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Which Colorado Candidates Have Signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge?

Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge has reached iconic status, especially in Republican primaries. Politicians who sign the pledge are declaring their opposition to any and all future tax increases. Below is the official updated list of all Colorado candidates for U.S. Senate and Congress who have signed the no-new-taxes pledge. Interestingly, the top four U.S. Senate candidates are all aboard, but only two of the four candidates in the 4th Congressional, and one each from the 3rd and the 7th. Current Republican Congressmen Mike Coffman and Doug Lamborn unsurprisingly are on the list as well: … [Read more...]

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Obama Care Passes… Now What?

It's the day after the 2700-page Obama Care monstrosity passed the Congress, proving there really is no such thing as a pro-life Democrat and that Leftist Democrat leaders were determined to shove the highly unpopular taxes, mandates and controls down the throat of the American people ... now what? Dr. Paul Hsieh at Pajamas Media lays out the short-term and longer-term fallout, and the editors of National Review insist that Obama Care isn't inevitable. Meanwhile, you can spend a few minutes today signing one or both of the following petitions: The Senate Conservatives Fund "Repeal It" pledge (nearly 14,000 strong so far) The call to "Repeal Health Care Bill" on ipetitions On the state level, you can help my colleagues at the … [Read more...]

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Catch Video of Colorado GOP Officials Fighting for Health Care Freedom

Yesterday our elected Republican officials in Denver came to life with some mighty statements. First, state legislators joined my boss Jon Caldara to urge support for the Defend Colorado from Obama Care ballot initiative, called on Attorney General John Suthers to join the lawsuit of states' attorneys general against the unconstitutional mandates in Obama Care. Joshua Sharf has posted complete video and analyses of both press conferences. I urge you to check them out -- so we can commend those Republican officials who have shown backbone and continue urging them to stay strong, while also reminding us of the ongoing need to educate members of the old media. In other words, vigilance remains the watchword of the day. As usual, the … [Read more...]

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Rasmussen Poll: Best News for GOP Guv Hopeful Scott McInnis in Awhile

Yesterday's Rasmussen poll is the best news GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis has had in awhile, and well timed to land a week before caucuses. Fellow RMA blogger Don Johnson notes that McInnis' six-point lead over Denver mayor John Hickenlooper comes in spite of a distinct popularity advantage by the Democrat. Johnson says: "That's not so good for McInnis." I disagree with that assessment. Everyone knows Hick is more popular, flashier. The fact McInnis leads in spite of the disparity says a good thing not only about the former Congressman's chances to claim the governor's mansion next year, but also about the heavy baggage that comes with being a Democrat in Colorado in 2010. Of course, plenty hinges on whether this latest … [Read more...]

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Amazon Fallout for Colorado Dems

Despite the best efforts of Colorado statehouse Democrats to turn around and point the fingers at the e-e-e-eeevil Amazon.com, they (with the exception of Sen. Gail Schwarz) are all responsible for paying no heed to the warnings and ultimately killing many small Colorado Internet businesses. Speaking of difficulty in taking responsibility, WhoSaidYouSaid has posted a YouTube video of Democrat state senate leader John Morse going ballistic at Amazon. Sadly, for the overwhelming majority of people whose businesses have been affected, this just doesn't ring true. Turning in his Kindle for an iPad is John Morse's prerogative. But venting at a business for following through on a rational decision caused by his own vote won't ease the pain … [Read more...]

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Taxpayers for Liberty: Who Is This Group Playing in U.S. Senate Race?

Update: Scanned copy of the March 5 Taxpayers for Liberty letter posted below. Yesterday I received a strange mailing from a group called Taxpayers for Liberty. (Many of my fellow conservative, politically-active Colorado friends likely received the same.) It's a self-described 501c4 organization with a Denver P.O. Box and an executive director named Andrew O'Neill -- I'm almost positive it's not this Andrew O'Neill. I will take time later today to scan and post the four-page letter, along with the attached questionnaire and reply form, so you can see the mailing for yourself. It looks a lot like your standard political fundraising letter, with short paragraphs and heavy on underlined text and bullet points. Suffice it to say, the … [Read more...]

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Kudos to Mike Coffman for Leading on New Balanced Budget Amendment

Hats off to Colorado's own Congressman Mike Coffman for stepping up to the plate and co-leading the effort to bring back the Balanced Budget Amendment. Coffman lays out the case in The Hill blog:Adoption of a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget is an enormous task and will take an immense amount of political will but our future and our children’s future depends on lawmakers having the fortitude to do the right thing. To become law the measure must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then be ratified by two-thirds of the states. In 1995 and then again in 1997 a balanced budget amendment passed the House but failed to meet the two-thirds requirement in the Senate by a single vote. It won’t be easy, but … [Read more...]

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Colo. Springs Candidate Forum Goes to Ken Buck, Dan Maes, J.J. Ament

Tuesday night featured another in the latest of well-attended grassroots debate sponsored by conservative or pro-liberty groups: Candidate Debate 2010 in Colorado Springs. It got the attention of one Colorado Pols diarist, and made for a couple humorous anecdotes reported by the Denver Post's Lynn Bartels. After the forum -- which included Colorado candidates for U.S. Senate, governor and state treasurer -- a poll was taken of forum viewers. Some have reported the results collected by text message, but have overlooked the paper ballot results. I checked with one of the event organizers, and was given the following official results including both types of ballots (I tallied the percentages myself), for those who are curious to know them: … [Read more...]

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Does CEA Care More About School Funding or Political Allies?

This article was originally posted at Ed News Colorado. Sure, the Colorado Education Association loves to increase funding for K-12 schools and retain member jobs. But sometimes, its pleas for school funding simply don't add up. Yesterday's CEA blog entry "Amazon: play fair, support school funding" is just such an example:In other words, Amazon firing its affiliates does nothing to impact the fact that Amazon.com is still required to collect sales tax or, at a minimum alert their customers to this requirement under state law. The giant retailer is using its political weight to protest losing its tax-free status and having to compete on par with other Colorado retailers. Why should you care? Because sales tax revenues fund public … [Read more...]