President Obama's nomination of Stephanie Villafuerte to be Colorado's next U.S. Attorney has put Governor Bill Ritter in an unwanted situation. Serious questions remain unanswered about Villafuerte's role in the political smear of federal ICE agent Cory Voorhis during the 2006 election that led to his near conviction. But Ritter thinks it's too much trouble for us to bother with the questions now:She also declined to answer questions this week about whether she provided the FBI with a complete accounting of any contacts she had with the DA's office about [illegal immigrant Carlos] Estrada-Medina. A message and detailed e-mail left by The Post for Villafuerte were returned instead by Evan Dreyer, spokesman for Ritter. He said Villa fuerte, … [Read more...]
Is Maine’s Question 4 a Belwether of Limited Government Sentiment?
A lot of people are looking at the Virginia governor's race -- or even the New York 23 race -- as a belwether of conservative, limited government political sentiment and activism going into the 2010 midterm elections. Me? I'm looking at a ballot initiative in Maine that would institute tax and spending limits similar to those in Colorado. As Question 4 trails in the polls, citizen activists have uncovered opponents using legislative resources to promote pay-to-play scheme. Enough to turn the tide? Perhaps, but not likely given conventional political wisdom. But what might be interesting to see is if the 2009 version generates any late momentum or outperforms the 2006 Maine Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, that lost 54-46. It might offer us … [Read more...]
Jeffco GOP Central Committee Recap: Governor Hopefuls Speak, Gholston Steals Show, Frazier Team Absent
Last night I attended the Jefferson County Republican Central Committee meeting, along with nearly 200 other local precinct and district leaders. Considering the central order of business was to ratify new by-laws and the snows of the big storm were just beginning to fall, turnout was not at all bad. The main bill might also have helped bring some folks in. All three Republican gubernatorial candidates got their six-minute turn on the stump. And Alex's observations notwithstanding, all three comported themselves well and were equally well received by the audience. The biggest loser at last night's event was obviously Bill Ritter -- whose unpopularity seemed unrivaled. … [Read more...]
Government Run Amok Again: Don’t Offer Paid Rides to Airport in Nevada
A new story from the files of government authority run amok... Following shortly on the heels of the Michigan woman harassed by social services for watching some neighbor kids before they catch the school bus, comes a doozy from Nevada. Vin Suprynowicz recounts the story of Delinda Epstein's costly brush with the County Transportation Authority when she tried to make private arrangements to drive someone to the airport. Read this story and ask yourself: Is it anything but common sense to insist on limiting the size and scope of government? … [Read more...]
Karen Morgan’s 15 Minutes of Colorado Political Fame: “Where’s Scott?”
The legend of gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis' bizarre absences grow with a no-show at last Saturday's North Suburban Republican Forum, reports the Colorado Statesman. Okay, I know the absence itself isn't really newsworthy. It's the front-page photo taken by the Statesman's Jason Kosena of Republican House District 27 area coordinator Karen Morgan (and mother of my occasional guest-blogger Ryan Morgan) holding the "Where's Scott?" sign. She's not a limelight kind of person, but -- along with her husband and children -- definitely one of the state's hardest-working, most dedicated Republican grassroots activists. Just the reason to bring attention to 15 minutes (or so) of Colorado political fame: Way to go, Karen! … [Read more...]
Rasmussen: GOP Congress Out of Touch, Democrats Even Less Trusted
I've spent the past several days trying to reach a coherent synthesis from these two poll results taken by Rasmussen: 73 percent of Republican voters say Republicans in Congress have lost touch with their base -- men and older voters are more likely to share these sentiments; and (unsurprisingly) far more voters obviously are concerned about economic, fiscal, and national security issues than domestic or cultural issues General election voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on all 10 key electoral issues -- with double-digit advantages in national security, Iraq, taxes, economy and abortion So what should Republican politicians and candidates learn from these results? I mean, besides the fact that it's hard to make too much … [Read more...]
Support for Education Reform Funds = Support for Bill Ritter’s Re-Election?
Update, 10/24: Received a third pro-Obama Care email from Bill Ritter (and Mark Udall and Michael Bennet) today, still nothing on education reform ... Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has a page set up where you can sign a petition to support the state's effort to receive federal Race to the Top competitive grant dollars that support education reform. If you sign the petition, you end up on some sort of mailing list for Ritter's re-election campaign. In the two weeks since I signed the petition I've received two mass emails urging me to back Obama Care! Here's the complete text of the online petition: … [Read more...]
Josh Penry Effectively Calls Out Governor Bill Ritter for “Hiring Farce”
Channel 7 investigative reporters Arthur Kane and John Ferrugia have exposed Democrat Governor Bill Ritter's so-called "hiring freeze" for what it really was:Gov. Bill Ritter promised a hiring freeze last year to help bridge the budget gap, but a CALL7 investigation found that as many as 2,300 employees were hired during the “freeze.” As much as a year ago I called out Ritter's phony "freeze". In January Denver Post reporter Jessica Fender described Bill Ritter's so-called "freeze" as "more of a chill". Back then I asked "Doesn’t anyone want to run for governor against this guy?" … [Read more...]
Josh Penry Wins Hometown Support; Bill Ritter Wins Root Canal Crowd
The Denver Post this morning published a pair of follow-up stories analyzing the campaign finance reports in the race for Colorado governor: "...Grand Junction residents overwhelmingly voted with their wallets for state Sen. Josh Penry over former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis in the opening salvo of their primary battle." As they say, those who know the two hometown candidates best.... "Gov. Bill Ritter can thank dentists, satellite TV executives and unions for a big chunk of the $450,000 he raised last quarter for his re-election bid." Despite all the loud noise, there's no big surprise some labor groups still will pour the maximum into Ritter's campaign. But dentists? Well, the governor's car tax and accompanying late fees have felt … [Read more...]
Great News and a Great Belwether? Marco Rubio Surging Close in Florida
If there's one 2010 race outside Colorado I'm following more closely than any other, it's the Florida Republican Senate primary -- a battle for the soul of the party between left-of-center governor Charlie Crist and conservative state legislative leader Marco Rubio. Despite being a huge underdog, Rubio has shown a lot of momentum. Red State's Erick Erickson has posted the latest good news -- check it out. … [Read more...]
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