December 09, 2021 10:39 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (Dec. 9)

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• by: Colorado Pols

On this day in 1979, smallpox was officially declared to have been eradicated. 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 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 

► Congressperson Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert (R-ifle) may have done significant damage to her political future with her recent anti-Muslim rhetoric. On Wednesday, the editorial board of The Durango Herald straight up called for Boebert to be defeated in 2022, using some of the strongest and most direct language we can recall from a local media outlet. This came just days after Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw blasted members of the House Freedom Caucus, which includes Boebert, as “performance artists” with no interest in doing the hard work of governing. 

[mantra-pullquote align=”center” textalign=”center” width=”90%”]“The woman is an embarrassment – to her district and her party…Boebert is not representing Western Colorado. Nor does she seem interested in doing so. Enough is enough.”

     — Editorial in The Durango Herald (12/8/21)[/mantra-pullquote]

The publisher of the Montrose Daily Press and the Delta County Independent also recently called for Boebert’s ouster in 2022, for the same basic reasons. Writes Dennis Anderson: “She’s become a national embarrassment, but, more importantly, she’s become an embarrassment to western Colorado.”

For her part, Boebert responded to the latest criticism in a very predictable manner: She set herself up as the victim in this saga.

► Meanwhile, The Associated Press reports that progressive Democrats continue to push House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take some sort of punitive action against Boebert. A resolution was introduced on Wednesday to remove Boebert from her House committee assignments.

► We say it all the time in this space: Elections matter.

Look no further than Aurora for the latest example.

► As Colorado Public Radio reports, we may get a better look at a prominent “dark money” group that has been operating in Colorado:

The Colorado Secretary of State’s office on Tuesday ordered a nonprofit organization to reveal its donors and pay a $40,000 fine, saying it violated Colorado law by contributing millions of dollars to conservative causes in the 2020 election.

The group, Unite for Colorado, paid for signature gathering and digital advertisements related to several ballot initiatives last year, according to documents in a complaint that prompted the fine. As is common with “dark money” nonprofits, it did not disclose where its funding came from.

Critics of the group argued that Unite for Colorado crossed the line between nonprofits and political groups. A complaint filed in August 2020 argued that the group was spending so heavily — and was so closely involved in politics — that it should have registered as a political issue committee and reported more detail on its financial activities.

Click below to keep learning stuff…

And Now, More Words…

► The Colorado Times Recorder reports on a proposal by Sen. John Hickenlooper to extend health care cost reduction benefits created by the American Rescue Plan:

Coloradans who don’t get their health insurance through their employer and have to buy it on the individual market are saving hundreds of dollars a month in 2022 thanks to the American Rescue Plan, the federal stimulus package passed earlier this year by Democrats.

The fact that the stimulus reduced health insurance costs is not widely known, according to experts.

And Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper wants to push those savings on Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans beyond 2022.

“The American Rescue Plan’s premium tax credits are making affordable, quality health care more accessible,” Hickenlooper told the Colorado Times Recorder through a spokesperson this week. “Extending them is an absolute priority.”

► Colorado Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet think that our state needs more federal judges.  

► As Westword reports, Congress rejected another attempt at creating a banking solution for legal marijuana businesses:

A new version of the National Defense Authorization Act is moving forward in Congress after weeks of political roadblocks, but marijuana banking won’t be going along for the ride.

A growing group of lawmakers had been supporting Colorado Representative Ed Perlmutter’s SAFE Banking Act, a piece of legislation that would allow banks to serve state-legal marijuana businesses, as an amendment to the NDAA. The amendment was successfully added to the House’s first version of the NDAA, which passed in September. However, SAFE didn’t make the Senate’s initial version of the NDAA, and it wasn’t in the House’s bicameral version of the NDAA that passed on December 7.

At a committee hearing yesterday, Perlmutter said that he wasn’t going to pursue another marijuana banking amendment to the bill right now.

► Greg Sargent of The Washington Post warns of the danger in former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows trying to obstruct an investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection.

► Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold needs more protection from law enforcement agencies because of the rising threats being made by deranged “Big Lie” truthers.

► Ernest Luning of the publication formerly known as the Colorado Statesman reports on the campaign team being assembled by Republican Senate hopeful Deborah Flora.

► Ron Hanks, one of the leading Republican candidates for U.S. Senate wants Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (!) to take charge of the GOP caucus in the Senate:

No one:
Absolutely no one:

Leading #COSen GOP candidate Ron Hanks: Ted Cruz for Senate Majority Leader 🤢 pic.twitter.com/EuNzdNGI6x

— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) December 9, 2021

Maybe Hanks is mad that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell won’t say the words “Donald Trump” anymore.

► Republican Greg Lopez is still running for Governor. As The Colorado Times Recorder reports, he really, really wants the support of “Big Lie” truthers…but he’s half-assed pretending otherwise.

► Colorado released a draft plan for creating a universal preschool program.

► Chris Cillizza of CNN notes something that we have discussed before in this space: The “Big Lie” is the only truth for Republicans.

► Colorado health care providers are nervous about the confluence of rising COVID-19 hospitalizations and staff shortages.

► Capitol police arrested a Congressional staffer for carrying a gun into the U.S. Capitol building.

► The New York Attorney General will subpoena Donald Trump to testify in a civil fraud investigation.

Say What, Now?

Inside the head of Rep. Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert, apples and oranges are the same thing:

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► Republican politicians in Colorado demonstrating their fascination with firearms — in Holiday cards, no less — is not a new phenomenon.

► “So it’s a book of pictures, largely, with statements, but a book of pictures.” This is Donald Trump explaining his new book.

► We really can’t do much to improve on this headline from 9News:

ICYMI

► The next coup attempt in the United States is already underway.

► This week on The Get More Smarter Podcast, hosts Jason Bane and Ian Silverii talk with ProgressNow Colorado Executive Director Sara Loflin and dig into more troubles for Republican gubernatorial candidate Hiedi Heidi Ganahl and Congressperson Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert.

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