Mount Virtus

Conservatives have plenty of reason to mope in the fiscal gloom these days, maybe even enough to indulge in a bit of dark humor. That brings us to the Colorado political junkie joke of the week, the first of 2013: “How bad was the fiscal cliff deal Congress approved?”

“I don’t know. How bad was it?”

“The fiscal cliff deal was so bad that Michael Bennet couldn’t even vote for it.”

The serious question, though, that follows Congress’ pathetic kicking-the-can-down-the-road exercise — which strangely divided Colorado’s Democratic tag-team duo in the U.S. Senate — is whether Colorado Senator Michael Bennet‘s dissent may have set the stage for Republicans to start taking a necessary hard line on the next tough issue around the bend. And to win back some respect from freedom fighters on the Right. (more…)

Finding enjoyable movie fare for American history geeks typically presents a challenge. The nature of the genre leaves diehard purists perpetually frustrated. Yet even those of us willing to allow some minor transgressions of fact or character to pass too often are disappointed by the shallow Hollywood luster that insults its audience and kicks a compelling true story to the curb. Now and again, though, one can leave the theater with a contented smile.

On Friday evening my wife and I took in Lincoln at the local multiplex. The usher at Arvada’s Olde Town Stadium Theatre entered the nearly packed auditorium and gave some introductory remarks about the movie’s production and casting. The movie, already a long time in director Steven Spielberg‘s conception, delayed an extra year to give lead actor Daniel Day-Lewis time to research and immerse himself in authentic historic character.

To great effect, the director patiently agreed. Day-Lewis’ performance as the 16th President is not only masterful, but Oscar-worthy. Taking the marble off the man, he eschewed the Hollywood shortcuts for a historically accurate voice (more shrill and tinny than booming and baritone). Lincoln emanates through the screen. Lincoln the father struggles to be attentive, often including his young Tad in important meetings. Lincoln the lawyer (“a sturdy profession”) recollects stories that drive home important principles and strategies, or breaks up the tension with one especially memorable account. (more…)

I don’t watch cable news, and I definitely don’t watch MSNBC. But I found this creative 30-second video of Rachel Maddow sends a pretty powerful message about the debt crisis our nation currently faces… take a moment and watch:

This little tidbit I uncovered either shatters the grand Colorado Democracy Alliance (CoDA) conspiracy theory or proves it to be even more convoluted and diabolical than previously imagined. But court documents show two of the Alliance’s core groups — sue-happy Colorado Ethics Watch (CEW) and the Colorado Education Association (CEA), the state’s largest teachers union — on opposite ends of a state supreme court case regarding elections law.

Back in 2008 CEW filed suit against a couple of Republican 527 groups (Senate Majority Fund LLC and Colorado Leadership Fund LLC) claiming that they had overstepped the bounds of campaign finance law by participating in “express advocacy” of state legislative candidates. The administrative law judge ruled against the plaintiffs, and CEW lost on appeal as well. Now the case is headed to the state’s highest court.

CEW’s argument is so absurd based on legal precedent that, well, even CEA has filed an amicus brief defending the Republican groups (so has the Colorado Bar Association, but it’s not as intriguing as the teachers union chiming in). CEA attorney Mark Grueskin summarizes the argument before the Colorado Supreme Court as follows: (more…)

You can help Big Govt Gary do some serious slimming down. We’re talking about a very serious weight problem. Social Security pounds? Medicare bloat? Pentagon paunch? Check out this clever new video to get started:

Mothers Against Debt (MAD) has launched a powerful video update about the crushing load of national debt we already face and the danger behind plans to raise the debt ceiling:

Don’t crush the baby! As a dad of two (and soon to be three) young girls, the message hits home with me. Fiscal responsibility and spending discipline, already fixtures in our own household budget, are the watchwords of the day for the federal government Leviathan.

Delaying today’s decisions only magnifies tomorrow’s pain. Let’s start imposing the bitter medicine. Our children will thank us later.

It’s easy to overlook, especially if you’re not a student of U.S. history. But once upon a time, before the ratification of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, presidents were inaugurated on March 4. Which makes today the sesquicentennial (that’s the 150th anniversary, for Buckeye fans) of Abraham Lincoln swearing the oath of presidential office in a moment of profound national crisis and delivering his First Inaugural Address:

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

Union, eh? No, not that kind of union. Someone must have Labor on the brain. Ripped out of context, though, the powerful conclusion to Lincoln’s inaugural could almost speak to the current heightened domestic political strife with its bulls-eye on Madison, Wisconsin. Not that we have nearly approached the level of crisis in 1861. Nor do we wish for such an outcome.

