September 10, 2019 11:14 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (September 10)

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Sorry, Broncos fans — it’s gonna be a loonnngg season. Let’s Get More Smarter. 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 an audio/visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show or The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us Facebook and Twitter.

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► President Trump is looking for a new National Security Adviser — the fourth NSA of his first term in office — after dismissing John Bolton and his obnoxious mustache on Tuesday. Bolton is a notorious Hawk whose default position on national security matters tended to start and end with dropping bombs, metaphorical and otherwise. Trump Tweeted that Bolton is out because the Big Orange Guy continually disagreed with his advice, though Bolton is insisting that he actually resigned.  

Meanwhile, Trump’s approval ratings are as bad as the Denver Broncos. From Politico:

Thirty-eight percent of respondents in an ABC News/Washington Post pollreleased Tuesday approve of Trump’s performance in office, a drop of 6 percentage points from a peak of 44 percent approval in July. A majority, 56 percent, disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president, while 6 percent have no opinion.

Americans’ opinions on Trump’s stewardship of the economy, which his campaign plans to emphasize to voters as he battles for a second term, have also diminished, according to the survey.

Less than half of respondents, 46 percent, approve of the way the president is handling the economy, a decrease from 51 percent approval in midsummer. Fewer of those polled, 35 percent, approve of the way the president is handling trade negotiations with China, and 60 percent worry the trade conflict between the two countries will raise the price of goods for their families.

► As the Associated Press reports, the number of uninsured Americans is on the rise as President Trump and Congressional Republicans continue to undermine the Affordable Care Act:

The number of Americans without health insurance edged up in 2018 — the first evidence from the government that coverage gains from President Barack Obama’s health care plan might be eroding under President Donald Trump…

…Though the increase in the number of uninsured Americans last year was modest, it could be a turning point, the first real sign that coverage gains under Obama could be at least partly reversed. This year, the number of uninsured could rise again because a previous Republican-led Congress repealed fines under the Affordable Care Act for people who remain uninsured if they can afford coverage.

► An effort to recall State Sen. Pete Lee (D-Colorado Springs) comes to a tipping point today, the deadline for the group to submit signatures in hopes of initiating a recall election. If the results are anything like the recent failed attempt to oust Gov. Jared Polis, this will be another sad day for Colorado Republicans.

Elsewhere, there appears to be a bipartisan effort forming in Colorado to reform the process for attempting a recall of an elected official.

► Why, yes, there is a new episode of The Get More Smarter Podcast. This week, hosts Jason Bane and Ian Silverii discuss Sen. Cory Gardner’s no-good, very bad summer; the empty Republican bench; and more trouble with the Bureau of Land Management’s pending move to Colorado.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Ruh-roh, Sen. Cory Gardner:

Senate Democrats will force Republicans to vote again on President Donald Trump’s contentious national emergency declaration in the next month.

Trump declared a national emergency in February to build a wall along the southern border after he failed to secure billions he asked for amid the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history. Under the declaration, $8 billion would be diverted from federal accounts to build a barrier.

The last time this topic came up for a vote, Sen. Gardner broke his word and sided with President Trump, leading the Denver Post to famously rescind its 2014 endorsement of Gardner’s Senate candidacy.

► Former Gov. John Hickenlooper picked up the endorsement of two former mayors of Durango in his quest for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination.

► Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders visited Denver on Monday night and was greeted by a massive crowd at Civic Center Park.

► It’s Election Day in North Carolina, where a long-disputed Congressional seat will finally be decided and Republicans are keeping the antacid at close reach. As CNN’s Chris Cillizza explains:

On Tuesday in North Carolina, voters will pick their new member of Congress in the 9th District. While it’s only a single House seat and will have little obvious impact on the majority math for either party, there’s real reason to believe that what happens in this suburban Charlotte district could well change the course of the fight for House control next November.

Here’s why: On paper, this should be an easy victory for Republican state Sen. Dan Bishop. A Democrat hasn’t held the 9th District since the early 1960s. President Donald Trump carried it by 12 points in 2016. Bishop is a totally credible nominee with no disqualifying issues…

…If Bishop wins — even if the margin is significantly narrower than Trump’s in the district — Republicans will breathe a massive sigh of relief and live to fight (and maybe win) another day.

But if Bishop loses, look out. What has been a low-lying dread creeping through the House Republican conference — typified by the dozen GOP members who are retiring with no other future political plans in place — will transform, quickly, into total panic.

President Trump held a rally in North Carolina on Monday night in an effort to boost Bishop’s candidacy. Unsurprisingly, Trump made a whole lot of nonsense remarks.

► Politico wonders if former Rep. Beto O’Rourke has come to the fork in the road in his quest for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

► The Republican Party is cancelling its Presidential Primary in at least four states in order to make it easier for President Trump to sail into the GOP nomination for 2020. It does not appear that Colorado Republicans can pull the same maneuver, however.

► Can’t stop. Won’t stop. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Denver) says he has no plans to end his stalled campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

► Colorado Public Radio reports on a new “Sputnik moment” for the United States — with direct ties to Colorado.

► As the Colorado Sun reports, a new health care plan pushed by Gov. Jared Polis will mean massive savings for Summit County residents:

Gov. Jared Polis, standing before a crowd in Keystone, unveiled an eye-popping number on Monday.

$14,000.

That is how much he said a family of four in Summit County will be able to save on their health insurance next year through the new Peak Health Alliance, compared with what they’re paying now.

► Democratic State Rep. Janet Buckner announced that she will run for a State Senate seat in Aurora.

► Denver Mayor Michael Hancock blames President Trump for a slowing economy in Colorado.

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► President Trump endures more mockery for attacking a political rival over a marital affair and for using the odd term “Flaming Dancer” in his diatribes.

► Yeah, sure. 

ICYMI

► The editorial board of the Denver Post is straight-up killing Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma).

► Just go listen to The Get More Smarter Podcast already.

For more political learnings, check out The Get More Smarter Show or The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to give Colorado Pols a thumbs up on Facebook and Twitter.