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Home Archives for Colorado Politics

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

From the Front Pages of the Lefty Political Playbook

Here's a little insight for the day ... Recently, I posted at the Schaffer v Udall blog a response to the latest trumped-up faux controversy heaped against the Republican U.S. Senate candidate. Rossputin followed it up at Politics West with an even abler and more thorough refutation of the charges - using relevant facts and evidence. I got a chuckle today when my friend pointed out to me the first comment added to Rossputin's post:when are you going to stop dodging my question about your work for the Heartland Institute? "DeGrow points out a few subsequent articles which show the attack to be erroneous as well as discussing how two of the "big names" leading the attack, former high-level diplomats, are now Democratic activists and at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: anonymity, guilt by association, Heartland Institute, Independence Institute, Lefties, name-calling, political playbook, Rossputin, tactics

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Romanoff Missing Summer Fun to Put Anti-Taxpayer Measure on Ballot

The Rocky Mountain News reports today on outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff's intense efforts to place an initiative on the ballot that would forever end TABOR refunds for Colorado taxpayers. Of course, the skewed way the Rocky describes the ballot measure, you wonder what sensible person could oppose it:While the rest of Colorado is hiking, rafting, barbecuing or putting in some serious hammock time, Romanoff, D-Denver, and a group of volunteers will hit the streets attempting to gather about 120,000 signatures from registered voters.... The proposal aims to unsnarl the fiscal knot of conflicting spending mandates and limits embedded in the state's constitution. Called SAFE (Savings Account for Education), the effort would seek … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Amendment 23, Andrew Romanoff, Ari Armstrong, ballot initiative, barbecues, Democrats, petition signatures, Referendum C, Rocky Mountain News, SAFE, Statist Alternatives to the Freedom Epidemic, TABOR

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Protect Colorado’s Future Fails 9News Truth Test, Brands Itself as Deceptive

It's still early in the campaign cycle, but the political group known as Protect Colorado's Future has already hung the banner of "Liar" around its neck. It's hard to see how much more credibility the group will have as the election season heats up. Protect Colorado's Future is overwhelmingly funded by a coalition of labor unions. The commercial it aired is designed to attack Right to Work (Amendment 47) and two initiatives that have yet to be certified on the ballot. In the interest of full disclosure, one initiative (#53), aka Ethical Standards - designed to "prevent public payroll systems from collecting and bundling money to special interest groups that hire lobbyists and make campaign contributions" - has been supported by research … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: 9News, background checks, Bill Ritter, deception, Denver Daily News, Denver Post, Ethical Standards initiative, fraud, government contracting reform, hypocrisy, Initiative 59, Jon Caldara, lying, minimum wage amendment, Nancy Spence, Protect Colorado's Future, right-to-work, Rocky Mountain News, television ad, The Colorado Index, Tom Lucero, Truth Test, union thuggery

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Good News for Amendment 46

If you're running a statewide ballot initiative campaign, these are the kind of numbers you want to see:A national survey conducted jointly by the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post.com, and Quinnipiac University released Thursday shows that the majority of Colorado voters — Democrat and Republican alike — overwhelmingly support Amendment 46, also known as the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative. The proposed constitutional amendment would prohibit government from considering race or gender in education, government employment, or public contracting. The poll, conducted last week, showed that 66 percent of all voters surveyed were supportive of the initiative's language, with just 15 percent saying they were opposed. Democrats were … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Amendment 46, ballot initiative, Colorado Civil Rights initiative, Face the State, poll, Qunnipiac University, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Denver Teachers Union Moves One Step Closer to Possible DNC Strike

Another landmark yesterday in the fallout between Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, reports the Post's Jeremy Meyer:Representatives of Denver's teachers union and school administrators — embroiled in a contract dispute — met with a professional arbiter Wednesday to discuss next month's mediation. The two sides are at odds over compensation and time issues, particularly in regard to proposed changes to ProComp — the voter-approved performance pay system for teachers. The story continues:With mediation the week before the Democratic National Convention in Denver, there is concern of picketing during the event to bring national attention to the contract dispute. The DCTA newsletter has declared … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: arbitration, Democratic National Convention, Denver Classroom Teachers Association, Denver Post, Denver Public Schools, Jeremy Meyer, Kim Ursetta, ProComp, teacher strike, teachers union

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Bill Ritter Hobnobs on Arctic Cruise while Scientists Cast Doubt on Climate Theory

