-7 unaffiliated voters, 60 percent disapprove of Obama’s performance and 68 percent have a negative opinion of Pelosi.

The Denver Post‘s Curtis Hubbard takes note of the poll and remarks:

At a minimum, it’s worth keeping an eye on the 7th Congressional District race to gauge just how much momentum Republicans have this cycle.

To help understand why Frazier has built momentum in this race, check out the campaign’s YouTube page, and watch some of the clips from the recent Arvada Chamber of Commerce (“Arvada CC”) debate.

In the meantime, I won’t be holding my breath waiting for Colorado Pols to update their Big Lie, er, Line.

Update, 8/9 AM: Rep Ellen Roberts’ response posted in full at the end of this post.

With election day practically here, a strange development has been unearthed in the Colorado Senate District 6 Republican primary between Rep. Ellen Roberts and conservative grassroots candidate Dean Boehler. Hopes of successfully resisting Obama Care mandates and advancing free market health care reform well may hinge in part on the result of this primary.

What do I mean? Well, first contrast the two candidates’ issue statements on the issue of health care, starting with Boehler:

OBAMACARE HEALTH MANDATE

Dean strongly supports Colorado’s lawsuit to declare ObamaCare UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Dean opposes ObamaCare and favors common sense, free-market solutions to lower the cost of health insurance.

Short, direct, pointed, and on target. Now look at Roberts’ statement: (more…)

Last week I was privileged with the opportunity to sit down and meet Dr. Michael Fallon, the Republican candidate for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District. For those in the know, that phrase typically evokes shrugs of apathy.

A Republican in the 1st CD? That covers the heart of Denver. The city has been represented by the tag team of Lefty Democratic icons Pat Schroeder and Diana DeGette for a combined 37 years. Republicans has held the office for a total of one two-year term since 1946. According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, only 49 of 435 Congressional Districts are considered more heavily Democratic.

But don’t think for a moment that deters the 45-year-old Fallon.

“Diana DeGette is out of touch with the district,” the GOP candidate pointedly remarked at the Lakewood Starbucks where we met. There is some evidence out there to bolster his case and give shreds of hope. A Magellan Strategies survey performed two months ago among a representative sample of CD1 voters show the incumbent with unimpressive favorability and job approval ratings at 48 percent. DeGette’s voting record very closely mirrors Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s: 99.2 percent of the time, by the Washington Post‘s count.

Michael Fallon is on a mission, criss-crossing the district with a team of volunteers wearing their walking shoes. Focusing primarily on unaffiliated voters, who make up 30 percent of CD 1 (Democrats are more than 50 percent and Republicans less than 20 percent), he has carried his message of job growth, low taxes, spending discipline and transparency to thousands of doors so far. Fallon believes he can tap into angst among some fiscally conservative Democrats.

Denver’s Republican candidate for D.C.’s Capitol Hill also leans a bit on populist themes of what’s fair for the country should be fair for Congress — whether it’s social security or health insurance plans. “Congress has lost direction on both sides of the aisle,” Fallon observed of the fiscal recklessness emanating from the Beltway, willing to give his own party its fair share of the jabs. “Republicans started it, Democrats perfected it.” (more…)

For what it’s worth, if you want a glimpse of the public mindset concerning 16 major institutions in American society, you should check out the new Gallup survey (H/T Mike Antonucci). The following are some salient observations on how favorably Americans view the 16 major institutions: (more…)

I was privileged Thursday with the opportunity to conduct a one-on-one phone interview with Congressman Mike Coffman, Republican from Colorado’s 6th CD.

As co-founder of the Balanced Budget Caucus on Capitol Hill, it’s not surprising that Coffman is heavily focused on the importance of this issue. “You have to take the power away from Congress,” he told me. “It certainly has worked in some states.”

Coffman continued that he is “amazed how much overhead there is in the federal bureaucracy. The majority of what we do here has nothing to do with our constitutional responsibilities. It seems like the federal government is involved in every level of government.” He believes the Balanced Budget Amendment will “force Congress to deal with its constitutional responsibilities.”

