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Home Archives for Colorado Politics

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Exit Poll Demographics Shed Light on GOP’s Way Forward from Here

Two weird, somewhat interesting, observations about voting patterns in the recent Presidential election that you may not have seen. First, from Rocky Mountain Right:It's not all doom and gloom in Colorado. Exit polling from the presidential race indicates that Colorado may be in for a generational swing back towards the Republicans over the next few years going against national trends. Nationally, exit polls show that John McCain carried only 32% of the 18-29 age bracket. In Colorado, McCain won that age bracket with 53% of the vote.... Second, from Gay Patriot:According to the CNN exit polls, 4% of the American electorate self-identified as gay or lesbian. That means about 4.8 million gays and lesbians voted on Tuesday. That seems … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Colorado, conclusions, debate, exit polls, fiscally conservative, Gay Patriot, gays, Grand Old Party, Hispanics, interesting observations, John McCain, key religious groups, lesbians, message, Pew Research Center, Presidential election, rebuild, Rocky Mountain Right, sine qua non, voting patterns, youth vote

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Rebuilding Colorado’s GOP: The Good Advice Keeps Pouring In

It bears repeating: Any effort to rebuild Colorado's Republican Party that's done in a strictly top-down fashion is destined to failure. In that spirit, Joshua Sharf makes an excellent case (echoed at Rocky Mountain Right) for pursuing a 65-district statehouse strategy going into 2010. I can't add anything more at this point than a simple and hearty, "Let's do it." Other must-reads: John Andrews has some sobering reflections, and Night Twister offers some hard advice. While there are many tasks before us, I believe all of them must be imbued with the mission of reclaiming the mantel of fiscal conservatism - or as Mark Hillman puts it, to once again become "the party of freedom". … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: 65-district strategy, Colorado, failure, fiscal conservatism, hard advice, John Andrews, Joshua Sharf, Mark Hillman, Night Twister, party of freedom, Republican Party, Rocky Mountain Right, sobering reflections, top-down fashion

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

The Mantra: Rebuilding the GOP

When this morning I wrote "Any effort to rebuild Colorado’s Republican Party that’s done in a strictly top-down fashion is destined to failure", I hadn't yet seen Patrick Ruffini's post "Change Won't Come from the Top Down". Great minds think alike? Remotely possible. Anyway, if you share this point of view, and are a conservative interested in doing your part to help rebuild the GOP, may I recommend you sign up to join this site and get involved in the conversation. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, National Politics Tagged With: change, Colorado, conservative, conversation, Patrick Ruffini, rebuilding the GOP, Republican Party, top down

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Reasonable, Principled Compromise Needed to Rebuild GOP Coalition

Lately I've struggled for the time and energy to put together some coherent thoughts about what the GOP needs to do to rebuild. Jim Manzi at The Corner said it almost perfectly for me. You need to read the whole post, but here is a key excerpt:While it is always possible to imagine some arbitrary configuration of 51% of voters who have the label “conservative”, Rod’s point [ed: that "no conservative movement that hopes to be successful can do so without religious conservatives"] strikes me as correct as a practical matter. Further, more important than the question of electoral advantage, is the fact that tens of millions of citizens have deeply held beliefs that should be considered in making and enforcing the law. I also believe … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: abortion, abortion debate, almost perfectly, bleak future, coalition, conservative movement, debates, federal funding, federal government, federal law, federalism, fools, gay marriage, good faith, humble, Jim Manzi, libertarians, liberty, life, limited government, local government, national consensus, National Review, Planned Parenthood, pro-life agenda, rallying cry, religious conservatives, Religious Right, Republican Party, Roe decision, social issues, states, strategy, The Corner, thumbnail analysis, tolerate, workable compromise

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Coming Very Soon: RMA Takes to the Blog Talk Radio Airwaves

Coming off the success of his own online weekly show, Joshua Sharf has taken the lead in setting up a Rocky Mountain Alliance show on Blog Talk Radio. The inaugural edition is set for next Tuesday, November 18, at 9 PM local Mountain time. Hosts will include a handful of RMA members (not confirmed whether I will be among them for the first edition). Guest details also soon forthcoming. The show promises to feature lighthearted and penetrating discussion of the week's events in national and Colorado politics. Hope you'll join us! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: Blog Talk Radio, details, discussion, inaugural edition, Joshua Sharf, Rocky Mountain Alliance, weekly show

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Debt-Free GOP Can Thank Wadhams; Now to Focus on Grassroots Rebuilding

