August 30, 2016 11:12 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (August 30)

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• by: Colorado Pols

S-I-E-M-I-A-N. It’s going to take some practice to spell that name correctly on the first try. 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…

► Meg Whitman, the CEO of Hewlett Packard and a major Republican donor (not to mention a former GOP candidate for Governor in California), is in Colorado today to help raise money…for Democrat Hillary Clinton. From the Denver Post:

Whitman will meet with Colorado business leaders for breakfast at the Crawford Hotel to discuss Clinton’s jobs plan, which includes investing in technology companies and helping small businesses succeed.

“As a proud Republican, casting my vote for president has usually been a simple matter,” Whitman said in a statement. “Not this year. The reality we face is that Donald Trump is unfit to be president. And that is why more and more Republicans are doing what I did and supporting Hillary Clinton”…

Whitman ran unsuccessfully for governor of California in 2010 and was a finance co-chairwoman for Mitt Romney’s presidential run in 2012. Like Romney, she has been one of Trump’s chief critics within his own party, likening him to a fascist who lacks the temperament to be president.

► Two proposed ballot measures dealing with fracking have failed to qualify for the November ballot. Measures to set mandatory drilling setbacks and to allow for more local control in oil and gas drilling decisions did not meet the necessarily signature threshold to be included on the ballot.

Proponents of the fracking measures are still considering potential legal challenges, but it would appear that the number of statewide initiatives this year will remain at seven (along with two additional measures referred to the ballot by the state legislature).

► Make sure to check out the newest episode of The Get More Smarter Show, featuring an interview with Congressman Jared Polis (D-Boulderish).

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Media personalities and executives at Fox News are caught up in their own terrible reality show. A sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former Fox News employee Andrea Tantaros lists numerous well-known Fox TV hosts, including Bill O’Reilly.

► A proposed initiative in Denver that would have allowed for the “social use” of marijuana did not qualify for the ballot. As Jon Murray explains for the Denver Post:

That means Denver voters won’t get a chance in the Nov. 8 election to allow private marijuana clubs, which some other Colorado cities and towns have sanctioned. But they still might have the option of voting for a broader measure that would legalize the social use of cannabis products in some regular businesses, such as bars or cafes or even yoga studios. Permit seekers would have to win the backing of a neighborhood group.

The latter measure, called the Neighborhood-Supported Cannabis Consumption Initiative, still is having its petition signatures verified. Denver Elections spokesman Alton Dillard said the verification process for that measure should be complete by next week.

Marijuana in yoga studios? That’s the perfect scent to combine with the ever-present smell of body odor and sweaty feet.

► Remember when Donald Trump boasted that he would put traditional blue states in play in 2016 — including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Oregon? Yeah? Not so much.

Trump’s campaign is reportedly planning a big media buy in Colorado, and Chris Cillizza of “The Fix” responds to the news that Trump’s campaign may be making a play for Michigan:

Trump’s spending in Michigan only seems odd in a vacuum. When you compare it to the other states where he is advertising, his problem becomes clear.  Here they are — with the RCP polling average in parentheses:

Colorado (Clinton +11.8)

Florida (Clinton +2.7)

Michigan (Clinton +8.2)

North Carolina (Clinton +1.7)

Ohio (Clinton +3.8)

Pennsylvania (Clinton +8.2)

Virginia (Clinton +13)

What you see is that the map of potential Trump opportunities is very limited. For all of the talk of Trump’s surprising competitiveness in places like Nevada and Iowa, those are mere trifles compared to his deficits in Florida, Ohio, Virginia and Colorado.

► The State of Arizona finally closes out the 2016 Primary season today, where Sen. John McCain is in the fight of his political life. From the Washington Post:

This reelection campaign, his fifth, is forcing the Arizona Republican to do battle on multiple fronts, testing his political dexterity in ways unlike any of his previous races, including two unsuccessful bids for the presidency.

First he must clear his primary Tuesday, a day after he turns 80, against an arch-conservative whose campaign received a late six-figure boost from a Trump donor. Then, assuming he wins the nomination, he must move into a general election just two months away against a well-funded Democrat, U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, whose campaign is wrapping McCain’s support for Trump around the veteran Republican’s neck in a bid to drive up Latino turnout.

McCain insists that he will not alter his high-wire campaign strategy, which basically involves steadfast support for Trump while also reserving the right to regularly criticize the GOP nominee when he does or says something objectionable.

► Thanks to robust voter registration efforts, there are 700,000 more active voters in Colorado than during the last Presidential election in 2012.

► Senator Michael Bennet (D-Denver) touts his record of bipartisanship in a meeting with the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel:

Bipartisanship in the U.S. Senate should be honored, not scorned, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said Monday, swiping at his Republican opponent in the November general election.

Though Congress has been hamstrung by partisan fighting, “You won’t find an instance of my contributing to that dysfunction,” Bennet told the editorial board of The Daily Sentinel, adding that he hasn’t had to twist many GOP arms.

Bennet’s Republican challenger, El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn, has been open about his intentions to not reach across the aisle should he somehow get elected in November.

► After numerous problems and errors, RTD is withholding $65,000 from a payment to contractors on the University of Colorado A Line light rail project.

► The city of Ft. Collins is considering asking voters to approve a TABOR exemption so the city can retain all of the tax revenue collected after voters approved a 2010 sales and use tax. TABOR is the worst.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Republican Senate candidate Darryl Glenn could be an “all-timer.” As in, one of the “all-time” worst statewide candidates in modern Colorado political history. 

► Marco Freakin’ Rubio will not commit to serving a full six-year term in the U.S. Senate if re-elected in Florida. Remember, this is the same Marco Rubio who reportedly hated being in the U.S. Senate and virtually stopped doing his job altogether when he was seeking the Republican Presidential nomination. From Politico:

“No one can make that commitment because you don’t know what the future’s gonna hold in your life personally or politically,” the Florida senator told CNN on Monday, opening the door for a presidential run when asked if he could commit to a full Senate term before seemingly slamming it shut in the next breath.

ICYMI

► R.I.P., Willy Wonka.

Don’t forget to check out the Get More Smarter Show. You can also Get More Smarter by liking Colorado Pols on Facebook!