Author Archives: RedGreen

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Ballots are counted a week from today. Polls show Michael Hancock in the lead, but Chris Romer has a powerful GOTV army in the field. Who is going to win?

As always, vote for the candidate you think will win, not the one you want to win. Choices include a range of results so Polsters can predict the magnitude of the win.

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( – promoted by redstateblues)

Fort Wayne probably won’t be dedicating a new government building named after Harry Baals, the Indiana city’s deputy mayor told The Journal Gazette today. And that’s despite the former mayor — who ran Fort Wayne longer than anyone else — leading an online poll run by the city, with more than three times the votes of his nearest competitor at press time.

“We love Fort Wayne, too,” (Deputy Mayor Beth Malloy) said. “We’re not going to make any decisions that look bad.”

… While Baals was a popular mayor, Malloy noted he had an unfortunate name and some elected officials have said such a name would be an embarrassment to the city.

Regardless, Malloy said the online feedback effort has been a success because it has generated interest in local government and created buzz.

“I’m glad people want to get involved,” she said. “We are having fun with government.”

Not as much fun as Fort Waynsters, who have given an even more commanding lead to Baals (pronounced “balls” by the mayor, who was first elected in the 1930s, though his descendants have apparently changed the pronunciation to “bales,” the reporter notes).

As of this posting, Harry Baals Government Center led runner-up Eugene Johnson Memorial Center by more than 7-to-1 in the online balloting. (The blandly named Johnson was the blandly titled property manager for a library when it occupied the building.) Other suggestions getting votes include Thunder Dome, Citizens Plaza and the plain vanilla City Hall.

Commenters on the feedbackfortwayne site aren’t happy city leaders first asked citizens to name the building and then said they plan to ignore the vote. Some commenters are even urging a recall of the current mayor if Baals doesn’t get his name in lights.

Wrote one:

Its sad that Harry Baals can never receive the recognition he deserves because of his name. Don’t you think he suffered enough name calling when he was alive. Heck, why don’t we just wipe his name from the history books so no one can every bring up the shame of having a mayor with a funny name.

And another:

Fort Wayne desperately needs something to make it memorable; this just could be it. If nothing else, we’d be the city with a sense of humor.

Voting continues through Friday.

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

The political landscape looks a bit different on the eve of Election Day 2010 than it did two years ago here on Colorado Pols.

There’s been some turn-over among regular Polsters, Denver no longer has two dailies (and the one remaining is newspapera non grata), and Democrats were giddy at the prospects of sweeping the election the next day.

Even so, some things look nearly the same:

DavidThi808 was a front-page editor (and getting along with everyone), Libertad was out of the penalty box and sounding pretty much the same as he does these days, and Laughing Boy was on the lookout for Democratic screw-ups (and announcing he planned to run against Diana DeGette next time).

Outside Pols, Republicans were already salivating at the chance to impeach Barack Obama, Tom Tancredo was weighing a “quixotic” run for governor, and nutty ballot initiatives were headed for defeat.

Remember when it wasn’t “Change We Can Believe In, But …” and the Republicans were headed to minor-party status in Colorado (guess that one hasn’t changed much in two years)?

Step back for a look at Bizarro Pols: Here and here.

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

The Secretary of State’s office reports about 925,000 mail ballots and early votes received through sometime Friday, out of an estimated 1.7 million votes that might be cast this year in Colorado. There are still plenty of mail ballots out there — either making their way through the mails or sitting on kitchen tables — as SOS spokesman Rich Coolidge reports 1.6 million were sent out by county clerks. On top of the votes already checked in by clerks, there are another 1.5 million “active” voters on Colorado rolls (and another 845,000 “inactive,” some of whom will vote this year).

Where are Polsters in this mix? A poll follows.

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( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

The White House wasted little time responding to a release last night from Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff on communications between the Democrat and the administration last year when Romanoff was looking for work.

