Some cliches are just that because they pack so much truth, they become a frequent, handy reference. One of my favorites (originally attributed to conservative thinker George Santayana) is: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." I can't think of anything more relevant to our current national political debate than this thoughtful and well-documented essay posted by Ross Kaminsky at Politics West: "The New Deal was a raw deal for the American economy". These days, the point can't be hammered home enough. As of yet, I've seen little signs that any significant number of our leaders in Washington - many Republicans and nearly all Democrats - have paid attention to this historical lesson. The ramifications may be … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2009
Face The State: Bill Ritter Dissed Emails from Ken Gordon for SOS Fan Club
This morning's must-read for Colorado political junkies ... Face The State digs beneath the public relations stunt that was Gov. Bill Ritter's public feedback email address to help him determine who should be the next Secretary of State:The responses were overwhelmingly in support of [former state senator Ken] Gordon, who received 1,815 votes on a ProgressNow informal online poll. [Former House Speaker Andrew] Romanoff came in second with 632 votes,while [now-Secretary of State Bernie] Buescher trailed with 173 votes. Of the nearly 100 e-mails made public by Ritter's administration (constituents must specifically waive their right to confidential communication), nearly 90 percent favored Gordon. Not that popularity is the best … [Read more...]
Random Thought on New Broncos Coach: Being 32 and Looking 25
So it's 32-year-old New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. I relate perfectly to this observation:"If he were going to get the job, I would say without exception the players would be surprised when he walks through the door," former Patriots tight end Kyle Brady said in a Denver Post interview last week. "Their first thought will be, 'Who is this kid?' Because even for a 32-year-old, he looks 25. Yep. Pretty much perfectly. It goes without saying that McDaniels will be a better NFL head coach than I would be. The real question is how well he will do in the great Mike Shanahan's shadow? An interesting storyline for 2009. … [Read more...]
If Michael Bennet Alienates Hispanics, What Should GOP Take Away?
The former career .230 American League hitter who runs in Denver's liberal circles shares an interesting observation about Governor Bill Ritter's newly-appointed Senator:I've now heard the same concern raised about Michael Bennet by three different Denver political insiders. Namely, can he win the support of Hispanics in Denver? I'd say the growing conventional wisdom amongst some Bennet pessimists is that he stands little chance of wooing the Latino vote after his tenure at DPS. Not sure how much stock to put in this assessment. But if Republicans are paying attention and see an opportunity to win some more Hispanic votes (and ultimately a U.S. Senate seat) in 2010, Tom Tancredo most likely isn't the guy to carry the party banner. The … [Read more...]
Introducing Senator Kevin Lundberg
It's official. Colorado's newest state senator is Kevin Lundberg. A press release from the senate minority office earlier this afternoon confirmed the story:Larimer County Republican House Representative Kevin Lundberg has been appointed as the newest Larimer County State Senator. Lundberg was appointed after an election by the Senate District 15 vacancy committee. “I was greatly encouraged to have support from such a large majority of the committee. I intend to continue to represent Larimer County in the Senate as I did in the House,†Lundberg said. “We have a tough job ahead of us, and I can’t wait to get started working on solutions that help Coloradans during these tough economic times.†Lundberg will fill the seat … [Read more...]
Congressional Democrats’ Cigarette Tax Hike Could Cost Colorado $24 Million
Too many real policy debates these days get clouded behind the rhetoric of "it's for the children". Sometimes they are also hidden behind a cloud of smoke. Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress are making a top priority out of reauthorizing the SCHIP program - you know, ostensibly government-mandated health insurance for kids too rich for Medicare but unable to afford decent private coverage. Like most government programs, SCHIP isn't all it's cracked up to be. The Independence Institute's Linda Gorman has one good critique of the program. A popular component of the Democrats' current proposal soon to be before Congress is a 61-cent increase in the excise tax on cigarettes, to raise funds and enrollment in SCHIP. Is it a good … [Read more...]
More GOP Candidates Enter the Arena
It's January 2009. 'Tis the season for candidates to throw their hat into the ring. Face The State breaks the news that conservative Denver election attorney Scott Gessler has filed the paperwork to run as a Republican candidate for Secretary of State in 2010. Keep up with all Colorado's announced Republican candidates for public office in 2010 at Rocky Mountain Right's official listing. In local Republican Party news, blogger and recent state legislative candidate Joshua Sharf has announced he's running on a ticket to serve on the Denver County Republican executive committee. Even better, he has a plan. Are there more people in counties across the state working along the same lines to improve the Republican Party? I certainly hope so. … [Read more...]
Socialist Ties of President-Elect Obama Appointee Carol Browner Airbrushed?
Back from his overseas trip, Rossputin makes an interesting observation about an apparent effort to airbrush a major Obama appointee's official Socialist organization ties. Check it out. … [Read more...]
Dem Lawmaker: Pay No Attention to the Salaries of Colorado State Employees
Jessica Fender from the Denver Post reports on one Democrat state legislator doing the union's bidding to go upstream against the promising trend toward transparency in state government:The salaries of individual public employees could be kept secret under a new bill sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Lois Tochtrop and prompted by a database of state employee pay published last year by The Denver Post. Under Senate Bill 49, the public could still see aggregated pay for positions or departments, but there would be no more looking up a particular state employee's salary.... The Colorado Association of Public Employees brought Tochtrop the bill this summer, she said. JOE CITIZEN: This aggregated information of state employee … [Read more...]
Bill Ritter in a “Straightjacket” over Colorado’s Taxpayer Protections
Sean Paige at Local Liberty Online made a great catch, picking up on this excerpt from Bill Ritter's State of the State speech earlier today (H/T Complete Colorado):"There is also an opportunity here – a chance to address TABOR and the constitutional and statutory straightjacket* that makes modern, sensible and value-based budgeting an impossibility. Last year, former House Speaker Romanoff started the conversation, and we need to keep it alive. We need to talk about life after Ref C – whether and when to extend it. We have a chance to find a better way forward, a Colorado way forward." Bill Ritter said what? About 2 months after Colorado voters said No to a proposal to gut TABOR refunds forever and rejected two other major statewide … [Read more...]
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