The Tide Swamps Future Republican Hopes in Colorado

(Interesting analysis — promoted by Colorado Pols)

I took a break over lunch hour and looked at some of the election results here in Colorado. Bottom line: the cracks are in the Republican firmament in Douglas, El Paso and Weld counties. Mesa remains reliably Republican but its significance is declining due to the growth on the Front Range.

Douglas County: Ganahl defeated Polis by less than 1%. Jason Crow won the area of Douglas County in his district. O’Dea defeated Bennett 53% to 45% which is well below par for what Republicans used to win in that county in major statewide races.

El Paso County:  It’s still a Republican county but the margins in the major races are down significantly and the county now has 3 Democratic state representatives and 1 Democrat in the state senate. Ganahl defeated Polis 51% to 47% and O’Dea beat Bennett 53% to 44%. Remember the old days when a major Republican candidate would win El Paso 2 to 1. In 1992, when Gov. Romer ran for his third term, he put 20+ paid campaign staffers into El Paso because he wanted to be the first modern Democrat to win that county. After all that effort, Romer received 35.9% of the vote. Bruce Benson, a flawed candidate, blew Romer out of the water in El Paso. In other words, with urbanization and population growth, El Paso’s bright red is fading to a pale pink.

Weld County:  Weld still looks and votes Republican and will do so for the next few cycles but a closer look shows major shifts have begun, especially in southern Weld along the I-25 corridor. Those areas voted for Biden in 2020 and the same areas voted almost exclusively for Democrats running for the General Assembly this year, plus the eastern half of Greeley has been blue for quite some time. The northern metro suburbs (southern Weld) will continue to grow and the population expansion there is going to eat away at the Republican dominance in that county.

Bottom Line: Two things are going on in Colorado. One, former Republican strongholds, Arapahoe and Jefferson counties have turned absolutely bright blue. Two, except for Mesa, in the remaining large counties (the three above), the Republican Party is slowly losing its grip and even if they continue to vote Republican, the Republican margin of victory will be so thin in those counties that a statewide Democrat will win every time. Unless the Democrats nominate an absolute lunatic, the Republican Party cannot build a coalition that can win major statewide races in Colorado for the foreseeable future. In fact, I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better for the Republicans. Through their silly stupid machinations and positions, they have alienated the vast majority of Colorado voters.

We can be happy this one isn’t running for governor of Colorado

Ohio Supreme Court Justice William O’Neill, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, in one of the most bone headed political strategies of all-time, attempted to get ahead of his opponents by admitting his sexual indiscretion.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/11/17/ohio-governor-candidate-boasts-of-sexual-history-with-approximately-50-very-attractive-females/?utm_term=.3a1681367578

Its safe to say this won’t work.

A letter to Senator Gardner

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Dear Senator Gardner:

Now that the “skinny repeal bill” lost on the Senate floor last night, what is your position on health care policy?

Before every vote on every repeal bill you have plead ignorance of what is or may be in the bill and therefore you didn’t know if you would vote for or against the various bills. You’ve taken that odd position even though you were a member of the group of 13 senators who crafted and wrote the bill supported by the majority leader. In essence, on the one hand you are deeply involved in writing the legislation but on the other you plead ignorance of what is in the bill. The time for you being both fully informed and completely ignorant is over.

It certainly appears the August recess will begin before the Senate passes a health care bill. You will have plenty of opportunities next month to meet with us, your constituents (You remember us – don’t you? We’re the ones who voted in 2014 to give you the privilege of serving us in the U.S. Senate) and ask us what we believe should be done about health care policy. Before that discussion begins, it is obvious through all the closed door meetings you attended on Obamacare repeal and the weeks of discussion across the nation, you certainly have specific ideas about how Obamacare should either be repealed or improved.

