(D) J. Hickenlooper*
(D) Julie Gonzales
(R) Janak Joshi
80%
40%
20%
(D) Jena Griswold
(D) M. Dougherty
(D) Hetal Doshi
50%
40%↓
30%
(D) Jeff Bridges
(D) Brianna Titone
(R) Kevin Grantham
50%↑
40%↓
30%
(D) Diana DeGette*
(D) Wanda James
(D) Milat Kiros
80%
20%
10%↓
(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
(R) Jeff Hurd*
(D) Alex Kelloff
(R) H. Scheppelman
60%↓
40%↓
30%↑
(R) Lauren Boebert*
(D) E. Laubacher
(D) Trisha Calvarese
90%
30%↑
20%
(R) Jeff Crank*
(D) Jessica Killin
55%↓
45%↑
(D) Jason Crow*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
(D) B. Pettersen*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
(R) Gabe Evans*
(D) Shannon Bird
(D) Manny Rutinel
45%↓
30%
30%
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) A couple years ago, GOP Chair Ryan Call suggested that Sarah Arnold, who was an El Paso County GOP Secretary, resign because Republican office holders are not supposed to publicly criticize Republican policies–or favor one GOP primary candidate over another. Call wrote that if Arnold "does not feel she can separate […]
Last Friday, we commended Colorado Republican Party chairman Ryan Call, who in the aftermath of a rambling racist monologue from Sen. Vicki Marble last Wednesday in a poverty reduction hearing was apparently making no attempt to defend her. Call told reporters in a statement Thuesday that "Sen. Marble's careless comments do not reflect the views […]
(Bumped into Sunday by popular demand – Pols) The Denver Post's Lynn Bartels follows up this week's biggest story in Colorado politics: The chairman of the Colorado Republican Party says a state senator's "careless" remarks about minorities and their eating habits don't reflect the views of the state party… "Sen. Marble's careless comments do not reflect […]
As Mother Jones reports, the Oregon Republican Party is out of its freakin' mind: After months of in-fighting, the beleaguered Oregon Republican Party elected a new chairman last weekend. His name is Art Robinson, and he wants to sprinkle radioactive waste from airplanes to build up our resistance to degenerative illnesses. Robinson, who unsuccessfully ran for […]
A new blog post from Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz today sounds the alarm over the recall special elections coming up in two Colorado state senate districts: As Chair of the Democratic Party, I've been to more GOTV events than I can count. I've visited almost every state and have been involved in […]
Here's the new TV spot running on behalf of Sen. Angela Giron of Pueblo–we haven't gotten word on the buy size, except that it's "significant." We'll update once a number is reported:
Here's the new ad up in Colorado Springs supporting Senate President John Morse, reportedly a $70,000 initial buy giving it solid penetration in that media market: Dudley Brown's National Association for Gun Rights responds–The Denver Post's Lynn Bartels notes that Brown had originally forsworn spending money on this recall–with their own ad hammering Morse's ties […]
Back in March, Ray Stafford, the General Manager of the Pueblo Chieftain, fired off an email to Colorado State Sen. Angela Giron, telling her “not to vote for the current gun control legislation,” and also pointing out that he was the person “responsible for the entire newspaper, including the newsroom.” Stafford never apologized for implying […]
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) Scott McInnis recently tiptoed into the shark-invested world of Denver journalism, where plagiarists are rooted out and hung up to dry. In an exclusive interview, McInnis told KOA radio's Colorado Morning News that our state did the right thing by not purchasing an espensive tanker fleet to fight forest fires. He […]
(Why do people like Boyles keep coming back? Because our “civic leaders” let them – promoted by Colorado Pols) If I’m Post Publisher Dean Singleton, it’s hard to bear hug Peter Boyles. Since Boyles began his downward spiral with the paranoid right, he’s done more than his share to mindlessly trash The Denver Post and […]
A release just received from leading local political consultancy firm OnSight Public Affairs shakes up the editorial board of the Denver Post, the state's newspaper of record: OnSight Public Affairs is pleased to announce that Curtis Hubbard has agreed to join the firm as a partner. Hubbard, who currently works as the editorial page editor […]
(Sort of fascinating – promoted by Colorado Pols) There’s a talk-radio show in Colorado Springs called “Black, White, and Right.” "Black" because one of the show’s hosts is the African-American founder of Rocky Mountain Black Tea Party, which has the tough job making the conservatism more appealing to African-Americans. "White" because one of the co-hosts […]
The Boulder Daily Camera's Joe Rubino reports on last night's talk by Gov. John Hickenlooper on "fracking" for oil and gas at the University of Colorado, hosted by Patty Limerick and CU's Center of the American West. Yesterday's presentation by Hickenlooper in this deferential academic setting nonetheless attracted a big crowd, including a few overly rowdy opponents […]
SATURDAY UPDATE #2: The Denver Post reports that Ryan Call defeated challenger Mark Baisley and will remain GOP chairman, final vote 272в…“ votes for Call to Baisley's 158в…” votes.There's some kind of methodology that explains the fractional vote totals, but we think it's more fun to let our readers speculate how Republicans arrived at a precise 272в…“ […]
At least he's not your future county Republican party chair… unless he is. Earlier today, Jason broke the story that Dave Williams, aspiring El Paso County Republican Party Chairman, doesn't regret booing the Log Cabin Republicans at a Republican party assembly in May. Tonight, Williams was again asked to apologize for booing the GBLT Republican group, […]
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) David Williams, who's running for El Paso County GOP Chair, has no regrets for booing Log Cabin Republicans at a GOP assembly in May. The Log Cabin Republicans were advocating civil unions, which is not part of the GOP platform, Williams told me, adding that he doesn't regret the booing and […]
When it comes to Ryan Call, Ken Clark and Jason Worley are not impressed.
