Last-Ditch Attempt to Force Maes Out Underway?

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 20:26:05 PM MDT

This morning I called Dan Maes to withdraw my endorsement and urge him to end his candidacy, for the public good.  As a conscientious Republican who earlier voted for Dan, I cannot support a manifestly unfit nominee.  He has flunked his job interview with the people of Colorado in the weeks since Scott McInnis faded.  The party should cut Maes loose if he does not resign the nomination.  I intend to write in a vote for Jane Norton for Governor. [Pols emphasis]

Jane Norton? This makes perfect sense. Try to kick out someone who won the Republican primary in order to replace him with someone who lost a primary election of her own. We've absolutely reached the point where this is causing more harm than good for Republicans, whether or not they can convince Maes to withdraw.
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THURSDAY UPDATE #3: There is a Gubernatorial debate scheduled to be taped today at Noon as a joint production between Colorado Public Television (CPT12) and CBS 4. The debate is scheduled to air at 9:00 p.m. tomorrow, which could be a bit odd if Maes did withdraw from the race.
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THURSDAY UPDATE #2: Moments ago, Dan Maes posted this defiant-sounding update to his Facebook page. Does this read like a man about to pull out of this race?

THURSDAY UPDATE: The Colorado Statesman's Jody Strogoff confirms much of this story in a detailed must-read report this morning: renewed pressure to withdraw, a few days of expressed leeway by the Secretary of State's office should a vacancy committee be necessary, and a twist you may not have expected: Bob Beauprez waiting in the wings?

Oil Rig Explodes in Gulf, CNN Takes 30 Seconds on Graphic

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 10:28:58 AM MDT

See? There's Louisiana, there's Vermillion Bay...and there's a little red boom.

Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition "Appalled" by Beezley Remarks on Disabilities

by: Broomfield County Democrats

Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 07:23:08 AM MDT

The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, an advocacy group for Coloradans with disabilities of all kinds, responded forcefully:

"It is unfathomable that someone running for public office would openly and proudly engage in speech demonizing and expressing hatred towards 20% of the population" said Julie Reiskin, Executive Director.

"Clearly, this individual has not read the ADA and shows no understanding of what the law actually says" says Kevin Williams, the Legal Program Director of CCDC.  "In fact it is this attitude from business owners that flooded the congressional record proving to Congress that disability discrimination is a prevalent problem in our society."  

"It amazes me that a business owner would publicly show his resentment against any segment of the population, particularly one that tends to have disposable income and spent $35 billion in restaurants nationally in 2003  said Joe Beaver, CCDC Board President and retired accountant.  If this is the attitude no wonder the economy is in trouble.  This is not a problem caused by the Government. It is this attitude that costs jobs and causes businesses to fail"

Mr. Beezley was asked about these comments yesterday by the Broomfield Enterprise and reiterated that he is opposed to the Americans with Disabilities Act.  

Full release after the jump:

Thursday Open Thread

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 06:46:50 AM MDT

--William Arthur Ward

The Great Collapse: All Dems are behind in statewide races (except Hick)

by: H-man

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 07:14:55 AM MDT

In the State office races, Magellan polling is now available, which seem to indicate the same trending, except for the Governor's race.
http://www.magellanstrategies....
The Results are as follows:
Governor: Hick 46, Maes 27, Tank 17
Treasurer: Stapelton 42, Kennedy 38
Atty. Gen.: Suthers 47, Garnett 32
Sec of State: Gessler 37, Buescher 31

Pro-Buck Groups Get Ads Pulled in Missouri

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 16:13:01 PM MDT

Missouri media outlets have pulled two misleading attack ads against Robin Carnahan being aired by Congressman Blunt's corporate special interest allies.  This weekend, a Missouri network including 77 radio stations pulled a false attack ad being run by Americans for Job Security - a group with a long history of campaign related citations and violations. [Anchorage Daily News,  8/17/08; FEC.gov]

In addition, Karl Rove's special interest group, American Crossroads GPS, had their attack ad pulled down by CableNet while the FEC looks into allegations of illegal coordination between Congressman Blunt's campaign and Rove's group.

