February 10, 2016 12:18 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 10)

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

Slowly but surely, the Presidential race is moving toward states where people actually live. It’s time to 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 New Hampshire Primaries concluded last night, but not before making a significant impact on the Presidential race. As expected, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders were victorious in their respective Primaries, but it was the rest of the ballot that really made New Hampshire interesting. Here’s how Politico and the Washington Post viewed the fallout from New Hampshire. If you missed any of the coverage, we’ll catch you up with a couple of bullet points:

♦ Hillary Clinton lost by 22 points to Bernie Sanders, and the Clinton campaign is now bracing for a long, protracted Primary fight.

♦ Tuesday was a terrible night for the Republican “establishment.” Trump easily won New Hampshire by nearly 20 points, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich pulling a surprise second-place finish. Ted Cruz finished in third place, followed by Jeb! Bush and Marco “Roboto” Rubio in a distant fifth place. Conservative commentators, including National Review, had been saying that Rubio needed to make sure he finished ahead of Jeb!, which didn’t happen.

♦ Rubio’s fifth place finish also means he left New Hampshire without a single delegate pledged to his campaign. If Rubio can’t recover in time to perform well in South Carolina on Feb. 20th, it could be the end of the line for the Florida Senator’s Presidential hopes.

♦ Here’s a fun fact: In modern history, Republicans have not elected a nominee as President who didn’t win either Iowa or New Hampshire. If history holds, the GOP is looking at Cruz, Trump, or bust.

♦ With a sixth place finish, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has reached the end of his Presidential rope; Christie announced today that he would “suspend” his campaign.

► Republican Ben Carson said on Tuesday that he “would consider” an offer to be Donald Trump’s running mate if His Hairness wins the GOP nomination. Of course, Trump didn’t actually suggest that he might tap Carson for that role.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

► TABOR daddy Doug Bruce may be going back to prison, as the Denver Post reports:

A Denver district judge has found Douglas Bruce, the author of Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, violated five conditions of his probation in a 2012 felony tax evasion conviction.

Judge Sheila A. Rappaport wrote in a Jan. 19 ruling that evidence shows Bruce failed to report contacts with law enforcement and did not disclose certain financial dealings and tax documents as mandated.

Rappaport called some of Bruce’s defense against the accusations “semantic” and noted the weight of proof showing his guilt.

Bruce is scheduled to be re-sentenced on March 11.

► State lawmakers may have to cut as much as $100 million from Colorado’s budget as Republicans balk at any attempt to increase revenue.

Meanwhile, Republicans are proposing a budget cut that would come from doing away with a bunch of voting centers in Colorado. Freedumb!