After his recent Arctic show cruise with numerous liberal elites, Gov. Bill Ritter said he "improved his knowledge of climate change and reinforced his belief that his environmental policies at home are the right ones." Our governor picked some miserably bad timing that only makes him look sillier. As Joshua Sharf points out, the widely reputed American Physics Society has shined a growing light of credibility on dissent from the climate hysteria of man-made global warming. Joshua also points to a piece highlighting how Australia is starting to come to terms with the largely bogus nature of the alleged threat. Meanwhile, Bill Ritter is awed by the visual evidence of Arctic ice caps melting in July - with both Ritter and the Denver … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Hysteria, Colorado Politics, Energy, General Tagged With: American Physics Society, Arctic cruise, Australia, Bill Ritter, Civil Sense, Climate change hysteria, Colorado, Denver Post, environmental policies, global warming, Jimmy Carter, Joshua Sharf, Madeleine Albright, scientific debate, sea-ice levels

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Denver Gives Democrat Officials Tax Exemption, Risks Public Resentment

A few days ago I had a conversation with some non-political family members about the pains of hosting a national political convention. One of them lives in the Twin Cities. The rest of us live in and around Denver. Doubtless this means some inconveniences and annoyances for denizens, regardless of whether it's the Republicans or Democrats coming to your town. But the Denver Post today reports a small outrage I hadn't even considered before (H/T Slapstick Politics):Several Denver City Council members are questioning why the Democratic National Convention Committee has a contract with the city to fill up their fleet of vehicles with tax-free fuel. The $466,000 contract, only $9,700 of which has been paid so far by the DNCC officials, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Energy, General, Labor, My Life, National Politics, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Democrat National Convention, Democratic National Convention Committee, Denver, Denver City Council, Denver Post, DNCC officials, gasoline, John Hickenlooper, Minneapolis, Republican National Convention, tax-exempt

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter, Tax Increases, Unions, and the Colorado Supreme Court

With a little shameless self-promotion, I tie it all together on the longest day of the calendar year. First, news broke earlier this week that Gov. Bill Ritter has done the inevitable, by agreeing to appeal a district court ruling that came to the clear and appropriate conclusion that Ritter erred in raising school property taxes without voter permission. Sure, I could link to lots of articles that highlight this news, but only the one in the Denver Daily News quotes the author of this blog:"I believe the district court judge did the right thing by recognizing that Colorado voters should be asked before they endure a tax increase," said Ben DeGrow, a policy analyst at the Independence Institute. "It's simply a matter of honoring the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Ben DeGrow, Bill Ritter, Colorado Children's Amendment, Colorado Supreme Court, Denver Daily News, Denver District Court, Evan Dreyer, Greeley Tribune, Independence Institute, Poudre Education Association, Property Tax Increase, public education, taxpayers, teachers unions

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter Could Be Left All Alone to Defend His Property Tax Increase

From Face The State today:While Gov. Bill Ritter has eagerly insisted that he will appeal a Friday court ruling establishing that a mill levy freeze amounts to an unconstitutional tax increase under Colorado law, members of the state Board of Education, a defendant in the case, remain undecided about whether they will formally join in support of Ritter's challenge. It appears the District Court ruling may have emboldened the two Republicans on the State Board to change their mind. The Board meets in executive session tomorrow:Vice Chairman Bob Schaffer, R-Fort Collins, introduced in April a motion for the board to take a formal position, by way of public vote, on whether the department would “defend the lawsuit or [agree with] the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, property rights Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Bob Schaffer, Colorado State Board of Education, Denver District Court, Evie Hudak, Face the State, Pamela Jo Suckla, Peggy Littleton, Property Tax Increase, Randy DeHoff

2/7/2026 By Ben 4 Comments

John LeGrew, Who Are You?

If you want to know how bad a state the national Republican Congressional campaign is in, look no further than my own backyard: Colorado's 7th Congressional District. Once a nationally targeted toss-up swing district defended by Republican incumbent Bob Beauprez, the GOP cannot find anything approaching a credible candidate to square off against the first-time Democrat incumbent Ed Perlmutter. According to the Colorado Statesman handed out at Saturday's Republican State Convention, the GOP's candidate for the 7th is none other than (drumroll, please) ... John LeGrew. "No information was available to the Party as of press time," it reads under his picture. No offense or anything, I'm sure Mr. LeGrew is a nice guy and all. But just who … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life Tagged With: 7th Congressional District, Ben DeGrow, Bob Beauprez, British Army, Colorado Statesman, Crimean War, Ed Perlmutter, John LeGrew, Light Dragoons, Republicans, Will Grow

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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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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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