Here are a few ideas to focus our discussion:

  1. You’ve stated you want to make Medicaid financially sustainable but what do you mean by that? Do you plan to increase taxes to sustain the present program or do you intend to cut the program. If you intend to cut it, how much (specifically) do you intend to cut it and those people (constituents) who will no longer have health insurance how will they receive medical care?
  2. You have stated you don’t like the Obamacare mandate but how are you going to sustain our market based health insurance system without a mandate?
  3. Under many of the Republican plans, people over the age of 55 will see their premiums increase five fold over what young people pay instead of the two fold under Obamacare. Do you think that is a good idea? If not, why did you support it?
  4. And lets expand our discussion to Medicare. Do you support amending the existing law to allow Medicare to negotiate group prices for prescription drugs? If not, why not? Wouldn’t that save the government and your constituents at least hundreds of millions of dollars each year and make Medicare sustainable?

Those are just a few suggestions to get us started when you hold  town hall meetings. Please do not tell us you don’t know what may be in a subsequent bill so you don’t know whether you’ll vote for or against it. We know you don’t know what will be in a bill yet to be written but after all the recent debate (seven years worth) you certainly know specifically what you want the next bill to look like. We are respectfully asking you to tell us what you specifically support or oppose. What specific provisions do you want in a healthcare bill and why?

Everyone in Colorado is hoping you take the time during recess to talk with us.

Thank you.

Respectfully yours,

Your Constituents

Health Care – The Start of the Republican Civil War

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Today the House Freedom Caucus announced it will seek either permission from Speaker Ryan but if that fails a discharge petition to bring a repeal bill to the floor in September to repeal Obamacare. It is a mirror image of the 2015 bill President Obama vetoed. If they go for a discharge petition, they will need 218 signatures from members of the House. Although the success of the petition is unlikely, it is their purpose that strikes me.

Congressman Meadows (R-N.C.), chair of the Freedom Caucus, wants to put moderate mainstream Republicans on the spot to see if they will vote against the same repeal they voted for in 2015 when they knew President Obama would veto it. Undoubtedly, any moderate Republican who won’t sign the discharge petition or vote for complete repeal on the floor will be targeted by the so called conservative donors and groups in the 2018 primaries.

They are going down this path even though 50% of the public supports Obamacare and far less than half that number want it repealed.

They are going down this path even though repeal will mean 32 million people will lose their health insurance according to the projection from the CBO. Many of those people reside in bright red districts, especially in the South and Midwest.

They are going down this path even though repeal means many rural hospitals in America will be forced to close leaving millions of Americans without emergency hospital services which are absolutely necessary to save lives. In many places, hospital care will be hours away.

They are going down this path even though they know that the newly uninsured will fill hospital emergency rooms which will cause insurance companies to raise the premiums of for those who have purchased insurance just so hospitals in cities can financially survive.

They are going down this path even though they know the free market will not provide affordable health insurance.

That raises the question why in the face of such awful facts, the Freedom Caucus and Mitch McConnell want to vote on a complete repeal of Obamacare which may very well cost them the majority in both houses in 2018? In both the House and Senate the purge is beginning. The so called conservatives will not tolerate or compromise with their moderate members. Any moderate who won’t vote in support of repeal will be targeted next year in the Republican primaries. Blinded by ideology they prefer civil war within the party and defeat in the next general election. It is mindless politics.

Cory Gardner – Please Hold Town Hall Meetings – No More Excuses

The repeal of Obamacare came to a screeching halt this evening as two more Republican senators announced their opposition to the bill pending in the U.S. Senate. One of them said the senate should start over, hold committee hearings, and receive input from all sides. An eminently rational position.

While we can’t count our chickens until they hatch since President Trump and some Republican senators are trying to “save the day” by calling for a bill that simply repeals Obamacare, one thing is very clear – Cory Gardner has more than enough time to come home during the August recess and meet with us in open town hall meetings. There is no longer an excuse to avoid us, ignore us, or characterize us as troublemakers or anything else.

Twenty percent of our economy is directly affected by federal healthcare policy. The Republicans campaigned for seven years on a slogan without a program. Obamacare now has the support of 50% of the electorate with less than half that number that want the ACA repealed.

