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Mount Virtus?

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

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

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If I had five more writers just like him, I think my job would be the easiest in journalism....

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Rasmussen: GOP Congress Out of Touch, Democrats Even Less Trusted

I've spent the past several days trying to reach a coherent synthesis from these two poll results taken by Rasmussen: 73 percent of Republican voters say Republicans in Congress have lost touch with their base -- men and older voters are more likely to share these sentiments; and (unsurprisingly) far more voters obviously are concerned about economic, fiscal, and national security issues than domestic or cultural issues General election voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on all 10 key electoral issues -- with double-digit advantages in national security, Iraq, taxes, economy and abortion So what should Republican politicians and candidates learn from these results? I mean, besides the fact that it's hard to make too much … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC, property rights

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Josh Penry Wins Hometown Support; Bill Ritter Wins Root Canal Crowd

The Denver Post this morning published a pair of follow-up stories analyzing the campaign finance reports in the race for Colorado governor: "...Grand Junction residents overwhelmingly voted with their wallets for state Sen. Josh Penry over former U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis in the opening salvo of their primary battle." As they say, those who know the two hometown candidates best.... "Gov. Bill Ritter can thank dentists, satellite TV executives and unions for a big chunk of the $450,000 he raised last quarter for his re-election bid." Despite all the loud noise, there's no big surprise some labor groups still will pour the maximum into Ritter's campaign. But dentists? Well, the governor's car tax and accompanying late fees have felt … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

How Bill Ritter Has Made Union Leaders Feel at Home on Taxpayers’ Time

Have any doubts that Ritter's union executive order has made Big Labor feel all cozy at home in state government? The intrepid Colorado Loses team reports on their union counterparts soliciting for members at an official meeting, on taxpayers' time:This past week, WINS organized and held a budget information meeting at the unemployment office. There was some budget guy from the state, there, along with a couple of union thugs. After the budget guy showed us the state of the state economy, a union guy got up and started soliciting for members. “We need to organize in our communities and in our offices.” WINS used a formal budget information format to seek membership. THIS IS INAPPROPRIATE USE OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, liberty, PPC, property rights

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Evading Serious Questions Ties Bill Ritter and Obama Nominee Villafuerte

President Obama's nomination of Stephanie Villafuerte to be Colorado's next U.S. Attorney has put Governor Bill Ritter in an unwanted situation. Serious questions remain unanswered about Villafuerte's role in the political smear of federal ICE agent Cory Voorhis during the 2006 election that led to his near conviction. But Ritter thinks it's too much trouble for us to bother with the questions now:She also declined to answer questions this week about whether she provided the FBI with a complete accounting of any contacts she had with the DA's office about [illegal immigrant Carlos] Estrada-Medina. A message and detailed e-mail left by The Post for Villafuerte were returned instead by Evan Dreyer, spokesman for Ritter. He said Villa fuerte, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, General, Health Care, liberty, National Politics, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Support for Education Reform Funds = Support for Bill Ritter’s Re-Election?

Update, 10/24: Received a third pro-Obama Care email from Bill Ritter (and Mark Udall and Michael Bennet) today, still nothing on education reform ... Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has a page set up where you can sign a petition to support the state's effort to receive federal Race to the Top competitive grant dollars that support education reform. If you sign the petition, you end up on some sort of mailing list for Ritter's re-election campaign. In the two weeks since I signed the petition I've received two mass emails urging me to back Obama Care! Here's the complete text of the online petition: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

State Treasurer Fundraising Update: Stapleton’s Advantage Even Greater

Last Thursday, in quickly responding to the release of fundraising numbers in Colorado's state treasurer's race I wrote:Stapleton’s GOP primary rival J.J. Ament — who won out over Stapleton in our most recent survey of Colorado’s political temperature — brought in a very respectable $86,000. No cash-on-hand amount was reported, but clearly he is behind both his Republican rival and the incumbent Democrat. Upon further review, there's more to the story that could call into question my initial use of "very respectable" to describe Ament's fundraising numbers. In that $86,000 total, about $9,300 came in the form of in-kind contributions (including about $7,300 contributed directly by the candidate). As a result, Ament was left with a little … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Ed Perlmutter’s Health Care Solution: Raise Taxes, More Government

As the political stomach turns ... My Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter wants to raise taxes (H/T Complete Colorado) on investments to pay for government health care. As if that will do anything but further slow down America's economic engine and further erode your personal medical freedoms. Don't just get angry. Put your support behind one of our good Republican candidates running to oust Perlmutter: Ryan Frazier or Brian Campbell. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, liberty, National Politics, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben 4 Comments

Great News and a Great Belwether? Marco Rubio Surging Close in Florida

If there's one 2010 race outside Colorado I'm following more closely than any other, it's the Florida Republican Senate primary -- a battle for the soul of the party between left-of-center governor Charlie Crist and conservative state legislative leader Marco Rubio. Despite being a huge underdog, Rubio has shown a lot of momentum. Red State's Erick Erickson has posted the latest good news -- check it out. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Arvada City Council Candidates Respond to Financial Transparency Idea

All politics is local, right? Mail ballot municipal elections already are underway, so late last week I decided it was finally time to ask the Arvada city council candidates on my ballot what they think of the idea of detailed financial transparency. Below I've pasted the message I emailed to the two at-large candidates and the two district candidates and what I learned: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, My Life, PPC, property rights

2/7/2026 By Ben 3 Comments

Karen Morgan’s 15 Minutes of Colorado Political Fame: “Where’s Scott?”

The legend of gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis' bizarre absences grow with a no-show at last Saturday's North Suburban Republican Forum, reports the Colorado Statesman. Okay, I know the absence itself isn't really newsworthy. It's the front-page photo taken by the Statesman's Jason Kosena of Republican House District 27 area coordinator Karen Morgan (and mother of my occasional guest-blogger Ryan Morgan) holding the "Where's Scott?" sign. She's not a limelight kind of person, but -- along with her husband and children -- definitely one of the state's hardest-working, most dedicated Republican grassroots activists. Just the reason to bring attention to 15 minutes (or so) of Colorado political fame: Way to go, Karen! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, liberty, PPC

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About Me

Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

Recent Posts

  • AI-Enhanced Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Teen Innovation
  • My Baker’s Dozen of Top 2023 Reads
  • Common Learning Disabilities in Children
  • Tips to Teach Kids to Set and Achieve Goals
  • The Christmas Music Countdown You’ve Been Looking For: 2022 Edition

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Completing the Blogroll

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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