From the White House press office:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 3, 2010

STATEMENT FROM THE PRESS SECRETARY ON COLORADO SENATE RACE

Andrew Romanoff applied for a position at USAID during the Presidential transition. He filed this application through the Transition on-line process.  After the new administration took office, he followed up by phone with White House personnel.

Jim Messina called and emailed Romanoff last September to see if he was still interested in a position at USAID, or if, as had been reported, he was running for the US Senate.  Months earlier, the President had endorsed Senator Michael Bennet for the Colorado seat, and Messina wanted to determine if it was possible to avoid a costly battle between two supporters.

But Romanoff said that he was committed to the Senate race and no longer interested in working for the Administration, and that ended the discussion. As Mr. Romanoff has stated, there was no offer of a job.

Politico’s Mike Allen reported in his overnight Playbook newsletter that the White House plans to release Romanoff’s job application “later today.”

Questions about the dueling statements and a poll follow.

Is the White House statement in agreement with Romanoff’s explanation? And is there a meaningful distinction between “dangling” jobs in front of the job-seeker and “offering” a job? Or, as Romanoff phrased it, “suggest[ing] three positions that might be available to me were I not pursuing the Senate race.”

Romanoff, had already applied for the Secretary of State and Senate vacancies and, word has it, the job of lieutenant governor under the governor who’d already passed him over twice. It’s no surprise he’d also already applied for at least one of the jobs White House fixer Jim Messina discussed with him after news broke he was considering challenging Michael Bennet.

Here’s another thing to consider: Politico blogger Ben Smith, in a post titled “Romanoff’s middle finger,” labels Romanoff’s Wednesday night statement a single-digit salute to President Barack Obama, who, after all, has done plenty to oppose Romanoff’s bid.

Andrew Romanoff’s release of an email from Jim Messina listing three senior government positions does some real damage to the White House, showing governance at its most transactional.

But it’s also a sign of something else: How little Establishment Democrats like Romanoff fear the White House. It’s a remarkable act of defiance. [emphasis added]

After more than a week of “no comment” and “no comment” on why he wasn’t commenting, Romanoff’s “jaw-dropping” statement and the White House response only muddy the waters. Suffice it to say no one’s happy talking about this story except gleeful Republicans screaming for a special prosecutor (hopefully one with a license to probe the Obama administration about anything and everything). Yesterday, Romanoff was “clearly anguished,” The Coloradoan’s Bob Moore reports, and you can bet the Bennet campaign and the administration wish this would all just go away. But, ultimately, is this anything but a distraction? Does the news damage anyone, or is it just politics as usual?

UPDATE: The Fix takes a stab at assessing the political fallout. Upshot: It’s complicated, but Obama suffers the most.

FURTHER UPDATE: The Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen tells everyone — especially scandal-chasing would-be Woodsteins — to calm down:

I hate to disappoint bored political reporters, but this isn’t controversial. It’s not even interesting. Mark Halperin seems especially excited about the “story,” noting the ways in which it’s “potentially more serious” than the Sestak matter. But that’s silly — Romanoff applied for a job, so it’s hardly scandalous to see if he still wanted it.

Does he have a point?

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( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Public Policy Polling is just out with its Colorado gubernatorial match-up, and the results aren’t good for Democrat John Hickenlooper. The Denver mayor led Republican Scott McInnis 50-39 in March, but the two are now tied at 44-44, according to the survey.

Hickenlooper, who has been subjected to heavy advertising labeling him “No Jobs John” without a response, looks to have lost plenty of support among Independent voters. “Most crucially, Hickenlooper has seen a 48-34 lead with independents evaporate to a 42- 46 deficit,” PPP says in its analysis of the poll. (Full results in PDF here.)

Still, Hickenlooper remains the most popular politician in the state with 47% viewing him favorably and 33% unfavorably, but that’s a significant drop from 51-27 measured by PPP in March. “The entire drop has come among Republicans (30-41 to 21-57) and independents (49-28 to 44-34),” PPP notes.

