Yesterday I actually found myself in a mood to give national radio host Hugh Hewitt a chance to not embarrass himself in talking about Colorado politics. After all, with a great interview early in the show, Hewitt finally acknowledged the existence of rising star and Colorado Congressional candidate Ryan Frazier. (I haven't listened much lately: has Hugh Hewitt finally noticed Cory Gardner, too?) But toward the end of the program Hewitt started following the Jane Norton campaign's lead and bashing the SurveyUSA poll that put Ken Buck ahead of Jane Norton, 53-37. The host asserted in all-too-typical bombastic fashion that the polling sample of 59 percent men vs. 41 percent women wildly skewed the results in Buck's favor. … [Read more...]
Closer Look at Rasmussen: Ken Buck Surging Up, Jane Norton Standing Still
Last week, Republican U.S. Senate candidate and former Lt. Governor Jane Norton received a lot of attention for her 46-37 lead in a new Rasmussen poll over incumbent appointee Michael Bennet. Rossputin did a good job of summarizing the results. One Norton primary challenger, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, showed a smaller lead of 42-38. Afterward, Buck told RMA blogger Don Johnson that the poll results show he can win in the general election. Even so, what makes the strongest case on Buck's behalf is the trend line. What do I mean? Look at the only clear apples-to-apples comparison: a pair of Rasmussen surveys conducted a few months ago. … [Read more...]
19-Year-Old Student Daniel Lippman Proofreads Beltway Reporters
And I thought I was anal. (H/T Betsy's Page) Now if someone could help with the AP's whole ideologically-driven, selectively sloppy investigation problem. … [Read more...]
‘Serious Fact-Checking’ and Serious Obama-MSM Irony: Toledo Edition
Who knew the fawning love affair between the old guard media and President Obama could produce such irony? Toledo's top blogger Maggie Thurber documents how in the same interview her local newspaper quoted Obama as being concerned about the blogosphere for having "no serious fact-checking", while failing to fact-check exaggerations and distortions from Obama. People who believe everything they read in the newspapers as the standard of gospel truth deserve pity. People who uncritically accept Obama's statements on important issues of the day as factual betray their own painful naivete. People who read a newspaper's interview of Obama without raising an eyebrow of suspicion...? Judge for yourselves. Thanks, Maggie (and thousands of … [Read more...]
Hugh Hewitt, Meet Josh Penry
First, it was Michigan-Ohio State football. Then it was the whole litany of Cleveland sports. The near-weekly disembarkation into the world of popular and classic movies. Of late, national radio host Hugh Hewitt has shown another entire topic about which he would be better served staying silent as opposed to demonstrating his ignorance: I speak of Colorado politics. Memo to Hugh -- Get away from the coasts, get out of the Beltway and the smog, and visit Rocky Mountain flyover country again. In the meantime, read up on Josh Penry, and watch this national video clip from Fox News: … [Read more...]
Is Denver Post Trying to Help Clear the Field for Jane Norton, Too?
Five weeks ago the Sunday Denver Post editorial page featured a piece by columnist Vince Carroll that made short shrift of the U.S. Senate candidacies of Ryan Frazier and Ken Buck, while making the pitch for Bob Beauprez. The Post's management clearly was using its editorial heft to tout Beauprez as the GOP's great hope to defeat Ritter-appointed incumbent Michael Bennet. Well, two weeks later Bob Beauprez officially announced he was NOT tossing his hat in the ring. So now the Post is rolling out the red carpet for Jane Norton. Witness today's column by editorial page editor Dan Haley straining the bounds of credibility to tout Norton's virtues and dismiss her opponents. … [Read more...]
How to Enjoy Watching Obama’s Health Care Speech to Congress Tonight
Tonight is President Obama's latest in a long line of big speech about why he's finally clear on just what exactly he intends to do about how government health care will magically improve lives through competition (and other assorted sweet-talking nonsense).... The address to Congress is scheduled to start at 8 PM Eastern, or 6 PM local time. If you're in a serious mood and want to follow along with the speech online, I suggest you head over to Cato at Liberty for live-blogging analysis by two of the nation's foremost experts on health care policy. If you're in a lighter mood, you can play Obama health care bingo -- compliments of Americans for Tax Reform. … [Read more...]
MSNBC’s Phony Racial Controversy; Gun-Toting Not Most Sensible Tactic
Everything is out of whack with the story about the nameless black man toting a semi-automatic weapon around at an Arizona townhall meeting. Just everything. One of the driving Lefty narratives about the nature of the townhall protests and the general popular opposition to Obama Care's proposed government health care takeover is exemplified in this comment to the local Fox TV news affiliate:"All the claims of Nazism and socialism are really racist attacks," said David Sirota, one of many liberal columnists who define the growing conservative uprising as a "white backlash" -- that of a dwindling white non urban America, aflame with grievances and awash in self-pity as the country hurtles into the 21st century and leaves it behind. No … [Read more...]
Rolling the Obama Care “Public Option” Uphill Becoming a Harder Job
Love how the Denver Post lends a hand to Barack Obama and appointed Senator Michael Bennet in the health care debate:He acknowledged that the ire in town halls — in Colorado, and across the country — was mostly about fear of changing a system that hasn't worked for years. [emphasis added] Not "changing a system that he said hasn't worked for years," mind you. A stated opinion given cover with a straight news declaration of fact. Sigh. I'll even give them the benefit of the doubt and suspect that the phrasing was an unintentional slip that reflects the newsroom's own uninformed bias rather than some malicious attempt at partisan hackery. I know of many personal friends and acquaintances who could tell stories -- some of them rather … [Read more...]
Ritter, Kennedy, and Morse Loosening Fiscal Knot for Taxpayers’ Necks
Today's Denver Post news story on Governor Bill Ritter's signing of Senate Bill 228 offers the generous headline: "Colorado's fiscal knot loosens". I've taken the liberty to complete the thought with my own sub-headline: "Noose nearly large enough to fit around taxpayers' necks". The article is correct insofar as it points out that the impact of this bill in repealing limits on the growth of discretionary government spending likely won't be felt for a couple years. But that provides little solace, especially when you listen to the righteous confusion coming from the Democratic cast of characters behind this anti-taxpayer legislation. … [Read more...]