Mount Virtus

My good friend, a conservative Christian law student at the University of Colorado, has entered the world of blogging at Constructively Reasonable. If you get a chance, please stop by and encourage him to continue blogging, even as he seeks to survive the rigorous first-year final exams!

Promoted with more updates: El Presidente has posted some key video excerpts, and (under imaginary threat of compulsion) here is a post written by one of Jon Caldara’s minions.

Follow-ups on Samsphere Denver:

- Brad Jones’ Buzz at Face The State
- Bob Agard
- Randy Ketner, Night Twister

If you were at Samsphere Denver and posted on the topic, but I overlooked you, please drop an email or a comment with a link to your post, and I’ll put it up.

I forgot to recap the Samsphere Denver established blogger participants, and now it’s small-group discussion time. Here’s the whole list of bloggers, with those in my group highlighted in bold:

CONFIRMED BLOGGERS
Anthony Surace at Rocky Mountain Right
Denise Mund at Colorado Charter Schools
Brian Schwartz at Wakalix
John Martin at The Drunkablog
Ray Thomas at The Thoma$ Report
Randy Ketner at Night Twister
Ben DeGrow at Mount Virtus
Michael Sandoval at Slapstick Politics
Ross Kaminsky at Rossputin
Jon Caldara at The Cauldron
Brad Jones at Face the State
David Harsanyi at David Harsanyi
Jeff Goldstein at Protein Wisdom
Patrick Sperry at Conservative Libertarian Outpost
Bob Ball at The Daily Blogster
Marty Neilson at Colorado Taxpayer
Bob Agard at Bob’s Blog
Richard Combs at Combs Spouts Off
David Petteys at Backbone America

Also a couple of new novice bloggers here. Lots of ideas being shared. I can feel the energy growing.

For the auditory learners out there, check out my new podcast with Jon Caldara on Gov. Bill Ritter’s union “employee partnerships.” Visual learners can turn to the full report, or if you’re short on time, the two-page nuts and bolts version.

For the second time in the span of a week, I have been quoted in the Rocky Mountain News. Quite astonishing, really, except for the fact that the writers of these stories on all the political battles over right-to-work and other initiatives must be glad to find a different voice than the standard pro-business and pro-labor mouthpieces. I was glad to be able to give a pro-liberty view to the article:

“The Labor Peace Act is unique and offers some protection, but it doesn’t offer complete protection,” said Benjamin DeGrow, an analyst at the Independence Institute. “Anything that best protects the individual worker’s right to decide what they want is the right sort of policy.”

Instead of addressing the argument in the story, the other side attacked the motives of those supporting individual workers’ rights:

The “freedom-of-choice” argument promoted by the “right-to- work” advocates falls flat with some longtime labor observers. “The folks who want ‘right-to- work’ understand it just simply undermines the ability for unions to finance what they do,” said Roland Zullo of the University of Michigan Labor Studies Center. “It’s not about giving people the right to choose.”

Professor Zullo certainly is skilled at reading minds and divining motivations.

Zullo noted that workers in the states without “right-to-work” laws can opt not to pay the portion of fees that go toward political activities.

Technically, yes, as a pat answer. These are called “Beck rights” for workers in the private sector. But consider the following problems:
- Many workers are not aware of Beck rights
- Workers must resign union membership in order to exercise Beck rights
- Legal enforcement of Beck rights is weak, often proving costly and time-consuming
- Unions often work to resist the exercise of Beck rights (here’s just one example among many)

Obviously the good professor has never tried to file an objection to get a refund of union political expenses. A true concern for individual workers’ rights would be to let them decide not only their rights of association but also the right to fund freely organizations they support and to withhold funds freely from organizations they do not support.

I hope the professor does not believe that labor unions (or any other organizations) are justified in using any means, including coercion, to “finance what they do.”

Only three days remain until Samsphere reaches Denver. Whether you’ve been blogging for years or just want to figure out how to get started, this is the place to be. If you live in the Denver area and have a chance to make it on Saturday, register now before the last few spots fill up.

If you’re like me, you may identify closely with the famous Barack Obama phrase: “typical white person.” But I was never moved by the entrepreneurial spirit like a couple friends of mine who created the Typically White website, where you can go to order “Typically White” shirts and bags.

