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Home Archives for Colorado Politics

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Officials Can Act Wisely to Quash Anti-Taxpayer Rumors

A watcher writes:I heard a rumor that some (unnamed) someone had offered the State Supreme Court a promise of a new building if only the Court would find the illegal property tax imposed by Governor Ritter and his Democrat legislature was constitutional. That would explain why Bill Ritter seems so confident that the State Supreme Court will rule his way. If the Court is dumb enough to appear to be bought and if the legislature is dumb enough to send a hundred million their way immediately after the ruling, Colorado will have a black eye for years to come. Again, this is a rumor, but a rumor that might have some substance. I've seen this one come through the grapevine, too. Gov. Bill Ritter's actions have only made the rumor more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Colorado General Assembly, Colorado Supreme Court, grapevine, Property Tax Increase, rumor, The Colorado Index

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Pollster Floyd Ciruli Rehashes Reasons for Bill Ritter’s Sinking Popularity

In today's Rocky Mountain News, Colorado Democrat pollster Floyd Ciruli takes a cold, analytical look at Gov. Bill Ritter's approval ratings -- boiled down, the picture isn't pretty for the potential one-term governor:Surprisingly, new Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter may be in trouble. When compared with his Montana counterpart, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, in recent Rasmussen polls, Ritter's job rating lags behind Schweitzer by 19 points. Only 45 percent of Colorado voters gave Ritter an excellent or good job rating, whereas 64 percent of Montanans rated Schweitzer as doing an excellent or good job. Floyd Ciruli cites a litany of reasons for Bill Ritter's sagging popularity, reasons that have been regular themes of this and other local new media … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Hysteria, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Education, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, Labor Tagged With: bathroom bill, Bill Ritter, blue-ribbon panels, Brian Schweitzer, campaign finance violation, Collective Bargaining, Colorado, Executive Order, Face the State, Floyd Ciruli, Human Events, Montana, oil and gas drilling, Property Tax Increase, Rasmussen poll, Rocky Mountain News, Senate Bill 200, severance tax, state government, TV commercials

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Majority of Coloradans Don’t Think Bill Ritter is Doing a Terrible Job

The times sure have changed for Gov. Bill Ritter. Back in September 2007, two separate polls placed the governor's approval ratings -- in one case, those who believed he was doing an "excellent" or "good" job -- around 70 percent:Ritter's spokesman said the governor has earned his high approval ratings by taking on renewable energy, transportation, health care and education. "I think the kind of partisan attacks that have come from a few state house Republicans don't resonate, because the issues that people care about are the issues that Gov. Ritter is addressing," Evan Dreyer said. This week, it's Bill Ritter's sinking poll numbers that are in the headlines. From today's Denver Post (including a chance to express your own view in an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: agenda, approval rating, Bill Ritter, Colorado, Denver Post, Evan Dreyer, fair, leadership, polls, poor, report card

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Betsy Markey Out of Touch on Big Labor Bill: Boon for Marilyn Musgrave?

Colorado's mega-rich liberals Tim Gill and Pat Stryker have it in for conservative Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who has represented northeastern Colorado since 2003. They have spent countless amounts of money trying to unseat her in the past two election cycles, and are committed to doing it again. This time they believe they have a winning candidate in Democrat Betsy Markey, someone to fulfill their obsession. But this video clip of Betsy Markey trying to explain her position on the poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act shows that Tim Gill and Pat Stryker still have some work to do with their out-of-touch candidate: As the Labor Pains blog points out, this is the same Betsy Markey who has sought to woo small businesses but struggles to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: Betsy Markey, Big Labor, Congress, Employee Free Choice Act, Labor Pains, Marilyn Musgrave, Pat Stryker, secret ballots, small business, Tim Gill

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Libby Szabo is a Legislative Candidate Worthy of Conservative Support

Face The State yesterday featured a campaign money breakdown for what figures to be Colorado's hottest state legislative race - and quite possibly a bellwether for others across the state - and that's Senate District 19:In Jefferson County's closely contested Senate District 19, Democrat Evie Hudak has started raking in union cash, while Republican Libby Szabo has seen her large-donor support come mostly from pro-business organizations and the state's energy providers. Libby Szabo is a personal friend and a common sense conservative with plenty of real-world experience in raising a family and running a business. Unfortunately, I live just outside her district and can't vote for Libby. But I'm glad to commend her to readers, especially … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life Tagged With: campaign contributions, Colorado, conservative, Evie Hudak, Face the State, Jefferson County, Libby Szabo, limited government, Senate District 19

