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Home Archives for clean government

6/1/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Denver Post Catches On to Anti-Bill Ritter Roadside Sign Phenomenon

Several weeks ago I brought your attention to a sign of Bill Ritter's sagging popularity. As the Denver Post's Tim Hoover reports today, it seems the handmade signs attacking Ritter and his tax hike policies are popping up all over the place in different parts of Colorado. The article raises the query of who is responsible for the homemade, roadside creations. All I can tell you is they aren't being paid for by taxpayer dollars -- which cannot be said about Bill Ritter's highway re-election signs. I cannot tell a lie. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC, property rights Tagged With: article, attacking, attention, Bill Ritter, brought, Colorado, creations, Denver Post, dollars, handmade, homemade, policies, popping up, popularity, query, re-election, roadside, sagging, signs, tax hike, taxpayer, Tim Hoover

6/1/2009 By Ben 5 Comments

Say It Ain’t So, Cleve Tidwell

Here's a good bit of important advice to candidates for major political office that apparently isn't self-evident to all -- Don't go posting comments online under a false identity:Cleve Tidwell was posing as someone named "Craig Platon" and posting about how "he gave me and everyone else that waited in line all the time we needed and seemed only interested in what I had to say." He also describes himself as a "warm individual." This is a little narcissistic even for a would-be politician. It is troubling to say the least that a candidate for United States Senate has no apparent ethical qualms with posting as imaginary people supporting himself. Simply posting under a psuedonym [sic] and dropping a comment saying something positive about … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: advice, bit, bizarre, candidate, candidates, Cleve Tidwell, conspiracy theory, Craig Platon, elaborate backstory, email address, ethical qualms, false identity, falsehood, GOP, important, Kattie Botts, major, observation, online, pathetic, political office, private, pseudonym, Rocky Mountain Right, Ryan Frazier, sad, same-sex marriage, smarter, strange, straw poll, U.S. Senate, weird

6/1/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

In Condemnation of the Cold-Blooded Murder of Dr. George Tiller

Yesterday's news of the murder of Kansas abortionist Dr. George Tiller hit me hard. John Andrews at Backbone America captured my sentiments remarkably well: Dr. George Tiller’s murder in cold blood at a Wichita church today should shock the conscience and grieve the heart of every thinking person — especially persons of faith, and above all, those of us who defend the right to life. Wichita Eagle story here. This evil and lawless act deserves absolute condemnation. It is in no way excusable, regardless of the slain man’s inexcusable career as an abortionist. I hope you will join me in praying for Dr. Tiller, for his family and loved ones, for his killer, and for the quelling of passions on all sides that would threaten peace … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, clean government, Cultural Conservatism, Education, General, National Politics Tagged With: abortionist, admonition, Apostle Paul, Backbone America, biblical, cold blood, condemnation, conscience, evil, George Tiller, good, grieve, heart, John Andrews, Kansas, lawless, murder, persons of faith, praying, Romans, struggled, Wichita

5/30/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Union LIAR Ready to Suck Money from Workers to Attack Bill Ritter?

Sound the alarm on Bill Ritter's re-election chances. Hard-core Democrats are swearing they're going to abandon ship, at least if you take the Dead Governors at their word. But really, Ritter's sagging popularity is not exactly newsworthy for those who have been paying attention the past couple months or so. The real reason I gave a link to Colorado Pols was the unintentional humor behind a new union political group aimed at challenging (or at least threatening) Colorado's incumbent Democratic governor:A group calling itself Labor Initiatives Against Ritter - or LIAR - has filed the paperwork needed with the Internal Revenue Service to begin raising money for political purposes. Mark Johnson, an International Brotherhood of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, liberty, PPC Tagged With: abandon ship, agency fees, agent, alarm, area, Bill Ritter, certainty, challenging, chances, Colorado, Colorado Pols, Colorado Springs, Dead Governors, Democrats, filed, greater, hard-core, hard-earned money, Humor, Internal Revenue Service, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Labor Initiatives Against Ritter, LIAR, link, Mark Johnson, member, money, newsworthy, paperwork, paying attention, plans, political group, political purposes, popularity, portion, re-election, really, Reason, sagging, sound, swearing, Trust us, unintentional, union, union goons, union members, word, workers

5/29/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Ask Congressman Mike Coffman to Sign On to Federal Reserve Transparency

It won't be the first time I write it, nor likely the last. But Republican officials in Washington D.C. cannot hope to return to power simply by pointing out that they aren't as socialist as the Democrats. A vital piece of a successful 2010 and beyond involves the need to unite aggressively behind an affirmative platform of fiscally responsible government reform. Robert Romano on the Americans for Liberty blog brings our attention to a specific bill that represents a golden opportunity to do right by the taxpayer:Most of the financial bailouts have been conducted by the Federal Reserve, and on February 26th, Congressman Ron Paul introduced the legislation that would require an audit of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: 2010, 6th Congressional District, advance, affirmative, agenda, aggressively, Americans for Liberty, ask, attention, bill, blog, Board of Governors, bonds, buzzword, cause, Colorado, Congress, Congressman, consent, contact, Democrats, do right, Federal Reserve, financial bailouts, first time, fiscally responsible, fix, golden opportunity, government reform, growing, HR 1207, inordinate, insight, interest rates, issue, join, last time, ledgers, Mike Coffman, monetary policy, more closely, mortgage securities, necessity, officials, operations, oversight, platform, pointing out, power, representatives, Republican, Republicans, return to power, Robert Romano, Ron Paul, secret, shine the light, sign on, Socialist, successful, taxpayer, timeliness, Transparency, treasuries, U.S. House, unite, Wall Street Journal, Washington DC

5/29/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Obama DOJ Drops Black Panther Voter Intimidation Lawsuit… But Why?