The public (voters) want a health care system that provides care at a reasonable price. It is time Republicans stop demonizing Obamacare, forget about the misrepresentation that the Obamacare markets are collapsing (they aren’t), and stop the nonsense that premiums are increasing when Republicans voted to withdraw funding that stabilized the markets but above all it is time for people like Cory Gardner to listen to his constituents.

Trump Refuses to Disown Comment About Violence Against Clinton

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Another day, another chance for Donald Trump to disown a comment that directly calls for violence against Hillary Clinton – and – again he didn’t do it. Instead,  even though he was aware of New Hampshire St. Rep.  Al Baldasaro (R) comments over a month ago, today he responded by denying he knew about Baldasaro’s comments (not true) and he called Baldasaro “a very fine person.” Really?  An elected public official calls for a candidate to be put in front a firing squad and all Mr. Trump can say is he is a very fine person.

Trump simply can’t bring himself to disown people like Baldasaro and others from the extreme right who advocate the most heinous conduct against their fellow Americans. His refusal is reprehensible and it legitimizes those who assert violent behavior.

The Republican Party is dominated and run by radical extremists. They aren’t conservatives. The American voter should take advantage of the general election to retire the Republican Party into history.

Time to Honor a Colorado Public Servant

(Armstrong has been fighting cancer and is reportedly not doing well — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Sen_William_L_ArmstrongMany times we raucously and vigorously debate issues, candidates, and the political world we live in but tonight is a time to thank someone who is gravely ill for his service to our state and our nation. United States Senator Bill Armstrong (R-CO) served Colorado for nearly three decades as a state representative, state senator, three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and two terms in the United States Senate. Regardless of his political philosophy or stands on issues, he was foremost a gentleman to everyone, including those with opposing viewpoints. He was always well informed and prepared to defend his positions.

After his public service was completed in 1990, he continues to this day to serve our young people as President of Colorado Christian University. His deeply held and sincere Christian faith has set a standard of conduct that everyone can appreciate and emulate.

Public service, especially elected office, requires great sacrifices by elected officials and their families. Senator Armstrong made those sacrifices on our behalf. Tonight please offer your thoughts and prayers to him and his family.

Governor Christie Endorses Donald Trump for President

Chris Christie and Bob Beauprez.

Gov. Chris Christie and Bob Beauprez.

POLS UPDATE: The New York Times reports:

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey endorsed Donald J. Trump on Friday, a major turn in a wild race and one that gives the New York businessman a major boost as he heads into the pivotal “Super Tuesday” contests.

Mr. Christie was a candidate for president himself until he came in sixth place in New Hampshire’s primary. Seeing his political career facing an abrupt conclusion after his failed presidential campaign, he expressed his anger Friday at Senator Marco Rubio, who he was said to be upset with, blaming the “super PAC” backing the Florida senator for halting his momentum in New Hampshire with a string of slash-and-burn ads…

At Friday’s news conference announcing the endorsement, which was peppered with demeaning insults of Mr. Rubio by the two men, Mr. Christie repeatedly attacked Mr. Rubio, calling his behavior at the debate “desperate” and reflective of a “losing campaign.”

Gov. Chris Christie’s endorsement of Donald Trump is by far the highest-profile support Trump has received so far in this campaign, and may prove critical for Trump heading into Super Tuesday. As for Christie, it’s a clear-headed recognition of who he expects to win the GOP primary–and backing at a key moment we expect a President Trump would richly reward.

“President Trump.” Let that burn in real good, folks, because the odds of that actually happening just measurably increased–by how much being a question we’ll debate for days. Original post follows.

—–

What more can anyone say? So much for the Republican establishment’s move to stop Trump.

