Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 27th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. We hope to dedicate this episode to a review of the good, the bad, and the ugly from the recently concluded legislative session in Denver. Our special guest will be Representative Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, vice chair of the Republican Study Committee of Colorado. If you miss the live show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. … [Read more...]
Good Judgment, Leadership Lacking: More Reasons to Doubt Bill Ritter
First state treasurer Cary Kennedy, now our Governor Bill Ritter. Two of Colorado's highest-level Democrat leaders showing a lack of good judgment. I had nearly forgotten about Ritter's other apparent campaign-related improprieties until I read Jessica Fender's piece in yesterday's Denver Post:"Not Waiting" was the subject line of a campaign-fundraising e-mail Gov. Bill Ritter sent last month to a handful of lobbyists as well as his supporters. But in this instance, waiting wouldn't have been a bad thing. … [Read more...]
RMA Blog Talk Radio at 8:30 Tonight: Blue Collar Muse and More …
Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 25th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. Our confirmed guest for this week is Ken Marrero, an entrepreneur and one of the leading bloggers on the Right, better known to many as Tennessee's Blue Collar Muse. A possible guest from the Colorado state legislature also may join us, but these being the final hectic hours of the session we're playing it by ear. If you miss the live show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. … [Read more...]
RMA Blog Talk Radio at 8:30: Walker Stapleton, Legislative Session
Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 24th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. Our confirmed guest for this week is Walker Stapleton, the first announced Republican candidate for Colorado State Treasurer in 2010. As the legislative session draws to an end, we also hope to have on a state legislator to talk about important issues for lawmakers still to decide. If you miss the live show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. … [Read more...]
Random Monday Morning Musings
Monday morning -- The world of Colorado politics is quiet ... too quiet. About 9 days left in the legislative session, and some version of Senate Bill 228 is still lurking out there. Will Democrats really rush ahead with this taxpayer-unfriendly idea? In other random news, Ken Buck is in the U.S. Senate fray. Immigration almost certainly figures to be a hot-button issue in the primary, if not the general election itself. But what does it all mean, with incumbent appointee Michael Bennet's apparent weakness among Hispanic voters? In other words, it's simply too quiet out here. … [Read more...]
Is Democrat Jack Pommer Just Screwing Up a Lot of Paperwork Again?
Face The State has the details about the Boulder Democrat:On the April 16 report, [state representative Jack] Pommer lists campaign contributions from registered lobbyists and special interest groups made on February 5. The date is significant, as it falls exactly a month into the legislative session. Under Colorado campaign finance law, it is illegal for lobbyists or special interest groups that lobby to give or solicit money for the campaigns of state office-holders while the legislature is in session. "The way the law reads, it says lobbyists shall not give," said Rich Coolidge, spokesman for the Secretary of State. "The burden falls on the lobbyist." Lobbyist contributions came from Jane Urschel of the Colorado Association of … [Read more...]
More Reasons to Make Sure Senate Bill 180 Doesn’t Simply Stall, But Dies
It's encouraging news that the Colorado state senate keeps putting off a vote on Senate Bill 180. The Democrats would seem not to have confidence in the votes to override local control, impose collective bargaining, raise the cost of government services, and threaten the rights of our state's police officers and firefighters. If you need more reason to understand why SB 180 is a bad idea, and why you should keep the pressure on and tell your state senator to vote against it, you should listen to this new iVoices podcast I recorded with Stan Greer from the National Institute of Labor Relations Research: What might seem on the surface like a nice thing to do for our public safety employees is really bad public policy when you take a … [Read more...]
Rocky Mtn Alliance Blog Talk Radio at 8:30 PM: Todd Shepherd, Mark Hillman
Tune in starting at 8:30 PM local Mountain Time this evening for the 10th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio, the third of 2009. Tonight's guests are my Independence Institute colleague Todd Shepherd and Republican National Committeeman and former state legislative leader Mark Hillman. Topics are likely to include the probable demise of the Rocky Mountain News, the local media scene, the inauguration, the contest for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, the unfolding state legislative session, and more. Don't forget. If you miss the live broadcast of tonight’s show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. More … [Read more...]
Democrat Cary Kennedy: Protecting Coloradans from Open Government
In an editorial today that could herald the great advance of Colorado's upcoming legislative session, the Denver Post lauds a proposal by Rep. Don Marostica (R-Loveland) and Sen. Mike Kopp (R-Littleton) that would place the state government's check register online. Marostica made a similar legislative proposal in 2007, but was shot down with a ridiculous $2 million fiscal note from legislative staff. (Cost money? It's much more likely to save taxpayer money.) One line from the Post editorial jumped off the page when I read it:Marostica again plans to sponsor a bill to create just such a site, and treasurer Cary Kennedy has supported the plan in theory, but wants some citizen protections in place. [emphasis added\ Uh, what? … [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...]