Both Americans for Job Security and American Crossroads GPS have run ads in Colorado on behalf of Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck, with Americans for Job Security (AJS) spending more than $2 million for Buck in the primary alone.

We've long wondered about potential coordination issues with Buck's campaign and these outside interest groups. The question first came to mind when Buck raised a curiously low $40,000 in the last fundraising quarter of 2009, because normally such a poor effort for a Senate candidate would all but end their campaign; the only way Buck could have remained credible was if his campaign (and high-level supporters) knew that there would be significant outside help available. Buck had raised $1.2 million for his campaign as of the July 21 reporting period, which was less than Republican Cory Gardner had raised in his CD-4 congressional campaign, and about half of what AJS spent just on TV ads on Buck's behalf.

The connection dug up in Missouri between Republican Rep. Roy Blunt and outside interest groups like AJS may very well end up being made with Buck as well, and if so, it will play a major role in deciding whether Buck can defeat Sen. Michael Bennet in November. If Buck doesn't have these ads on the air in Colorado, he's in trouble.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Gazette Reporter Resigns

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 16:14:38 PM MDT

As most of you know, the Colorado Springs Gazette is party to a legal dispute with this blog, and we have been ordered not to quote any of their stories. But we of course do read the Gazette every day, and value the work of their reporters--as we do at newspapers across the state.

But we were surprised to hear today that Welsome has suddenly resigned from the Gazette. It has been suggested to us that there may be a political reason for her departure; we want to stress that we have no way of confirming that, but it comes from a reliable source. Given the quality of her work in her brief term at the Colorado Springs paper, this would be another big loss for political journalism in the state, at a time when that can least be afforded.

Making a Maes Of It: Résumé Padding, Unsigned Checks, and Prior Appropriations

by: ClubTwitty

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 14:27:00 PM MDT

Certainly exposure is doing him no good. It would seem that name recognition is no friend of Dan Maes, when nearly each mention is in conjunction with something a bit... well strange might be the nice way of putting it.  

Today we get a threefer:

1) Kansas Bureau of Investigation denying Dan Maes ever helped them in any undercover operation, Maes refusing to answer who posted such, ummmm, embellishments on his website (and his campaign spokesman quickly acknowledging that it was Dan himself);

2) Dan dropping an unsigned check into Freda Poundstone's purse (from his personal slush campaign funds) with Ms. Poundstone insisting it was never a campaign contribution and the Maes spokesman insisting a valid check will soon be in the mail; and

3) Water experts claiming that Mr. Maes' position on water policy is property theft.

Tom Tancredo Interview

by: DavidThi808

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 13:28:41 PM MDT

So I started off by asking him why he choose to enter the race. He started off by saying that he is a strong believer in working within the party and that he was very comfortable supporting first Josh Penry, and then Scott McInnis. Tom then discussed the last couple of months.  

Colorado Pols: 1 Million Page Views in August

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 11:04:46 AM MDT

In August, Colorado Pols generated 1,009,845 page views. Email us today to get in on the action and start advertising.

Fox 21 news director says "Buck's people are throwing us under the bus"

by: Jason Salzman

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 09:53:41 AM MDT

I was rushing out of town last week, and unfortunately I just missed a phone call from Joe Cole, News Director and weekday anchor at Fox 21 in Colorado Springs.

I had called Cole for a comment on a piece I was writing,  alleging that Fox 21 had erred in reporting that U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck held a "U.S. Senate unity rally" in the Springs Aug. 23.

It seemed strange that Buck would stage a "unity rally" without Buck's GOP primary opponent, Jane Norton, and no unity rally has been held between Buck and Norton to date.

Buck spokesperson Owen Loftus told me Norton supporters were present, but it was not a unity rally, which his campaign would have made a "big deal" of. He said Fox 21 had made a mistake.

I'm grateful that Fox 21's Cole gave me his side of the story yesterday, and I probably shouldn't have rushed to publish my blog post of last week until I had given Cole a bit more time to respond.

