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Home Archives for Ben

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Legal Victory for Taxpayers a Resounding Theme for Colorado GOP

From the GOP Convention in Broomfield... The Rocky Mountain News reports on yesterday's taxpayer victory in the courtroom:A law expected to raise $1.7 billion for Colorado schools over the next 11 years is unconstitutional because it gives the state more tax revenue without required approval from voters, a judge ruled Friday. Latest estimates are actually $3.8 billion, not $1.7 billion, but the news is good just the same. In his introductory remarks, state party chair Dick Wadhams' mention of the court ruling against Gov. Bill Ritter's tax hike earned perhaps the biggest applause from the Republican faithful gathered here at the Broomfield Event Center. If you don't think this is going to be a major GOP campaign theme heading into … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Broomfield Event Center, Colorado Republican Convention, Denver District Court, Dick Wadhams, Property Tax Increase, Rocky Mountain News

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Wayne Allard Honored, Tom Tancredo Gives Red Meat to GOP Faithful

From the GOP Convention in Broomfield... After Dick Wadhams' opening remarks, the unity theme kicked off with a video tribute to retiring U.S. Senator Wayne Allard, followed by words from Allard's wife Joan and Senator Allard himself. If the crowd was slowly coming to life before, retiring Rep. Tom Tancredo's soundbite speech - which strikes themes of energy independence, secure borders (the mere mention of "Cory Voorhis" electrifies the crowd), and American greatness, with several quips about Barack Obama thrown in for good measure - gets the energy rising. On a down note, turnout at the GOP Convention is not exactly stellar (but a quorum has been achieved). More to come, as I need to get my alternate credentials updated to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Broomfield, Dick Wadhams, GOP Convention, Joan Allard, Wayne Allard

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Seven Signs This Isn’t the 2004 Republican State Convention

From the GOP Convention in Broomfield... 1. Bill Owens seconded the nomination of Bob Schaffer for U.S. Senate. 2. The event is running on time. Amen! 3. The George W. Bush video on the big screen was dead-time filler, and almost no one was paying attention. 4. No signs that any cases of sunburn or heat stroke are imminent. 5. The name Barack Obama not only means something to attendees, it serves as the primary foil for many of the speechmakers on the stump. 6. I received a flyer advertising a Bob Schaffer fundraiser sponsored by Pete Coors. 7. Bloggers are given seats (and Wi-Fi) at the Convention press table. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Mark Hillman for National Committeeman

Mark Hillman is speaking from the podium right now, articulating so well his deep-abiding principles of limited government and personal freedom. He has a lot of Republican heavy hitters behind him, and appears to be the favorite over Leondray Gholston (who also gave a strong, inspiring speech) and Sen. Dave Schultheis (who is about to make his appearance). My earlier endorsement of Mark Hillman is here. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Ron Paul Supporters Numerous Among National Delegate Candidates

From the GOP Convention in Broomfield... Balloting is ongoing from state delegates. One of the things they are deciding on is the slate of delegates to the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities. There is a list of nearly 400 candidates for national delegate in the Colorado Statesman along with their Presidential preference. About 40 percent have no preference listed - nearly the same amount (155) are pledged to John McCain. Poised to wreak havoc are 74 Ron Paul supporters, followed by a handful each listed for Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. State conventions can be strange things, though this is a particularly strange year. On a different note, Sen. Shawn Mitchell just compared Bill Ritter to Jimmy Carter ... ouch. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Broomfield, Colorado Republican Party, Colorado Statesman, GOP Convention, Jimmy Carter, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Republican National Convention, Ron Paul, Shawn Mitchell

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Now Liveblogging at The Minority Report

At the invitation of Night Twister, I am switching over to join him and others live-blogging the State GOP Convention at The Minority Report. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Night Twister, State GOP Convention, The Minority Report

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Best Destiny: How Not to Respond to the Taxpayers’ Courtroom Win

Yesterday's Colorado Republican State Convention - with key video at Slapstick Politics and a great recap from Night Twister - was bolstered by the announcement of the taxpayers' legal victory against Gov. Bill Ritter for his unconstitutional property tax hike. But Michael at Best Destiny has some sage cautionary advice for Colorado Republicans on how to respond to Friday's courtroom decision:Republicans MUST NOT go out in public and seem too giddy about this. They should talk about checks and balances, and limiting the governor's ability to act unilaterally, and the majority's clear disregard for the Constitution. But if they seem like they're just glad to have the money taken back by the general public, it'll be a lot harder to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Best Destiny, Bill Ritter, Bruce Randolph, cautionary advice, Democrats, Denver Public Schools, education reform, innovation, Night Twister, property tax hike, Republican State Convention, Slapstick Politics, teachers union

