January 31, 2023 10:45 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (Jan. 31)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Today is the last day of January, which means you no longer have an excuse for writing “2022” instead of “2023.” 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.

FIRST UP…

► Western states are agreeing to voluntary reductions in use from the Colorado River…except for California, that is. From The Associated Press:

Six western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut their use, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed.

California — with the largest allocation of water from the river — is the lone holdout.

The Colorado River and its tributaries pass through seven states and into Mexico, serving 40 million people and a $5 billion-a-year agricultural industry. Some of the largest cities in the country, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas, two Mexican states, Native American tribes and others depend on the river that’s been severely stressed by drought, demand and overuse.

As The Washington Post adds:

California has so far offered to reduce just 400,000 acre feet. An acre foot is 326,000 gallons, or enough to cover an acre in water one foot deep. JB Hamby, chair of the Colorado River Board of California, told the Associated Press in a statement that the state “remains focused on practical solutions that can be implemented now to protect volumes of water in storage without driving conflict and litigation” and will submit its own plan.

Officials say serious action is needed to prevent the Colorado River from running out of river.

► Here’s a look at what’s happening at the state legislature this week:

♦ Democratic lawmakers want a better picture of how much money Uber and Lyft drivers are actually making for their efforts. This is part of a broader effort to better regulate ride-sharing and food-delivery companies that benefit from local labor.

♦ Lawmakers are considering a bill to make all auto thefts in Colorado a felony, regardless of the value of the vehicle.

♦ Marianne Goodland looks at gun safety proposals in a story for the publication formerly known as the Colorado Statesman.

♦ Denver7 reports on legislation to give physician assistants more leeway in treating patients directly.

♦ Democrats want to make it easier for concertgoers to find tickets to their favorite shows without having to fight the automated bots that snap up the best seats as soon as tickets become available.

► The Congressman who claims to be named “George Santos” is stepping aside from his House committee assignments in order to focus on inventing a new story about himself as he deals with numerous ethical issues. From The Associated Press:

Santos told GOP colleagues Tuesday he is temporarily stepping down from his two congressional committees, a move that comes amid a host of ethics issues and a day after he met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Santos has faced numerous calls for his resignation and is facing multiple investigations by prosecutors over his personal and campaign finances and lies about his resume and family background.

Santos was assigned to two fairly low-profile panels, the House Committee on Small Business and to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

The latest problem for Santos, as Mother Jones reports, is that many of his top campaign donors don’t appear to be real people:

► Check out the latest episode of the Get More Smarter Podcast, featuring an interview with former Republican operative (and now journalist) Tim Miller:

Loved going back to the old stomping grounds for a podcast with the site that 20 year old political nerd Tim binged: the great Colorado Pols dot com. https://t.co/OmvnMlLJ0B

— Tim Miller (@Timodc) January 30, 2023

Click below to keep learning things…

Check Out All This Other Stuff To Know…

► House Republicans have determined that what the American people really want from their elected officials is for every Congressional committee to investigate everything and anything about Democrats. As POLITICO explains:

Kevin McCarthy has told House Republicans to treat every committee like the Oversight panel — that is, use every last bit of authority to dig into the Biden administration. That work begins in earnest this week.

Several sprawling probes — largely directed at President Joe Biden, his family and his administration — set the stage for a series of legal and political skirmishes between the two sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s all with an eye on the true battle, the 2024 election, as Biden flirts with a reelection run and House Republicans hope to expand their control to the White House.

After two impeachments of former President Donald Trump and a select committee that publicly detailed his every last move to unsuccessfully overturn the 2020 election results, GOP lawmakers are eager to turn the spotlight. And their conservative base is hoping for fireworks, calling on Republican leaders to grill several Biden world figures, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, retired chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci and presidential son Hunter Biden.

But GOP leadership has to mind its swing-district members and centrists, whose jobs are on the line if the strategy backfires in 2024, as early calls to impeach Mayorkas have sparked grumbling in that camp. Striking the right balance will be a difficult lift, even without Democrats constantly blasting the investigations as revenge politics run amok.

Always be investigating. Never be governing. This is the Republican slogan for 2024.

► On the subject of endless investigations,Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times proves again the accuracy of the adage about Republicans that every accusation is an admission of guilt — pointing to the absurd John Durham probe as proof:

This squalid episode is a note-perfect example of how Republican scandal-mongering operates. The right ascribes to its adversaries, whether in the Democratic Party or the putative deep state, monstrous corruption and elaborate conspiracies. Then, in the name of fighting back, it mimics the tactics it has accused its foes of using.

Look, for example, at the behavior that gave rise to Trump’s first impeachment. Trump falsely claimed that Joe Biden, as vice president, used the threat of withholding American loan guarantees to blackmail the Ukrainian government into doing his personal bidding. Hoping to get Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to substantiate his lies, Trump tried to use the threat of withholding American aid to … blackmail the Ukrainian government into doing his personal bidding. The symmetry between accusations and counter-accusations, in turn, fosters a widespread cynicism about ever finding the truth.

