May 05, 2022 10:16 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Cinco de Mayo (May 5)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Happy Cinco de Mayo. Please celebrate responsibly and go easy on Federal Blvd. 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 

► Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-Denver) is among many Democrats calling on the U.S. Senate to act quickly to protect abortion rights in the wake of a “leaked opinion” suggesting that the United States Supreme Court is about to overturn Roe v. Wade. From Denver7:

DeGette, the co-chair of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, implored the Senate to act and pass House-passed legislation protecting people’s right to abortion care, despite it failing to do so earlier this year, after the leak of the draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

The House of Representatives passed the Women’s Health Protection Act last September in a 218-211 vote, with all Republicans voting against the measure and all Democrats voting in favor except for Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.

But when the motion to proceed to a vote in the Senate came up on Feb. 28, the measure failed to get the 60 votes necessary to proceed in a 46-48 vote, with all voting Republicans voting against the measure along with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V.

As The Washington Post reports, the White House is also working hard to find solutions for protecting abortion rights…though there might not be much they can do:

Officials are discussing whether funding, whether through Medicaid or another mechanism, could be made available to women to travel to other states for an abortion, according to outside advisers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions, but many doubt whether that is feasible.

► Meanwhile, you likely won’t hear Republicans saying much about abortion or Roe v. Wade, because they’ve been instructed to focus their talking points on the “leaked opinion” instead. Not all Republicans are following that advice, however; CO-08 candidates Lori Saine and Barbara Kirkmeyer couldn’t hide their glee over a possible court ruling.

► As Charles Ashby of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel notes, the June Primary ballot in Colorado is officially set. 

► Elbert County Clerk Dallas Schroeder finally turned over copies he made of his county’s election/voting servers to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. This has become a big issue in Colorado with advocates of the “Big Lie,” and if Republicans had their way, it would continue in future elections:

Every @COHouseGOP lawmaker voted for an amendment to let counties copy election system hard drives and share them with whomever they want. Tina Peters has some serious influence over these folks. #copolitics #coleg

— Jarrett Freedman (@JarrettFreedman) May 5, 2022

► Colorado lawmakers are nearing an endpoint in the discussion over changes to fentanyl possession laws, with the State Senate hearing debate today.

Click below to keep learning things…

Check Out All This Other Stuff To Know…

► Congressman Jason Crow (D-Aurora-ish) wants the United States to send more weapons to Ukraine as it continues its defense against Russia. Crow was part of a Congressional delegation that traveled to Ukraine last week to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Denver7 talked with Crow upon his return from Eastern Europe.

► Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters may have been a day late in submitting her first financial report as a candidate for Secretary of State, but her Republican opponents were the ones with the dollar(s) short.

► U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten visited several schools in Aurora on Wednesday and lauded the Aurora School District for its efforts to increase access to mental health services for students.

► Colorado Public Radio profiles the three Democrats hoping to unseat Congressperson Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert in CO-03.

► State lawmakers are looking at raising taxes on high-earning Coloradans in order to help pay for breakfast and lunches for low-income students in public schools.

► As Erica Meltzer reports for Chalkbeat (via The Colorado Sun), Democrats in the state legislature are trying to get closer to a goal of fully funding K-12 schools:

Colorado lawmakers this year came closer to fully funding the state’s schools than at any time since the Great Recession. But rattled by rising inflation and the threat of a ballot measure that would slash anticipated growth in property tax revenue legislators stopped short of constitutionally mandated K-12 spending.

Democrats say they’re proud of the $36.4 billion budget signed by Gov. Jared Polis last week. The budget dedicates more than $5 billion in state money to base K-12 spending, a 7.5% increase over this year. Average per-student funding will go up 6% to $9,560. Lawmakers are also putting $80 million more into special education, getting closer to funding a formula established back in 2006.

But despite a reserve in the state education fund that tops $800 million, lawmakers still held back $321 million through a recurring mechanism known as the budget stabilization factor.

Democrats, who control both chambers, said there’s too much uncertainty on the horizon. Higher state spending is only sustainable, they said, if local property taxes rise enough to take over some of the burden in future years.

► State lawmakers are trying to do more to clarify campaign finance rules for issue committees.

► Legislation to ban flavored tobacco products in Colorado passed through the State House of Representatives. 

► The Colorado Sun updates on when you might be able to expect a COVID-19 vaccine for young children. 

► The New York Times tries to understand how wacko J.D. Vance became the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Ohio. As Charlie Sykes writes for Bulwark, Vance simply told the GOP base what it wanted to hear:

Vance studied the Trumpified GOP electorate and figured that his transparent phoniness and opportunism wouldn’t be held against him.

He was right.

He turned himself into a troll spewing cartoonish bigotry on demand. As my colleague Tim Miller wrote in The Bulwark last year, in a single week, Vance had “tweeted about how he’s scared to go to New York because it might be dirty. Defended a Nazi from being kicked off of twitter. Shared a thread defending election fraud conspiracies. Fantastically claimed Google was ‘hiding’ his website. Mocked reporters for saying they were traumatized by the Capitol riot.”

► Climate Change may be bringing an end to campfires, as The Denver Post explains.

Say What, Now?

Here’s the Chairwoman of the Colorado Republican Party:

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► Gah!

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller’s campaign had no answer when we asked them to explain why a man convicted of luring a young boy for sex is so actively involved in her campaign to get re-elected. https://t.co/Gm8eXrvPog

— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) May 5, 2022

► Never change, Canada:

ICYMI

► Here’s a good summary of the latest Dinesh D’Souza silliness.

► Fundraising numbers for Colorado candidates were released this week. Things don’t look good for Republicans. 

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