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4/23/2009 By Ben 7 Comments

On Socialism and Ron Paul: Two Timely Essays for Lovers of Liberty

A quick-hit double-link in the form of two recent essays I recommend as timely and relevant reading for thoughtful lovers of liberty: "The Welfare State and the Meaning of Life" by Greg Forster, whose work I have come to know through his excellent research and analysis of school choice issues, but in this case makes a strong moral case against socialism "Ron Paul's Secession Lies on Video" by libertarian lawyer and thinker Tim Sandefur, a college classmate of mine who delivers a remedial lesson in United States history and the Constitution to the Congressman and former presidential candidate ... It's one thing to speak up loudly against federal overreaches and for a renewed respect of the 10th Amendment, it's quite another to call for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, clean government, Cultural Conservatism, General, History, liberty, National Politics, PPC, property rights Tagged With: 10th Amendment, analysis, articulate, critical times, discerning, essays, federal overreaches, Greg Forster, History, lawyer, lesson, libertarian, lovers of liberty, moral case, reading, recommend, remedial, research, Ron Paul, school, secession, socialism, Texas, thinker, thoughtful, Tim Sandefur, U.S. Constitution, unilateral, union, welfare state

1/31/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

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...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: account, actively engaged, activists, appealing message, articulate, audience, Backbone America, balancing, balloting, beginning, breaking news, candidacy, candidates, chairman, class act, collaborative, Colorado, communication, community, Congratulations, conservatives, conventional wisdom, conversation, convinced, core issues, core principles, delegates, desirable job, Dick Wadhams, Don'tGo movement, Douglas County, dynamic, effective, effective fundraising, emails, enthusiasm, Eric Odom, Facebook, force feed, former, forward-looking, from above, future, GOP, grassroots, Internet, inundated, involvement, John Andrews, Katon Dawson, Ken Blackwell, lieutenant governor, Lilly Nunez, limited government, listening, low taxes, majority, Mark Hillman, marketing, Maryland, Michael Steele, Michigan, Mike Duncan, misused, moderate, momentum, new energy, new face, Ohio, opportunity, opposition, organizational structure, overused, ownership, Party, phone calls, Polipundit, political, political action, political wilderness, Politics 3.0, prevailed, projects, Republican groups, Republican National Committee, results, rounds, Saul Anuzis, Secretary of State, selection process, sense of relief, similar reactions, social conservatives, social media, social network, South Carolina, spokesman, spokesperson, state chair, Steven Nielson, support, supported, surrogates, thoughts, tough choice, tough road, traditional values, Twitter, urgent plea, vocal supporters, voting members, web-based, wild word

1/29/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Democrat Pollsters Hedge Bets on Ritter Re-Election…Wouldn’t You Right Now?

Democrat pollsters are hedging their bets over the re-election chances of Colorado Governor Bill Ritter. The well known, respected local election analyst Floyd Ciruli says:Although Bill Ritter works hard and cares about Colorado, he fails to inspire confidence among the most attentive publics. Of course, Colorado governors tend to be re-elected, and the Republicans are still on the defense after a half a decade of election losses, but Ritter faces a difficult re-election.... Ritter and his party know he is vulnerable. Expect a strong effort to survive. [emphasis added] On the other hand, the Democrat survey firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) observes something different from its new survey results: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC Tagged With: articulate, Bill Ritter, Bob Beauprez, candidate, challenge, Colorado, competent, competitive race, confidence, Dean Debnam, Democrat, demographic, difficult, election losses, fiscally conservative, Floyd Ciruli, Governor, hedging their bets, Hispanic voters, incumbent, local election analyst, pollsters, President, professional pollster, Public Policy Polling, reelection, Republicans, results, revert, Senate candidate, sign up, strong effort, strong favorite, survey firm, survive, Tom Tancredo, trend, unbeatable, vulnerable, white voters

1/3/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

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...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Amendment 23, appearance, appointment, articulate, Blog Talk Radio, breakfast meeting, character, class, Colorado Union of Taxpayers, conservative principles, Deborah Moeck, Denver, Douglas Bruce, Estes Park, fiscal conservatives, fiscal watchdogs, hard-working, Jon Nicholas, Kevin Lundberg, lawmakers, limited government, Mike Lynch, personal endorsement, Referendum C, Republicans, responsible, right person, Rocky Mountain Alliance, social issues, spokesman, state representative, state senator, Steve Johnson, TABOR, testing ground, voting record, website, well-qualified

10/8/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Joshua Sharf Confronts Opponent about “Educate the Idiots” Campaign

Now that the whistleblower has come forward to verify the authenticity of the Left-wing Colorado Democracy Alliance documents, including its "Educate the Idiots" campaign, here's a video of Republican state house candidate (and longtime blogger) Joshua Sharf posing the issue to Democrat opponent Lois Court at a recent televised forum: And if you want to know more about what issues distinguish the two candidates, here's a glimpse at their closing statements: It's an uphill battle for Joshua to win this race in a majority-Democrat district, but he is making an impression as an aggressive and articulate candidate for rock-solid conservative Republican principles. Party leaders should take notice. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: "Educate the Idiots", aggressive, articulate, authenticity, candidate, closing statements, Colorado Democracy Alliance, conservative principles, Democrat, distinct views, documents, Joshua Sharf, Left-wing, Lois Court, party leaders, Republican, spokesman, state house, televised forum, whistleblower, YouTube

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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
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