March 22, 2016 11:27 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (March 22)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Send happy thoughts to our friends in Belgium today. 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…

► Today isn’t a “Super Tuesday” — in fact, it’s only a tad more interesting than a regular Tuesday — but there are more delegates at stake for candidates seeking their Party’s respective nominations for President. Both Democrats and Republicans are voting in Arizona (primary) and Utah (caucus), while Democrats will caucus alone in Idaho and Republicans will hold a “convention” in American Samoa (though no preference poll will be conducted).

On the Democratic side, Arizona is emerging as a must-win state for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders; while he is expected to perform well in Utah and Idaho, Arizona is the big prize with its 85 delegates.

For Republicans, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is expected to perform well in Utah, where 2012 GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has been campaigning hard against Donald Trump. His Hairness is the favorite in Arizona, where a winner-take-all Primary could net Trump 58 more delegates.

► The terrorist group ISIS is claiming responsibility for a series of attacks in Brussels, Belgium that have killed at least 30 people. From CNN:

While jarring, the carnage wasn’t altogether surprising. Belgium has been going after terrorist threats for months, as illustrated by last week’s capture of Europe’s most wanted man, Salah Abdeslam, in a bloody raid in Brussels.

“We were fearing terrorist attacks,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters Tuesday. “And that has now happened.”

A Belgian government representative told CNN that 20 people died at the Maelbeek metro station and 130 were wounded, plus 10 more were killed and 100 wounded at Brussels’ international airport.

► President Barack Obama made an historic speech in Havana on Tuesday morning in which he addressed the Cuban people directly. As Obama told the crowd, his visit to Cuba was intended “to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.”

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► If you were worried that Republican Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump was completely out of his league on foreign policy issues…then this will validate your opinion.

► Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) was a big supporter of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s Presidential campaign. Gardner appears to have learned a thing or two from Rubio — like how to avoid going to your office for weeks at a time.

► Congressional Republicans continue to refuse to so much as acknowledge that there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court, but as new polling results show, the American people are tired of the political gamesmanship being played by the GOP.

► Colorado Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Jefferson County) is part of a contingent of Congressional members joining President Obama in Cuba. Perlmutter spoke to Mark Matthews of the Denver Post for a short phone interview:

“It’s time to move on and that embargo should be repealed,” said Perlmutter, one of about three dozen members of Congress who traveled to Cuba this week with President Barack Obama. “There are real opportunities for America and for Cuba to develop a much stronger relationship despite the different approaches to the economy.”

Supporters of the embargo have argued Cuba’s human rights record and its treatment of political prisoners — a topic that raised tensions in a press conference Monday — are reasons to continue the decades-old U.S. policy.

But in a phone interview from Havana, Perlmutter, D-Arvada, cited the potential benefits for Colorado if the embargo is lifted — such as new markets for the state’s agriculture industry and a new tourism destination for Colorado jetsetters.

► As Peter Marcus reports for the Durango Herald, legislation intended to assist transgendered Coloradans with birth certificate changes has once again failed in the State Senate:

Colorado Republican state lawmakers on Monday killed this year’s effort to make it easier for transgender people to change the gender marking on their birth certificates.

It was the second time the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee killed the measure in as many years on party-line votes.

Both bills died after receiving support in the Democrat-controlled House.

Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, D-Westminster, who sponsored the bill, was in tears at the end of the hearing, acknowledging that the bill had little chance of earning Republican support.

► Legislation intended to increase local control over oil and gas drilling operations has passed out of the State House…and will almost certainly be killed in the State Senate.

► State Rep. Dan Pabon (D-Denver) made an emotional apology on the House floor on Monday related to a DUI arrest last week. From the Denver Post:

Democratic Speaker Pro Tem Dan Pabon wept as he gave an emotional apology on the state House floor Monday after his  arrest last week on suspicion of drunken driving and improper registration.

“I apologize to my wife, my kids, my family, my colleagues and my community,” the North Denver lawmaker said, sobbing. “I will work tirelessly to restore your confidence in me.”

Pabon, 38, plans to keep his legislative seat and declined to step down from his No. 2 post in the Democratic chamber.

He pledged to win back the confidence of his family, colleagues and voters as he seeks re-election in November.

► State Sen. Morgan Carroll has picked up another big endorsement in her bid to unseat Congressman Mike Coffman in CD-6 (Aurora). From a press release:

The Human Rights Campaign PAC, the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, announced their endorsement today of Colorado State Senator Morgan Carroll for the U.S. House of Representatives in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District.

“The Human Rights Campaign is proud to endorse Morgan Carroll to represent Colorado’s 6th Congressional District,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs. “She has been a true advocate of equality and fairness and has pledged to continue advocating for the needs of the LGBT community as a Member of Congress. We are pleased to support her candidacy and, once she is elected, we look forward to working with her in Congress.”

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Shhh…don’t tell Colorado Republicans, but switching our state to all-mail ballot elections has resulted in better voter participation at a much lower cost. Also interesting in this report from the Pew Charitable Trust: Almost two-thirds of voters in 2014 said that they dropped off their mail ballot in person, rather than by mail.

► Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has died. The heavy-drinking, drug-loving official who gained international notoriety for his antics had been battling cancer in recent months. He was 46.

ICYMI

► Justin Trudeau for President! Perhaps we could make a straight swap of Ted Cruz in exchange for the Canadian Prime Minister.

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