June 26, 2015 11:56 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Friday (June 26)

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• by: Colorado Pols

There’s never a bad time for equal rights. Let’s Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols! If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example).

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Marriage Equality for all Americans, and Colorado’s elected officials are (mostly) happy about it; (Republican Congressmen Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman aren’t big fans of the ruling, naturally). Meanwhile, our friends at “The Fix” take a look at just how quickly the issue of marriage equality has changed in the United States:

As recently as the 2004 presidential election, Republicans were crediting George W. Bush’s re-election victory to ballot initiatives banning same-sex marriage that helped drive conservatives to the polls.  Less than 11 years later, same sex marriage is now legal in every state in America.

For those of you who are more of the “visual learner” type, check out this amazing graphic from the New York Times.

► Coffmangate continues to roll along. The Republican State Party is meeting today in Executive Session to exchange rumors and complaints, and some in the room will continue to push for Steve House to resign as Chairman, which is unlikely to happen. We continue to hear that the U.S. Attorney’s office is investigating possible blackmail or extortion charges involving Attorney General Cynthia Coffman.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► On Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of upholding federal subsides under Obamacare. Kevin Simpson of the Denver Post examines what the SCOTUS ruling means for Colorado:

Colorado continues to operate business as usual after the U.S. Supreme Court decision Thursday upheld certain federal subsidies offered by the Affordable Care Act, and the state exchange avoided disruption that likely would have accompanied a ruling against Obamacare.

Although insurance is regulated state by state, the economic dynamics cross state lines and would have been felt in Colorado, said Dick Cauchi, who tracks health care at the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures.

“Colorado along with others is dodging a bullet in the sense that there’s less concern, less disruption, especially for multi-state insurers that might have had their entire business model disrupted by a change in surrounding states,” Cauchi said. “There may well have been some kind of adverse economics or even ‘death spiral’ (for the ACA) had 36 states had a different approach to the subsidy.”

► We need to continue to have safe and reliable roads and bridges in the United States. This requires money, of course, but Congress is still screwing around with short-term funding for highway and infrastructure projects. Thus, the Obama Administration is pushing the Grow America Act in hopes that Congressional Republicans will, you know, govern or something. 

► Judge not, lest ye be judged! Although…Colorado could use more judges, as the Denver Business Journal reports:

Six of Colorado’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives — three Democrats and three Republicans — are backing a bill to create two new U.S. District Court judge positions in the state, citing what they call a “judicial crisis.”

In a joint statement, the Congress members note there has not been a net gain in federal judgeships in Colorado in 31 years, despite the state’s 66 percent population increase in that time.

Colorado currently has seven District Court judges. The last new position on the bench was added in 1984.

Congressman Ken Buck (R-Greeley), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, was the only member of Colorado’s delegation to not join his colleagues in this request; no explanation was provided by Buck’s office, though Buck seemed to be more concerned about whether he could still be the Freshman Class President than anything else.

► The annual Western Conservative Summit, hosted by Colorado Christian University, kicks off today in Denver. Seven of the 8 dozen Republican candidates for President are scheduled to speak at the event this weekend. There will probably be lots of kind words about the Supreme Court, too.

► Shhhhhh!!! Don’t tell anyone, but Colorado Springs residents apparently support the idea of raising taxes so that they can have streetlights and roads and stuff.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Astonishing, but true: There is an actual debate among Republicans about whether they should continue to fight against marriage equality. From the Washington Post:

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Friday legalizing same-sex marriage across the country has confronted the Republican Party with a choice: to rally the conservative base by continuing to fight, or take the loss and move on.

Early reactions by the party’s enormous field of declared and presumed 2016 presidential candidates suggest a sharp division is forming over that question.

Apparently this argument does not involve whether or not the GOP wants to actually win a Presidential election sometime soon.

► The Boston Marathon Bomber, whose name we won’t even bother to try to spell, is now living the prison life in Florence, Colorado.

ICYMI

► The Denver Nuggets did well in Thursday’s NBA Draft, using the #7 pick to grab potentially the best point guard in the class. So long, Ty Lawson.

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