The Rocky Mountain News reports:Each day in Colorado one person dies unnecessarily because he or she doesn't have health insurance, a group advocating universal coverage said Tuesday. The nonprofit Families USA used a 30-year study of deaths and insurance status to reach the conclusion that 360 Coloradans die prematurely every year because they didn't have health insurance. The assumption, based on death statistics, is that a person without coverage has a 25 percent greater chance of dying prematurely. So when it comes to health care reform, it's safe to assume that it would be better to do almost anything than nothing at all - right? Not so fast. Unfortunately, there are several problems with this report. Besides the assumption … [Read more...]
Voorhis Exonerated: Bad for Ritter, But Legal Ethics Reform Still Needed
Good news today on a story I have not covered nearly enough: ICE agent Cory Voorhis has been found NOT guilty, and it didn't take the jury long to decide. The question is what the fallout means for Gov. Bill Ritter's political future. The verdict is a small step in increasing my faith in the justice system, though it would be naive to ignore the real, long-term solution for Colorado: legal ethics reform. … [Read more...]
Hoping Mark Hillman Runs Again
How delighted I was to see this headline in the Grand Junction Sentinel Political Notebook: "Hillman open to future electoral bids." Former Senate leader and former interim state treasurer Mark Hillman is one of Colorado's strongest, most articulate, most principled, and most genuinely down-to-earth conservative leaders:“I’m not ruling anything out, but at the same time I don’t get up in the morning trying to figure out how to torture myself by running for office,†Hillman told Political Notebook. That's what we need: the kind of leader who doesn't live for the ambition but is willing to step up and run in spite of the "torture." I haven't told Mark this personally, but I would be glad to see him run someday. Hope he is led to … [Read more...]
Average Coloradans to Dems on Tax Hike: You Should Have Asked First
It is refreshing to see evidence of the good sense of average, hard-working Coloradans. Colorado Senate News once again took a camera to the 16th Street Mall and found plenty of passers-by willing to share their frustrations with Gov. Bill Ritter and Colorado Democrats for bypassing the state constitution's requirement to ask voters first when they imposed their massive property tax hike:The upshot? Everyday taxpayers surveyed along Denver's 16th Street Mall all agreed: Whether or not the state really needs the extra revenue--a projected $3.8 billion over the next 10 years--voters should have asked for permission first. They're not alone in that sentiment. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers issued an opinion last year saying that the … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania State of Mind: Support Chris Hackett for Congress
Seldom do you see me declare support for a Congressional candidate outside Colorado - mainly because time is a limiting factor. But because I used to live in Pennsylvania, and because this one is a no-brainer for conservative friends of limited government, I wanted to pass it on. Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District should be represented by a conservative, but it's not. A scandal surrounding the grievous moral failings of former Republican incumbent Don Sherwood deservedly gave the seat to liberal Democrat professor Chris Carney. But now that our side has a good candidate - Chris Hackett - it's time to win the seat back. The problem is Chris Hackett has a primary with a GOP establishment candidate who is not so reliable on … [Read more...]
Big Labor Ritter Low on Credibility
As a leading political consultant notes in the Denver Post today, Gov. Bill Ritter planted the pro-union seeds, and now he is reaping the right-to-work whirlwind:Political observers don't have high hopes that the situation will improve. "If (Ritter's) goal is trying to get business to back off right-to-work, I don't think he has the credibility to do it," said Katy Atkinson, a Republican political strategist, pointing out that he is seen as pro-labor. Atkinson said right-to-work bills in the legislature never got off the ground in the past — even under Republicans — because businesses never really saw organized labor as a threat in Colorado. But that view changed, she said, after the passage of an amendment in 2006 to increase … [Read more...]
State Democrats’ Budget Extravagance Out of Touch with Man on the Street
The clever crew at Colorado Senate News took questions about the Democrats' state budget to the man on the street and got some predictably disgruntled responses:Just under $700,000 to give more prison inmates their GEDs? How about another $20,000 for the state's wine promotions board so it can promote--what else--wine? Or, $676,000 for salary hikes to the state agency that runs Medicaid health coverage for the poor? And then there's $150,000 in legal fees to defend the governor against a lawsuit charging him with pushing through last year's property-tax hike in violation of the state constitution. Those and other line items in the Democrat-authored 2008-09 budget, now pending before the Senate, were put to the public today when … [Read more...]
Sen. Wiens Announces Retirement
Republican State Senator Tom Wiens surprisingly announced yesterday that he is deciding not to run for re-election. Local insider Steven Nielson responded quickly: he is trying to track down Senator Wiens to learn more about his decision, and touts a few potential GOP replacements who could scramble to take his place mere weeks before the crucial 4th Senate District Assembly. At least it's a relatively safe seat. I'll keep an eye on this story, too. … [Read more...]
Ritter Throws Weight Behind Big Labor, Says: “Holster Your Weapons”
Yesterday we learned that Big Labor has pulled out some more big guns to blast a hole in Colorado's economy, in the form of five new anti-business ballot initiatives. Supporters of right-to-work - who are well on their way to getting their measure on the ballot - and union bosses - who appear to be calling their bluff - may be loading up for a real duel, High Noon-style. It didn't take long for Governor Bill Ritter to come riding into town, telling everyone to "holster your weapons":Hoping to avoid an ugly confrontation between business and labor this fall, Gov. Bill Ritter wants the two sides to withdraw their competing ballot measures, his spokesman said Tuesday. "The governor believes the best thing for all of Colorado would be if … [Read more...]
A Little Dose of Disinfectant to Treat New Big Blue Lie Machine Slime
Over at Schaffer v Udall yesterday, I took on the Left's attempt to smear Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer with broad strokes of the "Jack Abramoff" brush, despite no evidence of any direct connection whatsoever. Meanwhile, the Colorado Index continues to expose the lack of credibility from the Mark Udall surrogate whose comments at SvU prompted a full response. While the lemmings on the Left salivate and gloat that their Big Blue Lie Machine slime job will bring down Bob Schaffer and clear the way for avowed liberal Mark Udall to win, Mike Saccone at the Grand Junction Sentinel's Political Notebook offers a more (mentally) balanced assessment:In the short-term, it could embolden Schaffer’s supporters, much like a New … [Read more...]
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