Update: The intrepid Mike Antonucci has more insights on this story, including the involvement of the National Education Association and the fact that the story first was broken by blogger Lee Doren. Credit to where credit is due. You may have already heard about this, but just in case not -- an original investigation from Fox News:A seemingly grassroots organization that's mounted an online campaign to counter the tea party movement is actually the front end of an elaborate scheme that funnels funds -- including sizable labor union contributions -- through the offices of a prominent Democratic party lawyer.... "This movement is a fad," proclaims TheTeaPartyIsOver.org, which was established by the American Public Policy Center (APPC), … [Read more...]
All But One Colo. Democrat State Senator Enable Passage of Tax Hikes
Nine days ago I pointed out the number of vulnerable Colorado state house Democrats who voted to push through the "Dirty Dozen" tax hikes. Today it was the state senate's turn. Based on my recent projections, much of the voting activity makes sense. Take a quick look at today's Senate Journal, and what do you see? All Senate Republicans unanimously voted against each and every one of the tax hikes. Hooray for them. Too bad the Democrats have the majority and were able to pass all nine bills with either 18 (the bare minimum) or 19 votes. One Democrat running in a vulnerable seat voted No on all nine tax hike bills, giving her a singular distinction among the entire house and senate majority caucus: Sen. Gail Schwarz. You think this is … [Read more...]
Michael Bennet Kowtows to Left, Casts Losing Vote for Backdoor Card Check
Update, 2:45 PM: Politico picks up on the story, too, noting that Bennet's vote "could have significant repercussions for his election campaign." A strong sign that Colorado's Appointed One, junior U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, is feeling the primary heat from Andrew Romanoff. Kowtowing to President Obama, the SEIU and Big Labor: Bennet was one of the 52 Democratic votes to confirm Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. The good news? Becker's confirmation was defeated. The man is an SEIU attorney with avowedly radical, anti-individual rights views that would trample under foot the rights of business owners and workers who would rather not toe the line for labor leaders. A vote for Craig Becker was a vote for backdoor … [Read more...]
Dem Priorities Fiddling with Tax Credits: Undercut, Don’t Empower, Families
Todd Engdahl at Ed News Colorado reported Friday on two educational tax credit bills (HB 1295 and HB 1296) being introduced in the legislature, and closed with this comment:While the proposals could make for interesting debate, they’re expected to fail for three reasons: 1) Democrats control the legislature, 2) the education lobby, and 3) most lawmakers don’t want to fiddle with school finance or tax credits when the state budget is in the tank. [emphasis added] The first two reasons are rather straightforward. Of course, Democrats don't want to devolve power from the education establishment. And of course, the iron triangle of CEA, CASE and CASB would oppose the slightest effort to grant authentic private school choice to taxpaying … [Read more...]
Colorado WINS State Union Using Coercive Tactics to Grow Membership?
Ever since Governor Bill Ritter signed the executive order laying out a welcome mat to unionize state government, I've wondered if and when the Colorado WINS labor organizing coalition would lobby for the Democratic majority in state government to entrench their status through legislation. Given the state of the budget and the tons of political capital Democrats are spilling to push through their series of tax hikes -- one of which is even opposed by Pueblo labor interests -- prospects for comprehensive union legislation have faded dramatically. But Colorado WINS has other means to extend its reach, and grow its dues-paying membership base, inside Colorado government. As Dave Ohmart of Colorado LOSES points out, reluctant state … [Read more...]
Colorado Democrats Dig Themselves Deeper on Dirty Dozen Tax Hikes
At this point, ramming through the Dirty Dozen tax hikes has Colorado Democrats in such political hot water, why not just go ahead and swim in it? That must be the reasoning behind the effort to make things even worse by changing the temporary tax hikes into permanent tax hikes. It used to be about half the bills would eventually reduce the respective tax rates to their current level. Not anymore:Republicans believe that Democrats are using the current budget crisis as an excuse to permanently raise taxes on Colorado families and businesses. “If the tax increases are only meant to help the state fill the budget gap, as Democrats claim, then why aren’t we making them all temporary?” asked Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield. Then … [Read more...]
Rasmussen on Colorado U.S. Senate: No Clear Trend, GOP Edge Persists
I'm not sure how exactly to headline the new Rasmussen poll on potential Colorado U.S. Senate race matchups. Three weeks ago I highlighted the fact that Jane Norton's lead over the Appointed One Michael Bennet was widening, and that Bennet was dropping across the board against all potential Republican challengers. The results this time aren't altogether so clear. Yes, Jane Norton has an even greater 14-point advantage over Bennet, but her presumed 12-point lead over Bennet's Democratic primary challenger Andrew Romanoff has slipped to 7 points. GOP contender Tom Wiens -- who just reported a hefty but heavily self-funded fourth quarter -- may have leveled off. But he lost a little ground against both Bennet (6-point lead dropped to 4) … [Read more...]
Colo. Senate GOP Unveils Alternative to Tax Hikes without Further K-12 Cuts
Within the past hour Colorado Senate Republicans have unveiled a sensible, taxpayer-friendly alternative to the Democrats' efforts to ram through the "dirty dozen" tax hikes. From the press release:Republicans in the Colorado Senate today unveiled a proposal to reduce government spending as an alternative to the Democrats’ plan to raise taxes on the businesses and citizens of Colorado. “Democrats keep saying that in order to balance the budget ‘everything is on the table,’” said Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud. “Republicans want to make sure that a reduction in government spending is on the table and thoroughly debated before we raise taxes.” The GOP proposal includes a 0.25 percent reduction in state payroll spending for the … [Read more...]
Tom Wiens Furnishes $540K of $728K Raised; GOP Senate Primary Is On
Update, 2/5: Business Word dug deeper and found that Tom Wiens actually contributed all but $87,169 -- a disappointing revelation that shows his earlier competitiveness may have been overstated, and further strengthens Jane Norton's claims on the frontrunner position. Fellow RMA blogs Rocky Mountain Right and Business Word both noted today that Tom Wiens led the pack in 4th quarter fundraising for Colorado's Republican U.S. Senate primary at more than $725,000. Both were left to speculate how much came from contributions and how much was Wiens' own money. Well, this evening I received a release from the Wiens camp that begins as follows:Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Tom Wiens filed his Year End FEC report yesterday with the … [Read more...]
New Tarrance Poll: Trouble for Colo. Dems Pushing Dirty Dozen Tax Hikes
Yes, the poll is from the McInnis think tank, but if this new Tarrance Group survey (PDF) is anywhere near accurate, it's a dark day for the Colorado Democrats. First, the 65 percent of Colorado voters who believe "that a recession is no time to raise taxes, and that government should reduce spending with a six percent 'across the board' cut to balance the budget" rather than "that taxes and fees should be raised on businesses in order to protect funding for key services like health care, education, and transportation" (chosen by only 25 percent of respondents) breaks down as follows: … [Read more...]
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