Buck to be removed as president of the freshmen House Republican

According to The Hill, Congressman Ken Buck’s vote against the trade bill will cost him his position as president of the freshman Republicans in the House.

phttp://thehill.com/homenews/house/245989-conservative-freshman-class-president-on-verge-of-being-ousted

Speaker Boehner is letting it be known that he is sick and tired of the extreme right-wing Republicans blocking everything and everything the President requests.  I realize many subscribers to Coloradopols are against the trade bill but this may be a sign that Mr. Boehner, who in the past was always a deal maker, wants the House to actually function again. 

Gov. Brownback backs down and calls for tax increases – Are the Republicans in Congress Listening?

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas.

Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas.

Wow, after years of reckless tax cuts covered over by the now completely discredited notion, known as the Laffer Curve, that reducing taxes will automatically generate increased economic activity and correspondingly the government bank account will overflow with new revenue, Gov. Brownback has reversed course and yesterday called for Kansas to increase taxes, including a 79 cent per pack increase in the cigarette tax, raising the tax on other tobacco products from 10% to 25%. The tax on beer, wine and liquor would jump from 8% to 12%. The intent is to close, in part, the looming $710 million deficit over the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends on June 30th, and the next fiscal year. However, even these tax increases are only expected to raise $394 million. To make-up the difference, he intends to slow down the pending income tax cuts but remains committed to his goal of eliminating the income tax. In his state-of-the-state address Thursday, he attempted to posture his tax increases as taxes on consumption (which is now apparently OK) as opposed to taxing productivity; but the bottom line remains the same.His experiment has failed, completely. The Laffer Curve doesn't work.

President Reagan tried it in 1981 with a 25% across the board reduction in federal corporate and personal income taxes and the federal deficit exploded. 

Just over a decade ago, George W. Bush was inaugurated President and inherited an $800 billion annual surplus. He decided to drastically cut taxes making the same assumption that Reagan had and the one Brownback made four years ago that huge tax cuts would drastically stimulate economic activity and generate even more tax revenues than the government collected before the tax cuts. What happened? The annual deficit exploded and the promise of increased tax revenues turned out to be a mirage.

Besides Brownback's failed experiment what else has been going on in states controlled by Republican governors and legislatures? Lets look at the Republican nirvana called Wisconsin. Gov. Walker and the Republican dominated state house and senate cut taxes again making the same assumptions as Reagan, W, and Brownback and what happened. Wisconsin is now staring a $2 billion deficit in the face. One Republican leader in the Wisconsin House said he just couldn't understand why state revenues did not increase as expected. Its hard to believe someone who has been paying attention, for even a nano second over the past thirty-four years, could say that. The Laffer Curve is a hoax and a failure.

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Is Mike Coffman Running for the Senate in 2016? David Balmer thinks so.

One of the questions that will undoubtedly be asked in 2015 is who will the Republicans nominate for the U.S. Senate nomination in 2016. Perhaps more precisely, who on the Republican bench has the knowledge, experience,fund raising ability and the "fire in their belly" to face office against U.S. Senator Michael Bennet? Many Republican names come to mind, including Congressman Mike Coffman who won an impressive victory in the 6th CD this past November but does the congressman intend to run for the Republican senate nomination? He hasn't said a word about it. No one knows, except perhaps St. Sen. David Balmer. Since the November election, Balmer has been contacting and meeting with business groups and individuals to raise money for his campaign that he hopes will finally launch his congressional career that stalled many years ago when he lost a Republican primary for the U.S. House in North Carolina. The other question is does Congressman Coffman know he is running for the U.S. Senate yet? 

Beauprez tries to “manufacture” economic issue

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

“Both Ways” Bob Beauprez (right).

According to the Denver Post this morning, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez said one thing during the primary campaign and is just now attempting to verify his unfounded statements. In spite of Colorado's booming economy, like 2006, Beauprez has launched his campaign based on a message that rules and regulations promulgated by state agencies plus state taxes have held back Colorado's economy. Last week the reporter on Colorado Public Radio asked him which regulations he is talking about. His responded by saying Utah's governor had reduced the number of state regulations by 300+. Of course that didn't answer the question which Colorado regulations is he talking about. For taxes he doesn't have any better answer except he would eliminate the personal property tax which of course will be a financial disaster for county governments in places like Routt (Steamboat Springs) and Moffat (Craig) counties.

