One of my favorite aphorisms about Colorado politics is that the House Education Committee is where good education reform goes to die. Case in point is Senate Bill 57, the school spending transparency legislation that committee Democrats shot down after hearing more than 30 citizens and activists who volunteered to come down and testify for the bill. Thanks to a Face The State mini-investigation, we learn today it was even worse than that:Also known as Senate Bill 57, the bill was postponed indefinitely after four hours of committee debate that lasted late into the evening. [Democrat] Speaker Terrance Carroll and [Republican] House Minority Leader Mike May arrived to work the next morning ready to revive it. But they were too … [Read more...]
Eagle County’s Tom Stone Tosses Hat into Ring for State GOP Chairmanship
On March 21, Colorado Republicans convene to select party leadership for the next two years. Before today, it seemed the only real competition would be for party vice chair between Nathan Chambers incumbent Perry Buck [editorial correction based on updated information] and Leondray Gholston. An official announcement today from former Eagle County commissioner Tom Stone means there also will be a challenge for Dick Wadhams' position in the top spot. Here is the pledge Stone has posted on his site: … [Read more...]
He Wasn’t Their First Choice, But Wadhams and Hillman Both Pleased with Michael Steele as RNC Chair
Not exactly breaking news: former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele is the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. Polipundit has a blow-by-blow account of the six rounds (and five hours) of yesterday's balloting to achieve a majority of support from the 168 delegates. Five candidates started the day. At the end it came down to Steele and South Carolina's Katon Dawson. Steele prevailed by a count of 91-77. I followed up with two of Colorado's three voting RNC members afterward to get their thoughts, and received very similar reactions to the results. "Michael Steele will be a great spokesperson for our party," said state GOP chairman Dick Wadhams. "Michael Steele is one of the Republican Party's most articulate … [Read more...]
Obama Asked Vote Fraud ACORN to Help “Shape” Presidential Agenda
A few days ago I highlighted the connections between Barack Obama and ACORN, the group infamously known for two things: 1. Lawsuits that blackmailed banks and other financial institutions into making untold amounts of bad loans, a practice that fed the cancer underpinning the current market crisis. 2. Massive voter fraud in key election battleground states. Barack Obama used to work for ACORN, filed at least one lawsuit on behalf of ACORN, and gave $800,000 from his campaign to ACORN. Yeah, some skeptics say, but really how connected are they? Compliments of Elmumfo - by way of Okie Campaigns - we are treated to further enlightening of what Obama thinks of ACORN:In December of 2007, Obama told ACORN activists: "...but let me even … [Read more...]
A Great Point about John McCain’s Vice Presidential Selection
Andrew Boucher, whose claim to fame may be that he is a Colorado conservative with blogging credentials to the Democratic National Convention, made a great point yesterday about the larger significance of John McCain's upcoming selection of a vice-presidential running mate:There aren't many "natural" McCain volunteers. There will be even fewer if he turns off the base with his VP pick. Or, as I put it bluntly in a campaign planning meeting last week: If it's McCain-Ridge, we'll have 25 new GOTV volunteers in Fort Collins. If it's McCain-Romney, we'll have 250. Remember: the Romney team made thousands of grassroots volunteer phone calls in Larimer County for caucus and won with 60 percent. (As a frame of reference, Bush-Cheney … [Read more...]