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Home Archives for Andrew Romanoff

1/12/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Face The State: Bill Ritter Dissed Emails from Ken Gordon for SOS Fan Club

This morning's must-read for Colorado political junkies ... Face The State digs beneath the public relations stunt that was Gov. Bill Ritter's public feedback email address to help him determine who should be the next Secretary of State:The responses were overwhelmingly in support of [former state senator Ken] Gordon, who received 1,815 votes on a ProgressNow informal online poll. [Former House Speaker Andrew] Romanoff came in second with 632 votes,while [now-Secretary of State Bernie] Buescher trailed with 173 votes. Of the nearly 100 e-mails made public by Ritter's administration (constituents must specifically waive their right to confidential communication), nearly 90 percent favored Gordon. Not that popularity is the best … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Andrew Romanoff, Bernie Buescher, Colorado, Denver Post, email, Face the State, Ken Gordon, political junkies, Progress Now, public feedback, public relations stunt, qualified, Rosemary Rodriguez, Secretary of State, supporters

1/8/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter in a “Straightjacket” over Colorado’s Taxpayer Protections

Sean Paige at Local Liberty Online made a great catch, picking up on this excerpt from Bill Ritter's State of the State speech earlier today (H/T Complete Colorado):"There is also an opportunity here – a chance to address TABOR and the constitutional and statutory straightjacket* that makes modern, sensible and value-based budgeting an impossibility. Last year, former House Speaker Romanoff started the conversation, and we need to keep it alive. We need to talk about life after Ref C – whether and when to extend it. We have a chance to find a better way forward, a Colorado way forward." Bill Ritter said what? About 2 months after Colorado voters said No to a proposal to gut TABOR refunds forever and rejected two other major statewide … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Amendment 59, Andrew Romanoff, Bill Ritter, budgeting, Colorado, comment section, Complete Colorado, creative caption, current budget mess, forward, great catch, House Speaker, Local Liberty Online, photo, politically irresponsible, rainy day fund, Referendum C, revenues, rigors, Sean Paige, silly, state constitution, State of the State, straitjacket, TABOR, TABOR refunds, tax increases, taxpayer protections, voters

1/7/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Self-Delusion or Subtlety Behind Bill Ritter’s Assessment of Michael Bennet?

As we chatted about on last night's Blog Talk Radio program, the fallout from Bill Ritter's appointment of Michael Bennet to the U.S. Senate continues. Liberal angst on behalf of the spurned former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff continues to grow. The latest is Susan Barnes-Gelt's column "What Was Ritter Thinking?" in the Denver Post:Bennet's decade-plus resume, elite pedigree and acute intelligence may confer gravitas-lite. However, his utter lack of legislative experience, political/elected bona fides and thorough knowledge of the state, its issues and character cast doubt on the governor's judgment. What does it say about our state's chief executive that he passed over an equally young, talented, out-of-the-box reformer who boasts an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Andrew Romanoff, Barack Obama, Bill Ritter, Blog Talk Radio, chief executive, City Club of Denver, Colorado, common sense, complicating, conventional wisdom, Democrats, Denver Daily News, Denver Post, Ed Perlmutter, experience, Governor, gravitas-lite, ideology, independent, John Hickenlooper, Joshua Sharf, liberal angst, loyalty, mastermind, memo, mesh, Michael Bennet, passed over, political future, political target, President-elect, promise broken, reformer, rumors, Secretary of State, self-delusion, self-interest, situation, State Capitol, Susan Barnes-Gelt, team player, U.S. Senate

11/6/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Terrance Carroll, Josh Penry: Good Choices for Statehouse Leadership

