August 23, 2016 12:00 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (August 23)

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

On this day in history…it turns out not much happened. 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). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► Congressman Mike Coffman’s re-election campaign is mashing the panic button. On Monday, Coffman’s campaign started attacking Democratic opponent Morgan Carroll with bizarre claims that she is not a supporter of immigration reform; in 2013, in fact, Carroll was a co-sponsor of the ASSET bill in Colorado, also known as “Colorado’s DREAM Act.” Of course, it is Coffman who has been wishy-washy on immigration issues throughout his entire career, and Monday’s blatant attempt to confuse the issue was another indication of Coffman’s political worries this election cycle. 

Perhaps Team Coffman is lashing out in anger over the fact that former CD-6 Rep. Tom Tancredo — a man Coffman once called his political “hero” — is making a point to dump on Coffman whenever possible. On Monday, Tancredo clarified earlier statements that he might consider voting for Carroll (though he doesn’t actually live in CD-6 anymore) while making sure to rip Coffman again. “I don’t think there’s anything sincere about Mike Coffman,” said Tancredo in an interview with Jason Salzman.

► Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump is sorta-kinda taking a new approach to the issue of illegal immigration. As the Washington Post reports:

After spending a few days reflecting on his immigration stances and consulting with Hispanic supporters, Donald Trump on Monday detailed how he would deal with the millions of immigrants illegally living in the United States: Enforce laws that are already on the books and continue to do what President Obama is doing, although “perhaps with a lot more energy.”

This strategy marks a sudden change for the Republican nominee, who has presented himself as a politically incorrect outsider who is not afraid to take extreme measures to combat illegal immigration, such as deporting 11 million people or constructing a massive wall along the Southern border. For more than a year, Trump insisted that all illegal immigrants “have got to go” and that he would create a “deportation force” to carry out the task.

Trump struck a starkly different tone during an interview with Bill O’Reilly that aired on Fox News on Monday night. Trump said he would separate the country’s undocumented immigrants into two groups: The “bad ones” who would be kicked out of the country as soon as he takes office and “everybody else” who would go through the same process that the Obama Administration is currently using.

On Monday, Trump told O’Reilly that the first thing he would do as President would be to “get rid of all the bad [illegal immigrants.]” That sounds so easy! Why didn’t anyone think of that before?

► Trump is expected to attend a high-dollar fundraiser in Aspen on Thursday, but contrary to national media reports, Trump will not make a separate appearance in Colorado to deliver a big speech on his immigration reform proposals.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► There will be at least five ballot measures on the statewide ballot this fall, with four more proposals waiting for approval from the Secretary of State’s office. On Monday, the Secretary of State’s office announced that a measure to increase the tax on tobacco had qualified for the statewide ballot.

► Among the measures that will be on the ballot this fall is a proposal to increase the minimum wage in Colorado. As 9News reports, similar efforts in other states have not created the kind of economic disaster that minimum wage opponents have been known to forecast.

► Is a 12-year-old Weston Imer really running Donald Trump’s field operations in Jefferson County? Perhaps we should rephrase that question: Could Trump’s campaign in Colorado do any worse at the direction of a 12-year-old?

► State Rep. Kevin Priola is doubling-down on a major gaffe from the 2016 legislative session. Priola says that he has knocked on 45,000 doors in his political career, and says “Not once, not one time, has one person ever said, ‘You know what, I really wish I had time off to go to my kids’ parent-teacher conference.'” Voters in Senate District 25 should expect to see this quote on more than one piece of negative mail this fall.

► Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday and took the opportunity to poke fun at opposition rumormongering that she is in poor health. “You take my pulse while I’m talking to you,” Clinton joked to host Jimmy Kimmel. “Make sure I’m alive.”

► Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, was in Lakewood on Tuesday morning to meet with small-business leaders.

Meanwhile, Clinton’s campaign is not expected to continue to spend money on television ads in Colorado or Virginia, two traditional swing states in which Clinton is polling well ahead of Trump.

► The Colorado Secretary of State’s office is reaching out to homeless voters in the Denver Metro area.

► Russian efforts to meddle in the United States’ Presidential election appear to be backfiring. As the Washington Post reports, American voters with ties to Russia are not likely to be supportive of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► What happened to politics in America? The Atlantic Monthly tries to answer that question.

► Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, is now threatening the media. At least they have something new to talk about at the dinner table.

ICYMI

► State Rep. Clarice Navarro really, really, really wants you to know that she really, really, really likes Donald Trump. Really.

► Don’t miss the latest episode of the Get More Smarter Show, featuring an extended interview with Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Jefferson County).

Get More Smarter by liking Colorado Pols on Facebook!