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Home Archives for Democrats

2/10/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Outrage: Senate Stimulus Costlier

While many now are justifiably irate about Senators Arlen Specter and Susan Collins for their politically and economically destructive behavior, and President Obama sets up strawmen to make the case for Democrats' massive spending spree, it's important to remember that the so-called compromise Senate version of the so-called "stimulus" bill is actually more costly than the version that united Republican opposition in the House. Outrageous ... No Stimulus. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: Arlen Specter, Barack Obama, behavior, compromise, Democrats, destructive, economically, grumbling, House, irate, justifiably, massive, more costly, outrageous, politically, President, Republican opposition, senator, so-called, spending spree, stimulus bill, strawmen, Susan Collins

2/6/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Unions Lobby State Democrats to Slow Down School Building Inspections

Who's in charge at the Colorado State Capitol these days? Big Labor:A bill whose only aim was to make it easier for local school districts to get their new buildings inspected was blindsided today on the Senate floor by union-led opposition, with all but two of the chamber's Democrats voting to kill the measure. Three of the Democrats who voted with the majority against Senate Bill 64 [PDF]--Sens. Bob Bacon, of Fort Collins, Rollie Heath, of Boulder, and Evie Hudak, of Arvada--had voted in favor of it in the Senate Education Committee only two weeks earlier. What changed their minds? The bill's sponsor, the GOP's Sen. Keith King, of Colorado Springs, says it was the fact that the Journeyman Plumbers and Gas Fitters Union began lobbying … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor, PPC Tagged With: Arvada, Big Labor, bill, Bob Bacon, Boulder, buildings, California, chamber, clean-up bill, clout, Colorado, Colorado Senate News, Colorado Springs, committee, cool, Democrats, efficient, Evie Hudak, exchange, flabbergasted, flip-flops, Fort Collins, General Assembly, hearing, inspections, Journeyman Plumbers, Keith King, lobbying, Michigan, New Jersey, opposition, Republican, reserved, Rollie Heath, school districts, school inspections, Senate, Senate Bill 64, Senate Education Committee, sponsor, State Capitol, union, union interests, voting, wow

2/5/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Democrats Working Hard to Become the Party of Toll Roads

Update, 8:50 PM: 19 Democrats voted for the taxes and tolls in the transportation bill. Lefties are in turmoil, with some angry that the Dems are responsible for passing a regressive tax. Yesterday I asked if Colorado Democrats would try to overreach in sticking taxpayers for state transportation costs. It didn't take long to see where the ruling party at the State Capitol stands. In a bizarre about-face, the Democrats decided to toss bipartisan compromise out the window to push a provision that would allow tolling on some of Colorado's busiest highways:Republicans and a handful of Democrats first voted to remove provisions allowing local authorities to toll existing roads. After a break in the debate, the bill sponsor and Democratic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC, transportation Tagged With: about-face, bill sponsor, bipartisan, busiest highways, Colorado, compromise, costs, deal breaker, debate, Democrats, Grand Junction, introduced, Josh Penry, local authorities, overreach, Party, party-line vote, provision, push, Republicans, Senate Bill 108, senate minority leader, State Capitol, strategic decision, taxpayers, toll roads, tolling, transportation

2/5/2009 By Ben 9 Comments

Rossputin Explains Why The Current Recession is So Uniquely Bad

A few days ago I raised the question based on a provocative American Thinker essay by Randall Hoven: How deep is this recession? Is it really the worst crisis in 70 years? I am not that well versed in - nor closely attuned to - macroeconomic data and the trends they indicate. Something seemed incomplete in the essay. So I'm glad to see that Rossputin has weighed in with a thoughtful and thorough response, disagreeing with Hoven. Whether you are more swayed by Hoven or Rossputin, Rossputin's conclusion is something we all should easily be able to agree with:The Democrats’ medicine will be worse than our current illness, and will turn what should have been a moderately annoying case of the fiscal flu into a devastating economic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: agree, American Thinker, Americans, aversion, conclusion, crisis, Democrats, devastating, disagree, economic pneumonia, encouraging news, essay, fiscal flu, incomplete, macroeconomic data, medicine, prescription, question, Randall Hoven, recession, Rossputin, thorough, thoughtful, toxic, trends, weighed in, well versed

2/4/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Will Colorado Democrats Overreach on Sticking Taxpayers for Transportation?

As we discussed on last night's Blog Talk Radio show with the Grand Junction Sentinel's Mike Saccone (to listen to a recording, you can go to the sidebar or directly to the RMA page) - the fight over transportation dollars is the big story brewing at the State Capitol. Senate minority leader Josh Penry and the Republicans say their proposals haven't been taken seriously in negotiations and are willing to let the Democrats own measures like the unpopular interstate highway tolls and the controversial Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fee. Reasonable compromise is part of lawmakers' job, but I hope that conservatives in the House demand a little more from Governor Bill Ritter and the majority Democrats. Namely, the legislature needs to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC, transportation Tagged With: big story, Bill Ritter, Blog Talk Radio, burden, Democrats, Governor, Grand Junction Sentinel, interstate highway, Josh Penry, majority, measures, Mike Saccone, minority leader, negotiations, overreach, prevailing wage, proposals, Republicans, Rocky Mountain Alliance, sources, State Capitol, taxpayers, tolls, transportation dollars, transportation needs, unpopular, Vehicle Miles Traveled, VMT fee

1/29/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Etch Yesterday in Stone as Rare Proud Moment for Congressional GOP

