August 03, 2016 01:00 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (August 3)

• 4 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

So, how about that Donald Trump character? Heh, heh…ugh. It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► It’s difficult to decide where to start with all of the recent news about Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, but this seems like as good a place as any: Trump reportedly has questioned — repeatedly — why it would not be a good idea for the United States to use nuclear weapons.

We’ll pause here for a moment to let that sink in…

Moving on…Trump said Tuesday that he would not support House Speaker Paul Ryan or Arizona Sen. John McCain for re-election, which is an odd thing to do when you are the Party’s nominee for PRESIDENT. Just to make things weirder, Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, today gave a full-throated endorsement of Ryan. This should make for an interesting conversation between Trump and Pence.

Trump is also convinced that the election is going to be rigged against him; in other words, he’s already laying the foundation to explain losing to Hillary Clinton in November.

Meanwhile, Colorado Republicans like Rep. Mike Coffman are still wrestling over how much to condemn Trump — or really, whether to speak his name at all — while also avoiding publicly abandoning their Presidential nominee altogether. Except for state Sen. Laura Waters Woods (R-Arvada), of course, who is instead doubling-down on her support for His Hairness.

Oh, and President Obama called Trump “unfit” to be President.

Other than that, it’s been a solid 48 hours for Trump.

► Trump himself is not in Colorado today, but everybody else at the top of the Presidential race is making a stop in our state. Pence is in Denver and Colorado Springs today, while Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, will visit Adams County and Denver.

Hillary and Bill Clinton will be back in Colorado next Tuesday for a fundraising event in Aspen.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Congressman Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas), a Tea Party Republican and member of the anti-everything House Freedom Caucus, was trounced in a GOP Primary on Tuesday by political newcomer Roger Marshall. Here’s why you should care about this: Huelskamp’s defeat is a potential signal that Republicans are finally getting fed up with “The Party of No.” If this is a harbinger of things to come, it’s bad news for the likes of Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Aurora).

► Colorado Democrats are outraising Republicans across the board in legislative races. For incumbents such as Republican Rep. Clarice Navarro, this should not be happening.

► The laughably-biased editorial board of the Colorado Springs Gazette tries to come to the aid of Republican Senate candidate Darryl Glenn, who has been struggling with bad press after initially telling a Denver Post reporter that a 1983 domestic disturbance at his home might have been the work of someone else named Darryl Glenn. We understand that the Gazette is going out of its way to help Glenn — even harshly criticizing the Denver Post in the process — but we’re not sure this really helps the GOP Senate candidate. Glenn doesn’t need a newspaper to defend him as much as he just needs people to stop talking about this story.

► Aurora School Board member Eric Nelson is apparently not understanding that his ridiculously-exagerrated resume has already ended what might have been of his political career and has become a major distraction for the Board. Eric — if that is your real name — please: Just. Go. Away.

► The Jefferson County School Board approved a ballot measure for this fall that seeks approval for a $535 million bond effort. As John Aguilar reports for the Denver Post:

Voters in Jefferson County will be asked in November to approve a $535 million bond issue — the largest amount of money ever requested by the state’s second-largest public school district — to make widespread improvements to buildings and facilities in the 86,000-student district.

Voters will also be asked to give their blessing to a $33 million mill levy override to help cover non-capital costs, such as hiring additional counselors and student support professionals and expanding science, technology, engineering and math programs.

The Jefferson County school board voted unanimously Tuesday evening to place both funding measures on the Nov. 8 ballot.

“We’re way behind the curve in basic maintenance of our facilities,” said board member Brad Rupert. “We can’t kick the can down the road further.”

The Aurora School Board has also decided to embark on a $300 million bond campaign for school financing.

► Senator Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) is tooling around Colorado visiting agricultural interests.

► Colorado appears to be moving closer and closer in Hillary Clinton’s direction, as Politico reports:

Priorities USA Action, the main super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, is cutting its ad buy in Colorado for the next two weeks, reflecting Democrats’ growing confidence in the battleground state.

In recent weeks the Clinton campaign itself cut back on TV advertising in Colorado. Clinton is polling 8 points ahead of Trump in Colorado according to a RealClearPolitics average.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► The Denver Broncos have acquired the naming rights to their home football stadium (which was built at huge expense to taxpayers).

► No, it’s not just you: Mobile data speeds in Denver are brutally slow.

► The Trump Taj Mahal hotel and casino in Atlantic City will close its doors after Labor Day. Will Trump even have an outside shot at the Presidency by then?

ICYMI

► Save cargo shorts!

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