October 15, 2020 11:13 AM UTC
Get More Smarter on Thursday (October 15)
3 Comments- by: Colorado Pols
Happy “National Grouch Day.” Now piss off. 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 learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.
CORONAVIRUS AND VOTING INFO…
*Colorado Coronavirus info:
CDPHE Coronavirus website
*Daily Coronavirus numbers in Colorado:
http://covid19.colorado.gov
*How you can help in Colorado:
COVRN.com
*Locate a COVID-19 testing site in Colorado:
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
*Register to vote or get other election-related information:
GoVoteColorado.com
► If it weren’t so critical, it would be almost comical to watch Republicans blunder around on talks for a much-needed coronavirus stimulus bill. As The Washington Post explains:
President Trump called Thursday for even more stimulus spending than the $1.8 trillion proposed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in his talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, injecting yet more chaos into the unruly negotiations as the election nears.
“I would take more. I would go higher,” Trump said in an interview on Fox Business Network, repeating his directive from earlier in the week to “Go big or go home!!!
Trump said he’s communicated his views to Mnuchin.
“I’ve told him. So far he hasn’t come home with the bacon,” the president said…
…Mnuchin and Pelosi (D-Calif.) have negotiated for days even though Trump keeps changing what he is willing to offer, often in Twitter posts or media interviews. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), meanwhile, is distancing himself and Republican senators from the White House’s rapidly growing spending package and attempting to advance a smaller-scale, $500 billion plan next week. [Pols emphasis]
These are your leaders, America.
► As The Fort Collins Coloradoan explains, Gov. Jared Polis is warning Coloradans that we could be in for another big COVID-19 wave:
The number of people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 was at 290 on Tuesday, the highest it’s been since May.
And the state has seen an increase in cases, while the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 has risen above 5% for the first time since early August.
“We need to get this under control. Now,” Polis said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve got to get these numbers down, and if this trend continues, our hospital capacity will be in jeopardy. This is a critical juncture … We have to be able to get this under control before the Thanksgiving and holiday season.”
Polis warned that COVID-related hospitalizations in Colorado have doubled since the same time last month. As The Denver Post reports, Colorado has more active COVID cases today than at any time since the pandemic began.
► Another new poll shows that the top ticket races in Colorado are pretty well baked at this point:
► The Durango Herald endorses Democrat John Hickenlooper for U.S. Senate, calling Hick the clear choice in a race with health care issues at the top of the list for most voters:
On the most significant issue facing Americans, access to properly priced health insurance and medical care, Senate candidate John Hickenlooper easily deserves support. Hickenlooper is not a Medicare for All proponent, but we hear him say that the answers to coverage and delivery lie in an improved Affordable Care Act.
Incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner, on the other hand, clings to longtime notions of the cure lying with cross-state line and common employment plans and medical savings accounts. Those ingredients, which would have been somewhat helpful in pre-ACA days, would fail to bring the breadth and depth needed to give Americans the coverage and bill paying they deserve…
…Adding another Democrat to that party’s side of the aisle in Washington would help break the current Senate logjam, which is desirable. Hickenlooper would be helpful by envisioning the future and bringing his penchant for applying negotiations and moderate positions that made him good for Colorado. We endorse John Hickenlooper for U.S. Senate.
► Americans are voting in record numbers already. We’re seeing a similar story play out here in Colorado.
More political (and coronavirus) news is available right after the jump…
Now Only Partially Coronavirus-Related…
► President Trump demands complete loyalty, yet there is nobody — NOBODY — who won’t get tossed under the bus on a whim. Not even Attorney General William Barr.
► Too young to legally carry a gun? Not if you’re an acquaintance of Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert.
Speaking of Boebert, President Trump participated in a tele-rally of some sort this week. Here’s what Dear Sick Leader had to say about Boebert:
“Lauren Boebert for Congress — we have to get her in, she’s incredible, she’s a fighter who knows how to win,” Trump said, adding, “She’s taken our country by storm — she’s taken me by storm.”
Boebert may or may not capture the hearts of CO-03 voters, but it sounds like she has at least one admirer in Washington D.C.
► The Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce has decided NOT to endorse a candidate for Congress in CO-03, which basically means that they refused to back Lauren Boebert.
► 9News looks at the many problems with the 2020 U.S. Census.
► Senator Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) often accuses his opponent, Democrat John Hickenlooper, of ignoring voices from rural Colorado. Ironically enough, Gardner has been ignoring The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel’s editorial board.
► The Colorado Times Recorder fact-checks a central claim made by backers of Proposition 115, this year’s abortion initiative.
► Sandra Fish of The Colorado Sun helps explain what you can do if you made a mistake on your ballot.
► School districts in Colorado are not yet making major changes to in-person learning programs…unless you happen to live in Denver.
► In-person learning has resumed at the University of Colorado-Boulder after a two week quarantine.
► Colorado Public Radio reports on how ski areas are planning to protect visitors from COVID-19 exposure.
► The Archdiocese of Denver is warning about socialism, for some reason.
► Fearing blowback from voters, many Colorado Republicans are doing their best to back away from President Trump.
► The Cameron Peak fire west of Fort Collins is now the largest wildfire in state history. The previous record? This summer’s Pine Gulch fire in Western Colorado.
► Here’s a good news/bad news story: Boulder and Denver rank #1 and #2, respectively, in terms of best American cities in a new list from U.S. News and World Report.
Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
► Politicians and mustaches don’t generally mix well; see if you disagree after checking out our shoddy Photoshop work.
► SCOTUS nominee Amy Coney Barrett was stumped on a question ABOUT THE FIRST FRIGGING AMENDMENT on Wednesday.
ICYMI
► Dave Perry of The Aurora Sentinel examines Sen. Cory Gardner’s disastrous debate performance from Tuesday:
If you haven’t watched recent debates between Sen. Cory Gardner and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, you missed opportunities to see these candidates for who they truly are.
For Gardner, his awkward moment of truth came Tuesday night when asked by 9News anchor Kyle Clark, “Do you believe that President Trump is a moral and ethical man?”
Besides Trump, no one can realistically believe he is. Ethical and moral people don’t lie, every day, usually many times in a day. Ethical and moral people don’t try to blackmail other foreign leaders for personal political gain. Moral people don’t brag about sex assaults. They don’t cheat on their wives and taxes. They don’t wink at white supremacists. Upstanding guys don’t pay porn stars for sex and then throw hush money at them. They don’t slur women for being women or make fun of war heroes and disabled people.
“Yes,” Gardner said about Trump’s moral compass. He said it lightning fast. Then he threw in, just as fast, “I wish he could be more specific in his communications with the American people.”
More specific? If Trump is anything, he’s incredibly detailed and forthright about his own corruption. He’s just a crappy liar.
Right there is Reason No. 1 why Gardner has no business to continue to represent anyone but Trump and himself in the U.S. Senate.
The Huffington Post also marvels at Gardner’s craptacular answer on Trump’s morality.
► Senator Cory Gardner swung and missed at a different softball question in the final U.S. Senate debate of the cycle — one that could have helped him make his “bipartisan” argument.
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https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/10/rudy-giulianis-daughter-on-voting-for-biden
Take it from someone who had a front row seat at the shit show.
Vote for 115 if you want big government and big religion to make personal bedroom decisions for you.
Uh, I don't think Boebert is capturing the "heart" of Trump —