March 30, 2016 09:51 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (March 30)

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• by: Colorado Pols

No, you were not dreaming — it really did rain last night. 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).

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► We all knew it couldn’t last. During a CNN “town hall” event on Tuesday the three remaining Republican Presidential candidates backed away from prior pledges that they would back the eventual GOP nominee no matter which candidate is selected. Frontrunner Donald Trump is feeling sad because he thinks the Republican National Committee doesn’t like him (well, he’s right on that):

Trump and his team have braced for the possibility of a contested convention in recent weeks, as opposing forces have set their sights on denying him the nomination by preventing him from crossing the necessary delegate threshold.

Trump said that he believes establishment Republicans and the RNC in particular have not treated him with respect.

“I’m the front-runner by a lot. I’m beating Ted Cruz by millions of votes,” he said. “This was not going to happen with the Republican Party. People who have never voted before, Democrats and independents are pouring in and voting for me.”

Trump is apparently convinced that everybody is voting for him already.

► The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may eventually be shut down, but its occupants won’t be headed for Colorado anytime soon. As John Frank reports for the Denver Post:

Gov. John Hickenlooper said Tuesday that he will stand “firmly against” the potential transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to Colorado because of local opposition, making his strongest statement on a  heated political issue.

The Democrat said he is hearing from residents in Fremont County — home to two prisons under consideration to house the detainees — that the community opposes the transfer.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Denver) has also publicly opposed the transfer of any detainees to Colorado prisons. Senator Cory Gardner (R-Yuma), meanwhile, would like to see the GITMO facility expanded rather than shuttered.

► Redistricting proposals in Colorado are multiplying like a Gremlin at a water park (if you’re younger than 30, you’re just going to have to trust us on that analogy).

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Senate President Bill Cadman and his fellow Republicans continue to oppose having a serious discussion about the Hospital Provider Fee, which could provide significant financial relief to the state, all because they don’t want Americans for Prosperity to get mad at them. Republican Sen. Larry Crowder is standing with Democrats on the issue, but perhaps only for election-related reasons.

► Some Colorado Republicans have gotten so excited over the prospect of “killing” bill after bill in the State Senate that they can sometimes get ahead of themselves. House Bill 16-1004 was quite surprised to read about its own death in the newspaper.

► Cleveland may yet see a contested Presidential convention. Officials from the RNC seem to be moving toward a direction that makes it easier for a potential convention challenge to Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.

► The Colorado Independent asks why Gov. John Hickenlooper is a strong supporter of Democrat Hillary Clinton for President even though Colorado Democrats might seem to prefer Bernie Sanders.

► Senator “Con Man” Cory Gardner is now saying that Republican voters should choose anybody but Donald Trump for President. As Charles Ashby writes for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel:

Though U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s main pick for the GOP nominee for president, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, has fallen by the wayside, the Colorado Republican’s opinions about the frontrunner in that race, Donald Trump, haven’t changed. [Pols emphasis]

Trump still isn’t a Republican and people shouldn’t vote for him, Gardner told The Daily Sentinel’s editorial board Tuesday.

Gardner, who was an outspoken supporter of Rubio before he left the race earlier this month, said Trump is nothing more than an opportunist.

Gardner has indeed previously promised to support the Republican nominee for President — even if his name is “Donald Trump” — but that was a different day, or something.

► The Associated Press has more on how an argument about the existence of climate change is playing out in the Colorado legislature.

► Legislation that would change how prosecutors deal with teen “sexting” cases is winding its way through the Colorado legislature. Although the bill has bipartisan support, not everyone is happy with the idea, writes Jesse Paul for the Denver Post:

Colorado prosecutors and police asked for new laws to address teen sexting after a high-profile scandal  that embroiled Cañon City late last year pushed the issue into the spotlight.

But now, as lawmakers work to heed those calls, a bill moving through the legislature is facing opposition from groups that worry a new measure being considered could do more harm than good…

…The bipartisan legislation —  House Bill 1058, which, if approved, would go into effect July 1 — would make Colorado one of about two dozen states with a juvenile sexting-specific misdemeanor or petty offense law.

► The State Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill that would allow homeless children to qualify for in-state tuition at Colorado colleges and universities.

► Democrat Wade Norris is running again in HD-27 (Arvada). Norris was handily defeated in 2014 by then-state Rep. Libby Szabo, who promptly resigned less than two months after winning re-election in order to fill a vacancy on the Board of County Commissioners in Jefferson County. Republican Rep. Lang Sias is the “incumbent.”

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is showing off his decision-making skills by endorsing Ted Cruz for President yet declining to say anything bad about Donald Trump. Walker may try to run for a third term in 2018 before potentially taking another shot at President (for real this time) in 2020.

► Is there an “incumbent curse” in HD-17 (Colorado Springs)? The Colorado Springs Independent tries to understand why voters keep dumping their incumbent state representative year after year.

ICYMI

► Senate Republicans will likely kill legislation intended to hold oil and gas companies accountable for damages caused by drilling operations. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the central U.S. is now facing earthquake risks similar to California after years of drilling for oil and gas in the region.

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