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Home Archives for Cultural Conservatism

11/10/2008 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

11/9/2008 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

11/7/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

What I’m Thankful For #2: Freedom of Worship

This is one in a series of daily posts I conceived of writing many weeks ago while the election still raged on, as I looked for something to write about of more lasting value. The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving seemed perfectly appropriate for it. Just in case you wondered, the topics introduced are not necessarily in any particular order. I hope the series is of some small encouragement to you, even as my site traffic takes a dive. Human beings are hard-wired to worship. What we choose to worship is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment decision. There's an ongoing battle in human hearts for whom or what will receive our worship. Ultimately, no human government or other authority can dictate or regulate this most fundamental form of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Cultural Conservatism, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: Constitution, First Amendment, free exercise of religion, freedom of worship, religious liberties, thankful

11/5/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

And a Few More Bright Spots for Colorado and U.S. Conservatives

It's the morning after... El Presidente has some amusing video reactions to last night's election results. Meanwhile, both Joshua Sharf (who ran a valiant race in an overwhelmingly Democratic district) and Rocky Mountain Right highlight the bright spots for Colorado conservatives. I concur with their lists, but let me add one more small bright spot in Colorado. The State Board of Education lost GOP chairman Pam Suckla - a Bill Ritter apologist - and gained common-sense conservative Marcia Neal, giving an effective Board majority that the Colorado Education Association can't be terribly happy with. Especially if Bob Schaffer is selected as the next chairman. At the national level, the good news is that Republicans may have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: Al Franken, Alaska, Barack Obama, Bill Ritter, black president, Bob Schaffer, chairman, Colorado conservatives, Colorado Education Association, common-sense conservative, Congratulations, decline, Democratic district, Democratic Party, egregious overreaches, El Presidente, election results, embarrassing, firewall, historic achievement, Joshua Sharf, Left, loyal opposition, Marcia Neal, Minnesota, morning after, national level, Norm Coleman, Pam Suckla, Party, peaceful transition of power, political, political dinosaur, race, rebuilding, Republicans, Rocky Mountain Right, State board of education, Ted Stevens, Thanksgiving, United States, valiant race, video reactions

10/30/2008 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

10/28/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

NEA’s Spending Habits Once Again Show Education as a Low Priority

The Wall Street Journal reports:Here's a pop quiz: Who's donated the most money to an effort in California to defeat Proposition 8, an initiative on the November 4 ballot that would define marriage as between a man and a woman in the state? A) Gay-advocacy organizations B) Civil-rights groups C) The California Teachers Association If you guessed "C," you understand the nature of modern liberal politics. And if you didn't, perhaps you're wondering what exactly gay marriage has to do with K-12 public education. The high school dropout rate is 1-in-4 in California and 1-in-3 in the Los Angeles public school system, odds that worsen considerably among black and Hispanic children. So you might think the CTA, the state's largest … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Education, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: abortion, agency fees, Big Labor coalition, black children, California, California Teachers Association, civil rights groups, clout, Colorado, dropout rate, Education, gay advocacy organizations, Hispanic children, initiative, Los Angeles, marriage, members, Mike Antonucci, modern liberal politics, National Education Association, No on Proposition 8 campaign, parental notificationk, Proposition 4, Proposition 8, public image, public school system, socially liberal agenda, teachers union, unemancipated minors, Wall Street Journal

9/17/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Candidate Evie Hudak: “I Support the Entire Democratic Party Platform”

Perhaps the most closely contested state legislative race of 2008 is the battle for Senate District 19 in Arvada and Westminster. But how close would it be if people really knew what Democratic candidate Evie Hudak stood for? Yes, the same Evie Hudak who has a bizarrely condescending view of homeschoolers and parental responsibility in education. A revealing document goes even further, telling us just how much Evie Hudak is attuned to a rigid, Left-leaning ideology - far more than to the interests of everyday people in Senate District 19. On an online questionnaire for the Progressive Democrats of America, Hudak wrote:I support the entire Democratic Party platform. I have supported the issues in previous elections as an active Democrat … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, property rights Tagged With: anti-business, Arvada, balanced coverage, ballot initiatives, Colorado, common-sense candidate, Democratic candidate, Democratic Party platform, Department of Interior, domestic energy exploration, drilling, Education, equal time requirements, Evie Hudak, Fairness Doctrine, free political speech, free religious expression, health insurance, homeschoolers, Left-leaning, legislation, Libby Szabo, lockstep liberal, natural gas leases, no-fault automobile insurance, north Jeffco, online questionnaire, parental responsibility, Partnerships, planks, Progressive Democrats of America, public property, regulations, religious symbols, reporter, rigid ideology, Roan Plateau, Senate District 19, state legislature, Ten Commandments, traditional marriage, Westminster

8/26/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

A Different Kind of DNC “Protest” West of the Downtown Denver Action

So much for all the DNC-related action happening in downtown Denver. On my drive to work this morning I spotted this unmistakable display on Table Mountain between Arvada and Golden, displayed here in a photograph taken by a friend: 9News apparently was on the scene, as well:The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and Open Space Rangers struck a deal with the protestors allowing them to take a break before hiking back up the mountain and removing the sign. The group behind the sign was not immediately known but roughly 50 anti-abortion protestors are in the area. My friend who took the picture said she was told the sign was constructed from 2,500 bed sheets, and that students from Maranatha Christian Center did the hard work … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Cultural Conservatism, General, National Politics, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: "destroys unborn children", Arvada, bed sheets, Democratic National Convention, display, Golden, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, Maranatha Christian Center, Open Space Rangers, pro-life, protest, Table Mountain

8/22/2008 By Ben 7 Comments

Exclusive Video: DNC Scrubs Free Speech from Pepsi Center Sidewalk

Bringing the Democratic National Convention to town means not only cleaning up the homeless off the streets but also cleaning up any vestiges of apparently offensive speech. One of the capable Peoples Press Collective video journalists caught it on video in front of the Pepsi Center today: "Obama, stop abortion!" ... "Stand for life" - All getting washed away. I doubt there will be any debate inside the Pepsi Center about the Democratic Party's abortion platform. Free speech can be a matter of convenience sometimes. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, National Politics Tagged With: abortion, Democratic National Convention, Free Speech, homeless, party platform, Peoples Press Collective, Pepsi Center, pro-life, YouTube

8/20/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

A Great Point about John McCain’s Vice Presidential Selection

Andrew Boucher, whose claim to fame may be that he is a Colorado conservative with blogging credentials to the Democratic National Convention, made a great point yesterday about the larger significance of John McCain's upcoming selection of a vice-presidential running mate:There aren't many "natural" McCain volunteers. There will be even fewer if he turns off the base with his VP pick. Or, as I put it bluntly in a campaign planning meeting last week: If it's McCain-Ridge, we'll have 25 new GOTV volunteers in Fort Collins. If it's McCain-Romney, we'll have 250. Remember: the Romney team made thousands of grassroots volunteer phone calls in Larimer County for caucus and won with 60 percent. (As a frame of reference, Bush-Cheney … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, National Politics Tagged With: activists, Andrew Boucher, Colorado, conservative, Democratic National Convention, Eric Cantor, Fort Collins, Get Out the Vote, grassroots, John McCain, labor unions, Mitt Romney, pro-choice, Rocky Mountain Right, running mate, Tom Ridge, vice president, volunteers

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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

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