But maybe the appeal to “the better angels of our nature” might lend itself to a more cost-effective cleanup of the Wisconsin State Capitol after the budget-repair bill passes and the Lefty protesters go home.

It’s Friday. Go enjoy the weekend.

Update, 9:00 PM: Common Cause issued a formal “apology” for the vile behavior of its rally attendees, a statement thoroughly deconstructed by James Taranto, who concludes with the zinger: “For the sake of truth in advertising, Common Cause should change its name to Hypocrisy Hub.” Ouch. That’s going to leave a mark.

Independent new media journalist Christian Hartsock has a compelling piece up at Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government blog. Hartsock went to cover an event sponsored by the Progressive group Common Cause. The goal seemingly was to organize a grassroots protest of the pro-free market billionaire Koch Brothers and conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas for some imaginary collusion on the Citizens United decision, and who knows what else.

Hartsock’s four-minute video (which the Wall Street Journal‘s James Taranto labels “devastating”) poignantly captures a rich example of unintentional irony and psychological projection exhibited by the Left: (more…)

A preeminent challenge lying ahead for our elected Congress to tackle is the mounting debt and out-of-control spending that grew under Republican leadership and accelerated in the past few years with Democrats in charge. No one is better prepared to help equip you to do your citizen’s part in taking on this challenge than my friends at Mothers Against Debt. Their new video on the idiocy of unemployment benefits as economic stimulus is a real hoot. Enjoy:

The New Year has arrived, and my long hiatus from serious blogging is over. For any blogger, a long hiatus can be a dangerous proposition — threatening the already tenuously small readership and helping people to forget about you. Look, many of you already were going to forget about me anyway over the Christmas / New Year holiday anyway. And having blogged here for nearly seven years (can you believe that?), I felt secure enough to take the time off.

But one major reason for the break was to gear up mentally and spiritually for the battles that lie ahead. Contributing to all the apparently positive gains in the 2010 elections, in Congress and elsewhere? That took some effort, to be sure. The real challenge lies ahead, however — among other things, in striving to keep our elected leaders in Denver and Washington, D.C., (as well as myself) honest in the fight to limit government power and “to promote the blessings of liberty.”

And while I’m at it, what could be more serious than putting to rest how we name this new year in our everyday conversation: Two thousand eleven or Twenty-eleven? Like this cause, I choose and stand firmly in the camp of the latter. Yes, I’m a year late to the game, but like a new convert I bring a zeal to the “Twenty-eleven” crusade. Watch out!

A full week has passed since the Election. We all know the results. For the winners it’s transition time. New members headed off to Congress — at least one pegged with a remarkably bright political future. I’m proud to see a new secretary of state in Colorado, a new state treasurer, not to mention the “Mighty Six” GOP upstarts who took over formerly Democratic seats to reclaim the state house majority.

But what about those Colorado Republican candidates who threw their hats into the ring, who entered the arena and did battle, yet came up short? Some of them we won’t see on the electoral stage again (in some cases, thankfully). For others, a potentially bright political future remains. Here are a few: (more…)

There are still outstanding ballots, and so the final tabulated results are not yet in. But what’s being reported in the unofficial results indicates that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes has secured more than 10.0% of the vote. Fears based on the latest round of polls that Maes would land in single digits didn’t materialize. And some pundits (myself included) are humbled again on the high-profile races.

The U.S. Senate showdown remains up in the air with some late counties, as well as military and provisional ballots outstanding, (despite the Denver Post jumping the gun). But Republicans have consoled themselves so far by winning the Secretary of State and Treasurer offices, along with John Suthers holding on as Attorney General. And while several races remain uncalled this morning, the GOP looks like they have won a narrow majority in the state house and are holding on to faint hopes of taking the state senate.

Besides the obvious (i.e., the governor’s race), disappointments for conservatives include the relatively close loss of Amendment 63 (the right to health care choice) and the wider-margin defeat of the Clear the Bench Colorado campaign to unseat three state supreme court justices.

Election Day is over. And yet it’s not all over. Stay tuned for the last results to be made official.

