May 16, 2016 12:43 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Monday (May 16)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Too bad you have to wait until August for those rain barrels to become officially legal. 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…

► How bad is it this time? That may be the new internal mantra for the Jon Keyser for Senate campaign. Keyser’s EPIC meltdown in response to questions about alleged forged petition signatures has gone more than viral — it is transcending politics altogether now. Comedian Samantha Bee, who hosts a nightly talk show on TBS, Tweeted out a couple of Keyser-related barbs this morning, comparing him to a character on HBO’s “Veep” and highlighting their own remix of Keyser’s stumbles into the “I’m on the ballot dance.”

The Denver District Attorney’s office is now investigating the alleged forgeries that helped Keyser get his name on the June 28th Primary ballot. And editorials around the state are piling on, like this one from Dave Perry of The Aurora Sentinel:

No, Jon Keyser. You won’t be winning Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet’s seat in November. You’ve just lost the primary election by losing your dignity, integrity and above all, respect for voters.

In what looked like a pathetic stunt straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook, Keyser — hand-picked and hand-groomed by big-player state Republicans to take on the politically vulnerable Bennet this fall — trashed his already tattered political career Thursday.

Keyser, acting the insolent spoiled brat, refused to answer questions from reporters about why there are at least 10 forged signatures on petitions that got him a place on the GOP primary ballot…

…For godsake, if you fold like a whiny teenager from this, what would you have done when Sen. Elizabeth Warren or Sen. Ted Cruz got in your face or tripped you on the Senate floor? Cry? Repeat the Pledge of Allegiance like some kind of secret spell?

Coincidentally, Perry just recently won an award from the Colorado Press Association for Best Editorial Writing. Read the entire editorial above and you’ll see why.

ICYMI, Keyser’s absolutely epic #FAIL(s) on Thursday are must-watch TV — as is this MSNBC segment from Rachel Maddow.

Elsewhere, The Denver Post is hosting a debate among the Republican U.S. Senate candidates on Tuesday. The event begins at 6:00 pm tomorrow evening (May 17).

► The U.S. Supreme court has decided to punt on an issue related to contraceptions and Obamacare. From the Washington Post:

A short-handed Supreme Court declined Monday to decide challenges to an Affordable Care Act requirement about providing contraceptive coverage, saying that there was a possibility of compromise between religious objectors and the government.

The court punted the issue back to lower courts, and said its unanimous ruling “expresses no view on the merits of the cases.”…

…The unanimous three-page decision maintains the status quo, and indicates that the court — evenly divided along ideological lines following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia — could not reach agreement.

A week after oral arguments in the case, the justices took the highly unusual step of floating their own compromise about how to resolve the case, and asked the parties to weigh in.

► The Colorado legislature wrapped up its 2016 session late Wednesday, but they may yet be called back to the Capitol. Rumors continue to grow that Gov. John Hickenlooper could call legislators back into a “special session” in order to focus on the “Hospital Provider Fee” issue that Senate President Bill Cadman basically killed in order to appease his rulers at “Americans for Prosperity.”

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Former state Sen. Gail Schwartz is rapidly gaining attention as she ratchets up her campaign for Congress against incumbent Republican Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Cortez). According to a press release from the Schwartz campaign:

On Friday, the DCCC promoted the Schwartz campaign from “Emerging Race” status to the top status level of “Red-to-Blue.” This designation demonstrates that Gail Schwartz is running a strong campaign and is in excellent position to unseat the incumbent this November.

“This terrific news adds to our momentum in working to unseat Congressman Tipton. We will win this seat by continuing to connect with Coloradans who support my approach to public service, which is putting community interests before special interests and partisanship,” said Gail Schwartz, Democratic candidate for the 3rd Congressional District.

DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, in promoting Schwartz to the Red-to-Blue program said, “Gail Schwartz has a proven record of independent leadership and delivering for rural communities across Western and Southern Colorado. Her commitment to creating good paying jobs, protecting our natural resources, and keeping Americans safe will make her an excellent representative for Colorado’s 3rd District.”

The Pueblo Chieftain has more on the rising momentum of the Schwartz campaign.

► Some longtime Colorado mining towns are worried about what will happen to their local economies as the coal industry rapidly becomes obsolete.

► Is Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper really on a short list to become Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the race for President? Hickenlooper’s spokesperson shrugged off rumors that Hick could be Vice President material. But as Amy Parnes writes for “The Hill,” Hickenlooper is among the top 5 candidates “getting the most buzz in Clintonworld””

Some in Clintonworld say the Colorado governor’s name should be on any short list.

For starters, a win in Colorado would cement the race for Clinton.

Hickenlooper has also been a loyal soldier to Clinton during the primary, particularly when his state voted for Sanders by nearly 20 percentage points.

Clinton and Hickenlooper spent time together in April when she attended a fundraiser at his home.

Insiders say if he doesn’t get a nod for VP, Clinton will likely consider him for a cabinet position, should she be elected.

All of this VP talk could just be chatter, but from what Parnes writes, is certainly sounds as though Hickenlooper is a frontrunner for some sort of Cabinet position in a potential Clinton administration.

Meanwhile, “The Fix” tackles an easier list: The 5 people who will definitely not end up as running mates with presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump.

► Politico wonders whether it is a fair comparison to put Bernie Sanders and Ralph Nader in the same sentence. Here on Colorado Pols, longtime reader Voyageur takes a look at Bernie’s chances in Tuesday’s Primaries in Oregon and Kentucky.

► Sorry, Loan Sharks, but nobody will an ounce of intelligence really believes that your predatory lending business model can’t survive in Colorado unless you can ratchet up interest rates to ridiculous levels.

► Congressman Ken Buck (R-Greeley) testified on Friday about…well, we’ll just quote from the Greeley Tribune instead:

The legislation would reform the IRS rules as they apply to mutual irrigation, reservoir and water companies.

► How did issues of “open government” fare in the 2016 legislative session? As the Colorado Independent reports, it was a mixed bag.

► The Boulder Daily Camera takes a look at the Democratic Primary battle underway for the right to replace term-limited House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst.

► The NORAD facility in Colorado Springs has a new boss, and it’s an historic move. From the Colorado Statesman:

Air Force Gen. Lori J. Robinson on Friday became the first woman to lead a top-tier U.S. warfighting command when she took over as leader of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command in Colorado.

Robinson is one of just two female four-star generals serving in the Air Force.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Former Republican Presidential candidate Ben Carson is an active surrogate for Trump’s Presidential campaign. This is both good and bad, as the Washington Post notes.

► He hasn’t just suffered through a week as bad as Jon Keyser, but the last few days have not been kind to Donald Trump. Or “John Miller.”

ICYMI

► Democrat Hillary Clinton is the pundit pick to become the next President of the United States, but here are 12 possibilities for how she could come up short.

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