I know the story isn't brand new, but I couldn't resist a quick post on this topic before the weekend: the Rocky Mountain News castigates State Senator Deanna Hanna - the most popular Colorado legislator in the "name game" song - today with an implied rhetorical comparison to the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Does the word "shakedown" mean anything? The Democrat from Lakewood is in ethical hot water for basically attempting to extort money from a realtors' group that she felt betrayed her by refusing to fund her 2004 re-election campaign and giving $1,400 to her Republican opponent instead. You have to credit the Democrat majority for at least being willing to open up an ethics panel on one of their own. Mount Virtus will follow this story as it … [Read more...]

While the Marc Holtzman for governor campaign touts a Denver Post article that says a judge has placed their candidate's name on the ballot, they probably won't bring too much attention to the rest of the story: one-half of Holtzman's legal team confesses the narrow chances of finding enough signatures to qualify his candidacy. Here's the long and the short of it: ...[B]ecause the ballot-certification deadline was Friday, a judge ordered that Holtzman be placed on the ballot in case his appeal is successful. If it's not, the judge said, his votes simply won't be counted. Despite all its bluster, does it sound like the Holtzman campaign is really confident about its chances? Or do you sense more of an air of desperation?: [John] … [Read more...]

The Holtzman campaign says to pass the word along about this week's exciting events: Come Party With Us! Join Us As We Celebrate The 46th Birthday Of The Next Governor Of Colorado Marc Holtzman At The Official Marc and Lola 2006 Campaign Kickoff Wednesday, March 1, 2006 5:30 PM VIP Reception West Wing Room 6:00 PM Ballroom Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast 3200 South Parker Road Aurora, Colorado Entertainment: Music and Dancing Provided by: Danny Dale Tony David of "The Glass Menagerie" VIP Reception: $46 General Reception: Complimentary Thursday, March 2, 2006 8:00 AM For Breakfast Rosario's Banquet Room 2930 North Elizabeth Pueblo, Colorado $20 Per Person RSVP to Elizabeth or … [Read more...]

It is contorted decisions like the one the Colorado Supreme Court made yesterday regarding the anti-illegal immigration initiative that undermine citizens' respect for the judiciary. As has been proven again and again, naked partisanship no longer ends at the courtroom door. And inevitably, when the exalted robes stretch common sense and logic to play partisan politics, it settles nothing. Instead, it ratchets up the pressure of frustrated citizens and elected representatives. Thus today we read in the Denver Post that Republican House Minority Leader Mike May is calling for a special legislative session to address the issue. As the article points out, it is indeed a longshot that such a session would win the needed two-thirds … [Read more...]

Joshua has the scoop on the imminent entry of a new candidate into the Colorado Attorney General's race. Looks like the Dead Guvs may have to add another line -- and, er, maybe the guys at Mile High Delphi can start rolling out the predictions for all the statewide offices up for grabs in November. … [Read more...]

What a telling week this may turn out to be in the race for Colorado's governor and state legislature. In the wake of an overreaching decision from the state Supreme Court: 1. Marc Holtzman's campaign slips further into irrelevancy by clinging to judicial activism in order to stay alive. His lawyers - one of whom argued before the Supreme Court to have Defend Colorado Now's initiative removed from the ballot - are calling on a judge to loosely interpret the law to allow him on the ballot in the first place. 2. Bill Ritter's campaign may want to reconsider its very loud and leadership-lacking "no comment" on this very important and momentous issue. 3. Bob Beauprez, the Republican choice for governor, has been out in front on … [Read more...]

In his Saturday media review column for the Rocky Mountain News, David Kopel highlights two Denver Post stories that gave skewed presentations of the illegal immigration issue. The first half of the editorial piece was dedicated to giving a more thorough undressing to a Karen Crummy article first exposed here on this site. (Full disclosure: I work with Dave at the Independence Institute. He was prompted to examine the Crummy story after reading my post. However, he discovered the post on his own as part of his regular blog searches.) … [Read more...]

In his Thursday metro side column, the Post's David Harsanyi shines the light on a series of cases that give Coloradans plenty of reason to be cynical about politics. Maybe as cynical as one of my commenters, who after my post on Deanna Hanna's more legally serious misdeeds implied that I was ignoring the Stengel affair because of party loyalties. Memo to commenter: sorry for giving you an excuse to feed your cynicism. If you would care to respond to this post and reveal your identity, my respect for you will increase greatly. Harsanyi's lead case is indeed that of Republican House Minority Leader Joe Stengel, who charged taxpayers for 240 days of work last year, including a trip to Hawaii. Yesterday, five of Stengel's constituents … [Read more...]