Remember the story of the Black Panthers intimidating Philadelphia voters on our most recent Election Day? Well, there's an interesting update at The Next Right that strongly suggests the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) is happy to let the issue drop. Author Mike Roman makes some cogent points in his conclusion:These actions raise a number of troubling questions. For example, why did the Civil Rights Division voluntarily dismiss a lawsuit that they had effectively already won, against defendants who were physically threatening voters? Is the Division concerned that this dismissal will encourage the New Black Panther Party, or other groups, to intimidate voters? Why did the Division seek such limited relief against a defendant who … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Education, General, Journalism, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: author, Barack Obama, Black Panthers, broadcast, Civil Rights Division, cogent, conclusion, defendants, Department of Justice, dismiss, drop, Election Day, front page, happy, interesting, issue, lawsuit, Mike Roman, network news, New York Times, points, story, The Next Right, threatening, update, voter intimidation

5/28/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Western Slope Pressure Heightens Bill Ritter’s Bad Policy SB 180 Dilemma

As the Grand Junction Sentinel reports today, the day of reckoning draws closer for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to decide on the bad policy that is SB 180 -- a costly favor to Big Labor. The Sentinel today also editorializes strongly against SB 180 -- using many of the same arguments I've brought forward before, and even one I haven't really emphasized:Strikes would be prohibited under the legislation, but there are no sanctions listed in the bill for those who violate the provision. Now it would seem that Bill Ritter has an opportunity to start mending fences with folks on the Western Slope, where his popularity is low and heckling is a common greeting for him, by vetoing SB 180. He could listen to Grand Junction mayor Bruce Hill, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, PPC Tagged With: arguments, bad policy, Big Labor, Bill Ritter, Bruce Hill, campaign contributions, candidate, coerce, Collective Bargaining, Colorado, Colorado Professional Firefighters, common, community, costly, day of reckoning, debate, deja vu, editorializes, emphasized, excuse, favor, fences, folks, good policy, Governor, Grand Junction, Grand Junction Sentinel, greeting, HB 1072, HB 1170, heckling, inflaming, lockout, low, make up, mayor, measure, mending, observed, opportunity, political favors, political retribution, popularity, promised, reports, rhetorical question, same, sanctions, SB 180, sign, state government, strikes, strongly, supporters, tidbit, union agency fees, union hall, union leaders, veto, Western Slope, workers

5/26/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

RMA Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 8:30: Statewide Races, Higher Education

Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 28th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. Guests for tonight's show are: Longtime GOP political consultant Patrick Davis to dissect the state of play in Colorado's major statewide races for 2010, as fields of Republicans seek to challenge Governor Bill Ritter and appointed U.S. Senator Michael Bennet Jessica Corry from the Independence Institute, to talk about the ongoing budget controversies at the University of Colorado and possibly the increasing attention on the drug legalization debate If you miss the live show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC, property rights Tagged With: 2010, appointed, attention, Bill Ritter, Blog Talk Radio, budget controversies, challenge, Colorado, debate, drug legalization, GOP, Governor, guests, increasing, Independence Institute, Jessica Corry, major, Michael Bennet, Patrick Davis, podcast, political consultant, Republicans, Rocky Mountain Alliance, sidebar, statewide races, tonight show, U.S. Senator, University of Colorado, widget

5/26/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

So-Called Credit Card “Reform: Congress Punishes Responsibility Again

Here's a great quick read to get you back into the routine following a long holiday weekend ... Ari Armstrong's Sunday guest column in the Colorado Daily makes a point I have seen seldom argued in the debate over so-called credit card reform -- namely, that Colorado U.S. Senator Mark Udall's bill protects the irresponsible and punishes the responsible. With those kind of incentives, the biggest surprise is that nearly 70 members of Congress actually voted against it. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: against, Ari Armstrong, biggest, bill, Colorado, Colorado Daily, Congress, credit card reform, debate, guest column, holiday weekend, incentives, irresponsible, long, Mark Udall, members, protects, punishes, quick read, responsible, routine, Sunday, surprise, U.S. Senator, voted

5/22/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Big Labor Ramps Up Pro-EFCA Efforts with Biased Report, Religious Lobbyists

Update, 10:00 AM: Labor Pains' Justin Wilson has a more thorough refutation of Big Labor's new report here. In an effort to ramp up their efforts to pass the Employee Forced Choice Act (EFCA), Big Labor is touting a new report that suggests employers are rampantly breaking the law (PDF) during union organizing elections. The problem? The report's data all are based on interviews with union organizers -- hardly an unbiased source. But anything goes. While Big Labor appeals to EFCA apologists who need rational cover with impressive-sounding reports, it seems they also think they must appeal to the populist masses of religious believers. So they have sent clergy member lobbyists to Washington, DC, to insist that card-check legislation is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: advocacy, aligned, American, apologists, appeal, appointed, balance, believers, Big Labor, binding arbitration, breaking the law, card-check, chances, clergy member, coercion, Colorado, Democrat, deprive, economy, EFCA, efforts, elections, emerge, Employee Forced Choice Act, Employer Advantage, employers, expensive, George McGovern, God, Heritage Foundation, impressive-sounding, interviews, intimidation, jobs, labor law, legislation, liberal icon, lobbyists, mandatory, manufactured, masses, Michael Bennet, moral imperative, myth, nation's capital, new report, opposes, payouts, phenomenon, political desperation, populist, pro-union, procedures, protect, ramp up, rational cover, religious, Religious Left, secret ballot, skewing, social justice, source, stars, struggling, tactics, teetering, thousands, transparent, twin, U.S. Senator, unbiased, union, union organizers, union organizing, Washington DC, weak, weeks, workers, workplace

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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.

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