McInnis favorability is mostly unchanged. Can it be that all the buzz about the elk he shot and tax returns he won’t release haven’t moved public opinion much, but the Republican Governors Association ads have?

From the PPP release on its CO-GOV poll:

“John Hickenlooper has an unusual level of personal popularity with independents and Republicans for a Democrat,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But it’s not translating into a willingness by them to vote for him. Between this race and the Senate contest Colorado will be one of the most hard fought states in the country this year.”

(Obviously Romanoff didn’t raise enough money. There’s NO other reason for this. – promoted by Colorado Pols)

This tidbit in Michael Booth’s Denver Post story this morning about first quarter Senate fundraising totals:

Bennet’s Democratic primary challenger, Andrew Romanoff, is the only candidate who has not disclosed how much money he raised in the latest quarter. Campaign officials said they would make the necessary April 15 filing to the Senate and the Federal Election Commission but would not release totals to the public until next week. [emphasis added]

Here’s what’s been raised and reported by the other four major Senate candidates for the first quarter 2010 (with some rounding):

Michael Bennet $1,405,177

Jane Norton $816,000

Ken Buck $218,791

Tom Wiens $199,250

Totals include loans of $100,000 by Buck to his campaign and $98,319 by Wiens to his.

(We’d say these expectations are a little handicapped for both, in reality they need more than that–but here’s the bar as set by The Hill – promoted by Colorado Pols)

UPDATE NO. 3: Still nothing from Romanoff, but The Spot reports Wiens raised — and gave his campaign — about the same as Buck:

Wiens, who is largely self-funding his campaign reported $100,931 contributions from individuals in the first quarter. He gave $98,319 to himself and had about $540,132 cash on hand.

UPDATE NO. 2: It’s after 5 p.m. and nothing from the Romanoff campaign.

UPDATE: Buck’s numbers are in. Better than 4th Quarter but the post-caucus bump doesn’t meet The Hill’s expectations, considering about half the total is a loan from Buck himself. From the campaign’s release:

The Ken Buck for Colorado Senate Campaign announced a total receipts of $218,791 raised in the first quarter of 2010, more than five times the receipts in the last quarter of 2009. The receipts include a $100,000 loan from Ken Buck. [emphasis added]

__________________________

Today’s the deadline for filing 1st Quarter FEC reports, and the two Senate candidates who aren’t running petition drives have yet to reveal their fundraising totals.

Already, Jane Norton has reported raising $816,000, and Michael Bennet said he brought in $1.4 million. Still to come: Ken Buck and Andrew Romanoff, who can either mount effective statewide campaigns through the summer or not. (Tom Wiens hasn’t released his totals either, but since he’s self-funding there isn’t as much anticipation for his report.)

The Hill’s Ballot Box takes a look and sets the bar:

The first-quarter fundraising reports of an election year mark a new phase in the campaign – a time when expectations grow and the numbers can make or break a candidate.

Strong numbers can give a long-shot candidate credibility; disappointing numbers can sink a favorite. […]

The former state House Speaker Romanoff, meanwhile, better have gotten at least a little bump from his victory over Bennet at the March precinct caucuses. Reasonable expectations are a couple hundred thousand dollars from Buck and half a million dollars from Romanoff [emphasis added], who raised $337,000 in the fourth quarter.

What say you, Polsters?

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

State Rep. Wes McKinley (D-Walsh) filed an ethics complaint against Nate Gorman, a lobbyist representing veterans, Jessica Fender reports at The Spot. The lawmaker charges the lobbyist with physically threatening him, specifically: “He said he would cut out my lying tongue and stuff it down my lying throat.”

McKInley said he is concerned he might react next time. “We cannot allow a lobbyist to be bullying a legislator,” he told Fender.

Norman denies making the threat and called McKinley’s complaint “laughable” and “sad.”

Details behind the alleged threat and a poll follow.