Who knows? You might find a great present to one of your conservative - or any typically white - friend or family member.

Tax Day. The Ides of April. The anniversaries of two epic tragedies: the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the sinking of the Titanic. Monday / Tuesday. All very compelling reasons - but none actually bear the responsibility - for the sparse blogging in the last day or so. I hope to get a substantive post or two up tonight. We’ll see.

Today, two Colorado newspapers ran stories about growing unionization in state government. I was quoted in both articles, as the issue is one I’ve researched and have an Independence Institute publication being formatted for official release on Monday. There’s only so much space in a news article. But that’s what makes a blog a wonderful venue for revising and extending my remarks, as a way to press the debate forward.

First, Chris Barge in the Rocky Mountain News introduces the issue:

The unions that pushed the hardest for Gov. Bill Ritter’s executive order granting them a larger voice in state government could soon see a nearly fourfold increase in membership….

The unions, which had fewer than 6,000 dues-paying state workers on their rolls before the Nov. 2 order, could soon exclusively represent the vast majority of the state’s 32,000 qualifying workers.

Then the part where yours truly comes in:

Benjamin DeGrow, education policy analyst at the conservative Independence Institute, plans to release a competing report on Monday called “A Shaky Foundation, a Potential Threat: Analyzing Colorado State Union ‘Employee Partnerships.’ “

He argues that Ritter’s executive order granting union representation through so-called “partnership agreements” is misguided, unnecessary and ultimately will result in unions holding Ritter and lawmakers hostage to their demands for higher wages and benefits.

Ritter has emphasized that his order specifically bans strikes, prohibits binding arbitration and bars unions from charging dues to nonmembers. Last week he signed a state worker strike ban into law.

Unfortunately, Gov. Bill Ritter only gets credit for one out of three on that recycled claim.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday I wrote about the positive experience of meeting RedState’s Erick Erickson. What I forgot to post was a mention of the speech he gave at Samsphere. It’s good food for thought for those of us who blog on the conservative, pro-freedom side.

Better yet, here’s the link to a written version of the speech, with an excerpt to tease your interest:

Too many of us are frozen by inaction today because of our visions of tomorrow. I can’t tell you how many friends I see sitting around, plotting web strategy and how to crush the left online only to sit on their hands or twiddle their thumbs and give up hope because they don’t have the funding or the knowledge or the connections or the skill set or the message hammered out — great ideas on the ash heap of history because they spent so much time taking stock of tomorrow that they never took stock of today.

Even here this weekend, several people have mentioned the money advantage on the left. We have become fixated on the money advantage. I’ve got to point out that 200 plus years ago a rag tag group of Americans using their own rifles and bullets beat the best organized, best funded army the world had ever seen to gain freedom. Online, it’s time for us to do it again. The money, like the French and Spanish did 200 years ago, will come. But first we need to show what we are capable of with our present tools.

Most of the people fretting about the money we don’t have, have something in common with another set of people we know — the ones who are in the conservative movement and think their project is the cause instead of the cause being their project.

These two groups perfectly encapsulates where the right is online right now. We are, as Screwtape wanted, hag-ridden by the Future—haunted by visions of an imminent heaven or hell upon earth. We are perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow’s end, ignoring every real gift which is offered us in the Present.

It was truly one of the highlights of the Samsphere experience, not in the least because Erick cited C.S. Lewis and the Patriots of the American Revolution.

Not so long ago, when I attended Samsphere in Chicago, I made quite a few new good blogging acquaintances. Most of them I only became aware of their blog through the Sam Adams Alliance’s introduction of the list of participants.

But one of a few who I already knew by reputation was Erick Erickson, the managing editor at RedState - one of the most well-trafficked and successful conservative websites around. I was glad for the opportunity to meet Erick and to discover that he wasn’t a self-absorbed self-promoter, but rather a very down-to-earth guy with a passion for building the conservative, limited government cause. He talked to the crew about applying the spirit of servant leadership to blogging, and it’s something he clearly believes in.