I am providing Election Night coverage here, including quotes and photos as available. I am working with a collaborative of organizations on this project — including Independence Institute, People’s Press Collective, Complete Colorado, Who Said You Said, Mothers Against Debt and National Review Online. Go here for the relevant details (including links and a live video feed), and stay tuned for the best in Colorado grassroots conservative political coverage!

11:55 PM: Jefferson County is counting provisional ballots in the Ramirez race, and according to his campaign manager Walt Blankenship it’s overwhelmingly working in the Republican’s favor. I’m feeling very confident that the GOP will win the state house. It remains to be seen whether a recount will be avoided, but it’s looking unlikely. As for the state senate, it now hinges on District 11 and Owen Hill’s race, who currently trails by 100 votes. In other words, nothing in the state legislature will be decided clearly before most of the people here go to bed. Finally, Walker Stapleton just a few moments ago joined Scott Gessler as statewide victors. In fact, Stapleton learned for sure he would be the new state treasurer while I was interviewing him for the People’s Press Collective. Look for the footage later.

11:15 PM: Ramirez (HD 29) has expanded his lead, which makes a GOP majority in the state house look more likely. Some are still holding out hopes for Bob Boswell in HD 50 to add to the majority. Still nothing definitive.

10:30 PM: I’m hearing now that it looks like the Robert Ramirez results in House District 29 are final, which if they survive the possible recount would mean a Republican majority in the state house.

10:25 PM: Make that 5 state house seats, not 4, gained by the Republicans. One away from a majority. Meanwhile, let me get it off my chest: I was wrong about Colorado’s U.S. Senate race. It’s going to be a real nail-biter.

10:15 PM: At long last, after lending a power cord to the Republican state house staff and doing a Backbone America radio interview, I’m back to blogging again from the Republican state legislative war room. It looks like the GOP has picked up four seats already (Libby Szabo, Keith Swerdfeger, Don Beezley, Mark Barker) and may have a couple more coming their way. A net gain of six equals a majority. On the state senate side, a net-two gain so far with a possiblity of a net-four gain and the majority.

8:00 PM: Reporting on Colorado’s statewide races leaves a very murky picture at this point. The Denver Post election results have been down awhile, and some of the aggregate results from 9News don’t seem to fit with results being reported by the counties. This may be a long night after all. I will report back later on from a different location.

7:25 PM: Early voting trends from Jefferson County, more than 150,000 from one of Colorado’s bellwethers, might give Republicans some pause: Bennet 48, Buck 46; Hickenlooper 51, Tancredo 42, Maes 6

6:53 PM: On video, Kelly Maher shows how it’s easier to vote in Denver than to get a library card.

6:45 PM: Michael Sandoval reports Colorado’s first election-related legal challenge may be underway, as Arapahoe County apparently has run out of provision ballots.

6:15 PM: After panicky emails sent out from the Democratic campaigns of John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, and the Lefty activists at Progress Now, about lower than expected voter turnout on their side, cautious optimism is creeping in. I’m starting to believe Tom Tancredo just might be able to pull it off. We’ll wait and see. I’ll check back in from the Libby Szabo election party.

So if the Denver Post insists that a “recount looms” in Colorado’s U.S. Senate race, why do I predict that Ken Buck will defeat appointed incumbent Michael Bennet by four points? What makes me so confident that my prognostication is more accurate than the hype?

On The Spot blog, Post political editor Curtis Hubbard lists the most recent polls from the seven different major firms tracking this race, along with the New York Times blog prediction, listed as follows from most recent to oldest: (more…)

ELECTION DAY NOTE: I will be providing Election Night coverage here, including quotes and photos as available. I am working with a collaborative of organizations on this project — including Independence Institute, People’s Press Collective, Complete Colorado, Who Said You Said, Mothers Against Debt and National Review Online. Go here for the relevant details (including a live video feed), and stay tuned for the best in Colorado grassroots conservative political coverage!

Update, 9:00 AM: Despite all appearances, the latest Fox News/Public Opinion Research poll and I did not crib answers off each other. If we’re both off the mark, we’re off the mark together.

Update II, 12:30 PM: Minor tweak to the governor’s race predictions.

Following the most bizarre and unpredictable political campaign season in recent memory, I’ve decided to do the unthinkable and venture some predictions on results. Please note that I am venturing educated guesses with my head, not my heart. (If you want to get involved in some of the action yourself, Rossputin is hosting a general election prediction game.) Now without further ado, first the Colorado statewide races: (more…)