Now this morning,via the Post it is clear Beauprez doesn't have a clue about which tax policy or regulations to repeal. He's made these statements about both before having any evidence to back them up. Do we really want someone as our governor who paints himself into a corner before having the facts.

Beauprez told the Post his meetings with entrepreneurs and captains of industry will be private.In other words, after the meetings, he will craft a general statement about all the bad regulations and taxes we have but he'd better be ready to talk about the consequences of cutting taxes, especially on higher education tuition and transportation projects, both of which are key drivers of our long term economic health. Also, and just as importantly, he'd better be ready to speak to the consequences and trade-offs if a regulation is repealed. So far his campaign boils down to this: He shoots off his mouth first and then tries to find evidence to support his unfounded statements. An inauspicious beginning for his general election campaign. 

Coffman flip-flops on Obamacare

(Wow – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Rep. Mike Coffman.

Rep. Mike Coffman.

As everyone knows, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman is locked in a very competitive race with former Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff. Coffman's ultra conservative record includes scores of votes to repeal and defund Obamacare. In other words he wants to destroy the President's signature policy accomplishment. As late as March 26, 2014, less than a month ago, Kurtis Lee of the Denver Post reported that Coffman had joined U.S. Senator Marco Rubio in demanding Speaker Romanoff join them in calling for the repeal of Obamacare.

A lot has happened in the past twenty-seven days. Over eight (8) million people have found health insurance on the state and federal exchanges thanks to Obamacare. Millions of uninsured people now have basic health care under Medicaid and healthcare costs are rising at the slowest rate in over fifty (50) years and, as fr those skyrocketing premiums predicted by the hard right – it isn't happening. Where does that leave Mike Coffman and his insistence on repealing Obamacare because in his opinion it is a disaster? he facts and public opinion are now running against him and as usual he has now flip-flopped on the issue less than a month after he demanded that his opponent call for the repeal of Obamacare.

(more…)

Douglas County School Board Should Be Shown The Classroom Door

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Well the evidence is in and for all the upheaval over the past four years in the Douglas County schools because of the 2009 election of so called conservatives to the board of education and the subsequent implementation of their policies to terminate the ever evil teachers union and to send public money to private sectarian schools, they have nothing (repeat nothing) to show for it. The scores below represent the percentage of children in the Douglas County school district proficient in the three primary areas of learning:

                   2009        2013

Math            69%        70%

Reading        81%        82%

Writing         68%        69%

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Abraham Lincoln and the Affordable Healthcare Act (Obamacare)

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

This evening the Democrats won a great victory in Congress and upheld the principle that budgets and more importantly, the credit of our country, should never be held hostage by a relatively small minority of members who don't like a particular law (in our case the Affordable Healthcare Act – AHA) or the individual who proposed it and saw it through to become the law of our land. Although a great victory has been won, this is not a time to gloat or rub noses in the dirt.

Senator Cruz, as late as this evening, from the floor of the Senate addressed his colleagues and harangued the AHA as the cause of great misery for the average American. He alleged it was costing average Americans a great deal of money, that their health insurance coverage has been canceled by the AHA and that businesses are cutting the hours of their employees across the country to avoid providing health insurance under the AHA. He offered no proof but it wasn't a moment where a detailed analysis or documentary evidence is expected. On the House side, Speaker Boehner acknowledged defeat, but again asserted he will continue the battle to repeal the AHA and he cited many of the assertions attributed Senator Cruz in the preceding sentence.

Let that debate begin but let it be based on facts and experience rather than unfounded theory or worse. And they should keep in mind the words of the the greatest Republican:

Let me not be understood as saying that there are no bad laws, nor that grievances may not arise for the redress of which no legal provisions have been made. I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean to say that although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still, while they continue in force, for the sake of example they should be religiously observed.