In the past week on Grassroots Radio Colorado (airing weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM), show hosts Worley and Clark have been heard to call for current GOP State Party Chairperson Call to own up to his responsibility for the devastating November election losses “like a man”, and step down from his leadership position.
Last Friday on Grassroots, Arapahoe County Tea Party Chair Randy Corporon was filling in as guest host, as he often does. Worley and Clark were on a “top secret” special assignment. The guests that day, freshman State Representative Justin Everett (HD-22) and John Ransom from Townhall.com/Finance pleaded with Corporon to throw his hat into the race for the GOP Chairmanship. Their enthusiastic request was modestly evaded.
And then yesterday, Mark Baisley, Douglas County GOP Chair, appeared on Grassroots to announce his candidacy for the position.
Ryan Call probably isn’t too worried.
He has endorsements from approximately half of the current County GOP Committees that will eventually vote to decide who leads the state party, as well as support from GOP notables such as AG John Suthers, and Rep. Cory Gardner.
Call’s ascendency two years ago came in a firestorm of name calling and finger pointing around previous Chairman Dick Wadhams, who withdrew his candidacy for reelection after the debacle that was The McInnis-Maes-Tancredo Show and Ken Buck’s losing challenge to Democrat Michael Bennet’s senate seat.
Stating his frustration with trying to herd the un-herdable cats of Colorado’s GOP, Wadhams said in a recent Lynn Bartels blog post for the Denver newspaper’s political blog, The Spot (January 11, 2013) “he was “tired of the nuts who have no grasp of what the state party’s role is.”
For the first time since statehood, Republicans will hold vice-chairmanships in three key committees: Finance, Economic Development & Business, and Energy & Environmental Protection.
Representative Cynthia Thielen is appointmented as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection (EEP).
As we have seen, Josh McGee of the Texas-based John Arnold Foundation recently addressed the topic of Colorado PERA pension funding at a luncheon sponsored by Denver’s Donnell-Kay Foundation:
Link:
http://www.ednewscolorado.org/…
podcast-peras-23-5-billion-shortfall-and-a-fix)
According to Texas AFT, John Arnold is funding “attacks” on public pensions across the United States:
” . . .the big-money man behind the attack on state and local pension funds, from California to Texas and beyond, is one John Arnold, a billionaire Houston hedge-fund operator who walked away from his role as an Enron trader with millions of dollars in bonuses before that notorious company went bankrupt.”
Link:
http://texasaftblog.com/hotlin…
The organization California Watch has reported on the John Arnold Foundation’s efforts in California:
“A young Texas couple with a multibillion-dollar hedge fund fortune is bankrolling a series of reports by one of California’s most influential pension overhaul groups.”
“The until-now secret $150,000 grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation to the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility is sure to fuel speculation about who might fund a brewing battle over California’s public pension system. Advocates of limiting pensions have been searching for a deep-pocketed donor to fund a multimillion-dollar ballot measure.”
“Steven Maviglio, Democratic consultant and spokesman for the union-backed Californians for Retirement Security, criticized the report’s funding. ‘California voters have never taken kindly to out-of-state special interests or billionaires trying to influence our state’s public policy,’ he said. ‘Concerns about California’s pension system are best addressed by Californians, not Texans. We continue to believe that the best approach to address abuses in the pension system are through our elected representatives and the Legislature, and we are working hard to do just that.'”
“McGee said the foundation is looking to fund other educational activities but is prohibited from funding overt political work like ballot initiatives.”
“John Arnold once was renowned for his lucrative
natural gas trading at Enron. He never was implicated in wrongdoing at the now-infamous company, but Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California once criticized him for allegedly refusing to answer, during a deposition, whether he had manipulated West Coast energy markets. A committee representing former Enron employees sued Arnold and other top traders for receiving huge bonuses, including $8 million for Arnold, right before Enron collapsed. Arnold and the committee settled on confidential terms, according to court records.”
“But the Arnolds hired conservative political consultant Denis Calabrese as president of their foundation. Calabrese has written columns on the Republican Party’s best strategies for success, and his firm’s clients include Texans for Rick Perry and GOP megadonor Bob Perry.”
“The foundation also recently hired Meredith Simonton, former executive director of the conservative Citizen Leader Alliance, as communications director.”
“The foundation’s McGee said: ‘We’re interested in solutions, and I think that’s the key thing. Ideology doesn’t really come into it.'”
Link:
http://californiawatch.org/dai…
Friend Save Pera Cola on Facebook, support public pension rights at saveperacola.com!