It’s important to keep this in mind because we’re about to see a lot more of it. Now that they control the House, Republicans have prioritized investigating their political opponents. McCarthy has stacked the Oversight Committee, central to the House’s investigative apparatus, with flame-throwing fantasists, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar and Lauren Boebert. Further, as Politico reported in a “field guide” to the coming Republican inquiries, McCarthy has urged Republicans to treat every committee like the Oversight Committee, meaning all investigations, all the time.

► There is another way forward, however. As The Washington Post reports Democrats such as Colorado Gov. Jared Polis are proving that governing is still possible.

► Colorado Republican Congressman Ken Buck got passed over in his bid for the gavel of a House Judiciary subcommittee focusing on going after Big Tech. 

Elsewhere in Committee assignment news, Senator Michael Bennet was appointed to the Senate Rules Committee, and Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo has been selected to serve on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Colorado Public Radio has more on committee assignments for Colorado’s Congressional Delegation.

► Ladies and gentlemen, your Colorado Republican Party:

El Paso County GOP sues Colorado Republican Party in an attempt to block the state party from “commandeering” local party’s upcoming officer election #copoliticshttps://t.co/3AK1cmROZq

— Ernest Lee Luning (@eluning) January 31, 2023

Here’s more background on this particular story involving El Paso County GOP Chair Vicki Tonkins.

► As The Colorado Sun reports in its “Unaffiliated” newsletter, the Colorado Department of Corrections is asking state lawmakers for a bigger allowance:

The state’s prison system is asking the legislature for millions of dollars to help it contend with rising energy, food and clothing costs, highlighting broader inflationary pressures on the government. The department also says its prison population is growing, making financial matters worse.

The Joint Budget Committee has been warning for months that it will have limited money to spend on new programs because of inflation and the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, which caps government growth and spending. “In all the briefings it has come up,” state Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat and JBC member, said of inflation. “It has clearly put pressure on all of the departments.”

► Another reminder that everything is political theater for Republican Rep. Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert:

Hey @laurenboebert! I think it’s great you voluntarily wore a mask on the plane to protect yourself and others, but why not say that. Oh wait. That’s right. You lie to your constituents and the no mask is all a show for them. pic.twitter.com/k9n2y9xTjy

— Dr. Haidak (JP), Psy.D. 🇺🇸🇮🇱🏳️‍🌈 (@JHaidak) January 30, 2023

► Democratic Congressman Joe Neguse is putting more pressure on the U.S. Post Office to figure out mail delivery delays and other problems in Colorado mountain communities. Colorado Public Radio reported last week on similar efforts by freshman Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Jefferson County).

► Some 300,000 Coloradans would see relief from student loan debts if President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan is enacted.

► Colorado Newsline has more on the battle over access to the abortion pill mifepristone. 

Meanwhile, The Colorado Sun reports on a troubling trend in rural Colorado, in which women are increasingly being denied access to reproductive health care options.

► Kelly Brough and Leslie Herod appear to be the early fundraising leaders in the crowded race for Mayor of Denver.

► We’re #1…but not in a good way. Colorado is apparently the slowest state in the country when it comes to paying out unemployment benefits. 

► State regulators are encouraging Coloradans to vent about the high cost of heating bills, though it’s not clear that complaining will accomplish much.

► The Suncor oil and gas refinery in Denver appears to be responsible for higher gasoline prices. Suncor Energy paused refinery operations last month after a series of malfunctions that injured at least two workers and spewed significant amounts of toxic chemicals into the air.

► The City of Thornton has joined a massive federal lawsuit against companies accused of producing “forever chemicals” that have contaminated water supplies.

Say What, Now?

D’oh!

#ColoradoSprings mayoral candidate @JohnTiegen told @KRDONC13 it’s the city who is “trying to kick (him) off the ballot.”

It centers around a residency dispute. Tiegen says he’s lived in COS for the required one year, but then admitted to us he voted in Pueblo County in November https://t.co/cKjD8KvedT pic.twitter.com/GFAMvMrChw

— Spencer Soicher KRDO (@spencersoicher) January 30, 2023

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► Pueblo City Council President Heather Graham wants to institute mandatory jail time for shoplifters.

► The absurd political circus involving the Denver School Board Member formerly known as Tay Anderson continues to produce regular performances. 

ICYMI

► Republicans did not send their best in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate in 2022:

Our estimation is that candidate quality cost Republicans four Senate seats this cycle. I’ve *never* seen a worse field.

To wrap up our candidate quality postmortems, here’s our @SplitTicket_ 2022 Senate Wins Above Replacement (WAR) model.https://t.co/LpaJ2IRXOl

— Lakshya Jain (@lxeagle17) January 25, 2023

► Senator John Hickenlooper is urging Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to slow down on raising interest rates.

► Colorado Public Radio reports on the state’s newest political party, called “No Labels.”

Don’t forget to give Colorado Pols a thumbs up on Facebook and Twitter. Check out The Get More Smarter Podcast at GetMoreSmarter.com.