President (To Win Colorado)
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(D) Kamala Harris
(R) Donald Trump
80%↑
20%
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
(R) V. Archuleta
98%
2%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Marshall Dawson
95%
5%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(R) Jeff Hurd
(D) Adam Frisch
50%
50%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert
(D) Trisha Calvarese
90%
10%
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Jeff Crank
(D) River Gassen
80%
20%
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
(R) John Fabbricatore
90%
10%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) B. Pettersen
(R) Sergei Matveyuk
90%
10%
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(D) Yadira Caraveo
(R) Gabe Evans
52%↑
48%↓
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
August 30, 2007 04:25 AM UTC
16 Comments
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very disappointing, mark knows better than to engage in such half-truths and cynicism. he’s better than that.
Again, this is why moderate Republicans and the business community should join forces with Democrats like Gov. Bill Ritter and build a governing coalition that, for example, considers the infrastructure and educational needs of the state.
Individuals like Mark Hillman, who should know better than to put his name on a document like this one, have bought into the idea that government is always wrong no matter what. These people need to be pinned down and asked what roads and highways do they believe should be built or what level should public education be funded. Once they give a straight answer, maybe we can have a rational discussion about how we maintain and build the future for Colorado. In the meantime, it is obvious from this latest paper from the Independence Institute that this group intends to wreck, not just government, but out future.
Lest anyone forget, Hillman, Andrews and Caldera and the rest of the anti-C & D group admitted that if C did not pass, Colorado was going to shut the doors on 10 of our 13 community colleges and tuition at all of our four year colleges would rise to level of Harvard, Stanford and Notre Dame in five years. In both cases, education for our children would either be unavaiable or unaffordable. When confronted with these facts, these same people said they were aware of that but they simply didn’t care. If we had to shut down community colleges or make our four year colleges unaffordable that simply didn’t matter to these people. It is axiomatic that without trained people with two year community college degrees or four year degress we won’t be able to attract, not only high paying jobs to Colorado, but jobs that give people a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in their lives.
The business community was the mainstay of the support for C & D and should take note of what this latest report represents. The Independendce Institute and Mark Hillman are kicking dirt in the business community’s face. They are telling the business people of this state that even though you formed and led the greatest single political coalition this state has ever seen, you are just plain wrong and we are going to try and overturn your efforts on behalf of Ref. C no matter what. These people are telling the business community you were just plain wrong to want to keep the doors open at our community colleges. You were just plain wrong to keep our four year colleges affordable. You were just plain wrong to want to build this state into the best place we can for not only business owners but their employees. And if people like Hillman get the chance they will wreck all of our work to better Colorado.
These people run the Republican Party in this state. Is this the source we want our future leaders to come from? Do we want Republicans who take and believe these kind of positions to lead the state in the future? Hopefully not. Moderate Republicans simply don’t hold or share these kind of values. When the values we hold dear become divergent from the group that controls an orgainzation, then it is time to leave and join with others who share our same values. In this case, the Democrats offer us (the moderate Republicans) the opportunity to continue to build and improve Colorado for our future and for the future of our children.
While it’s unfortunate that individuals such as Hillman (whom I never thought to be a stupid man), Andrews, Caldara, Bruce, and other extremists have such a strong influence on many in the Republican, where is the voice of moderation? It seems that anytime a moderate republican speaks up, they are drowned out by noise like this from the far right wing extremists.
The loud theatrics of Caldara, Andrews, et. al. seem to be selling on the radio and tv with many in the Republcian following suit. Look at how the Senate GOP reacts anytime Ritter or the Democratic Leadership puts forward a fix for one of the many problems our state faces. They bury their head in the sand, put out non-sense talking points, and offer No solutions.
and then the base will insist on winners, not philosophically pure candidates.
I agree with the points you made about how the extremist control the Republican Party. My belief too.
You posed the question “what now?” As long as the right-wing extremists control the party the only rational answer to that question is to move to the Democrats and join forces with people like Gov. Bill Ritter who realistically and practically want to move Colorado forward.
I’ve said this before here but it should be obvious now that the moderate Republicans do not have the same values as the right-wing Republicans. Political parties require commonly held values. Many of the leaders of the right wing want to terminate ALL funding for public education K through university (Andrews and Tancredo – look at the website for the Alliance for the Separation of School and State). Caldera, Andrews and now Hillman want to rehash and re-fight the Ref. “C” battle by being plain dishonest about how and where the Ref “C” money has been appropriated and spent. Ref. “C” is the very issue that renergized the moderate Republicans but the extremists are intent on kicking dirt in our face, including the business community. They still believe that it would be just fine if 10 out of our 13 community colleges closed and tuition at our four year colleges and universities rose to the level of private universities like Harvard and Notre Dame. People who believe this do not believe in our future. They are fixated on destroying government regardless of the consequences and they certainly aren’t conservatives. They are radical extremists.
Moderate Republicans on the other hand are in favor of affordable colleges and universities because many of them see the value of those institutions from the education they received at public universities and the value for their children of an affordable education, as well as, the benefits for our economy.
The moderate Republicans can connect the dots between a good education and a thriving economy with jobs that not only pay well but prove satisfying for those working in them. We will never have those kind of jobs without a great public education system.
The right wing Republicans can’t connect these dots. They will intentionally destroy our education system and ignore the consequences to our economy and our children. They are entitled to believe and advocate any policy viewpoint they desire but from my perspective their views don’t represent public policy – they represent insanity.
…voting Dem. Some are holding their nose while doing so but both at the state level and national level they’re voting dem.
I did know one CEO that remained Repub but he was “let go” for doing a lousy job so he doesn’t count anymore.
Voting against your companies best interests will sometimes upset the shareholders.
“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” – Abe.
When Hillman was in the Senate (an himself a ‘farmer’) he voted against a bill strongly supported by the corn growers that dealt with banning MTBE and only allowing ethanol. He did this because: 1) the bill was sponsored by a Democrat (Mike Feeley) and 2)the oil and gas lobby opposed it.
Bottom line is that Hilman was less interested in representing his constituents than towing a party line and bowing to Greg Schnake and Bill Owens.
There is a professor, I think from New Mexico, that analyzed several dozen conservative think tank papers a year or so ago. He examined, at the least, references and authorities, and the analysis process.
He found incredibly major errors in all of the papers. Some actually would have proven the opposite of the conclusion, but glib use of words seemed to support the contention.
The travesty of the think tanks is that they don the cloak of academia, but like many high school grads, there are no clothes on underneath. Calling contributors “fellows”, like John Andrews of the Claremont Institute – my, that sounds legitimate – is a disservice to real academics.
Newpapers are culpable for the spread of this intellectual HIV. The tanks give them fodder at no cost. The paper does not need to pay a writer or a service for content.
I don’t even know if he had a college level math, statistics or other analytical skills class.
Mark is a smart guy, but you don’t ask your doctor how to change the ball joints on your car.
Being a wheat farmer does not qualify you to make technial analysis of tax policy.
was checking my knee for the cause of its clicks, and he was trying to explain it, I interruppted with, “Oh, it’s like the ball joints on my old Subaru.” We got a good laugh.
Anyone with a high IQ can overcome educational limitations to a degree, but I don’t thin anyone has suggested that Hillman get a Mensa application.
Wade Buchanan (quoted above) is a great person. The guy helped me get my first real job. Go Wade.
I know you all don’t really give a hot sack of crap (n/t Haners) but he really is a good guy.
Enough.
but he seems like a rational individual.
Wade, keep up the good work!
Did I miss what specifically was wrong or simplistic about Hillman’s analysis? I don’t even see a link to his analysis
You can do a simple google search to find it.