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Democrat Gwyn Green, Poster Child for Economic Illiteracy, Strikes Again

Liberal Democrat Rep. Gwyn Green, whose state house district covers part of Denver's western suburbs, is a poster child for economic illiteracy. This fact has only been reconfirmed today by a Face The State report on her ill-informed but zealous refusal to attend a party sponsored by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association:"I see no point in attending the COGA Conference," she wrote. "Your announcement does not indicate any desire to moderate the ungodly profits the oil and gas companies are reaping at the costs for [sic] consumers." Of course, the report goes on to explain her fallacy:According to the American Petroleum Institute, statistics through the first quarter of 2008 show that, on average, only 7.4 percent of each dollar paid at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: American Petroleum Institute, Bill Owens, brain-gouging, COGA Conference, Colorado Oil and Gas Association, consumers, Democrat, economic illiteracy, Face the State, gasoline stations, Gwyn Green, House Bill 1251, price-gouging, Republicans, Rocky Mountain News, Vince Carroll

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bad News for Colorado Lefties

From Face The State's latest "Buzz":Americans for Prosperity, a center-right grassroots organization currently focusing on encouraging responsible energy policy, has announced that it is opening shop in Colorado with its 22nd chapter. The effort is being headed up by social conservative Jim Pfaff, a former president of the Colorado Family Council known and praised for his ability to make nice with social libertarians. This can't be seen as a positive development by Colorado's liberal Tim Gill-Pat Stryker-Mark Udall-Bill Ritter axis. Whenever the fiscal conservatives and social conservatives start playing nice, working behind a savvy and respected person like Jim Pfaff, that means the Left can't fall back so easily on its "divide and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Americans for Prosperity, Bill Ritter, Colorado Family Council, Face the State, Jim Pfaff, Left, limited government, Mark Udall, Pat Stryker, Tim Gill

2/7/2026 By Ben 5 Comments

Feeling Out of the Loop: John Lerew (not LeGrew) and CCM Comes to Denver

Oh joy, I've finally figured out who my Republican Congressional candidate is: John Lerew, not John LeGrew (how bad is it when your name gets misspelled in a key publication that introduces your candidacy to a key audience of activists?). Longtime Colorado blogger Jack Ott, whom I met back in 2004, has posted information about Mr. Lerew. Certainly, he seems an ardent and passionate conservative, but it's apparent the GOP went pretty deep onto the bench to bring him forward as the candidate. Or, as one Lefty blogger quite accurately put it, Mr. Lerew is "the sacrificial lamb" to run against incumbent Rep. Ed Perlmutter. (I feel out of the loop to have taken so long to learn about this one. But it also speaks ill of the candidate's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: 7th Congressional District, Coalition for a Conservative Majority, Colorado, Denver metro area, Jack Ott, John Lerew, Republican Party, sacrificial lamb

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Turn Off the TV on Bill Ritter

Over at the Colorado Index, one of my new favorite bloggers Civil Sense clues readers in to a new taxpayer-funded television ad, starring our hapless Gov. Bill Ritter:The ads range from 10 to 30 seconds, and they send a simple message: Turn down the thermostat, unplug unused appliances, turn off lights and use alternative transportation. Good advice. I think I'll be turning off the television whenever this commercial comes on my set. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Hysteria, Colorado Politics, Energy, General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Civil Sense, Colorado Index, Energy, taxpayer funds, television ad, thermostats

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Mark Udall Ran Away from a Bipartisan Online Debate: Wrap-up Edition

The hackles have been raised over at the Dead Guvs, as a post by reliable conservative blogger El Presidente has been promoted to the front page: For whatever it's worth, he highlights the revelation of the story behind the online debate between Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall that never materialized. The debate was the brainchild of respectable liberal blogger David Thielen, who had hosted several of these debates during the Democratic primary. For the U.S. Senate race, he sought the fair and balanced approach, and I agreed to co-moderate. Kudos to David for promoting El Presidente's entry, for verifying the facts presented, and for defending the truth against the slings and arrows of outrageous insults. My already significant respect … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: a watcher, Bob Schaffer, Colorado Pols, David Thielen, El Presidente, Mark Udall, name-calling, Online debate

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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
  • Common Learning Disabilities in Children
  • 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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