Every day is seeking to rise to the challenge, 'neath the shadow of the mighty Rockies.
How Colorado Union Bosses Spend Teachers’ Money
On this Election Eve, here's some interesting information. If you know someone who is a member of the Colorado Education Association (CEA) or American Federation of Teachers (AFT)-Colorado - our state's teachers unions - you might want to point them to this Web page (compliments of Independence Institute research). Here are some selected tidbits of information on how union members' money has been spent on Colorado's elections in 2006: According to reports available on November 2, Colorado teachers unions have given $1,481,043 in combined contributions to political parties, candidates, and registered 527 political groups in 2006. The Colorado Education Association (CEA) and four of its local affiliates, … [Read more...]
GOP-mentum
Democrats may be kicking themselves - or John Kerry, or a good economy, or the common sense of the American people - on Wednesday for squandering a big chance. All hopes for a massive electoral "wipeout" (a la Chris Matthews) to take over Congress, seem to be fading as Republicans have the momentum going into tomorrow's national elections. I stand by my earlier predictions. … [Read more...]
Paula Noonan Clarifies
Thank you to Democrat Senate District 22 candidate Paula Noonan for taking the time to respond to my post on her heated election campaign with some clarifying comments. I responded to some of her remarks in the comment box. Additionally, some of her claims could not be independently verified and may deserve further scrutiny (e.g., I can find no evidence that Sheriff Ted Mink has withdrawn support from Mike Kopp's campaign). Of course, it is a little late for the purposes of this election to unearth these claims, unless one of my readers has a source. Or what does anyone think about invoking the name of Ted Haggard to attack Mike? … [Read more...]
Pizza Guy for Governor
Last Friday night my wife & I saw a gubernatorial candidate delivering pizza to our neighbors across the street. I heard you snickering over there ... what, you don't believe me? Who was it, you might ask? Not this guy (I doubt he's STILL paying off law school debt), and definitely not this guy (I'm sure his staff has realized personal pizza deliveries do not belong in a successful campaign). Maybe you're scratching your head. No, it's not "the only pro-choice candidate for Governor of Colorado" (presumably no relation to the Fonz, though Libertarians might get more votes with him on the ticket). Keep guessing ... If you thought it was this guy, you might have imagined a very colorful waltz from the car to the front door, with … [Read more...]
GOP Super Saturday: Jeffco Style
Poll numbers for Colorado Republicans have been less favorable than any would like to see, but in the crucial weeks leading up to the 2006 election the Party is putting another weapon into play: volunteers. I was pleased to see several dozen volunteers show up at GOP Victory Headquarters in Wheat Ridge this morning to see Rick O'Donnell and the legendary Hugh Hewitt. After a brief rally, volunteers split up to work their separate state house districts - dropping literature, making phone calls, stuffing mailers. I was told many more volunteers who never showed up at Victory HQ went to work hitting the streets this morning. Jeffco's big "Super Saturday" volunteer push is part of a statewide GOP effort. So if you're a registered Colorado … [Read more...]
New Poll Shows Beauprez Down Only 3 Points
Finally, Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez has something to be cheered about: a Wall Street Journal/Zogby poll released shows Beauprez trailing Democrat rival Bill Ritter by 3 points (margin of error +/- 4 points). In light of two recent polls that showed a much more distinct advantage for Mr. Ritter, I wouldn't stake my credibility on this survey signifying a huge momentum swing in the Republican's favor. More polling data over the coming weeks will have to corroborate some sort of trend. At the same time, it has to be sobering news for the Ritter bandwagon and perhaps can energize the GOP base here in Colorado. Yes, the Beauprez campaign got a late start. My druthers would have been to see a more aggressive … [Read more...]
The NIE: Putting Iraq in Perspective
I usually leave the details of the bigger issues of the GWOT in the hands of experts more capable than I. If you want to pick a fight on this issue, take it up with one of them. Let me start by answering a few common questions about Iraq that get tossed about. 1. Have we made mistakes in prosecuting the war in Iraq? Yes (but isn't that every war?) 2. Is the violence in Iraq between Shi'ites and Sunnis troubling? Yes (but civil war can still be averted) 3. Are American forces viewed as friendly liberators by most of the Iraqi population? No (but many more are eager to make the democratic experiment work on a permanent basis) 4. Therefore, it was a mistake to go to war in Iraq, right? Wrong! 5. Were there other justifications for going … [Read more...]
Supremes to Decide Union Member Rights
If there's one case I'm going to be following in the U.S. Supreme Court's new docket, it's this one: The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide whether public employee unions must get special permission before spending some workers' dues on political causes. Justices accepted an appeal from the state of Washington that involves fees paid to the Washington Education Association by teachers who decline to join the union. Those workers still can be charged dues by the union to help pay for labor negotiations that affect them. But they can't be forced to pay for the union's political activism, under a string of Supreme Court rulings that reach back nearly 30 years. At issue is whether the union needs teachers to say "yes" before the … [Read more...]
Bad Press Day for Colorado Dems
And about time, I should say. Why not take a minute to point out a couple of interesting stories highlighted in today's Rocky Mountain News? First, the latest in the controversy about Nayyera Haq, the staffer for Democratic Congressman John Salazar who verbally lashed back at Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo for defending the Pope's right to free speech. The Rocky reports that Haq has taken a temporary leave from Salazar's campaign. Meanwhile, the Rocky took a miss on Haq's unfair distortions of Tancredo's comments as anti-Islamic and her role in inviting Islamic extremists to Capitol Hill, which have been documented by the local blog To the Right and the national blog Red State. And a Google News search for the name Nayyera Haq or … [Read more...]
Denver Dailies Duel over Dennis’ Decision
This morning Rocky Mountain News editorial page editor Vince Carroll is indeed on point in his defense of embattled Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. After careful hearings and public deliberation, Dennis issued a series of rules on August 2 to clarify Colorado's election laws, including a provision that membership organizations must ask their members' individual written permission before using part of their dues in political campaigns. Seems fair enough, right? While the principle behind the rule stands clear and strong, some have called the timing of its delivery into question. Some union bosses are used to automatically taking members' money for political purposes and claim that having to ask permission of all their members would be an … [Read more...]
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