More than one late-morning Denver metro area commuter nearly may have swerved out of their lane of traffic and into danger today, just from the shock of what they heard on the airwaves. What do I mean? During his monthly interview with 850 KOA's Mike Rosen, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter acknowledged that the Independence Institute's recent investigation into his administration's ethical shortcoming was right on: About 2 minutes into the clip, you hear Governor Bill Ritter say: "Thank you to Jon Caldara and the Independence Institute." Hope no one crashed their vehicle as a result. As for the office where I work, we're ready to frame the statement and hang it on the wall. Still no word from Colorado Ethics Watch, though. … [Read more...]
John McCain Reshaping GOP in His Image? Jane Norton in His Shadow
As if Monday morning weren't bad enough, this Politico report (H/T Rocky Mountain Right) is a terrific way to make conservatives nauseous:Fresh from a humbling loss in last year’s presidential election, Sen. John McCain is working behind-the-scenes to reshape the Republican Party in his own center-right image.... Yeah, since this support includes ACORN friend Charlie Crist over conservative Marco Rubio in the Florida primary, "center-right" is a generous term. But beyond that, it's just plain disturbing. Whether he intends to or not, it seems to me that Senator McCain is preparing to take the GOP down the same path of irrelevance as his own failed presidential bid. But he seems determined:Erick Erickson, founder of the influential … [Read more...]
Just How Hard for Scott McInnis to Find His Way to the Governor’s Office?
Update, 10/5: At least one person has informed me they received a message with the incorrect address, followed more than a day later by a message with the correct address. As long as everyone can find the shining golden dome downtown.... Did anyone else out there get a robocall this weekend from the Scott McInnis for Governor campaign, announcing a Monday event kicking off a statewide tour? A friend who received the call told me that the voice on the message was from McInnis' wife: "Twice she stated that Scott will be speaking at the State Capitol located at 20th and Broadway." Say what? That would be only about five blocks off. I know that the early success of primary rival Josh Penry may have thrown McInnis off track a bit, but … [Read more...]
Call Colorado Ethics Watch: Only One Ritter Cabinet “Conflict of Interest” Report
(H/T Complete Colorado) In his latest edition of Independence Investigates, my colleague Todd Shepherd reports a troubling fact about the Bill Ritter administration:Governor Ritter's office has only one "conflict of interest" report on file for the fifteen members of his cabinet, despite an executive order that requires each and every member of his cabinet to file such a disclosure. With this revelation, it's easy to say now that it hasn't been a great PR day for Ritter. Memo to the governor: Get your cabinet members to file the disclosures, or revoke the order and end the ethical pretense. Simple as that. Hey, why doesn't somebody call Colorado Ethics Watch and see if they'll file an official complaint about this apparent breach of … [Read more...]
Stephanie Villafuerte Nomination Resurrects Voorhis Affair for Bill Ritter
From today's Denver Post:President Barack Obama has nominated Stephanie Villafuerte to be Colorado's next U.S. Attorney. Villafuerte, currently deputy chief of staff to Gov. Bill Ritter, previously served as Denver's chief deputy district attorney. She worked on Ritter's campaign and has focused on community outreach as his deputy chief of staff. [emphasis added] Remember Stephanie Villafuerte? Still scratching your head? While with Ritter's 2006 gubernatorial campaign, she worked with the Denver DA's office as they accessed the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database to go after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Cory Voorhis. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation went after Cory Voorhis for accessing the … [Read more...]
The Deadline Approaches: Time to Send a Message with Your Money
We're two days away from the close of the political fundraising quarter. And maybe you've been getting harassed by the same amount of emails and other contacts as I have, urging you to give before the next reports come out. But I'll repeat it, too: If you have a clear favorite in one or more of Colorado's Republican primary races or you just want to tell the NRSC and Washington bigwigs to take a hike, nothing sends a message like a campaign donation. If you're like me, you aren't going to come close to making the max contribution ($1,050 for governor and other statewide races, or $4,800 for U.S. House and U.S. Senate). But if you want to earn the right to complain, you ought to put your money where your mouth is. A multitude of 10 … [Read more...]
Beneath Surface of Sept. Survey: Josh Penry’s Biggest Gains with Older Voters
For those who wish to dig a little deeper, today (at the end of this post) we release some more analysis of the results of our September survey of Colorado's political temperature. A few highlights -- in no particular order: The biggest gains fueling Josh Penry's surge in the latest poll come among those in the over-50 age group Of the eight candidates in the governor's and U.S. Senate races who received at least 10 votes of support, five are favored most often because of agreement on key issues, while three were primarily chosen for their past record -- none of the other five options registered as the main factor for support No surprises: Significantly more Ryan Frazier and Ken Buck backers think primaries are good and that national … [Read more...]
Colorado GOP Straw Poll Analysis: Depends on the Definition of “Clobber”
From the Department of Bad Headlines comes yesterday's Grand Junction Sentinel piece: "Penry, Norton clobber field in GOP straw poll". Yes, by winning nearly 80 percent of the vote, Josh Penry clobbered Evergreen businessman Dan Maes and no-show Scott McInnis -- earning nearly 8 times as many votes as his nearest competitor. But Jane Norton -- backed by Washington, D.C., powerbrokers and touted by the Denver Post as a campaign "game-changer" -- flexed her high-powered campaign machine to win just 34 percent of the vote and best her rivals Ryan Frazier and Ken Buck by only 25 votes. Clobbered? Hmmm, not exactly. Another example that new media often is more on top of its game, better understanding and interpreting political news than … [Read more...]
Dan Maes, Almost Second in GOP Guv Straw Poll, But Gets the Grassroots
He's not my first choice for governor, but I have a lot of respect for Evergreen businessman Dan Maes. A very thoughtful email message he sent out recently has been reprinted by Backbone America:The Democrats, liberals, progressives or whatever name they go by these days, have awakened the sleeping giant of the silent majority and a conservative revolution is upon us. In my now over 30,000 miles of campaign travel I have seen this revolution in the form of Tea Parties, new grass roots organizations like 9.12, I Caucus, ROAR America, Liberty on the Rocks, R Block Party, and others all around the state by names unique to their own region. A clear message has been articulated and that is “Enough is Enough” of the recent and not so recent … [Read more...]
“It’s Too Hard”: Democrats Shoving Health Care Takeover Down our Throats
You can almost hear Democratic Senator Max Baucus pouting in a high-pitched, whiny voice: "It's too ha-ard...." What, you ask, is too hard for one of the 100 most powerful people in Washington DC, who supposedly represents the people of the great state of Montana, and nearly all of his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee? From yesterday's Washington Examiner:A proposal by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., that would have required the Senate Finance Committee to post the final language of the $900 billion health care reform bill, as well as a Congressional Budget Office cost analysis, on the committee’s website for 72 hours prior to a vote was rejected 12-11.... Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., himself admitted that “This … [Read more...]
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