A. Lincoln

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Words from a “Real” Republican

With the Washington "shutdown" in progress, it is time for Republicans to reflect on what one Republican said many decades ago at the end of his long and distinguished career of service to the citizens of our country. He didn't make harsh demands on the opposing political party, he didn't tell them it was his way or else. He found a way to work things out and when he took his final leave, he left us with words that ring true to this day and will forever more as long as free people establish and nurture republics. This is what he said:

Our people expect their President and the Congress to find essential agreement on issues of great moment, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of the nation. My own relations with the Congress, which began on a remote and tenuous basis when, long ago, a member of the Senate appointed me to West Point, have since ranged to the intimate during the war and immediate post-war period, and finally to the mutually interdependent during these past eight years. In this final relationship, the Congress and the Administration have, on most vital issues, cooperated well, to serve the nations good, rather than mere partisanship, and so have assured that the business of the nation should go forward. So, my official relationship with the Congress ends in a feeling — on my part — of gratitude that we have been able to do so much together. 

President Dwight David Eisenhower. Farewell to the Nation, January 17, 1960.

Written from his perspective in the executive branch, it applies to the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives today. Laws and the policy they are based upon cannot be crafted or made effective by demanding repeal of whole programs already enacted and implemented. Such jarring shocks as proposed by the House for repeal or one year delay or a shutdown of the federal government serve no ultimate purpose other than partisan advantage. If the Republicans are sincere, they will vote to reopen the government and present amendments to the Affordable Health Care Act (AHA) that insures health insurance for Americans. 

No one can argue that people with pre-existing conditions could not purchase health insurance or that medical costs, as a percentage of GDP, was skyrocketing toward 20% of our economy. President Obama and the Congress addressed those problems and others when the AHA was enacted almost four years ago. Whether it was precisely the correct response to those issues is really beside the point. These issues created real problems, not only macro economically, but also very personal ones for individuals left without insurance. Undoing the AHA and forming a line back to the past does not advance the well being of the American people.

The Republicans in the House have demonized the AHA from almost every angle one can imagine, but they have not answered the practical questions about how they would insure Americans health care. They have not "cooperated well, to serve the nations good." 

It is one thing to criticize, but it is hard work to solve these kind of problems. Once the public sees through the facade of the shutdown, they will ask Republicans, if we repeal the AHA, what do you propose, we as a people should do to insure adequate health care for our citizens? I hope they have the answer. 

  

Republican War on Women Continues Unabated

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ).

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ).

(Excerpt added – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Today, in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Franks (R-AZ) stated in committee the chances a woman will become pregnant from a rape is rare and therefore his bill banning all abortions after 20 weeks doesn't need a rape exception. He went on to say that rapes must be reported within 48 hours so someone who is 20 or more weeks pregnant couldn't use a rape exception anyway. Of course, his comments seem to reflect the Todd Akin view of women and their rights to control their bodies.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/06/12/trent-franks-rape-pregnancy-akin/2415405/

Franks, a social conservative first elected in 2002, objected to a Democratic amendment that would make exceptions in cases of rape and incest.

"The incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low," Franks said, according to The Post…

Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List, said the bigger issue is the intent of Franks' bill and not just his comments Wednesday.

"The Republican assault on women's rights and opportunities never seems to end," Schriock said in a statement. "They're supporting the same anti-woman policies that led voters to reject them during the last election, and trying to rebrand themselves with the hope that nobody will notice."

This is just the latest example of the Republican Party's never ending assault on women and their rights. The Republicans have blown two chances in the past two election cycles to take control of the U.S. Senate and the White House in 2012 based in large part on their blunt and politically damaging views about women. It looks like they are going to make the 2014 election cycle the third one in a row. Many people have commented that someone should take the shovel out of their hands but the Republican Party seems to be digging the hole with a backhoe.

Gov. Romney throws the Tea Party under the bus!

