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Memo to GOP Leaders in Colorado

Bobby Eberle's blog is a worthwhile read today. Message? Grow a spine on immigration and spending. Maybe a new Gallup poll speaks more clearly to the known language of political leaders. Maybe this time they will take heed. Or maybe they'll learn the hard way... again. I also hear there's a new book out on a similar topic ... or is it about home decorating? a geography textbook? a primer on military conquest? Anyway, check it out. … [Read more...]

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Adventures in Podcasting

Three questions: 1) Have you ever wondered about the real facts of Colorado's education funding? 2) Have you ever wondered what this blogger's voice sounds like? 3) Do you want to hear me talk about Colorado's education funding anyway? If you answered yes to 1 or more of the above questions, please check out my new Podcast interview (requires MP3 player) with Jon Caldara, compliments of the Independence Institute's new IVoices Web site. … [Read more...]

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Immigration Reform: Commonsense vs. Nonsense

Former State Senate President John Andrews is leading the charge for state-level illegal immigration reform. Yesterday he cited an authoritative study that conservatively estimates the cost of illegal immigration to Colorado taxpayers exceeds a billion dollars a year. This issue will be at the forefront of the 2006 elections, and the bipartisan team of Andrews and former Governor Dick Lamm has brought forward a commonsense proposal called Defend Colorado Now: "to end non-emergency, non-federally-mandated taxpaid services to illegal aliens." Meanwhile, in a weak effort to vent their Left-wing displeasure with this commonsense reform idea, the clever propagandists over at ProgressNow are urging their supporters to sign an online petition. … [Read more...]

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Caucus Night

I can't do better on Caucus Night observations than Joshua - maybe NOT wearing a yarmulker helped me to blend in a bit. As far as not feeling like a fish out of water, I was pleased to see a few members of the 30-&-under crowd with me at the Arvada gathering of 5 precincts. The caucus was a disappointingly small affair ... enthusiasm at the GOP grassroots level is not exactly spilling over the brim. Hmm, go figure. There were 3 of us who showed up for my precinct (and a fourth by proxy). A couple of the other precincts had 6 to 8 people, and one other lady showed up to find out she was her precinct. I was elected by acclamation, along with the other three in my precinct, as a delegate to the Jefferson County Assembly. Unfortunately, … [Read more...]

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Schaffer Returns to Ukraine

Former Congressman Bob Schaffer departs Colorado today for the Ukraine as an official observer of the young democratic nation's parliamentary elections. The Denver Post has set up a blog to record Schaffer's observations, which will also be followed by students at several Colorado schools. As you may recall, Schaffer - who himself is of Ukrainian heritage - was on hand for "The Orange Revolution" of 2004, in which he sent dispatches via Blackberry covering the remarkable breaking events in Kiev. As one who has watched history unfold in Eastern Europe, Schaffer again gets to connect his experiences directly with readers in Colorado ... and across the globe. Ain't technology wonderful? … [Read more...]

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See You at the Caucus

Colorado is one of the very best states for citizens to be active in the political process. If you live & are registered to vote in Colorado but haven't participated in the caucus/assembly process before, there's no time like 2006 to get started. The neighborhood caucuses are coming up next Tuesday, March 21 (most are at 7 PM). It's a great chance to meet up with some of the neighbors, to learn more about the different candidates, to persuade and be persuaded about what issues are important, to choose who will represent you at the County Assembly (and often the State Assembly, too), and to vote on resolutions that will get discussed and refined at the county level, maybe even make it onto the state party platform. So if you have a chance … [Read more...]

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Monday: Personal Political Pessimism

I feel entitled to be politically pessimistic today. While Joshua opines on President Bush as LBJ, Clay traffics in crass, baseless, ad hominem attacks ... against a fellow Republican. And these are my Rocky Mountain Alliance friends! I appreciate Joshua's attempt at discourse. The concerns he addresses demonstrate historical perspective and insight. And they raise at least one issue about Bush's low poll numbers I have not often heard discussed: that they represent disaffection among some conservatives more than a general Left-ward tilt of the voting populace. I will give more thought to Joshua's analogy before commenting directly on it. As for Clay, I'm left to believe that his reposting of the absurd, innuendo-laced cartoon without … [Read more...]