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"Happy to come back to Michigan, but I miss the mountains!"

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Home Archives for General

2/7/2026 By Ben 3 Comments

Beauprez Down 22? Hardly

Do I think Beauprez's campaign is in bad shape? Yes, I'm not stupid. But the Republican running for governor is NOT trailing by 22 points - as reports the Rocky Mountain News this morning. Take a closer look at the poll numbers, conveniently released on the day before the Republicans' big Get-Out-The-Vote kicks off. Among other things, this same survey showed Amendment 43 losing 41-40, which is way off from what other polls have shown. The sample of "likely voters" is 37% Republican, 38% Democrat, and 25% Independent. That turnout model is a little skewed, I suspect. And doing phone polls during the day on Monday through Wednesday will likely distort results, too. (One other note: The one-note anti-Beauprez vitriol of ToTheRight's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

My Friend Brant’s Ohio Nail-Biter

I don't normally write about state politics in Ohio, but I couldn't pass up this one. My good Hillsdale College buddy Brant Luther - former Stark County auditor, Alliance city councilman, and current attorney-at-law - is on pins and needles awaiting the final results of his May 2 Republican primary election for State Representative in Ohio's 61st District. In a rollercoaster of a vote count, Brant's opponent Randy Pope had a 25-vote lead going into the apparent last precinct on election night. Brant won that precinct by 35 votes to give him a lead of 10. When officials later realized they forgot to count a precinct, Pope edged ahead by 1. Then a second realization was made that a precinct had accidentally been double-counted, giving … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Random and Miscellaneous

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Book Review: Globally Underwhelmed

Joseph A. Klein. Global Deception: The UN's Stealth Assault on America's Freedom. Los Angeles: World Ahead Publishing, 2005. Having served several times as a delegate at my county and state Republican assemblies, one of the resolutions frequently voted on is: "The United States should withdraw from the United Nations." No proposed resolution at my recent county assembly received a smaller vote than that question - 51%, less than the two-thirds needed to be ratified. The globalist-socialist United Nations does not poll very well in the United States generally, but an especially politically conservative group of Colorado Republican activists was basically split on the question of whether we should disassociate entirely from the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, General, World Events

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Rocky: Turning Around the State House

This year, Colorado Republicans' best chance at success will come at retaking the State House. Despite all the money of liberal 527s and rich guys being poured into the campaign, the off-presidential election year, Republican voter demographics, all 65 seats up for grabs, a strategy motivated by 2004's humiliating defeat, and a reasonably good slate of candidates all add up to a good chance for the GOP to retake the State House. Today the editors of the Rocky Mountain News endorsed their slate of State House candidates from the metro Denver area, including the following Republicans in currently held Democrat seats: Aimee Rathburn (HD 1) Ramey Johnson (HD 23) Affie Ellis (HD 29) Rex Pierce (HD 31) Even counting the mistaken … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General

2/7/2026 By Ben 14 Comments

“Fiscal Conservatives, Don’t Despair”

Please read my post-election analysis on the fallout from the Democrats' victory in Colorado, published today in The Denver Daily News, including this stirring conclusion: The Independence Institute’s role could hardly be more important now. More than ever we will work to expose the big government agenda and to educate Coloradans about the value of personal and economic liberty in addressing the issues our state faces. The “eternal truths of the Declaration of Independence” will help to guide us through the rough waters of the near future. Conservatives need to stop and do some serious reflection, then press forward. Unlike the Statist Left, our hopes don't rise and fall alone on who is empowered by the reins of government. I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, My Life, National Politics

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Assembly Eve

As the Denver Post highlights this morning, tomorrow is the big "showdown" in Colorado Springs, also known as the State GOP Assembly. I along with several other center-right Colorado bloggers will be on hand for various official duties and will give you updates as possible. There are a couple salient points I wanted to bring forward about the Assembly, as raised in the article. First, both Republican gubernatorial candidates have focused an extraordinary amount of effort in seeking to persuade delegates from across the state to give their support. Neither candidate has been shortchanged in opportunities to control and direct their messages to this important audience, to make their best case for why their respective candidate should be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Ding, Dong, Zarqawi is DEAD

The media manipulating mass murderer responsible for the deaths of many Americans and Iraqis, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has been terminated along with several other Islamofascist terrorist masterminds by a precision military strike today. Good news! While certainly not the end to insurgent violence in Iraq, it is a major blow to the enemies of freedom there and a small step forward for the new democratically-elected government. The best take comes from Blackfive: by Froggy, by Uncle Jimbo, and by Blackfive himself. Other good sources are Austin Bay and Iraq the Model. Meanwhile on the Left, as the Daily Kos sighs "Finally" at the news, some of the moonbat Kos Kid commenters reveal their true tinfoil hat colors. One Christopher Day … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, World Events

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

No on Amendment 42

Even the center-left Denver Post editorial board can agree on this point: the proposal to put inflation-indexed minimum wage increases in the state constitution (sometimes known as Amendment 42) is a bad idea. Straight on. Coming soon, for what it's worth ... my sample ballot on all the issues before Colorado. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

NYT Spotlights Free Market Think Tank World

Anyone out there who may wonder what exactly it is I do for a living, this terrific piece from the New York Times (gulp ... yes, I said it) - complete with a photo of my boss Jon Caldara and a quick mention of my place of employment - gives a glimpse into the working world I inhabit. You may get an inkling of what it is I do ... just an inkling, though. A great weekend to all, and M GO BLUE ... Beat the Buckeyes! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, My Life, Sports and Leisure

2/7/2026 By Ben 6 Comments

Beauprez for Governor

Some of you may have noticed a prominent change on the sidebar, in the way of candidate support. Here's the story... Bob Beauprez and his campaign made a statement today, and Colorado's Republican delegates responded in force. As reported by the Denver Post's Dan Haley, Beauprez won the delegate vote 72.2 percent to 27.8 percent. Haley also has reported that the Holtzman campaign has refused to sign off on the results. I'm not sure what the Holtzman team's specific complaint is, since as one who attended today's Assembly, I saw it as apparent that the State Party bent over backwards to accommodate their requests. It was also apparent from the reactions of the crowd that Holtzman would have a hard time reaching the crucial 30 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General

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Inside

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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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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
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Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
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Christian Commentary et al.

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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