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Yesterday, I received a campaign flyer from Gov. Romney’s campaign. In part he said:

Repeal Obamacare

On Day One, Mitt Romney will begin his efforts to repeal President Obama’s costly takeover of the health care system that costs nearly $1.7 trillion in new spending and intervenes in a matter that should be left to the states.

That was yesterday. Today, he said he will keep parts of the President’s health care law, including allowing children to stay on their parents insurance until they’re 26 and the law that prevents insurance companies from denying coverage based on preexisting conditions.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com…

In short and contrary to yesterday’s brochure and the wishes of the Tea Party, he is endorsing federal government intervention in health care. You can’t put these two together and make sense of them. He is either for the federal government involvement in health care or he isn’t but he can’t say on Saturday he is for leaving health care policy to the states and twenty-four hours later he endorses federal intervention in the same policy area. I wonder what the Tea Party and Republican right is saying tonight.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09…

On top of that he, in essence, rips Ryan, his running mate, for voting for sequestration and by some odd arithmetic he said he will cut taxes across the board but will make up the revenues by taking away exemptions and deductions from the rich but, according to Mr. Romney, that isn’t a tax hike on the rich. I guess he agrees with President Obama that the rich should pay more but he just doesn’t want to say so.

He may be imploding.

Mr. Gessler’s vote fraud case is dissolving before our eyes

(No matter how you feel about Scott Gessler’s quest to purge the voter rolls of a comparatively tiny number of “problem” registrations, it’s not worth the disproportionate damage he’s doing to the GOP brand. This fool’s errand will have electoral consequences, and not the way Gessler had hoped. – promoted by Colorado Pols)

POLS UPDATE: AP’s Ivan Moreno:

State officials were able to run 1,400 of those names through a federal immigration database and found that more than 1,200 were U.S. citizens. So far, they’ve found none who are non-citizens and registered to vote.

Martha Tierney, an attorney for the Colorado Democratic Party, told election officials during a meeting Wednesday that they were wasting their time on a small group of voters instead of focusing on ensuring a fair and accurate fall election. [Pols emphasis]

“This is a witch hunt and you should be embarrassed that you’re going down this road,” she said.

—–

The Denver paper is reporting that SOS Gessler ran 1,400 of 3,900 people he sent lettters to demanding they prove their citizenship through the Homeland Security database and guess what: All but 168 of the individuals turned out to be United States citizens and the SOS staff admitted many of the remaining 168 may very well be citizens.

The first question is why didn’t he run their names through the Homeland Security database before he sent the letters? He could have saved the taxpayers $570.60 in postage. You’d think a good penny pinching conservative Republican would think of that.

The second question and far more important is could it be the remaining 2,500 people who received letters and couldn’t be run through the Homeland Security database because they don’t have alien registration numbers are United States citizens?

Mr. Gessler’s investigation is a farce, at least for the 1,400 people he has investigated so far. This investigation, including checking the Homeland Security database, should have been conducted before any letters were sent to registered voters. His investigation is akin to a prosecutor claiming a murder has been committed but there isn’t a dead body, there aren’t any missing citizens, but he or she goes forward and sends letters to 3,900 people accussing each one of having something to do with the phantom homicide.

If the remaining 2,500 people turn out to be citizens and he didn’t have any evidence before he sent the letter, then we can only conclude that Mr. Gessler is a threat to our consitutional rights.

Is Gov. Romney endorsing creationism? It seems so.

Gov. Jindal (R-LA) has been Romney’s education surrogate on the campaign trail this summer but there now appears to be a really big problem with his choice and perhaps his own views on science.

http://www.slate.com/articles/…

Gov. Jindal is a creationist even though he holds a degree in biology from Brown University. More importantly, he signed into law a voucher bill that allows Louisiana to spend public education dollars at private religious schools that specifically teach students creationism is science and evolution is nonsense.

