Great piece by Vince Carroll in today's Denver Post on Barack Obama's Supreme Court appointment:If racial and gender bigotry truly have no place in American public life today, then Judge Sonia Sotomayor, during her confirmation hearing for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, needs to utterly repudiate her 2001 assertion that "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." Putting that statement "in context" or explaining what she "really meant" will not do. Nor can Judge Sotomayor credibly argue that her assertion was an ill-considered mistake, since it was part of a prepared speech at the Berkeley school of law. … [Read more...]
Strange But True: Bernie Buescher Lectures Protesters on “Good Policy”
Update, 4/6: A Rocky Mountain Right diarist from Ouray isn't too happy with the Governor's cancellation. What a bummer when you show up to protest someone, and they aren't able to make it in person. Such apparently was the case this weekend in Grand Junction, when inclement weather prevented Governor Bill Ritter from being welcomed by more than 50 Coloradans "totally disgusted" about the negative impacts of his various tax policies and newly-approved oil and gas rules. The interesting tidbit came from local news station KJCT, which reported that Secretary of State (and Western Slope native) Bernie Buescher showed up to take the slings and arrows in Ritter's place:He says the Governor recognizes this is a difficult time and it's time … [Read more...]
Fiscally Conservative Kevin Lundberg Merits Nod for State Senate Seat
I see the upcoming showdown over the appointment to replace state senator Steve Johnson as a real testing ground: Do Republicans want well-qualified and proven fiscal conservatives of class and character - regardless of their views on social issues - or do they just want to toss officials overboard for their socially conservative views? Estes Park's Jon Nicholas gets it right: state representative Kevin Lundberg is the right person to fill Johnson's seat. Especially if Nicholas' observations (one technical error aside) about Lundberg's less well-known rivals indeed are correct: … [Read more...]
What Does It Really Take To Be Colorado’s Next Secretary of State?
Via Face The State, judging by the plethora of applicants for Colorado's Secretary of State job, perhaps I should have sent in a resume myself. I've never taught yoga, played lacrosse, or met Ross Perot, but what the heck? You can cast your own vote for which one of the 20 applicants is most deserving of Bill Ritter's appointment as the next Secretary of State. Too bad for you and me. We missed our chance at statewide office after yesterday's deadline. … [Read more...]
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...]