McKinley said he was talking to Sen. Ken Kester in Kester’s office about a bill concerning funding options for the Trinidad State Nursing Home when he called Norman a liar.

Trouble is, Norman was walking past the door and overheard McKinley, both sides agree. Then the lobbyist confronted the lawmaker at an elevator, where no witnesses heard the alleged threat but McKinley yelled for Norman to “Say that again!”

Norman says McKinley’s outburst was meant to imply he’d said something that made the state rep mad but denies any such thing happened.

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( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

The Michael Bennet campaign announced this afternoon it will start running a television ad on Wednesday to introduce the candidate and his campaign to voters.

The message is a sharp stick in the eye of Washington, which Bennet calls “broken,” building on reform measures he introduced earlier this month. It’s the first TV commercial Bennet has ever run, his campaign emphasizes, making the point he’s not a career politician.

Shot in front of Lookout Mountain, the ad also unveils a new Bennet slogan: “I’m Michael Bennet and I approve this message,” he says, “because I’m listening to Colorado.”

The ad will run for two weeks in Denver and Colorado Springs on broadcast and cable at a reported cost in the neighborhood of $300,000.

Watch the ad and read a transcript after the jump.

Here’s a transcript:

Michael Bennet: I’ve been in Washington for only a year.

But it didn’t take that long to see the whole place is broken.

It’s time to give them a wake up call.

That’s why I’m for freezing Congressional pay until we get our economy back on track.

I think senators and congress should lose their health insurance, until they can stop insurance company abuses.

And I’d ban members of congress from ever becoming lobbyists.

I’m Michael Bennet and I approve this message because I’m listening to Colorado.

Lynn Bartels reports on The Spot blog that GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams had a snappy retort to the ad:

Trust Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, to weigh in and not in a good way for Bennet. Said Wadhams: “Bennet says something about only being in Washington for a year.  Interesting comment from someone who was raised in the salons of Washington, D.C. and went to school at the exclusive St. Alban’s School.”

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Today’s PPP poll on the Colorado Senate race shows the same trend found in recent Rasmussen polling: Andrew Romanoff does better than Michael Bennet against the leading Republican, Jane Norton. According to a poll pitting the Democrats against the top three Republicans, Romanoff would beat Norton 44-39, while Bennet and Norton would be tied at 43-43. Both Democrats do well against Ken Buck and Tom Wiens.

After noting that Romanoff does better against Norton, Tom Jenson of PPP adds this analysis:

I would be cautious about declaring Romanoff to be the more electable candidate based on these early numbers though. Bennet has had all the negatives of incumbency- being associated with an unpopular majority party during a recession- without the positives- defining himself positively to the voters on the airwaves in the context of a statewide campaign. If Romanoff is still doing better than Bennet four or five months from now once the voters have started really paying attention the electability argument might carry more heft. [emphasis added]

In other words, there’s a built-in bias against incumbents that could vanish once the real campaigning starts. Just as Democrats have been aiming all their fire at Norton (and probably driving up her negatives), so have the Republicans been attacking Bennet (and ignoring Romanoff).

So this poll does show Romanoff has residual goodwill and has left a favorable impression from his years as top Democrat in the House, but it doesn’t show how he performs statewide when there’s a real campaign against him. And that’s coming, whoever the nominees are.

PPP also adds:

All three times we’ve looked at this race over the last year it’s come out very close, and I think the Colorado Senate race will prove to be one of the most competitive in the country this year.

Like it or not, having the money to wage one of the most competitive races in the country is going to be a deciding factor. Has Romanoff started to make up the enormous gap in fundraising? We’ll know in a couple weeks as the 3rd Quarter wraps.

Full results and cross tabs here.

PPP plans to release results of its Senate primary election polls for both Democrats and Republicans on Monday. Stay tuned!

It’s on! On TV, on the Internet, on live blogs left, right and down the middle.