I agree with the Congressman that this Amendment is an important next step for Congress to take if there is to be any hope for fiscal discipline from Washington, D.C. The Amendment is an important piece, but it certainly isn’t the endgame.

Coffman has heard the objections that a Balanced Budget Amendment would open the door for some interest groups and politicians to demand higher taxes rather than cut wasteful spending and reduce the size and scope of the federal government. He says it’s worth the risk and that “it’s better to make the tough choices now,” especially given the unprecedented tide of popular sentiment for cutting spending and reducing debt. (more…)

As many of you know, my Independence Institute boss has taken charge in leading a statewide ballot campaign to exempt Colorado from the kind of mandates imposed on us by Obama Care. What fewer people may realize is the immense challenge it can be to obtain 76,047 valid signatures (which typically requires collecting a much higher number of signatures to make sure you have enough valid ones) to reach the ballot in the first place.

The current legal strictures enacted by our state legislature — including not allowing paid circulators to collect signatures — make it extra difficult for citizens to petition their government. It’s even messier when you consider, as effectively documented by Ballotpedia, that the law contradicts itself in setting the deadline to turn in your petition signatures. If you go by the state constitution this year’s deadline should be August 2. If you go by last year’s law (HB 1326), the deadline should be July 13. (more…)

Below is an actual letter sent out last week to the employees of a company doing business in Colorado. It is presented without comment. The names of the company and the individuals have been redacted.

Staff:

When people say elections don’t matter, that their vote doesn’t count, and that they cannot make a difference – they are wrong! (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.

Yesterday our elected Republican officials in Denver came to life with some mighty statements. First, state legislators joined my boss Jon Caldara to urge support for the Defend Colorado from Obama Care ballot initiative, called on Attorney General John Suthers to join the lawsuit of states’ attorneys general against the unconstitutional mandates in Obama Care.

Joshua Sharf has posted complete video and analyses of both press conferences. I urge you to check them out — so we can commend those Republican officials who have shown backbone and continue urging them to stay strong, while also reminding us of the ongoing need to educate members of the old media. In other words, vigilance remains the watchword of the day.

As usual, the People’s Press Collective remains the best place for Coloradans to go to get the latest updated information and perspectives on the unfolding fight to restore health care freedom.

It’s the day after the 2700-page Obama Care monstrosity passed the Congress, proving there really is no such thing as a pro-life Democrat and that Leftist Democrat leaders were determined to shove the highly unpopular taxes, mandates and controls down the throat of the American people … now what?

Dr. Paul Hsieh at Pajamas Media lays out the short-term and longer-term fallout, and the editors of National Review insist that Obama Care isn’t inevitable.

Meanwhile, you can spend a few minutes today signing one or both of the following petitions:

• The Senate Conservatives Fund “Repeal It” pledge (nearly 14,000 strong so far)
• The call to “Repeal Health Care Bill” on ipetitions

On the state level, you can help my colleagues at the Independence Institute Defend Colorado from Obama Care by getting up to speed on the issue, volunteering to gathering signatures and donating to the cause.

Hold candidates to the standard, and support those willing to take a stand on repeal. The cause of liberty and limited government needs us now more than ever. Keep your eyes on the prize, and move forward to November 2010 and beyond, as we can begin to undo most of the bad stuff in legislation.

After losing votes for days, it looks like the Obama administration has made up ground arm-twisting votes for the government takeover of our health care system. The same day as the liberal Denver Post opined strongly against the legislation, the Post‘s Michael Riley reports that Colorado Congresswoman Betsy Markey — formerly a No vote — has bowed to Democratic leadership and decided to vote Yes (H/T Complete Colorado).

I expect a large voter revolt to ensue. We already know from a recent poll that 58 percent of Markey’s constituents oppose the Obama Care monstrosity. Maybe she doesn’t care about that, you say? Maybe she expects some sort of federal appointment after Cory Gardner unseats her in November? (more…)