In any case, Cole said that Andy Merritt, the GOP Chair for El Paso County, had sent him an email describing the Aug. 23 Buck event as a "'U.S. Senate unity rally.'"

"Buck's people are saying it's not a unity rally but the people hosting it are saying it is," Cole told me. "We certainly don't want to report an error or call it something it's not, but if your folks there are calling it a unity rally, that's what we're going to go with."

"Buck's people are throwing us under the bus here," he said.

Cole also told me he reviewed segments of video that were not used in the station's story about the Buck event. Buck said he was there "to connect with Jane Norton's people," Cole said.

He added that usually Colorado Republicans are "all on the same page" in dealing with his station.

Asked for a comment on the unity-rally issue, Loftus told me it was a non-issue.

"It was a Republican event," he said. "We were happy with the turnout. We had a great turnout. Ken did meet with a lot of Norton supporters, so we were happy with it either way."

Payday Lenders Lose, Consumers Win

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 09:30:01 AM MDT

Payday lenders will be required to give pro-rated refunds to customers who pay off their loans early.

Under enforcement rules adopted Tuesday by the Colorado Attorney General's office, payday lenders cannot keep origination fees for their loans...

Representatives of the payday lending industry testified Tuesday before the Council of Advisors on Consumer Credit that lawmakers carved out the origination fee as nonrefundable as a compromise to keep the industry viable in light of the consumer-friendly changes in the law.

Consumer advocates countered that making the origination fee nonrefundable was contrary to the law's overall intent, which they said was to protect consumers from a predatory fee structure...

The rule change governing HB1361 takes effect Nov. 29, and largely defuses criticisms of incumbent Colorado Attorney General John Suthers related to the payday lending industry.

Suthers, the Republican nominee to retain the office, has come under fire from Democratic challenger Stan Garnett because Suthers' office initially proposed to allow payday lenders to keep the origination fee.

This is a happy ending for just about everybody involved: John Suthers puts an end to a damaging series of press articles raising fundamental ethics questions, but opponent Stan Garnett can still claim victory after turning the $10,000 Suthers received from the payday lending industry while these rules were being drafted by his office into considerably more trouble than it was worth. Meanwhile, the changes going into effect for payday loans, from what we understand, come respectably close to making them a workable option for cash-strapped consumers instead of a one-way ticket to endless debt. This apparently left the payday lending lobbyists fuming, and not interested in commenting to waiting reporters: which also pleases us. Now will you stop the spam?

One word of caution from this hearing did come in the form of Assistant Attorney General Laura Udis' note that if any of the new rules are a problem, they can certainly be "amended" in the next session of the legislature. Not that we think it was her intent to bring it to mind, but we couldn't help but immediately recall those fat checks from Ace Cash Express we discussed yesterday...

Wednesday Open Thread

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 06:53:40 AM MDT

--Mark Twain

Don Beezley Doesn't Believe in Public Roads (and Other Bizarre Facts)

by: Broomfield County Democrats

Tue Aug 31, 2010 at 17:22:10 PM MDT

The Broomfield County Democrats launched a website today (www.BizarreBeezley.com), dedicated to educating voters about the real Don Beezley.  We could say more, but we'll let Mr. Beezley speak for himself.  Each of the following are direct quotes, fully sourced at www.BizarreBeezley.com:

I don't believe in municipal or county government. It strikes me as 100% superfluos [sic] in all its functions. Police and courts can be handled at the state level, supplemeted [sic] with private solutions. Nothing else the cities or counties do is valid except for recording property titles. If someone (non-libertarian) wants to argue about streets, the state level could handle that too.

That's right friends, Mr. Beezley does not believe the government should provide roads.  Mr. Beezley also has thoughts on Coloradans with disabilities:

I used to own small restauarants [sic] shortly after ADA was passed. When building out a new one, the existing bathrooms were off in dimensions by a few inches. Rather than risking a lawsuit under the newly energized ADA, I spent $5,000 to redo the bathrooms (on a small budget with no money).  Prior to that, it had been a pleasure to help a disabled person out with a tray, a door or whatever. After that, I could only think, "you better use my d*** bathroom!" when someone rolled in. ADA took other human beings from being someone with a challenge whom it might be a joy to help, and turned them into a burden. An enemy. [our emphasis]

And this is just the beginning.

