It’s cold and snowy in much of Colorado, but a massive winter storm sweeping across the United States will focus most of its wrath on the northernmost states. Let’s GetMore 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…
► School districts across the state are dealing today with multiple “swatting” incidents. As The Denver Post explains:
Four more unconfirmed incidents are being reported at Colorado high schools after an unconfirmed report of an active shooter was made at Boulder High School and an “unknown incident” happened near Aspen Schools.
So far, police have not found any victims at any of the schools, and almost all the schools have been cleared of any threat.
Schools in Brighton, Canon City, and Alamosa were among those dealing with “swatting” calls today. “Swatting” is the act of making a “prank” call to emergency services in an attempt to force the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address.
► A handful of local elections across the country are making political pundits wonder if a strong performance by Democrats in 2022 is a trend that could continue into 2024:
First big night of 2023 elections this year and Democrats are doing very well
– Liberal WI Supreme Court candidates >50% total
– In NH, D outrunning 2022 by 10pts
– A KY state senate seat that was Biden+30 is D+55
– Dems on track to swing VA04 by 10pts; huge rural vote swing
The Washington Post reports on perhaps the most important of these races: The battle for a Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin:
In a race that will determine whether liberals or conservatives control the Wisconsin Supreme Court when it considers the future of the state’s abortion ban, voters narrowed the field to two candidates in a Tuesday primary.
The winners now begin a 42-day sprint to an April 4 general election that is sure to see record spending. If liberals take over the court for the first time in 14 years, they are expected to reverse some GOP policies and could revisit election maps that have given Republicans huge margins in the state legislature.
Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz will represent the Democrats in the runoff election, while a bitter fight on the Republican side saw Daniel Kelly emerge as the Republican choice. The election is technically “nonpartisan,” but that doesn’t make it any less of a partisan fight. Democrats are optimistic about winning the runoff election given that the Democrats in the race combined to collect more than 50% of the total votes cast.
► Colorado Democrats have unveiled a couple of gun safety proposals. First, as Nick Coltrain reports for The Denver Post:
A proposal to limit all firearm purchases and possession to people 21 and older — including rifles and shotguns — will be the first in a slate of bills Democrats hope will curb gun violence in the state…
…According to the Giffords Law Center, there was a 61% increase in gun suicides among minors between 2011 and 2020 and 18- to 20-year-olds being 17% of known homicide offenders despite being 4% of the general population chief among them. The Giffords Law Center advocates for more stringent gun laws and is named for former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head at an event.
The Colorado Sun, meanwhile, reports on legislation to enact a three-day waiting period for gun purchases.
This week Democrats will introduce a bill that would enact a three-day waiting period between when someone purchases a gun and when they can access the weapon, mirroring policies that have been adopted in other states.
“It’s giving people the opportunity to take a breath,” said Sen. Tom Sullivan, a Centennial Democrat whose son, Alex, was murdered in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting and who will be a lead sponsor of the legislation. “We know that when people decide to kill themselves with a firearm, sometimes they spend less than 20 minutes making that decision.
► Check out the latest episode of the Get More Smarter Podcast, featuring an interview with former Fox 31 reporters and current POLITICO White House Correspondent Eli Stokols:
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Check Out All This Other Stuff To Know…
► The field of candidates seeking to become the next State Republican Party Chairperson got a lot more crowded in the last week. Now joining Erik Aadland, Casper Stockham, and Aaron Wood are Tina Peters, and former lawmakers Kevin Lundberg and Dave Williams.
As Kyle Clark reports for 9News, Party switching enthusiast Stephen Varela has pulled out of the running for State GOP Chair. Make sure to click below to read the rest of Clark’s thread for a good chuckle:
► In early January we first coined a nickname for freshman Republican Rep. Scott “There is No” Bottoms. It is truly remarkable how quickly Bottoms has worked to live up to that nickname, most recently by comparing abortion to the Holocaust.
► Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan write for POLITICO about President Biden’s push to eliminate “junk fees”:
Even in a divided country, it’s not all that surprising there is broad, bipartisan support for a new push to get rid of those extra charges and fees Americans pay for hotel stays, concert tickets and switching cell phone providers.
Perhaps the only surprising thing is how quickly something JOE BIDEN never mentioned during his 2020 campaign went — in less than a year’s time — from an idea tossed out by economic aides to a major point of emphasis in the president’s State of the Union address.
The push around junk fees officially began late last summer, when BRIAN DEESE, Biden’s national economic adviser, asked other aides to work on a household finance agenda – something for Biden to focus on in the run-up to the midterms as inflation remained high.
But the real origin point took place months earlier, according to five administration officials who provided new details of what is fast becoming one of the president’s most popular policy initiatives. [Pols emphasis] As the White House Competition Council was batting around ideas for the panel to focus on, TIM WU, a former special assistant to the president for competition and tech policy who left the administration at the end of last year, suggested the idea of “junk fees.” ROHIT CHOPRA, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, had coined the term back in January.
► Democratic governors from 20 states have formed a “reproductive alliance,” according to Colorado Newsline.
► 9News reports on legislation aimed at creating “equal pay for equal work”:
Colorado job seekers now have more transparency from potential employers after a law that took effect in 2021.
A new bill up for consideration in the state legislature intends to expand upon the original “Equal Pay for Equal Work Act,” which was passed in May 2019, before the pandemic.
On Tuesday, legislators gathered to hear testimony for and against Senate Bill 105. Supporters said it’ll help ensure pay equality, especially for women of color. Opponents said there are some unintended consequences of laws like this.
When “unintended consequences” is your main argument, it’s often a clear signal that the opposition is having trouble coming up with a good narrative.
► CBS4 Denver reports on a legislative proposal to expand the number of county commissioners in counties with large populations. Several Colorado counties have larger populations than the entire state of Wyoming, yet still only have three county commissioner positions.
►9News has more on pollution problems from the Suncor refinery in Commerce City:
This is pretty much all that Congressman Ken Buck (R-Greeley) does anymore:
Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
F*** you, too!
► Efforts continue in Idaho to create a giant middle-finger of a state that incorporates easter Oregon into its border. This is never going to come to fruition, but KATU in Idaho has the latest:
House members in the Idaho Legislature voted in favor of the ‘Greater Idaho’ movement this past week.
The approval means Idaho representatives want to begin talks about relocating the Oregon/Idaho border, which is something many people in eastern Oregon have been waiting for.
The ‘Greater Idaho’ movement proposes that nearly everything east of the Cascades – except Bend – becomes part of Idaho. Currently, there are eleven Oregon counties supporting the move.
Joe Perticone of Bulwark calls this part of the right-wing’s new “Secession Fan Fiction” phase.
February 22, 2023 12:18 PM UTC
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It’s cold and snowy in much of Colorado, but a massive winter storm sweeping across the United States 
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