So I've heard the State Capitol has become a rough place these days (yes, Denver truly is the Wild West!), but I had no idea it had come to this, as disclosed in the Headline of the Week: "Brophy bill to protect homeowners killed in committee". My first thought was, How many homeowners have been killed in committee meetings lately? I especially have reason to be concerned, seeing as how I plan to be under the golden dome tomorrow to speak on a new media/blogger luncheon panel to the Senate GOP Caucus. I will be joined by the famous Vodkapundit (aka Stephen Green), Zombyboy, Rossputin (aka Ross Kaminsky), Charles Martin, and Face The State editor Brad Jones. Frankly, I'm humbled to be with this group of accomplished bloggers / new … [Read more...]
The Democrat “Stimulus” Bill: “Serious times call for silly, self-serving solutions”
Here's my new slogan for the day: "Serious times call for silly, self-serving solutions." At least as it applies to Democrats and their approach to addressing the current economic downturn . The Wall Street Journal sorts it out very nicely in today's editorial "The Stimulus Time Machine":The stimulus bill currently steaming through Congress looks like a legislative freight train, but given last week's analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, it is more accurate to think of it as a time machine. That may be the only way to explain how spending on public works in 2011 and beyond will help the economy today. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, a mere $26 billion of the House stimulus bill's $355 billion in new spending … [Read more...]
Sign the “No Stimulus!” Petition
Update, 2/9, Noon MST: Here is a wonderful, brief article by Dr. Paul Prentice explaining the fallacy of the name "stimulus" for this bill and why it's a terrible economic prescription. Update, 2/9, 11:30 AM MST: Many, many visitors report difficulty getting to Americans for Prosperity's No Stimulus petition. Thanks to one commenter for pointing out another No Stimulus petition you can sign (from John McCain's Country First PAC). Keep up the good fight, everyone! Update, 2/2, 2 PM MST: Numerous commenters have pointed out they've had problems getting on the site linked below to sign the No Stimulus petition. Site hosts confirmed to me that a sudden and dramatic increase in traffic occurred after a mention on Rush Limbaugh's show, … [Read more...]
Less than Independent Michael Bennet Invites Fresh, Articulate GOP Opponent
In his Rocky Mountain News column today, Vince Carroll points out that Bill Ritter's new U.S. Senate designate Michael Bennet hasn't shown much in the way of original, independent thought thus far:I've listened to Bennet speak about education issues often enough to appreciate his intelligence and what I sense is an independent mind. And I really didn't expect to see evidence of the latter in these early days. But if he's going to make a case across Colorado for his election in 2010, he'll have to prove he's his own man. And what better way to achieve this than for him to trample on a few of his own party's shibboleths? Once he's been safely sworn in, of course. Looking ahead, Colorado Republicans in 2010 need to rally around a fresh, … [Read more...]
Congressional Democrats’ Cigarette Tax Hike Could Cost Colorado $24 Million
Too many real policy debates these days get clouded behind the rhetoric of "it's for the children". Sometimes they are also hidden behind a cloud of smoke. Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress are making a top priority out of reauthorizing the SCHIP program - you know, ostensibly government-mandated health insurance for kids too rich for Medicare but unable to afford decent private coverage. Like most government programs, SCHIP isn't all it's cracked up to be. The Independence Institute's Linda Gorman has one good critique of the program. A popular component of the Democrats' current proposal soon to be before Congress is a 61-cent increase in the excise tax on cigarettes, to raise funds and enrollment in SCHIP. Is it a good … [Read more...]
Mark Hillman Credibly Criticizes Dems for Failure to Save State Money
Mark Hillman - former state senate majority leader and former state treasurer - once again has established himself as a leading voice of fiscal sanity in Colorado. In an op-ed in today's Denver Post, he assails Governor Bill Ritter and his Democratic colleagues at the helm of the state legislature for their ongoing mismanagement of the looming budget crisis:Balancing a budget during a recession is a difficult job, certainly. But balancing this year's budget didn't need to be this hard if only the leaders at the Capitol had learned from the last recession — or listened to those who experienced it. Last spring, as the economic storm clouds gathered, Gov. Bill Ritter and legislative leaders had opportunities to take precautions. One … [Read more...]
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...]
Democrat Rollie Heath Wants to Use Economic Downturn to Kill TABOR
It only took seven weeks after the voters of Colorado said no to a statewide proposal that would have gutted the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) - a proposal pushed by a campaign that heavily outspent the opposition - for the Democrats to be back at it again. From today's Denver Post:Rollie Heath, a Boulder Democrat elected to the Senate, said that as lawmakers grapple in the coming session with cutting as much as $600 million from the budget because of declining revenues, they should also look at TABOR, a revenue-capping provision of the state's constitution. The state is in a timeout from TABOR's tax-revenue limits, but that timeout expires in 2010, when Colorado will have to begin refunding to taxpayers any revenue it collects … [Read more...]
Democrat Moe Keller Happy to Spend Your Money While Spending is Good
Hey, Colorado, guess what? Leave the Democrats in charge in your state for too long, and taste the fruits of bad fiscal judgment. Witness this Face The State story about my own state senator:Audio from April 3 uncovered by Face The State reveals Sen. Moe Keller, a Wheat Ridge Democrat and chairwoman of the Joint Budget Committee, optimistically arguing that Colorado’s economic future is a bright one, even though Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted on that same day the country was headed into a recession. "We do not have a projection from our economists that we are going into a fiscal train wreck," she said. Moe Keller and her fellow Democrats at the State Capitol are just happy to spend your money while the spending is … [Read more...]
“Un-American”? Michigan Bailout Rhetoric Reaches Fever Pitch
I can feel the pain of my home state of Michigan (and no, I'm not referring to the bitter cold temperatures we're experiencing here along the Front Range). The angst coming from the Motor City and its environs is palpable. One of the most poignant examples, at least from my perspective, relates to a scheduled weekend appearance by Kentucky's U.S. Senator (and former Detroit Tigers pitcher) Jim Bunning. Detroit Free Press columnist Brian Dickerson ripped Bunning a new one after the Republican Senator voted against the UAW's federal government bailout deal. Dickerson wrote:He may be losing his marbles, but U.S. senator and ex-Tiger pitching great Jim Bunning still has big brass cojones. After all, most of the GOP senators … [Read more...]
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