Those with CNN and C-Span 3 can watch it live on the big screen. Numerous news sites are streaming it live. Post your favorite live links, analysis, gotcha moments and harmonious resolutions.

Washington Post live blog.

CBS News live blog

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

He denied playing footsie with Mazzeo under the table because, he said, he was wearing cowboy boots.

That’d be Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-Nevada), who laid bare the embarrassing details of his life in a lengthy deposition taken by a lawyer representing Chrissy Mazzeo. The Las Vegas cocktail waitress has filed a civil suit alleging the drunken governor groped her in a parking garage. Gibbons won reelection after the allegations surfaced — and he denied them — but is facing a tough primary challenge and a divorce battle with his wife.

In the deposition, Gibbons denied taking bribes or kickbacks, denied keeping a “love condo” with Mazzeo, and denied having sex with his wife — at least since 1995.

That’s right, Nevada’s governor swore under oath he’s been celibate for the last 15 years, and he likes it.

“I’m living proof that you can survive without sex for that long,” Gibbons said.

But don’t expect him to joke about it:

When asked whether he had been flirty or had told any raunchy jokes while having cocktails with Mazzeo and others, Gibbons said he wasn’t a good joke teller and said he did not know the meaning of the term “double entendre.”

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid signaled today he will support adding a public option to the health care bill using reconciliation if Democrats agree to use the procedure to pass changes to the bill.

A big element pressuring Reid to take this position? The letter written by Sen. Michael Bennet asking him to.

Of course, there are a number of conditions that have to be met before this plan moves ahead — the White House has to sign on, the Senate parliamentarian has to sign off, and House Dems have to agree — but this is a remarkable step toward passing the kind of health care reform polls say voters support.

Reid’s statement below.

From Greg Sargent’s Plum Line blog at the Washington Post:

With more and more Senators signing on to the letter urging Reid to hold an up or down vote on the public option under reconciliation rules, Reid spokesman Rodell Mollineau sends over a statement signaling Reid’s qualified support for the move:

Senator Reid has always and continues to support the public option as a way to drive down costs and create competition. That is why he included the measure in his original health care proposal.

If a decision is made to use reconciliation to advance health care, Senator Reid will work with the White House, the House, and members of his caucus in an effort to craft a public option that can overcome procedural obstacles and secure enough votes.

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(Ah good…now the campaign ads start. – promoted by Middle of the Road)

The day before President Obama visits Denver to attend fundraisers for Sen. Michael Bennet, Republican Senate frontrunner Jane Norton unveiled an ad campaign today aimed at tying Bennet to the Obama administration’s deficit spending. The ad doesn’t mention Bennet. Here’s the TV version:

The ad’s script and Norton’s deficit proposals follow.

Here’s the ad’s transcript, from the Norton campaign, though the TV ad released doesn’t have an announcer but displays those words in titles. There’s a radio version that’s almost identical.

ANNOUNCER: The President’s coming to Denver and Colorado needs to send him a message.

JANE NORTON: Mr. President, as a candidate you came to Denver and promised to “go through the federal budget…eliminating programs that no longer work…”

You’ve done just the opposite – massive spending and debt.

It’s ruining our economy and it’s wrong.

Mr. President, you should pledge to balance the budget or else decline to seek re-election. That’d be change we could believe in.

I’m Jane Norton. I approved this message. Let’s Stand Up, Colorado.

“Let’s Stand Up, Colorado,” appears to be the Norton slogan.

Here’s what the Norton campaign proposes:

– Cut discretionary spending by 20 percent and then freeze it for three years. This shouldn’t be hard to accomplish – all it would require is a return to 2008 levels.

– Use what’s left of the stimulus and TARP money to pay down the debt. It will show the American people you’re serious about fiscal responsibility.

– End your quest for a government healthcare takeover.

– Then cut taxes on small businesses. Ronald Reagan showed that it works. When small businesses can create jobs through a lower tax burden, tax receipts actually go up.

– End earmarks.

