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Home Archives for Colorado Politics

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Chesser Documents the State Template for Climate Change Rip-Offs

At the American Spectator, Paul Chesser writes about some of the highlights of his work he has documented, connecting the dots to compare how different states adopt climate change policies. His conclusion should be upsetting to taxpayers:Every state amazingly produces the same strategies: increased taxation upon coal-fired energy generation; higher electric bill surcharges; increased tailpipe emissions standards to encompass CO2; subsidized mass transit; "green" standards in school curricula; and more. Can you feel the pain? CCS and the climate commissions can't. Seems they promise only positives, as the new taxes and regulations that they always recommend are amazingly said to save state economies money and create jobs. Indeed, Colorado … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Hysteria, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: American Spectator, Climate Change Strategies, Colorado, Gov. Bill Ritter, Gov. Jim Doyle, Paul Chesser, Wisconsin

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Republicans Get Head Start on Easy Job of Critiquing Ritter, Dems

From this morning's Rocky Mountain News:As Democrats raced Tuesday to write what were the final chapters of the 2008 legislative session, Republicans passed around a playbook for taking back the House and Senate this fall. Not exactly big news, but a fun story nonetheless. Take for example the response of the Democratic Speaker of the House, who must still be feeling the stinging blow of not finding enough support for his plan to gut TABOR:"I think that's disappointing but not surprising," said House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver. "When you're in the minority, you can either take pot shots at the party in charge or you can actually work together and solve problems." The legislative session is behind us. And maybe, just maybe, the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Andrew Romanoff, Bill Ritter, Colorado, Democrats, Executive Order, Republicans, Rocky Mountain News

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

New Poll Shows McCain Upsetting Left’s Plans to Turn Colorado Blue

Via Politico's Jonathan Martin and Hot Air's Ed Morrissey, a new poll shows Republican presidential candidate John McCain with a commanding, double-digit lead here in Colorado versus either Democrat contender - Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton: McCain 51, Obama 39 McCain 52, Clinton 40 Something is happening on the way to the Left's plan to turn Colorado blue: Their leaders are generating more disdain than those who have sold out conservatives on the Republican side. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. While it takes longer for things happening at the state level to reach the average voter, one can almost imagine some of the reaction against Obama and Clinton trickling down to their inept liberal buddies - like Gov. Bill Ritter … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Blue State, Democratic National Convention, Ed Morrissey, Gov. Bill Ritter, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Mark Udall, Politico, poll

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Cary Kennedy Said What?

With Gov. Bill Ritter's property tax hike still on trial, the Rocky Mountain News reports that state treasurer Cary Kennedy - who thought up the mill levy "freeze" idea - made a remarkable concession on the witness stand:State treasurer Cary Kennedy conceded today on the witness stand that a bill passed last year by the legislature alters the way taxes are calculated with the net result that many property owners pay more. But Kennedy continued to insist the 2007 law, SB 199, does not violate Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. O-k.... … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Cary Kennedy, Denver District Court, local taxpayers, Marcia Neal, mill levy "freeze", property tax hike, Rocky Mountain News, state treasurer, Taxpayer's Bill of Rights

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Union-Only Sign in Denver Raises Legal Questions, Political Stakes

Face The State features a story today about a Denver construction site that has posted a sign restricting work to union membership:A sign at a downtown Denver construction site warns, "If you are not currently an active member of a building trades local union, you are NOT allowed to work on this site." Picture by Steve Brown - Posted at Face The State This story prompts a reaction from two different angles. First, from the legal technical policy wonk side.... Under existing federal law that dates back to the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, private sector "closed shops" are illegal. Simply put, a "closed shop" requires workers to be union members when they're hired. That seems to be the message of the sign, which would make it patently … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: agency shops, closed shops, construction site, Democratic National Convention, Face the State, right-to-work initiative, Taft-Hartley Act, union shops

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter’s Property Tax Hike on Trial: Closing Arguments for Tomorrow

A busy day, not much time to blog. For those of you following Bill Ritter's property tax hike on trial, Jon Caldara reports that closing arguments are set for tomorrow morning at 10:00. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Denver District Court, Jon Caldara, property tax hike

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

“Tiger for the Taxpayer” Mark Hillman Rebuts Cowardly Whisper Campaign

One of Colorado's brightest, most respected conservative leaders - Mark Hillman - is running to represent the state party as Republican National Committeeman. He is running against state senator Dave Schultheis, a rock-ribbed conservative from Colorado Springs. How disappointed I was to see an anonymous online writer quoting unidentified sources to spread misinformation about Mark Hillman's fiscal conservative bona fides vis a vis Referendum C. I am only left to wonder where exactly the cowardly attacks are coming from. Face The State highlighted the absurd flap today, giving Hillman an opportunity to recite his record of opposition to Ref C:As far as the suggestion that Hillman was not aggressive enough in opposing Referendum C, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Dave Schultheis, Face the State, John Andrews, Mark Hillman, Referendum C, Republican National Committeeman

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter and Colorado Dems: Cheap Tactics, Poor Leadership

It's a classic trick to try to extort taxpayers, yet Bill Ritter and Colorado Democrats are acting as if we're too naive to see it. Mr. DNA at Rocky Mountain Right yesterday highlighted a story in the Denver Post where Ritter and other Democrat leaders made an absurd and startling revelation - blaming the Republicans (who are in the minority across the board) for the inability to move forward a transportation agenda:"I feel like this conversation broke down around politics, that we tried to get the Republicans interested in looking at how we would put together different pots of money," Ritter said. "We began our conversation very early in the session and could not get the Republican leadership to act on it at all." Senate President … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Andrew Romanoff, Bill Ritter, Colorado budget, Denver Post, extorting taxpayers, Independence Institute, Linda Gorman, Peter Groff, Republicans, roads and bridges, Rocky Mountain Right, transportation

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Friday Event at State Capitol to Highlight Second Amendment Rights

One month after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case D.C. v. Heller was heard, the Republican Study Committee of Colorado is hosting a discussion tomorrow on the topic of Second Amendment rights:The Second Amendment Rearmed? How Washington, D.C. v. Heller Could Reaffirm the Right of Personal Self Protection in Colorado The Republican Study Committee of Colorado Ad Hoc Hearing Friday, April 18, 2008 1:00 - 3:00 Old Supreme Court Chambers Colorado State Capitol Confirmed Presenters: Dave Kopel, Research Director, Independence Institute Darin Goens, Colorado State Liaison, National Rifle Association Dudley Brown, Executive Director, National Association for Gun Rights and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners William Perry … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, Second Amendment Tagged With: David Kopel, DC v Heller, Mountain States Legal Foundation, National Rifle Association, Republican Study Committee of Colorado, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, Second Amendment

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Westminster School District Negligence Makes Case for Online Transparency

I about fell out of my chair when I read this local CBS4 TV news story (video also available):An out-of-state architectural firm has billed an Adams County School District nearly $60,000, for hotels, meals and travel expenses in the last year but the district hasn't bothered to ask for, or review, a single receipt. "It's negligence," said Kevin O'Brien, a former IRS agent, CPA and business ethics professor at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business. "The public has a right to expect there will be some minimum checking on those receipts because its really the public's money." Adams County School District 50 hired Healy, Bender and Associates of Naperville, Ill., last year. The school district enlisted the company to help … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, My Life Tagged With: Americans for Tax Reform, Ben DeGrow, bond election, Brian Maass, CBS4 News, Colorado Open Records request, financial transparency, Healy Bender and Associates, Kevin O'Brien, negligence, Pueblo Chieftain, school construction, school district budgets, Westminster High School, Westminster School District

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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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