Colorado soon will have a black Speaker of the House to go along with a black Senate President (Peter Groff). The Denver Post reports today that the Democratic caucus in the state house has thrown its support behind Denver's Terrance Carroll to replace Andrew Romanoff in one of the state's highest political positions. Moving beyond race, Carroll is someone with whom I obviously have many political disagreements. However, on the issue of school choice that I care about deeply, he is as good as the Democratic caucus has to offer. I feel a little better about the hope for defending and advancing gains in educational freedom with him at the helm than with the alternatives. But we'll remain diligent at our post. In other news, Republicans … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: adversary, Amy Stephens, Andrew Romanoff, Bill Ritter, black, Colorado legislature, comeback, Cory Gardner, Democratic caucus, Denver, Denver Post, educational freedom, fiscally conservative, good hands, Josh Penry, Laura Bradford, leadership posts, Mesa County, Mike Kopp, Mike Saccone, minority leader, newfound popularity, on track, political disagreements, Politicker, Republicans, round, school choice, Senate President, Speaker of the House, standing ovation, state house, state senate, Terrance Carroll, Western Slope

10/19/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Denver Post Backs Grassroots GOP HD27 Challenger John Bodnar

The Denver Post gave its complete endorsement round-up for Colorado state house races today. It's impossible for us mere mortals to divine the rhyme or reason behind the Post's endorsements. As expected, the center-left editorial board has backed more Democrats than Republicans, and nearly every incumbent. But interestingly, the Post threw its lot behind two Republican challengers over Democrat officeholders. One of them is here in Arvada, where a hard-working, truly grassroots, common-sense candidate has emerged:HD 27 (Jefferson) — First-term incumbent Democrat Sara Gagliardi, a nurse, has focused primarily on health care. But we're more impressed with Republican challenger John Bodnar because of his balanced views on energy and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Andrew Romanoff, Arvada, candidate Sara Gagliardi, challengers, closer contests, Colorado, common sense, conservative blogosphere, Democrats, Denver Post, editorial board, endorsements, Energy, environmental issues, grassroots, health care options, incumbents, Joshua Sharf, Libby Szabo, Lois Court, officeholders, Republicans, rumors, staffer, star, state house, state senate, taxpaying citizens

10/2/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Ted Trimpa: Extortion Negotiator, Gill Adviser, “Educate the Idiots” Insider

Denver attorney Ted Trimpa is being touted as the great mediator, the great savior, in negotiating a compromise between business and labor to remove four anti-business initiatives from the ballot. Who's doing the touting? Why, the liberal Dead Governors blog, of course:For those of you who don't know about Hogan and Hartson's Ted Trimpa, well, you should. He's the one who brought this pact, the most unlikely partnership since Referendum C, together, helping reinforce his growing waterwalker mystique. It's also true that labor wasn't really looking forward to taking the blame for the potentially serious unintended consequences of a couple of these proposals. The infusion of cash to fight the anti-labor initiatives will help, as will the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: "Educate the Idiots", 527 Coordinating Operatives, Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Amendment 53, Amendment 54, Amendment 55, Amendment 56, Amendment 57, Andrew Romanoff, anti-business initiatives, attorney, business, Cole Finegan, Colorado Democracy Alliance, ColoradoPols, compromise, Dead Governors, Denver, Denver Post, disinterested party, economy-busting, glib, Hogan & Hartson, Hogan and Hartson, inner workings, Labor, labor leader, liberal billionaire, lies, mediator, partnership, political advisor, praises, progressive, Referendum C, Rutt Bridges, strategy group, Ted Trimpa, Tim Gill, union power, waterwalker

10/2/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

CoDA’s “Educate the Idiots” Members Biggest Funders of Protect Colorado’s Future’s Campaign of Deception