Gov. Jindal didn’t make the ticket. Instead Romney chose an extreme supply side tax and budget conservative whose budget would increase the deficit and now Romney has chosen a creationist governor to lead the charge in the campaign on education issues.

Romney endorses the war on women, silly supply side economics (which failed under Reagan and Bush II to reign in the deficits) and now he puts Jindal, a creationist, front and center to speak for him on education. Romney is moving farther and farther to the extreme right, to positions, like creationism, that are dangerous to our childrens education and intellectual development. Romney needs to tell the public where he stands on creationism. If he is one, then he is a threat to scientific inquiry in the United States and frankly a threat to our economic future which is absolutely dependent on the freedom of our scientists to inquire wherever the facts lead them.  

Romney heads to Tampa but his money stays in the Cayman Islands avoiding U.S. income taxes

It now turns out Gov. Romney has been avoiding U.S. income taxes by investing through Bain in offshore accounts utilizing what are known as “blocker” entities which are specifically set-up to avoid paying income taxes.

http://news.yahoo.com/bain-doc…

The Romney campaign asserts the tax consequences would be the same if his money was domiciled domestically but that’s hard to believe because the specific purpose of the “blocker” eintities is to avoid paying U.S. income taxes.

He also has amassed a huge sum in his IRA, somewhere between $20.7 million and $101 million, far more money than an American can deposit in our IRA’s and all tax free, because he utilized “blocker” erntities in the Cayman Islands. Ther isn’t any way the Romney campaign can claim his IRA holding would be treated as tax free if the money was domesticated onshore here in the U.S. More importantly, if my memory is correct, American citizens have to pay taxes on their IRA funds as they withdraw funds from them after they retire.

No wonder Romney is prepared to go along with the Ryan budget on programs like Medicare, he simply doesn’t have the same concerns as average Americans and can’t fathom what each one of us is facing.

Its time for Mr. Romney to release his tax returns. We need to know who and what we are dealing with.  

Aren’t we glad this guy isn’t a judge in Colorado

Another example of the what the Republican Party has come to in the United States. County Court Judge Tom Head (R-Lubbock, TX) is campaigning for a local tax hike, in part, to win the coming  civil war if President Obama is reelected. Watch the video!

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lo…

He believes President Obama will turn over our sovereignty to the United Nations if he is reelected and the Judge proclaims he will stand in front of the armored personnel carriers sent in by the UN with the county sheriff backing him up with his seven new deputies. He is going to lead the civil war against the President and the UN next year.

This isn’t political philosophy, ideology or policy. When I started in Republican politics years ago these kind of people were literally laughed out of the room. Now they lead the Republican Party – Judge Head, Rep. Akin, Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan – four peas in a pod.

Another Akin: Glad he’s not running in Colorado

Michael Baumgartner, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in the state of Washington, told a reporter “to go f _ _ _ himself” when he compared Baumgartner’s views on abortion to Rep. Akin’s.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…

Although he apologized to the reporter for his harsh remarks, more significantly, he admitted his views and Rep. Akin’s on abortion are almost identical. Baumgartner, like Akin, and like the Republican Party naitonal platform believes there are no circumstances where an aboriton should be allowed, including rape and incest.  

Another example of the the absolute litmus test and unbending position imposed by the Republican Party on its candidates.

Even more so this year than in the past, the Republicans have shown their true colors regarding women. In the Republican world, women are second class citizens who are imcompetent to to have control over their health and decisions about their own bodies.  As Mr. Silver ask about Rep. Akin today, how can Akin (or any other Republican candidate) win with 0% of the women’s vote.  

Republican Platform drops support for home mortgage interest deduction

Today, in another startling vote (politically unbelievable) and what will soon become a huge problem for Gov. Romney, the Republican Platform Committee voted to withdraw the national party’s support for the home mortgage interest deduction:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/…

The Bloomberg story specifically points out this was done to give Gov. Romney room to give corporations and the wealthiest people additional tax cuts.

You’ve got to wonder what these people are thinking.