Mount Virtus

"Happy to come back to Michigan, but I miss the mountains!"

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Mount Virtus?

Every day is seeking to rise to the challenge, 'neath the shadow of the mighty Rockies.

Colorado Ballot Reviews

Sometimes the choices are daunting or confusing, sometimes they're as clear as a Mile High view.

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GOP AND Tea Party Leaders: Daniel K. Maes, Will You Please Go Now!

Denver Post headline this evening: "Maes loses support from GOP, grassroots; vows to stay in race":...Hank Brown, a former U.S. senator and former University of Colorado president, withdrew his endorsement, setting off a domino effect not only among prominent Republicans, but Maes' core, grassroots base. Tea Party leaders across the state today said in often harsh terms that they wanted Maes to drop out.... Let me explain. No... let me sum up: … [Read more...]

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Labor as Management: Ohio, D.C. Offer Two Different Ironic Approaches

What happens when the union becomes management? Just wanted to bring your attention to a couple of recent stories that highlight two different ironic approaches to their separate labor situations: Take the hard line in staff bargaining negotiations: Mike Antonucci of the Education Intelligence Agency (EIA) reports on the plight of the Ohio Education Association -- whose employees today went on strike against the state teachers union Contract picketing duty to non-union workers at minimum wage: Christine Hall of the Competitive Enterprise Institute highlights a new video of CEI's Vincent Vernuccio crashing a carpenters' union protest in Washington, D.C., only to find the picketers marching and chanting in the August humidity were … [Read more...]

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Magellan: Good to be Colo. Republican Not Named Maes; Reset Election Odds

The reliable in-state Magellan Strategies polling firm today released the results of last week's voter interviews on Colorado statewide races. Taking the pulse of 954 likely voters, they found not surprisingly that John Hickenlooper has a wide lead over Republican Dan Maes (and an even wider lead over third-party Tom Tancredo) -- though some small amount of Hick's support may have been eroded in the intervening few days before the latest Rasmussen poll was taken. But I'm more interested in bringing attention to the down-ticket races, which Magellan features in its top line results, as follows: Republican Attorney General John Suthers holds a commanding 47-32 lead over Democratic challenger Stan Garnett Democratic State Treasurer Cary … [Read more...]

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Rasmussen: Colorado Voters Saying ‘None of the Above’ for Governor?

(H/T Complete Colorado) My jaw nearly dropped to the floor when I saw Curtis Hubbard's coverage of the new Rasmussen poll on the Denver Post's political blog. Likely Colorado voters seem to be demanding another option. Look at the breakdown: John Hickenlooper (D): 36 percent Dan Maes (R): 24 percent Tom Tancredo (AC): 14 percent Do the math. That means not only has support dropped for all three candidates, but that one in four voters isn't settled on any of the choices. Add in those who say they are leaning in one direction or another, and it doesn't get a lot better (in fact, it gets worse if you're Tom Tancredo): John Hickenlooper (D): 40 percent Dan Maes (R): 32 percent Tom Tancredo (AC): 9 percent That still leaves one … [Read more...]

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Ryan Frazier 40, Ed Perlmutter 39: Liberal CD-7 Incumbent Feels the Heat

National Review Online's Michael Sandoval breaks more news this afternoon by bringing our attention to a new Magellan Strategies poll of my own 7th Congressional District. Bottom line: Republican Ryan Frazier edges out incumbent Ed "Don't Call Me Pelosi" Perlmutter, 40-39. Some observations on the survey: The voter sample was 38 percent Democrat, 35 percent Republican and 27 percent Unaffiliated, a reasonable model given expected high GOP voter intensity. If you weight the voting sample in line with actual active voter registrations (which would assume Democrats and independents are as enthused about voting this year as Republicans), Perlmutter still only leads 40-38. In other words, this race is absolutely a statistical tie. The … [Read more...]

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Bernie Buescher Doesn’t Get His Way: Time to Make Military Votes a Priority

Update, 8/28: I have uploaded a copy of the official DoD letter denying Buescher's waiver request. A few weeks ago, Bill Ritter-appointed Secretary of State Bernie Buescher brought his own campaign into the news limelight by requesting a waiver from the law requiring ballots be sent out to military personnel no later than 45 days before the general election. By doing so, Buescher opened the door to accusations that he was trying "to shaft military voters." Last week Brad Jones from Face The State reported on Buescher's national television appearance on Fox News where he sought to justify the waivers, noting:...it’s hard to understand why Buescher is allowing himself to become the national poster boy for military voting snafus when … [Read more...]

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WhoSaidYouSaid Nails Hickenlooper: Your Taxes “as Low as They Can Go”?

Compliments of the creative team at WhoSaidYouSaid, here's a great new video with a candid response from Denver mayor and Colorado Democrat gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper: According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, Hickenlooper currently leads Republican Dan Maes, 41-33, with 3rd-party candidate Tom Tancredo picking up 16 percent. In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Hickenlooper and Maes are tied at 45. … [Read more...]

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Support State House Candidates at R Block Party Event: It’s That Important

My friends at R Block Party are putting on their second annual picnic tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday, August 25) as a fundraiser for state house candidates. Many of you know I have devoted several postings to analyze this year's showdown for the Colorado state house and Colorado state senate. Many of these races remain critically important even as they are outshone by higher-profile statewide races (and have become even more important in light of the folly that is the governor's race in this state) -- including the 22 candidates participating at R Block Party tomorrow. The state representatives of today also help form the bench for runs at higher office in the future. The R Block Party's second annual picnic includes a live and silent … [Read more...]