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Pot Stirring in Senate District 22

Almost two weeks after I first highlighted Kiki Traylor's contribution from the teachers union - and her clarifying remarks a few days later - the Rocky Mountain News reported on a legal complaint filed via a friend of her opponent Mike Kopp. (HT: ToTheRight.org, Colorado's newest conservative blogging voice.) The News story indicates that the candidate followed my advice: Traylor said she didn't report the $1,000 check because she had torn it up. Inquiring conservatives want to keep an eye on Traylor's campaign funding after the primary, but this inquiring conservative prefers not to see her candidacy continue after the primary. So let's leave it a hypothetical. Any candidate who draws enough favorable interest from CEA to merit … [Read more...]

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Of Fatcats and Rethinking Political Allies

Colorado's primary elections are upon us. So as Republican candidates in key districts reach the homestretch of throwing slings and arrows at one another, my friend Jessica Corry reminds us in a Sunday column for the Denver Post that the Colorado GOP coalition ain't what it used to be: the big business community has entrenched itself alongside labor unions, bureaucrats, and other "fatcat" special interest groups to work against the guiding principles of limited government and ordered liberty. A major problem, she argues, is that many of the party's insiders simply have not awakened to the fact yet. Should the Republicans wake up to despair then? Not exactly, says Jessica: Republicans, including Beauprez, should find their own real … [Read more...]

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Schaffer Returns to Ukraine

Former Congressman Bob Schaffer departs Colorado today for the Ukraine as an official observer of the young democratic nation's parliamentary elections. The Denver Post has set up a blog to record Schaffer's observations, which will also be followed by students at several Colorado schools. As you may recall, Schaffer - who himself is of Ukrainian heritage - was on hand for "The Orange Revolution" of 2004, in which he sent dispatches via Blackberry covering the remarkable breaking events in Kiev. As one who has watched history unfold in Eastern Europe, Schaffer again gets to connect his experiences directly with readers in Colorado ... and across the globe. Ain't technology wonderful? … [Read more...]

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Caucus Night

I can't do better on Caucus Night observations than Joshua - maybe NOT wearing a yarmulker helped me to blend in a bit. As far as not feeling like a fish out of water, I was pleased to see a few members of the 30-&-under crowd with me at the Arvada gathering of 5 precincts. The caucus was a disappointingly small affair ... enthusiasm at the GOP grassroots level is not exactly spilling over the brim. Hmm, go figure. There were 3 of us who showed up for my precinct (and a fourth by proxy). A couple of the other precincts had 6 to 8 people, and one other lady showed up to find out she was her precinct. I was elected by acclamation, along with the other three in my precinct, as a delegate to the Jefferson County Assembly. Unfortunately, … [Read more...]

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Immigration Reform: Commonsense vs. Nonsense

Former State Senate President John Andrews is leading the charge for state-level illegal immigration reform. Yesterday he cited an authoritative study that conservatively estimates the cost of illegal immigration to Colorado taxpayers exceeds a billion dollars a year. This issue will be at the forefront of the 2006 elections, and the bipartisan team of Andrews and former Governor Dick Lamm has brought forward a commonsense proposal called Defend Colorado Now: "to end non-emergency, non-federally-mandated taxpaid services to illegal aliens." Meanwhile, in a weak effort to vent their Left-wing displeasure with this commonsense reform idea, the clever propagandists over at ProgressNow are urging their supporters to sign an online petition. … [Read more...]

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Adventures in Podcasting

Three questions: 1) Have you ever wondered about the real facts of Colorado's education funding? 2) Have you ever wondered what this blogger's voice sounds like? 3) Do you want to hear me talk about Colorado's education funding anyway? If you answered yes to 1 or more of the above questions, please check out my new Podcast interview (requires MP3 player) with Jon Caldara, compliments of the Independence Institute's new IVoices Web site. … [Read more...]

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Memo to GOP Leaders in Colorado

Bobby Eberle's blog is a worthwhile read today. Message? Grow a spine on immigration and spending. Maybe a new Gallup poll speaks more clearly to the known language of political leaders. Maybe this time they will take heed. Or maybe they'll learn the hard way... again. I also hear there's a new book out on a similar topic ... or is it about home decorating? a geography textbook? a primer on military conquest? Anyway, check it out. … [Read more...]

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Results from Jeffco GOP Assembly

I just returned from the Jefferson County Republican Assembly, and have some interesting developments to report for the political insiders. The following candidates made it onto the primary ballot: State Senate SD 20 - Dick Sargent was recruited at the last minute to challenge Moe Keller. SD 21 - Rep. Matt Knoedler announced his candidacy today and won the only spot on the ballot, beating out former Rep. Penn Pfiffner. SD 22 - In a four-way race, only three candidates pursued a ballot spot through the Assembly. Mike Kopp was the only candidate to win a spot on the ballot. Justin Everett bypassed the process and will petition on. Rumors suggest that current Senator Kiki Traylor, who was appointed by a vacancy committee to replace … [Read more...]