Rasmussen Gubernatorial Poll Shows Demoralized Partisans, Hick on Top

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Aug 31, 2010 at 15:19:19 PM MDT

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters finds Democrat John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Denver, with 36% support. Republican Dan Maes captures 24% of the vote while Tom Tancredo trails with 14%. Support for both Hickenlooper and Maes is down seven percentage points from two weeks ago while Tancredo's support is down four points.

Six percent (6%) of Colorado voters prefer some other candidate and twenty percent (20%) are undecided. The undecideds are up fifteen points from earlier in the month.  Twenty-four percent (24%) of Republicans are undecided along with 14% of Democrats and 21% of unaffiliated voters.

The prevalent feeling on this poll in most media is that "all three candidates" have "lost support," and surficially that's the case--Rasmussen's poll two weeks ago had John Hickenlooper at 43%, Dan Maes at 31%, and Tom Tancredo at 18%, a consistent decline obviously more attributable to greater indecision among surveyed voters than it is any one candidate peeling support from another. Maes would really prefer to see those Tancredo supporters moving into his column instead of 'undecided,' but it's reasonable to assume that few of those voters would ever support Hickenlooper. Hick, in turn, could be seeing signs of apathy from his own base in these poll results, as he arguably hasn't done much to motivate core Democratic voters.

In both cases, you can spot dynamics at work pointing to undermotivated partisans: Hickenlooper's base Democrats unenthusiastic about his centrist message, and Republicans with very little chance of a successful outcome regardless of who they choose--and who don't know which way to turn.

But there is one big difference between the three candidates as polled here that you can't miss or downplay. We've come back to it again and again, both in terms of gleaning useful information from early polls, and why Democrats aren't worried about Hickenlooper in general: apathetic base or no.

Hickenlooper is viewed Very Favorably by 29% of voters in the state and Very Unfavorably by 18%.

For Maes, Very Favorables are 7% and Very Unfavorables are 17%.
Ten percent (10%) have a Very Favorable opinion of Tancredo, but 35% view him Very Unfavorably.

Hickenlooper's durable likability is what most observers believe will carry him when few other factors are seemingly in his favor: despite furious attempts to link Hickenlooper to the slate of issues Republicans believe are lethal to Democrats, it's just not sticking--and not merely because Hickenlooper is depriving them ammunition by running to the center. People resiliently like the guy, and as that affable image contrasts against the raging Tancredo and clueless Maes in the coming weeks, this race moves closer to what remains its basically inevitable conclusion.  

U.S. Combat in Iraq Ends...Now!

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Aug 31, 2010 at 15:00:00 PM MDT

Almost seven and a half years ago, President George W. Bush launched a blistering "shock and awe" invasion of Iraq.

The goal: Eliminate a perceived threat of weapons of mass destruction while replacing a hostile, tyrannical regime with a friendly democracy in the heart of the Middle East.

On Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET -- at a cost of more than 4,400 U.S. military personnel killed and 30,000 wounded -- America's combat mission in Iraq will officially draw to a close...

...President Barack Obama, who based much of his campaign for the White House on growing public exhaustion with the conflict, will announce the conclusion of the combat mission in a speech to be delivered from the Oval Office at 8 p.m. ET. He spent the day meeting with troops at Fort Bliss, Texas -- a base that has supplied soldiers at all stages of the conflict.

Obama called Bush for a "few minutes" from Air Force One while en route to Texas, according to White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton. The White House has not said if Obama will give Bush any credit during his speech for the controversial 2007-08 military "surge," believed by some observers to have helped curtail Iraqi violence.

His remarks are "not going to be a victory lap," Obama told the troops stationed at Fort Bliss. "We still have a lot of work to do."

Payday Lenders Write Fat Checks to GOP Senate, House Efforts

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Aug 31, 2010 at 12:18:56 PM MDT

This is a filing for a $25,000 check cut by Ace Cash Express, one of the largest payday lenders in the nation, to the Colorado GOP's Senate Majority Fund 527 last month.

