January 06, 2022 10:05 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (January 6)

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• by: Colorado Pols

One year ago today, something very bad happened and it’s still too soon to joke about it. Let’s Get More Smarter anyway. 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 

Last year, for the first time in our history, a president who just lost an election tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol.

But they failed.

And on this day of remembrance we must make sure that such an attack never happens again.

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 6, 2022

► President Joe Biden spoke this morning on the anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn his victory in the 2020 elections. Politico:

President Joe Biden on Thursday marked one year since his predecessor’s supporters besieged the Capitol with a pointed rebuke of the violence — and a declaration that Donald Trump bears “singular responsibility” for the attack.

“His bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy, our Constitution,” Biden said of the former president. Trump, he added, is “not just a former president. He’s a defeated former president, defeated by a margin of over seven million of your votes in a full and free and fair election.”

…Calling out Trump and his GOP allies marks a notable tonal shift for Biden. Since taking office, he’s largely held off on sharp barbs toward the foe he could face again in 2024. But Biden hewed to one of his post-election conventions on Thursday: He did not use Trump’s name while criticizing the former president.

Colorado Public Radio’s Caitlyn Kim spoke with Rep. Jason Crow, credited with bravery by his colleagues in the face of the chaos of that day, and other Democratic members of Congress (unsurprisingly, Republicans like Rep. Lauren Boebert weren’t available to talk):

Crow said that as the House was locked down, his brain went into “Ranger mode.”

“I wasn’t really allowing myself to kind of process or think about it,” he said. “I was just triaging the information and trying to figure out our way out, because at that moment, we were trapped and surrounded by a violent mob.”

A famous photo shows Crow holding the hand of a panicked looking Representative Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, comforting her as she lays back on the floor of the gallery.

On the floor below, Rep. Joe Neguse, who had been tapped to help lead the arguments for the Democrats that day, spent those chaotic minutes reaching out to his family.

For more on the anniversary of the January 6th insurection, Axios recaps the role of ex-CU professor John Eastman and local attorney Jenna Ellis in drafting plans to overturn the 2020 presidential elections on January 20th. Here’s the latest updates on Coloradans facing charges for their role in the violence at the U.S. Capitol courtesy Westword.

► President Biden is headed to Colorado tomorrow to meet with Gov. Jared Polis and see firsthand the devastation from the December 30th Marshall Fire, the most destructive in Colorado history in terms of homes destroyed. Denver Post:

Accompanying Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic U.S. Rep Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, the president will survey the damage and discuss “urgently needed federal support,” according to a news release from Neguse’s office…

“We cannot expect our communities to bear the burden of this disaster on their own,” Neguse said in a statement Wednesday. “We must bring the full force of the federal government to bear as our communities work to rebuild and recover.”

Over $25 million has been raised to support fire victims despite crass attempts to politicize the relief efforts.

► As the drama over the Build Back Better legislation continues in D.C., Sen. John Hickenlooper joined with a group of Democratic Senators insisting that climate change funds be preserved in the rewrite of the bill currently underway.

► Meanwhile, the renewed push to get voting rights legislation through the Senate by any means necessary continues.

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Check Out All This Stuff To Know…

► Attorney General Phil Weiser putting the finishing touches on a $285 million settlement with opioid manufacturers.

► Kumbaya: Gov. Jared Polis appoints his 2018 gubernatorial opponent Walker Stapleton to serve on the board of the Colorado Economic Development Commission.

► More seriously, maybe, Sen. Don Coram is officially in the running to oust Rep. Lauren Boebert. It won’t be easy, but there is a path to victory.

► Appreciation costs: lawmakers get ready for homeowners to deal with some potentially major tax bills from increased property values.

► In case you weren’t aware Omicron is basically everywhere. Vax, boost, mask, test. You know the drill.

► Gov. Jared Polis pardons over 1,000 pot smokers, but takes heat for commuting the sentence of a truck driver responsible for four deaths in a fiery crash on I-70.

► Dominion Voting’s Eric Coomer suing more far-right media figures who spread the “Big Lie” inspiring death threats.

► ‘Tis the season for new laws going into effect in Colorado.

► Rep. Dominique Jackson of Aurora appointed to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a regional administrator, with six candidates vying to replace her in the HD-42 vacancy selection. One of them is a serial impostor nonstarter.

► Five undocumented immigrants who had been seeking sanctuary in local churches were granted deportation stays by the Biden administration.

Say What, Now?

Twitter should change it’s name to Pfizer.

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) January 2, 2022

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► Laugh track: 2008 U.S. Senate loser Bob Schaffer endorses 2022 U.S. Senate candidate Gino Campana.

► Rep. Lauren Boebert’s jilted campaign manager Sherronna Bishop says “do not give one more (dollar signs) to the GOP.

► Colorado’s MAGA contender in CD-8 Lori Saine, keeping up with MTG:

At almost exactly the same time that Twitter banned MTG this morning, they locked me out of my account. It’s obvious why they’d target me – I’m a conservative fighter with a proven record they want to keep out of Congress.

It’s time to stop Big Tech’s war on conservative speech! pic.twitter.com/ieA9QjVDwb

— Lori Saine for Congress (@lorisaine) January 2, 2022

ICYMI

► Firebreathing Rep. Dave Williams is the latest to take on Colorado’s most durable placeholder in Congress, Doug Lamborn. Colorado has a MAGA threesome riding Lauren Boebert’s coattails.

► It’s Joe Manchin’s fault. Enough with the victim-blaming.

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