It's been awhile since I've done any sort of book review. But having just completed Adam Schrager's The Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story, it seemed an apt time to change that. Those who won't want to miss this book include students of Colorado history, fans of the World War II era (especially the home front), and anyone interested in a sadly forgotten inspirational story that seems foreign in today's all-too-jaded and polarized world of politics. As introduced to readers in The Principled Politician, Ralph Carr (1887-1950) -- Republican governor of Colorado from 1939 to 1943 -- was a rare model of statesmanship. Fittingly, he held deep admiration and adulation for our nation's 16th president Abraham Lincoln. He recognized the … [Read more...]
Legislation to Unionize Colorado State Government: Coming 2010 Battle?
Via the Right to Work blog comes news that the new Republican Governor of Arizona Jan Brewer has repealed her predecessor's executive order granting union powers to state workers. This scenario (and others like it before - witness Missouri and Indiana as examples) is precisely why the Colorado WINS labor coalition will not rest satisfied with Bill Ritter's November 2007 executive order that introduced collective bargaining to our state government. Odds are strong that the political winds will favor Big Labor pushing a broad piece of government employee collective bargaining legislation in 2010. The question is whether the Democrats in charge at the State Capitol by then will have backed off the cliff's edge, and from governing away their … [Read more...]
Democrats Gamble State Finances, Majority Status, on Pinnacol “Gimmick”
The budget debate at Colorado's State Capitol heads into full throttle this week. In a tough year, the linchpin to the Democrats' plan is a raid on the privately-funded Pinnacol Assurance Company. Even the Denver Post recognizes this as a bad idea:If lawmakers can't get money from Pinnacol, higher education could be cut by more than $400 million — more than half the state's allotment to colleges and universities. Pinnacol offers guaranteed workers' compensation insurance, and Republicans have argued that because the insurer's assets were funded by businesses paying premiums, the state should keep its hands off. [Attorney General John] Suthers, a Republican, clearly, agrees. The Pinnacol idea is dubious at best. It is a gimmick, a … [Read more...]
Which Party Will Miss Peter Groff as Senate President More: GOP or Dems?
It seems almost certain that Democrat Senate President Peter Groff has tried to remain mum about the news of his impending departure to join the Obama administration in Washington to avoid distraction from an especially difficult budget process in the state legislature this year. But the cat's out of the bag now. Kind, classy words in the Denver Post from the Republican opposition:"Washington's gain is our loss," said Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray.... "I hope that President Obama gives him a job with a lot of power in the Department of Education," said Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction. It's hard to say which party will miss him more at the helm of the state senate in 2010. For Republicans, he's a strong ally on … [Read more...]
Walker Stapleton Announcement Makes First GOP Treasurer Candidate
The Denver Business Journal reports that Colorado Republicans have their first official candidate for State Treasurer (H/T Rocky Mountain Right):Denver businessman Walker Stapleton , president of real estate company SonomaWest Holdings, Tuesday became the first Republican to announce that he will run for Colorado state treasurer. Democrat Cary Kennedy now holds the office and has filed to run for re-election in 2010. Three GOP businessmen, including Stapleton, have said they are eyeing the race. Stapleton, 34, unveiled a list of 30 business backers with his announcement, including El Pomar Foundation CEO Bill Hybl, Gallagher Enterprises CEO Charles Gallagher and former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson. One of … [Read more...]
House Education Committee Democrats Killed Spending Transparency… Fast
One of my favorite aphorisms about Colorado politics is that the House Education Committee is where good education reform goes to die. Case in point is Senate Bill 57, the school spending transparency legislation that committee Democrats shot down after hearing more than 30 citizens and activists who volunteered to come down and testify for the bill. Thanks to a Face The State mini-investigation, we learn today it was even worse than that:Also known as Senate Bill 57, the bill was postponed indefinitely after four hours of committee debate that lasted late into the evening. [Democrat] Speaker Terrance Carroll and [Republican] House Minority Leader Mike May arrived to work the next morning ready to revive it. But they were too … [Read more...]
Ryan Frazier Dominates Competition in DougCo U.S. Senate Straw Poll
El Presidente has some potentially earth-shaking news (for active lovers of liberty and the handful of Colorado political insiders who are paying attention at this point, that is): Despite the weak and transparent efforts of the liberal Dead Governors to marginalize his campaign with ridicule, Aurora city councilman Ryan Frazier not only won but dominated the competition in a U.S. Senate straw poll among the conservative Douglas County GOP faithful (complete with video of Frazier's Saturday speech at the Douglas County Lincoln Day dinner). Other names in the straw poll included former Congressman Bob Beauprez, popular radio talk show host Dan Caplis, Weld County district attorney Ken Buck, and businessman Cleve Tidwell. This result … [Read more...]
Card Check Bill’s Fading Prospects a Relief for Colorado’s Michael Bennet
Big Labor is really bummed out today with the news that U.S. Senator Arlen Specter won't be backing their Orwellian-named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) (you can watch his floor speech here) -- at least for this year. No Republican votes (and many shaky Democrats) means union officials won't be able to invoke the 60 votes needed for cloture to take away workers' rights to the secret ballot and impose costly binding arbitration. This has got to spell a little relief for Colorado's newly selected U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. EFCA has put Bennet in a bind, but if the political signals are clear that the legislation won't pass he might have the cover he needs. At this point, my guess is Bennet will take the path of least resistance within … [Read more...]
Leondray Gholston Brings Fresh Blood Beside Experienced Dick Wadhams in Colorado GOP Leadership
Update: El Presidente has more of the details surrounding what went down at today's state party officer elections. I was not able to attend today's Colorado Republican state central committee meeting in Castle Rock, but I've had a chance to follow developments remotely. As reported at Rocky Mountain Right, Dick Wadhams was comfortably re-elected to the chairman's position. The more competitive race was for vice-chair, in which DougCo GOP reports on Twitter that Leondray Gholston beat out Nathan Chambers on the 3rd round of voting. For many conservative grassroots supporters, Gholston's election represents a new and exciting direction for the state party. Let's hope their optimism is justified. Certainly, Gholston's passion, … [Read more...]
Has State Representative Don Marostica Wandered Off the Political Cliff?
Update, 3/17: Link added - check out "Keep The Cap Colorado" Saying state representative Don Marostica is not the future of the Colorado Republican Party was one of the blog understatements of the year. As if latching on to the Democratic caucus to support California-like spendthrift policies wasn't enough by itself, Marostica had to go and try to explain his position. From Don Marostica's hometown, this Loveland Politics report seems to indicate the representative has walked off the political cliff:If the purpose of Saturday's "town hall" meeting was to mend fences within his own party, it failed miserably when the Republican legislator Marostica told those assembled "Now, I know Republicans -- really get nervous about that because … [Read more...]
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