This one is a little harder to directly track--the entity Coloradans for a Better Future was registered only last year, but sources tell us in no uncertain terms that this $25,000 check represents the other half of Ace's commitment--to the House side of the GOP's 'independent' expenditures. Now, at the risk of sounding naïve, given how the industry said over and over that this year's legislation reforming payday lending would 'drive them out of Colorado'--isn't it kind of odd that they still have tens of thousands of dollars to give to the Colorado Attorney General, and to spend extolling the "better future" offered by Republican legislative candidates here?

No, folks, this isn't an industry in the midst of being "driven out"--they are doubling down.

Hick: More Tax Cuts, No New Money for Education

by: davidsirota

Tue Aug 31, 2010 at 10:23:10 AM MDT

Hick: No new money for education

Education funding will remain tight, Democrat John Hickenlooper warned today as he unveiled his plans for education if he's elected governor.

"We're not going to throw money at the problem," the Denver mayor said during a news conference at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton with running mate Joe Garcia, president of Colorado State University-Pueblo. "There is no appetite" among the public for new taxes, Hickenlooper said.

Remember, Hickenlooper is making this no-new-education-money stand at the same time he is now campaigning on an explicit promise to cut taxes (see this video starting at 1:19). Also remember that he effectively faces token opposition in his run for governor, thanks to the Republican vote being split by GOP nominee Dan Maes and Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo. So he is taking this stand in a political vacuum - that is, he's saying this on his own with no real external political/electoral pressure.

Knowing that - knowing that this is an unvarnished, pure expression of principle rather than forced political calculation - only reiterates the fact that the anti-tax, anti-government ideology is alive and well in both parties, especially when you consider the abrasive "throwing money at the problem" language being employed.  

Never Thought I'd Write About Vaginas and Politics

by: nancycronk

Sat Aug 28, 2010 at 19:37:54 PM MDT

Amendment 62 is an attempt by Personhood Colorado to give legal rights to a fertilized egg, without regard to the consequences. It would ban medical abortion in all circumstances, even in the cases of rape and incest. It would prohibit the use of common forms of birth control (the kind that prevents a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall before becoming an embryo). It raises serious questions about enforcement. It's similar to Amendment 48, which CO voted down 3-1 in 2008 in Colorado, but it goes even farther.

If the law passed:

A woman could potentially be accused of manslaughter if something she eats or drinks is thought of as contributing to a miscarriage. In theory, anyone interfering in the health of the pregnant woman could be complicit. Would doctors stop prescribing medication to the woman for other medical conditions to avoid side effects? Who knows?

Tuesday Open Thread

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Aug 31, 2010 at 06:48:44 AM MDT

--Abraham Lincoln

Ken Summers Should Probably Just Stop Talking

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 15:35:24 PM MDT

Evergreen Newspapers stands by the story, and I personally stand by my work. We welcome any concerns about the factual content of our stories and address inaccurate information promptly.

Though I regularly record many of my interviews, our papers are not in the practice of releasing recordings.

As we said earlier, this is why you don't call a story a fabrication unless you have some pretty good backup -- now, not only are you doubly guilty of saying some really stupid things, you look like a jerk and have probably permanently damaged your relationship with the local paper. Really, Rep. Summers, did you honestly think that calling an entire story a lie would be believable? Especially when you are quoted repeatedly?
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UPDATE: Rep. Summers responded in the comments section, claiming that the entire story was basically a lie by the reporter. We probably haven't heard the end of this one, since challenging a reporter on an entire story doesn't usually work out; there are a lot of quotes from Summers here, and if the reporter was recording the interview, this won't end well. Here's Summers' comments:

Sorry to disappoint but Teen Challenge DOES NOT offer "reparative therapy." I DO NOT believe taking drugs causes homosexuality and I DO NOT believe child abuse condemns one to a homosexual lifestyle. I DO believe that each person should have the freedom live their life as they see fit and seek appropriate help for issues they have when they determine they need it. You mean a reporter may have not accurately communicated the facts in an article and gave a distorted view based on a predisposed bias, what a rare occurance. Perhaps some reporters should stop writting.

