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Dick Wadhams Returns

A Denver Post story today has fueled the fires of speculation: could Dick Wadhams, the political genius who felled Tom Daschle, be coming home to Colorado to take the chairmanship of the state's Republican Party? Well, Wadhams is indeed returning to Colorado, but he is not ready to show his hand quite yet. Jason Bane thinks the job would be beneath Wadhams - but he can't be happy about this news. His colleague Cara Degette is more open about the terror being struck in her fellow Democrats' hearts. Right now, I'd have to admit that giving Wadhams the reins of the state party sounds like wishful thinking - even with Republican legislative leaders like Andy McElhany and Mike May making a lot of noise about the possibility. And unless … [Read more...]

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Sign the Pledge

This one was an easy choice - we can't afford not to achieve success in Iraq, and we can't afford to empower the anti-U.S. terrorist thugs in the region. Sign the pledge, and help give some Senators a backbone. … [Read more...]

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Dems: Shilling for Union Bosses, Busting Colorado’s Economy

A topic not broached on Colorado's left-of-center blogs (for obvious reasons) is the great Democrat payback of "narrow interest" groups - read labor unions - who helped to buy them their majorities (measuring in the millions of dollars). First case in point: House Bill 1072 on a fast track through the state legislature. What does HB 1072 do? It takes away workers' rights. Yes, some - the House Republicans and their Golden Anvil Award & the Chamber of Commerce - have also pointed out the likely negative effect it will have on the state's business climate. But the more fundamental problem, as highlighted by the editors of the Rocky Mountain News, is that HB 1072 is a "blow to liberty." Republicans and other pro-business and/or … [Read more...]

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Colorado Not Turning Purple?

You mean there isn't a Democrat "surge" in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West? Our state isn't turning purple? Sshh, Stuart Rothenburg. You're supposed to let our Democrats continue to operate under the delusion that they're on the verge of a major political realignment, rather than the beneficiary of a confluence of fortunate events in the past couple elections. With Ritter, Romanoff, and the Democrats already overplaying their hand, the pendulum has started swinging back where it belongs. In the meantime, let's hope the damage is minimal. Cross posted at Political Avalanche … [Read more...]

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A Chilling Irony

Whatever your opinion about climate change, you have to find this pairing of headlines in today's Denver Post to be ironic: "Report: Global warming man-made, unstoppable" The world's leading climate scientists said global warming has begun, is "very likely" caused by man, and will be unstoppable for centuries, according to a report by a group of hundreds of scientists. "Powerful cold grips Front Range" - If seven weeks of snow haven't been enough, Denver set a new record this morning for cold when the mercury dropped to 18 degrees below zero. If global warming is "man-made," then we denizens of the Rocky Mountain region must really be slacking off to lead us to such frigid temperatures. If global warming is "unstoppable," then I … [Read more...]

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Filibuster!

A good, old-fashioned filibuster is going on in the Colorado Senate today as the legislative body debates House Bill 1072. Hurrah for the Republicans taking a united stand in defense of workers' rights and good business. Kudos especially to Senators Shawn Mitchell, Josh Penry, Ted Harvey, Greg Brophy, Mike Kopp, Scott Renfroe, Nancy Spence, Tom Wiens, Ron May, Ken Kester, and Steve Ward, who have carried the brunt of the debate on a LONG series of amendments designed to mitigate the negative effects of the bad legislation. It looks like they could keep this up well into the evening. Good thing to see the GOP Senate with a full-grown spine and the willingness to delay such a bad bill by shining the light so heavily on it. HB 1072: the … [Read more...]

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Moral Equivalence and Democrat Leadership

The case of U.S. Rep. John Dingell's advanced foot-in-mouth disease has been amply covered over at Powerline, so I won't rehash the Michigan Democrat's ludicrous remarks - except to re-emphasize the blatant moral equivalence characterized in them. On a personal level, Dingell is the poster child for career politicians, having held his Congressional seat for nearly 52 years. A friend of many union officials and party leaders, Dingell's seat is considered one of the safest. His father and namesake held it the 22 years before he did. The last time the U.S. Congress didn't feature a representative from Michigan named John Dingell, Herbert Hoover was in the White House and the big issue was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. But I … [Read more...]

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Denver Dailies Duel over Dennis’ Decision

This morning Rocky Mountain News editorial page editor Vince Carroll is indeed on point in his defense of embattled Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. After careful hearings and public deliberation, Dennis issued a series of rules on August 2 to clarify Colorado's election laws, including a provision that membership organizations must ask their members' individual written permission before using part of their dues in political campaigns. Seems fair enough, right? While the principle behind the rule stands clear and strong, some have called the timing of its delivery into question. Some union bosses are used to automatically taking members' money for political purposes and claim that having to ask permission of all their members would be an … [Read more...]