I have kept silence on Harriet Miers, largely agnostic but increasingly skeptical as the weeks wore on. I was startled that the withdrawal of her nomination came so suddenly, and I can't say I'm as disappointed as Mr. Hewitt is. One of his linchpin arguments in support of Miers has been that most of the party's base in Red State America supported her - primarily the Beltway elites were leading the anti-Miers charge. Today he writes: There is a deeply disturbed and disappointed group of GOP voters dismayed by the treatment of Miers. I don't know how big it is --it isn't small-- and I don't know which would have been the less bitter result, but there is no denying the political damage done to the GOP, and in the hands of competent … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2005
Why is Fitz-Gerald Staying Out?
State Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald has joined a growing list of prominent Colorado Democrats by announcing yesterday that she won't pursue a run for the governor's office. The eyes of all political insiders now turn to Speaker Andrew Romanoff. Both Fitz-Gerald and Romanoff earlier announced their potential candidacies for the state's top executive offices hinged on the passage of Referenda C and D. Now Fitz-Gerald has bailed out a week before the election. And the generally left-of-center audience of the Dead Governors' blog is already rationalizing. Let's see... the outcry for weeks has been that the Colorado Democrats need a primary opponent for Bill Ritter, especially because of his pro-life views. When asked by the Denver … [Read more...]
No on C & D Billboard
Special thanks to Progress Now (you can make your own, too!) for facilitating this campaign message. … [Read more...]
Leadership Program Kicks Off
I haven't blogged in a week, but here goes: I'm off to the reception to welcome new members (including myself and Joshua) to the Leadership Program of the Rockies. Since the event is at the Governors' Mansion, I suppose Ref C & D will be topics non grata. Thanks for checking in! And stay patient... more posting is coming soon. … [Read more...]
A Little Education Credo
I just posted the following excerpted credo on education in a comment at the Dead Governors Web site. I was getting so much into it that I decided to paste my comment here: ...I beg someone to logically refute the following facts: 1. Colorado spends more per pupil in real dollars on K-12 education now than ever before. In fact, Colorado's per-pupil spending was at an all-time high right BEFORE Amendment 23 was passed... and has reached an all-time high each year thereafter. 2. Colorado spends less than 58 percent of education dollars in the classroom. (Maybe it's how we are spending the money, not how much....) 3. From 1992 to 2003, Colorado significantly improved its ranking on national test scores while its national ranking in … [Read more...]
Phantom Polling
Updated and revised, 9:35 AM Wow, this year's ballot initiative campaign gets stranger and stranger. The pro-Ref C Dead Governors have declared that their beloved tax increase is winning by 1 to 9 points in the "polls." Their source? I quote directly: No, we aren't going to tell you who did these polls, and no, we didn't just make this up. Trust them... right. Trust but verify. Let's be intellectually honest for a moment and admit we don't know exactly where public sentiment is on Ref C & D. If the pro-tax increase crowd had a credible survey showing momentum on their side, the results would be trumpeted on all the major news pages. Their silence speaks in abundance. My gut tells me the election will be close and the ballot … [Read more...]
Three cheers to Harsanyi
For the handful of faithful blog readers who have survived the extended lull, I'm back. Snowy outside, warm inside... means it's time to post something, even if it's just a link to a great Monday column by the Post's David Harsanyi: "Referendum Supporters Betray GOP," using the plainest evidence to demolish the absurd claims that Colorado's fiscal health is somehow in crisis. Three weeks until Coloradans cast their ballots and decide against the "forever tax increase." With all the intraparty squabbles and dizzying number of tax measures to be decided, I can't wait for Election Day to come. Hurry now! Three cheers to Harsanyi for a great column to start off the week... … [Read more...]