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Congressional Democrat Payback of Big Labor Marches On: Public Safety Edition

Update, Part Deux: Sources have contacted me to correct my update. The Act hasn't officially passed the Senate yet. The final vote will be later this week. The first vote was a procedural motion that appears to be a strong indicator of a final vote. Anyway, there is hope for this bad legislation to die yet. Update: Just as I was publishing this post, it looks like the Act has passed the Senate, with a lot of so-called Republicans also enabling the legislation. So goes the world... Unsurprisingly, the Democrats in Congress haven't accomplished much since they took over. Most notably, Nancy Pelosi's 2006 "plan" to bring down gas prices is still in the works. One special interest group to which Democrats have been busy pandering is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, Labor, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: Alliance for Worker Freedom, Big Labor, Congressional Democrats, Employee Free Choice Act, Heritage Foundation, Independence Institute, iVoices podcast, James Sherk, John Cooke, Nancy Pelosi, Public employee unions, union coercion, Wall Street Journal, Weld County Sheriff

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Come See Flunked: The Movie’s Colorado Debut Next Wednesday

Flunked: The Movie - an Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) production - comes to Colorado next Wednesday, May 21. The Independence Institute (where I work) is sponsoring the showing of this spectacular 47-minute film about the success stories that should inspire transformational change in our nation's education system. The film, narrated by Joe Mantegna, is more engaging and entertaining than your average documentary. Here's a preview: Also, you can listen to this iVoices podcast recorded today with EFF's Steve Maggi to learn more about the film. And go here to find out how to sign up for the May 21 event. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, My Life Tagged With: education reform, Evergreen Freedom Foundation, Flunked: The Movie, Independence Institute, iVoices, Joe Mantegna, Steve Maggi

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Politico’s Bad and Not-so-Bad News for Barack Obama

A quick glance at Politico this morning ... Bad news for Barack Obama: A stinging blowout defeat in the West Virginia primary holds a lot of evidence that the Leftist Illinois Senator faces serious demographic challenges beyond the bellwether state. Not-so-bad news for Barack Obama: All signs point to another bad national election season for Republican candidates. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Politico, Republicans, West Virginia

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Inside

  • About Ben
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    • Colorado Ballot 2008
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  • Mary and Jacob: From the Forgotten Dust
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  • Passion and Purpose:
    The Rise & Fall of Al Gansee
  • The Westfield Gardener
  • What I’m Thankful For
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About Me

Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

Recent Posts

  • AI-Enhanced Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Teen Innovation
  • My Baker’s Dozen of Top 2023 Reads
  • Common Learning Disabilities in Children
  • Tips to Teach Kids to Set and Achieve Goals
  • The Christmas Music Countdown You’ve Been Looking For: 2022 Edition

Colorado News

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National News and Politics

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  • Reason
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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
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  • E!! The True Conservative Story
  • EIA Intercepts
  • Evangelical Outpost
  • Hugh Hewitt
  • Instapundit
  • LaShawn Barber
  • Lileks
  • Little Green Footballs
  • Michelle Malkin
  • NRO's The Corner
  • Power Line
  • Red State

Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
  • Black Five
  • Blogs of War
  • Eduwonk
  • Flypaper
  • Fraters Libertas
  • Historical Conversations
  • IMAO
  • Jay P. Greene
  • Mike Anderson
  • Mullings
  • Professor Bainbridge
  • Right Thinking
  • Right Wing News
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  • Shot in the Dark
  • Talking Points Memo
  • Virginia Postrel
  • Volokh Conspiracy

Christian Commentary et al.

  • Kevin Pierpont
  • Sharper Iron

Conservative and GOP Sites

  • Backbone America
  • Cal Thomas
  • Colorado Republican Party
  • Colorado Republican Study Committee
  • Dennis Prager
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Colorado Blogs

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Other Sites

  • Technorati
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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
  • The Business Word
  • The Daily Blogster
  • View from a Height

To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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