There's a weird story in the current issue of The Columbine Courier about Rep. Ken Summers and his Teen Challenge of the Rocky Mountains program, which tries to help teens with alcohol and drug problems. Summers' program also apparently offers "Reparative therapy," which is a fancy way of saying they try to convince gay people that they're not really gay.

Maes Has Zero Understanding of Water

by: MADCO

Mon Aug 30, 2010 at 13:14:08 PM MDT

Recently he spoke to the Colorado Water Congress and said:

He would support new reservoirs to keep Colorado water in state.

and

"I have a pretty simple policy on water so far: If it starts in Colorado, it's our water," Maes said.

http://www.cortezjournal.com/M...

Rasmussen Tightens Senate Race

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Aug 30, 2010 at 15:00:48 PM MDT

The U.S. Senate race in Colorado between incumbent Democratic Senator Michael Bennet and Republican challenger Ken Buck remains very competitive.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Buck picking up 47% support, while Bennet earns the vote from 44%. Five percent (5%) prefer another candidate while four percent (4%) are undecided. Earlier this month, it was Buck 46% and Bennet 41%.

Though Buck has consistently led the incumbent since March, this is the highest level of support Bennet has received all year. [Pols emphasis] In each of six previous surveys stretching back to May, the former Denver school superintendent had earned between 39% and 42% of the vote. Bennet was named to the Senate early last year when Ken Salazar resigned to join President Obama's Cabinet. A county prosecutor, Buck has captured between 44% to 48% of the vote during that same time frame...

We've always said that polling done more than four months out of an election is relatively worthless, but now that we're nearing the 60 days until E-Day mark (Sept. 4, if you're counting), respondents are starting to voice opinions based as much on the candidates as on their Party affiliation. Case in point, check out the changing Very Favorable/Very Unfavorable numbers from a few weeks ago:

Candidate	8/12 VF/VUF	8/30 VF/VUF
Ken Buck	17%/ 20%	19%/ 26%
Michael Bennet	20%/ 29%	21%/ 30%

What the Very Favorable/Unfavorable numbers show is that Buck's overall lead is based largely on the generic Republican/anti-incumbent advantage that has shown up in polls throughout the year. But voters don't actually like Ken Buck the candidate the more they get to know him (nor do they really like Michael Bennet, either). The bottom line is that this race is going to come down to the wire.

Questions for the Governor-ator candidates

by: DavidThi808

Mon Aug 30, 2010 at 14:44:31 PM MDT

I'm interviewing Congressman Tancredo tomorrow and I've been promised an interview with Mayor Hickenlooper. So suggested questions please.

As to Dan Maes, he's suddenly too busy for interviews. I guess his new handlers have decided they don't want him talking to anyone who might quote him. After all, that worked so well for Jane Norton...

First SpongeBob, Now Bullying-Prevention: Focus on the Family Attacks!

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Aug 30, 2010 at 12:58:37 PM MDT

From The Associated Press:

The conservative Christian group Focus on the Family is accusing national gay advocacy groups of using bullying-prevention initiatives at public schools to introduce the viewpoint that homosexuality is normal.

Focus on the Family education expert Candi Cushman told The Denver Post in Saturday's editions that the Christian group supports bullying prevention but that the issue "is being hijacked by activists."

"We feel more and more that activists are being deceptive in using anti-bullying rhetoric to introduce their viewpoints, while the viewpoint of Christian students and parents are increasingly belittled," Cushman said. The Colorado Springs-based group said conservative Christians are portrayed as bigots for their opposing viewpoints, while public schools increasingly teach students that homosexuality should be accepted.

So...is Focus on the Family saying that it's okay to bully homosexuals? What about targeting kids who wear SpongeBob SquarePants backpacks? Is it cool to bully them, since they must be on the road to turning gay anyway?

As far as we can tell anti-bullying messaging has always been about stopping bullying in schools period -- regardless of the reason behind it. It's more than a bit ironic that in this latest tirade, Focus on the Family just comes off as, well, one big bully.