A few days ago Erick mentioned to the Samsphere crew that he was looking for local stories that slip “under the radar” for a new Human Events column he writes. I passed along the idea of the unusual Republican primary brewing between Rima Barakat Sinclair and my blogger friend Joshua Sharf, who has risen to the challenge of defending the local GOP’s good name.

To my delight, Erick included a descriptive soundbite and a link in his column:

COLORADO:

Republican Rima Barakat Sinclair running for Denver’s House District 6 is being accused by opponents of being “a terror apologist . . . with no credible conservative credentials.” Naturally, Ms. Sinclair says this is mudslinging because of her Muslim descent. But Ms. Sinclair was caught on tape saying, “Israeli soldiers now are known to be just bombing and killing babies” and is on the steering committee of a questionable organization called Muslims Intent on Learning and Action.

Thanks for the mention, Erick. I really like this idea of expanding the pro-freedom blogging community. And those of you interested in helping Joshua Sharf, you can go either to his new campaign website or to his old reliable blog.

Having accepted an invitation, today I met with Wil Armstrong - Republican candidate for Colorado’s 6th Congressional District. Nationally-known Congressman Tom Tancredo has stepped down after five terms in office, and four candidates are vying to replace him for the safe Republican seat.

The other candidates are Secretary of State Mike Coffman, State Senator Ted Harvey, and State Senator Steve Ward.

Unlike the other three, Wil Armstrong has never held elected office. But in a time when many Republican voters are frustrated with the fiscal irresponsibility of their own elected officials and are clamoring for change, he considers the lack of experience a strength. Instead, Armstrong has been a successful entrepreneur and a dedicated foot soldier on many conservative Colorado campaigns.

I have written very little about this race for two primary reasons: first, because I don’t live in the 6th, and second, because all four candidates can reasonably be expected to have a strong, consistent conservative voting record, so why focus limited blogging resources to an apparent win-win situation?

But as Wil Armstrong observed to me this morning, “We think there’s more to the job than just voting the right way.”
Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t want to talk about the Detroit Tigers … or the Colorado Rockies.

For the latest in Colorado’s U.S. Senate race between Republican Bob Schaffer and Democrat Mark Udall, head on over to Schaffer v Udall, a blog project on which I collaborate. Why is this a great time to visit if you have never been, or haven’t in awhile?

Just in the last day, you’ll find posts up on these intriguing topics:
- How a Democrat attack ad on Bob Schaffer is backfiring
- Terrific analysis by my colleague El Presidente showing the problems with the “latest” poll in the race
- Udall’s ongoing difficult dilemma as a superdelegate
- Udall’s questionable earmarks ethics and his questionable pledge to swear off earmarks (temporarily)

If you’re interested in Colorado politics or the 2008 campaign for the U.S. Senate, you’ll want to bookmark Schaffer v Udall and visit regularly. Nothing wrong with tooting my own horn once in awhile.

As a reminder of the opportunity to sign up for Samsphere Denver, I’ve put up a permanently-linked button on the sidebar where you can go to register for the April 19 event.

I put out the call for help to someone who could create an attractive and usable Web button for this purpose, and Jenn Sierra at Fort Hard Knox came through. Thanks, Jenn!

The details are out… Samsphere is coming to Denver on Saturday, April 19, sponsored by the Sam Adams Alliance.

Are you a new pro-freedom center-right blogger who wants to meet up and learn the tools of the trade? An experienced blogger who wants to sharpen your skills? Maybe you’ve thought about blogging, or your friends have said you should start, but weren’t quite sure how to get it going and make it work?

Whatever the case, come and check it out. I’ve met the Sam Adams Alliance crew personally: They have a passion about building a successful blogging community on our side and the skills and experience to get you connected.

Go here to check out the agenda and register. I’ll see you there.

The waiting is over. Weather permitting, baseball season arrives in its full glory today for both of my favorite teams. The revamped Detroit Tigers break spring training camp with high expectations and a potent lineup, but questions about the pitching staff exacerbated by untimely injuries. Rain may delay their afternoon showdown at Comerica Park with the lowly Kansas City Royals.

As for the local Colorado Rockies, 2007 National League champions, the season gets underway in St. Louis. Possible rain showers also are in the forecast there.

Having waited this long, though, what would be another day? Too long. Let’s play ball!