From this morning's Denver Post, the best case for keeping Dick Wadhams as the state GOP chairman:For the first time since 2002, the Colorado Republican Party can say it's debt-free. Covering the party's $580,000 in debts is a testament to Dick Wadhams' hard work, commitment, and connections. In the absence of any more viable alternatives, a pledge from Wadhams to focus his energy on the 2010 statehouse races ought to make him the frontrunner to keep the job. That being said, for all our sakes, I hope that Wadhams and the state GOP staff are attuned to the debate going on at The Next Right and prepared to plug into the growing coalition at Rebuild the Party. Not to mention the good advice of thoughtful folks like hard-working … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: 2010, advice, alternatives, candidate, coalition, Colorado, commitment, connections, debate, debt-free, Denver Post, Dick Wadhams, frontrunner, GOP chairman, hard work, Joshua Sharf, pledge, Rebuild the Party, staff, statehouse races, The Next Right

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Founders’ Night 2008: Michelle Malkin Charges Colorado’s Freedom-Fighters

Update: The Daily Blogster and Face The State have more. Last night, at the Independence Institute's 24th Annual Founders' Night Dinner, conservatives and libertarians didn't waste much time moping. Sure, Mike Rosen's election commentary was a bit more sobering than usual. But with Jon Caldara as emcee - and receiving recognition for 10 years as Independence Institute president, a tenure he hopes to continue with his self-professed "lack of marketable skills" - it was hard to get too down. Fred Holden, longtime hard-working and outspoken advocate for liberty and author of Total Power of ONE in America, won the Vern Bickel Award for Grassroots Leadership. This was certainly a well-deserved honor. The inspiring and energetic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life Tagged With: advocate, Beltway, blogosphere, Colorado, Colorado bloggers, community, conservatives, David D'Evelyn Award, dinner, educational opportunity, El Presidente, election commentary, entrepreneur, first-generation American, Founders Night, Fred Holden, freedom-fighters, Grassroots Leadership, highest honor, Independence Institute, Jon Caldara, Joshua Sharf, keynote speaker, libertarians, liberty, Michelle Malkin, Mike Rosen, Mr. Bob, President, principles of liberty, resident, Rossputin, Seeme Hasan, sobering, Total Power of One in America, Vern Bickel Award, warm welcome

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Get Out and Vote, Colorado GOP

If you haven't voted yet and still have a question about any of Colorado's statewide ballot measures, please check out my voter guide. Not sure what to do about judges? This is the best set of suggestions I've seen (and when in doubt, vote No). But whatever you do, please get out and vote! AN URGENT MESSAGE TO ALL COLORADO REPUBLICAN VOTERS From the Colorado Coalition of Conservative Bloggers As you know, Colorado has been labeled a "swing" state in this year's elections, and will be one of the states that will determine the direction of our nation for the next four or eight years. Historically, the voters in Colorado elected Republican candidates, largely because of the higher numbers of registered Republican voters. This Republican … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: Colorado, conservative bloggers, judges, Republican voters, statewide ballot, voter guide

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Sheriffs Debunk Lies about Law Enforcement against Amendment 49

Read and hear more about what the sheriffs had to say here. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Amendment 49, Colorado, debunk, Ethical Standards, law enforcement, lies, sheriffs, YouTube

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Krista Kafer’s New Face The State Column Brings Needed Perspective

My Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR) classmate, sometimes Backbone America radio co-host, and Independence Institute senior fellow Krista Kafer debuted a weekly Face The State column today. Here's the timely conclusion of this first installment:Special interests that have much to gain from the demise of Amendments 47 and 49 are funneling millions of dollars into the election. Slick campaigns from candidates and groups lure voters with the promise to “Protect Colorado’s Future.” The advocacy groups, leftist candidates, and sadly, even the media, are banking on the public’s fears for the economy to turn the election in their favor. Unfortunately, conservatives and libertarians have had trouble articulating what’s at stake. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, My Life, National Politics, property rights Tagged With: advocacy groups, Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Backbone America, Ben Franklin, conservatives, dark days, electorate, Face the State, fears, free stuff, freedom, Independence Institute, Krista Kafer, Leadership Program of the Rockies, leftist candidates, libertarians, media, Protect Colorado's Future, senior fellow, slick campaigns, special interests, warning, weekly column

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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.

Recent Posts

  • AI-Enhanced Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Teen Innovation
  • My Baker’s Dozen of Top 2023 Reads
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  • Tips to Teach Kids to Set and Achieve Goals
  • The Christmas Music Countdown You’ve Been Looking For: 2022 Edition

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Completing the Blogroll

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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