You may recall one of the most effective organizations supporting the re-election of George W. Bush was Billionaires for Bush!
The billionaires trailed Bush and Cheney around the country, with signs like “It’s a Class War and We’re Winning” and “Widen the Income Gap.” The billionaires liked to say they paid for eight years of Bush, and so throwing him out after four years was a rip-off.
I was thinking about Billionaires for Bush when I saw a roundup of news coverage from around the country of protests Saturday against extending tax cuts for the top two percent.
They weren’t giant demonstrations, but you had 25, 50, 100 people in dozens of venues. In Colorado, there were about 25 folks in Grand Junction and about 50 people in front of Fava’s restaurant in Aurora.
Released this morning by incoming Colorado House Speaker Mark Ferrandino:
Speaker-designate Mark Ferrandino appointed the chairs and vice chairs of the House committees of reference today – including a committee that will be new for the 2013 session…
“The toughest part about making these selections was having to choose from such a talented and experienced group of legislators,” Rep. Ferrandino said. “With our caucus and committee leadership now in place, I’m really excited about the 2013 legislative session. We are ready to lead.”
With 15 freshmen legislators in the 37-member caucus, Rep. Ferrandino chose to move Reps.-elect Kraft-Tharp, Moreno and Salazar into committee vice chairmanships right away.
“Have you seen our freshman class?” Rep. Ferrandino said. “Check out their bios on our website, cohousedems.com. I guarantee you will be impressed. I’ve never seen such a combination of talent, experience and diversity in any incoming group. Any one of them could have excelled in a committee post, and pretty soon every one of them will have the opportunity.”
Full list of chairs and vice-chairs, including for the new Public Health Care and Human Services Committee, after the jump.
Like a scene from Blazing Saddles, Think Progress:
The head of the Republican Party in Maine thinks there might have been voter fraud in his state because “nobody in town knows anyone who’s black,” but black voters came in to vote on election day…
In an interview with an NBC affiliate, [Charlie] Webster said he was astounded by the “dozens, dozens of black people” who voted, and thought it was odd because he personally doesn’t know anyone who knows a black person in town:
“In some parts of rural Maine, there were dozens, dozens of black people who came in and voted on Election Day. Everybody has a right to vote, but nobody in town knows anyone who’s black. How did that happen? I don’t know. We’re going to find out.” [Pols emphasis]
According to the Census Bureau, the population of Maine is 1.3% African-American. Not exactly a high percentage, but 1.3% is appreciably more than, you know, zero.
But, for the record, nobody the chairman of the Maine Republican Party knows is aware of this.
Election losers, especially, love to blame the news media, but scratch the surface of election winners, and they’ll usually find plenty of reasons to bash the press as well.
So rather than scream at your television, whether you won or lost Tuesday, come down to the Denver’s Independence Institute Friday morning to level your media critiques directly at those responsible: journalists themselves.
A panel of leading Colorado journalists will discuss “Colorado Journalism and the 2012 Election,” and take your questions.
Journalists on the panel are: Shaun Boyd, Political Specialist, CBS4; Ivan Moreno, Reporter, Associated Press; Chuck Plunkett, Politics Editor, The Denver Post; Eli Stokols, Political Reporter, KDVR Fox 31; and KWGN TV; Megan Verlee, Reporter, Colorado Public Radio. Diane Carman, Director of Communications, University of Colorado Denver, will moderate.
You’ll notice there are no bloggers on the panel, but the truth is, as much as new media’s influence is gaining, legacy media are still the biggest game in town, reaching the ever-popular swing voters in ways bloggers like to dream about.
If that weren’t true, I’d have the presidential campaigns’ mean ads on my blog, but alas there are none. Somehow, they don’t think my three readers matter to them.
So that leaves us with the traditional media still in the driver’s seat, and that’s why it makes the most sense to direct your post-election questions at them.
The panel takes place Friday, November 9, at the conservative Independence Institute, 727 East 16th Ave. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. for a light breakfast, and the one-hour panel discussion begins at 8 a.m. Disclosure: the event is sponsored by my blog, BigMedia.org, along with the Independence Institute, and the University of Colorado Denver.
The unusual co-sponsorship, of conservatives and progressives, should make for interesting questions from the audience.
And it makes sense to put everyone in the same room for a change, because if you read conservative and progressive blogs, you know that anger at the news media doesn’t reside on one side of the political divide or the other. It’s universal.
And it’s unfortunate, because people of different political stripes also respect professional journalism on some level, even as they tear it down and watch it decline.
So air out your post-election anger at the news media Friday morning. See what the people responsible for the news have to say to you.
Once you get exposed to the online industry, you will hear about lots and lots of success stories. Some making huge income while some making small yet decent money. So you too will wonder how they make money online and how can you do that too ? It's damn simple but you must be good […]
Democrat Joe Miklosi will put his first ad on television tomorrow, making him the last of the major congressional challengers in Colorado to make it to your living room (metaphorically, of course). This doesn’t mean anything necessarily — Miklosi may simply be choosing to go heavier later in the month than others. We’re not as […]
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