If you haven't seen or heard it by now, Colorado's "progressive" Democrat coalition got a little more behind-the-scenes exposure yesterday than they would like. A series of slowly leaked documents by Face The State are uncovering the inner workings of the coalition - known as the Colorado Democracy Alliance (CoDA). The light of the day has given us some useful insights. We are starting to see what the Left's agenda for Colorado is, why they have coordinated the spending of so much money to take over the state legislature, the governor's office, and so much more. No document has received quite as much attention as this one:In a confidential internal memorandum obtained by Face The State (PDF), the Colorado Democracy Alliance outlines a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: "Educate the Idiots", AFL-CIO, African-American, agenda, Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Amendment 54, Andrew Romanoff, behind-the-scenes exposure, Bill Ritter, Bridget Johnson, campaign message, campaign of deception, change we can believe in, children of color, Colorado, Colorado Democracy Alliance, Colorado Education Association, Colorado Ethics Watch, confidential, covert, Democrat, Democrat leaders, document, donors, dropouts, dues, education employees, Evan Dreyer, exclusive list, Face the State, freedom, GEDs, government ethics, Governor, Hispanic, hoodwinked, idiots, indignant response, individual rights, institutional members, issue committee, Joan Fitz-Gerald, John Stocks, leaked documents, Left, liberal structure, lies, members, memorandum, minorities, National Education Association, Native American, off the record, Okie Campaigns, operatives, progressive, ProgressNow, Protect Colorado's Future, represent, Rocky Mountain News, Rocky Mountain Right, SEIU, Slapstick Politics, smart people, special interest groups, state legislature, state Republican Party leaders, strategy group, teachers, The Daily Blogster, union elite, union leaders, union power, worker welfare

9/24/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Romanoff & Kennedy: Saving TABOR’s Heart by Driving a Stake through It

I think Colorado's Democratic powerhouses behind Amendment 59 need to get on the same page. It was only last month that State Treasurer Cary Kennedy was overheard saying that Amendment 59 will "drive a stake in the heart" of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. In yesterday's Denver Post, however, outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff sought to argue that under Amendment 59 "'the heart' of TABOR — that all tax increases must have voter approval — would be preserved." Uncle Charley came to the valid conclusion:Romanoff and Kennedy need to talk to each other: How do you preserve TABOR’s heart after a stake has been driven through it? Exactly. Someone needs to cartoon this... If you're going to take away all future TABOR refunds … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Amendment 59, Andrew Romanoff, cartoon, Cary Kennedy, Colorado, contradictions, Democrats, Denver Post, drive a stake in the heart, House Speaker, state treasurer, TABOR refunds, tax increases, Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, Uncle Charley

9/10/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Democrat Cary Kennedy Admits Amendment 59 is Anti-Taxpayer

In case you had any doubts about the intentions of leading Colorado Democrats in bringing forward Amendment 59, Education Week brings you the straight skinny (H/T Rocky Mountain Right):Colorado Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff praised the [National Education Association]’s state chapter as one of the “most aggressive and successful” groups assisting Democrats in their takeover Colorado’s Statehouse and governor’s mansion. State Treasurer Cary Kennedy (no relation to RFK Jr.) said that Democrats would win a ballot initiative to “drive a stake in the heart” of the state’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights [TABOR]--a conservative cost-cutting measure. Yes, the Democrats behind Amendment 59 - Andrew Romanoff and Cary Kennedy - … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 59, Andrew Romanoff, ballot initiative, Cary Kennedy, Colorado, Colorado Education Association, Democrats, Education Week, Governor, liberal interest groups, motivations, National Education Association, Rocky Mountain Right, Speaker of the House, statehouse, Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, taxpayers, teachers union, unguarded opinions

8/13/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Morning After Soundbite Reflections on Colorado’s Primary Election

This, of course, is the reason why I preferred someone other than Mike Coffman to win the 6th Congressional District primary:Gov. Bill Ritter is poised to appoint a new secretary of state — no doubt a fellow Democrat. Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman won the 6th Congressional District primary. As the district is heavily Republican, Coffman is expected to win the seat in November. Among the names often mentioned as possible appointees to the $68,500-a-year-post are House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon. Both Democrats are term limited. What's done is done. Fox is in charge of the hen house now. On the up side, the Democrats' phony watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch will have to look for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: 2nd Congressional District, 6th Congressional District, Andrew Romanoff, appointment, Big Labor, Bill Ritter, Colorado, Colorado Democracy Alliance, Colorado Ethics Watch, Dave Ruchman, Dead Governors, Democrat, Doug Bruce, Jared Polis, Jefferson County, Joan Fitz-Gerald, Ken Gordon, Mark Udall, Mike Coffman, Pat Stryker, Republican, Secretary of State, Sue Schafer, Tim Gill, Wil Armstrong

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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.

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