It's not often that I can say Congressional Republicans make me proud by their actions. So let's etch January 28, 2009, in stone as one of those momentous occasions. Hats off to the House GOP yesterday for standing 100 percent united against the Obama-Democrat trillion dollar pork bill that promises to mount piles of debt on my generation and future generations. Of course, this is small consolation as there aren't enough Republicans - with or without backbone - to stop the socialist steamroller "stimulus" from gliding through. But at least if the GOP hangs tough and united, rather than set us up for disappointment, the Democrats will own this economic disaster. (Will Senate Republicans follow their House brethren?) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: backbone, Barack Obama, basic sanity, Beltway, Best Destiny, Colorado, Congress, conservative, conservative leaders, creativity, delegation, Democrats, disappointment, economic disaster, energized, fiscal conservatism, free market, generations, gloomy news, grassroots, hand-wringing, hard work, House GOP, impact, late, limited government, memo, Michael, momentous occasions, necessary, never, party-line vote, piles of debt, political, pork bill, proud, realization, Republicans, rock bottom, Rocky Mountain Right, Senate, small consolation, small rays of hope, Socialist, solidarity, steamroller, stimulus, struggles, tough, trillion dollar, united, waiting, Washington

1/28/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

Will Democrats Try to Stiff Us with Another Arbitrary, Pointless Tax Hike?

Four years ago, a narrow majority of Coloradans bought the slick advertising of the Referendum C tax hike. Today, statehouse Democrats seem to have forgotten all their grandiose promises. (Or were they not telling us the truth in the first place?) A great catch by Face The State (go and listen to the brief audio clip for yourself):So we were shocked to hear JBC vice-chairman Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, assert during last week's discussion that “Ref C wasn’t designed to fix anything," and that "Ref C was an arbitrary amount of money.” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC Tagged With: arbitrary, audio clip, Bill Ritter, blank check, Boulder, budget expert, cats and dogs, clarify, Coloradans, Colorado, Democrats, economics, Face the State, Governor, grandiose promises, Jack Pommer, Joint Budget Committee, majority, money, politicians, proposal, rainy day, Referendum C, Rossputin, slick advertising, state government, state legislature, state programs, statehouse, stiffed, surprised, tax hike, times of plenty, truth, vernacular, voters

1/28/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Rossputin: Bill Ritter’s Transparent Try to Set Stage for Another Tax Hike

When I recently pointed out Governor Bill Ritter's public proclamation in favor of transparency, this wasn't the kind of transparency I was talking about. Rossputin explains:There's a reason that the first thing Ritter is proposing to do is cut education and prison funding, and "temporarily" suspend the homestead exemption which lowers property tax for many senior citizens, and it's the oldest liberal trick in the book: He's setting the stage for a tax increase proposal "for the children" and with the specter of violent felons roaming the streets unless we go along. Well, it's time to just say no to more liberal government expansion. Yes, Bill Ritter's announcement should make it rather transparent that he and the Democrats are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC Tagged With: alternative, Bill Ritter, budget proposal, Democrats, Education, enough, for the children, government expansion, Governor, homestead exemption, opportunity, ploys, prisons, proclamation, property tax, Republicans, responsible citizens, Rossputin, scare tactics, senior citizens, tax increase, Transparency, violent felons

1/28/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Democrats Kill Clean Government, Anti-Political Blackmail Bill

From the Denver Post:A bill that would have barred back-room ballot initiative deals got the heave-ho at the state Capitol Tuesday. House Bill 1069, from state Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, would have made it illegal for anyone with a ballot initiative certified by the secretary of state to then withdraw that initiative because of a deal offering money, gifts or any “other valuable consideration.” A provision like that already exists in state law when it comes to candidates for office. It's official: your Democrats in charge at the Colorado statehouse once again come out against clean government. In voting down House Bill 1069, they have winked at the use of the citizens' ballot initiative process for political blackmail by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, PPC Tagged With: Amy Stephens, backroom deals, ballot initiative, Beth McCann, bill, business, Chicago, citizens, clean government, Colorado, current majority, Democrats, Denver Post, House Bill 1069, illegal, kudos, Labor, lobbyists, moneyed, Monument, party line, political blackmail, protection, provision, public interest, Rod Blagojevich, special interests, State Capitol, state legislator, statehouse, unholy marriage, winked

1/27/2009 By Ben 10 Comments

Nearly Half of Coloradans Admit They Don’t Know Who Michael Bennet Is

Congressional Quarterly says Michael Bennet "needs to get better known" -- who? Oh yeah! Colorado's junior junior U.S. Senator. The Democrats' Public Policy Polling - in a herculean effort to put an impossibly meaningful spin on an election that's more than 21 months away - finds almost half of Coloradans will admit they don't even know who Bennet is. (How many of the 54 percent were fibbing, or thought maybe pollsters were asking about this AFC West rival running back?) We're a long way from knowing much of anything about the dynamics for the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Colorado. But we'll at least begin to have a good idea of the terrain when we see how Bennet casts his vote on union card-check legislation. With the announcement … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, PPC Tagged With: 2010, admit, AFC West, Attorney General, card-check, Coloradans, Colorado, Congressional Quarterly, dark horse, Democrats, election, fibbing, fundraising steam, herculean effort, John Suthers, junior, Michael Bennet, Michael Bennett, political junkies, pollsters, Public Policy Polling, Ryan Frazier, spin, terrain, U.S. Senate race, U.S. Senator, union, vote

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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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