What a difference a week makes! Last Sunday Denver Post editorial page editor Dan Haley laid out the red carpet for Republican Jane Norton's U.S. Senate campaign. Today, in the printed space directly beneath Haley, columnist Vince Carroll took a look at Norton's "clunky" bio page and "languid and subdued" introductory video, and had to say Ummm... Not so fast: … [Read more...]
Anatomy of a Dick Wadhams Rumor: Nevada’s Chuck Muth Gets Last Word
Last Friday, the Dump Reid PAC out of Nevada sent out an email update that included the following note about Colorado's Republican Party chairman and a leading Republican contender to take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2010:Sources confirm that Dick Wadhams was in Las Vegas recently to meet with [Sue] Lowden and is prepared to join the campaign if/when it becomes official. Awakening from the long Labor Day weekend, the Dead Governors opined on Tuesday morning: "Dick Wadhams is reportedly considering a move to Nevada." Some time later that same day, fellow Right-leaning Colorado blogger Joshua Sharf reported on a memo from Wadhams that all but definitively indicated he had no plans to head to the Silver State. The Associated … [Read more...]
Denver Post Editorial Sunday: The Good, The Good, and The Far-Fetched
I can only imagine very few readers of Sunday's Denver Post opinion page shrugged their shoulders with a ho-hum. All stacked together on good old page 3D of the Perspective section, the collection of pieces had to evoke some wholehearted assent, some serious disagreement, or both. Let's go with the bad news first, the lead fantasy-ridden editorial "Public option is critical to reform":Opponents also say the public option is a ruse meant to facilitate a government takeover of health care. On the contrary, we think it will give the insurance industry every incentive to innovate and find efficiencies, best treatment practices and ways to make their rates more attractive to businesses and policy holders. Based on what, the wishful … [Read more...]
Obama Speaks to School Children: Sharing My Thoughts with the Post
The Denver Post this morning has up a story by Jeremy Meyer filled with local reaction to the news of Obama speaking to school children next Tuesday. Meyeer quotes several people in the story, but my remarks to him yesterday didn't make the cut. Here's more or less what I said:This has all the signs of the Obama cult of personality. Parents who don't want to subject their children to the organized hero-worship of a controversial political figure certainly can't be blamed for wanting to pull them out. The decision should be made at the local school level, but in any case the parents at least should have the opportunity to opt out. That's perfectly appropriate. … [Read more...]
Decline of “Freedom Philosophy” at the Colorado Springs Gazette?
Could a rare newspaper editorial voice for liberty -- a long-time fixture on Colorado's Front Range -- be on its last legs? Sean Paige writes about news of bankruptcy at the Colorado Springs Gazette (where he used to be the editorial page editor) and the possible demise of the "Freedom Philosophy" on the newspaper's opinion pages. Like the demise of the Rocky Mountain News, this too would be a sad development for Colorado. But if it does come to pass, is new media ready to step in the gap? Paige's own Local Liberty Online is one place to start, but those are huge shoes to fill. … [Read more...]
Really Wanting to Know More About Why Mr. Curtis Left the Colorado GOP
Congratulations appear to be in order for Jeremy Pelzer, who has landed some sort of gig at the new online Rocky Mountain Independent. Jeremy's fairly long feature today is the latest Colorado GOP postmortem piece, with the standard news hook of a lifelong moderate Republican switching parties in disgust:The Colorado Republican Party has had few supporters more loyal than Brandon Curtis. The 32-year-old sales marketer from Denver had voted straight Republican in every election since he first cast a ballot in 1996. Last year, he was a delegate for John McCain in the Republican presidential caucus. But in the general election last November, Curtis voted Democratic for the first time in his life, picking Barack Obama and Mark Udall for … [Read more...]
Obama DOJ Drops Black Panther Voter Intimidation Lawsuit… But Why?
Remember the story of the Black Panthers intimidating Philadelphia voters on our most recent Election Day? Well, there's an interesting update at The Next Right that strongly suggests the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) is happy to let the issue drop. Author Mike Roman makes some cogent points in his conclusion:These actions raise a number of troubling questions. For example, why did the Civil Rights Division voluntarily dismiss a lawsuit that they had effectively already won, against defendants who were physically threatening voters? Is the Division concerned that this dismissal will encourage the New Black Panther Party, or other groups, to intimidate voters? Why did the Division seek such limited relief against a defendant who … [Read more...]
Rossputin Takes On The Government General Motors Takeover Travesty
Last night I wrote about my personal connection to a General Motors plant closing. To put that into meaningful (and frightening) perspective, you simply have to read Rossputin's insightful account of the travesty that is the wildly unpopular government takeover of GM. It's the lead story at Human Events, and for good reason. Congratulations, Ross! … [Read more...]
More Bad Unintended Consequences from Media Swine Flu Hysteria?
So some of y'all must be thinkin' ... Whatever happened to that thar' swine flu thing? Apparently, the World Health Organization is set to issue an alert for a "level 6 pandemic" -- the first such designation in 40 years. Before you start stampeding through the streets in panic, take note:The declaration of a global epidemic was expected Thursday as WHO officials huddled in an emergency session in Geneva in the wake of 141 swine flu deaths worldwide, including 12 in New York City.... If WHO moves from level 5 to level 6 on its pandemic alert scale, it would be the first flu pandemic declared since the Hong Kong flu killed an estimated 1 million people in 1968. On Wednesday, WHO reported 27,737 cases worldwide, most of them mild and … [Read more...]
Colorado Democrats, Journalists Duped by Fraudulent Vet “Rick Duncan”
From 9News:Sure, he stuttered on occasion. He said strange things from time to time. But Rick Duncan was passionate about veterans in the state of Colorado. He told anyone who wanted to listen that he had served in Iraq on three occasions. That gave him an unofficial license to talk to journalists, politicians, and civilians about the war. So, many people simply ate it all up. The only problem was that Duncan wasn't actually a Marine, a Naval Academy graduate, or a wounded Iraq War Veteran, according to those who have looked into his background. His name, according to the Denver Sheriff's Department, isn't even Rick Duncan. It's Rick Strandlof, and as of Thursday afternoon, Strandlof remained inside a Denver County Jail cell. He … [Read more...]