– Finally, do what you promised. Go through your budget line by line and eliminate wasteful programs until the federal government is not spending a dime more than it makes.

What say you, Polsters? Does Norton have her economics right? Is it a good idea to slash federal spending and suspend the stimulus while the country is still getting out of a recession?

 

(Updated info to Dan’s diary. – promoted by Middle of the Road)

As predicted, state Sen. Paula Sandoval announces she’s running for the Denver City Council District 1 seat vacated by Rick Garcia’s appointment to a regional HUD post. She doesn’t plan to step down from her legislative seat to make the run.

As Dan Willis laid out, this creates the potential for other dominos to fall, should Sandoval win. http://www.coloradopols.com/di…

Release follows:

Today, State Senator Paula E. Sandoval announced she would run for the City Council vacancy created by Councilman Rick Garcia’s appointment as the new Rocky Mountain Regional Director for Housing and Urban Development.

(continues after the jump)

Senator Sandoval has a long history of public service.  She has been a State Senator representing North West Denver for the past eight years and has served on many boards and commissions including the Colorado State Historical Society, the Colorado Commission on Aging, the Denver Mountain Parks Foundation, the Greenway Foundation and the Denver Welfare Reform Board.

During her time as a State Senator, Paula has concentrated on social legislation and legislation to benefit children.  She was the prime senate sponsor for the low-income energy assistance bill, the Kids First License Plate, the Healthy School Vending Bill, the High-Risk Alternative Education bill and the Colorado Schoolchildren’s Asthma and Anaphylaxis Health Management Act.  In 2007 she sponsored a bill to extend Medicaid benefits for foster children to age 21 and also worked to put more state dollars into school breakfasts and lunches for Colorado’s children.

Paula E. Sandoval and her husband, Former State Senator Paul Sandoval, own Tamales by La Casita, Inc.  They have been in business over twenty-five years.

“I am very excited for the opportunity to run for Denver City Council which would allow me to continue representing North West Denver residents. As a legislator I understand the legislative process; as a business owner I understand the impact that same legislation has on businesses and consumers; and as an active community member I understand the importance of communicating with constituents and being their liaison to the City,” declared Paula Sandoval.

Once the Denver City Council declares Council District 1 a vacant seat, a special election will have to be conducted 30-60 days after the declaration unless a regularly scheduled election is within 90 days.

(“Objective journalism and an opinion column are about as similar as the Bible and Playboy magazine.” –Walter Cronkite – promoted by ThillyWabbit)

It’s been decades since America gathered every evening to watch the day’s news, and for those younger than about 40, it might be hard to conceive what a constant, authoritative influence Walter Cronkite was for nearly two decades. That era is long gone and now, with Cronkite’s passing Friday evening, so is its last and greatest emblem.

From the CBS News story:

Known for his steady and straightforward delivery, his trim moustache, and his iconic sign-off line -“That’s the way it is” – Cronkite dominated the television news industry during one of the most volatile periods of American history. He broke the news of the Kennedy assassination, reported extensively on Vietnam and Civil Rights and Watergate, and seemed to be the very embodiment of TV journalism.

It was a 1972 poll that named Cronkite “the most trusted man in America,” a sentiment echoed by President Barack Obama in a statement:

“For decades, Walter Cronkite was the most trusted voice in America. His rich baritone reached millions of living rooms every night, and in an industry of icons, Walter set the standard by which all others have been judged.

“He was there through wars and riots, marches and milestones, calmly telling us what we needed to know. And through it all, he never lost the integrity he gained growing up in the heartland.

“But Walter was always more than just an anchor. He was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day; a voice of certainty in an uncertain world. He was family. He invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down. This country has lost an icon and a dear friend, and he will be truly missed.”

Here’s Cronkite telling the nation Martin Luther King had been assassinated April 4, 1968:

Here’s Cronkite delivering his verdict on the Vietnam War.

Here’s the CBS page with stories, videos and photos.