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Holtzman Camp Out Front on Voter Registrations

The Holtzman for Governor campaign once again shows it's working hard, announcing its status as the first campaign to be certified to conduct voter registration drives. “Our campaign is on track for victory in August and November," said GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Holtzman. "And one of our key goals is to increase voter participation so more Coloradans will help select not only the Republican nominee in August, but also the state's governor next fall." Back in Holtzman's November meeting with members of the RMA, he stressed his plans to rebuild the party structure. The campaign is about much more than just the candidate's leadership, personality, and qualifications, though those are significant considerations, too. The … [Read more...]

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Three cheers to Harsanyi

For the handful of faithful blog readers who have survived the extended lull, I'm back. Snowy outside, warm inside... means it's time to post something, even if it's just a link to a great Monday column by the Post's David Harsanyi: "Referendum Supporters Betray GOP," using the plainest evidence to demolish the absurd claims that Colorado's fiscal health is somehow in crisis. Three weeks until Coloradans cast their ballots and decide against the "forever tax increase." With all the intraparty squabbles and dizzying number of tax measures to be decided, I can't wait for Election Day to come. Hurry now! Three cheers to Harsanyi for a great column to start off the week... … [Read more...]

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“The Goldwater Myth”

Recently I highlighted a quote (among several) from "moderate" Republican State Representative Mark Larson about his disgust with the party's social conservatives, claiming for himself the mantel of a "Goldwater Republican." Today there's an excellent Opinion Journal article by Andrew Busch, professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, documenting "The Goldwater Myth" that the Arizona Senator's 1964 Presidential campaign was more about libertarian small government principles than moral and cultural conservatism. It seems to be not an uncommon mistake to make this false characterization and therefore a must-read for those who otherwise conveniently and passively might have let recent American political history be rewritten for … [Read more...]

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“No-Spy List” Charade

Anyone suffering from a severe case of paranoia and the irrational attraction to political parties, candidates, advocacy groups and blogs that lie and manipulate, sacrifice every shred of honor and decency in the quest for political power, and haven't had a serious thought or policy idea about national security in years, may want to sign up on the new Progress Now "No-Spy List." They can start on the road to recovery by reading this post, while the rest of us will continue to avoid phone calls to and from al-Qaeda agents abroad. But hey, if you think protesting National Security Agency wiretaps of terrorists is a winning issue, who am I to stop your campaign of fear and misinformation? … [Read more...]

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Phantom Polling

Updated and revised, 9:35 AM Wow, this year's ballot initiative campaign gets stranger and stranger. The pro-Ref C Dead Governors have declared that their beloved tax increase is winning by 1 to 9 points in the "polls." Their source? I quote directly: No, we aren't going to tell you who did these polls, and no, we didn't just make this up. Trust them... right. Trust but verify. Let's be intellectually honest for a moment and admit we don't know exactly where public sentiment is on Ref C & D. If the pro-tax increase crowd had a credible survey showing momentum on their side, the results would be trumpeted on all the major news pages. Their silence speaks in abundance. My gut tells me the election will be close and the ballot … [Read more...]

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Political Gold

There's a winning political issue waiting out there for Colorado's 2006 elections. Supporters of First Class Education have released the results of a nationwide survey by Harris Interactive, Inc., showing broad and deep support for their proposal to increase the percentage of K-12 education dollars spent in the classroom. The "65 percent solution" is headed for the ballot in Colorado in 2006. Candidates running for office might consider the following poll results: 79% of respondents would vote in favor of the "65 percent solution," including 56% responding "definitely for" and 23% "probably for," with only 17% against Support cut evenly in a few interesting demographics: Political party (81% for Democrats, 78% for Republicans, 77% … [Read more...]

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ProgressNow Swings and Misses on Education Statistics

Colorado's madcap Lefties over at ProgressNow have taken their disingenuous use of statistics to a new level today, with a press release "responding" to Governor Owens' State of the State speech, sent out within minutes of its conclusion. I have yet to find a copy of the release on their Web site but have pasted the email message below, followed by a response to their egregious selectiveness and gross mishandling of K-12 education statistics (that's my area of expertise - I'll let others dismantle their other assertions): … [Read more...]

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When is a Fight Not a Fight?

Berny Morson of the Rocky Mountain News reports on a briefing yesterday put on by Pam Benigno of the Independence Institute. Months of interviews and research have gone into the still-ongoing findings about how fights and assaults are reported on Colorado's School Accountability Reports (SAR). The short story of a complicated topic? Reporting violent incidents in schools is a lot closer to obscure legal technicality than common sense. Perhaps you remember the story of a student murdered in a Denver high school cafeteria, recently reported as a "Dangerous Weapons" incident. This anecdote is only the most extreme and striking of many points of confusion on the SAR. Parents and taxpayers deserve a clearer and fairer picture of the … [Read more...]