What would your 5 pieces of legislation be?
(Dream big! – promoted by Colorado Pols) Ok, session is coming soon. And the reps each get to introduce 5 bills. What would yours be?
Search Results for: cheap
2013’s Top Ten #6: The Lie of the Year in Colorado Politics
One of the stories we've followed over the years here at Colorado Pols has been the steady decline in both the quality and quantity of local political news reporting. In the early years of our writing about Colorado politics, the state benefited greatly from a competitive and robust local media, most importantly the competition between […]
So Long, Sheriffs: Gun Lobby Lawsuit Loses More Steam
Colorado county sheriffs pose for an NRA photo shoot last spring. An important development last Wednesday in the ongoing legal action by the gun lobby against gun safety legislation passed in Colorado this year, as reported by the Associated Press' Ivan Moreno. Don't let this slip down the Thanksgiving weekend memory hole: Sheriffs in most […]
The Cost of Free Speech? Five Grand if Lamborn Has His Way
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) Talk's not cheap. Not if House Republicans led by Congressman Doug Lamborn get their wish. Make no mistake, the sole purpose of the Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act, introduced by Congressman Lamborn, is to make it easier for oil and gas companies to drill on public land. In fact, […]
For our sake, journalists should fight each other more often
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) Journalists like to think of themselves as good critics, so why are they so timid about criticizing fellow journalists? "I'd like to see more media criticism in general," 9News Anchor Kyle Clark emailed me. "I think it can only make journalism more accurate and useful. I think journalists are often in […]
Congressman Gardner: Tear. Down. This. (Blend)Wall.
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) Only Nixon could go to China. Only oil-man George W. Bush could deliver a national Renewable Fuels Standard and create the world's largest wind-energy market. Perhaps only my Congressman can catalyze a very different conversation on Capitol Hill about the role of renewable fuels in our nation's future. With increasing regularity, […]
The Case for the LincolnXL Pipeline
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) When I think of Abraham Lincoln, my first thought is emancipation: the process of setting one free from legal, social, or political restrictions. In his day it meant ending the scourge of human enslavement. And although Lincoln's primary challenge during his Presidency was preserving the Union, it's not often someone also […]
“Moderate” Tipton Grilled, Pueblo Style
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) UPDATE: Tipton town hall videos now posted at http://www.youtube.com/user/socoteacher/videos It was not a happy night for Scott Tipton. He came to Pueblo, ready to make nice and woo himself some moderate voters of all political stripes. He attempted to sell himself as a renewable energy environmentalist, a compassionate conservative, a […]
Carroll Expresses No Regrets about his Role in Launching Political Career of Hickenlooper
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) Around midnight on April 2, 2003, five weeks before John Hickenlooper won the first election of his political career, Hick campaign manager Paul Lhevine and other campaign staffers arrived at the Rocky Mountain News printing plant in industrial northeast Denver. They asked workers for the early edition of next day’s Rocky, […]
Loose Ballots? Just send them back, voter vigilantes.
Colorado Peak Politics, your source for hysterical news reports about all manner of possible voter fraud which could conceivably happen someday, wants you to know that Todd Shepherd has loose ballots accumulating in his apartment complex foyer. Mr. Shepherd was so upset about this that he went on a mission to two other apartment buildings […]
Grace and the Greyhound – A Congressional Tutorial
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) The past 36 hours has been a canvas of the hope and challenges we have as a nation – a journey that began and ended in the shadows of the United States Capitol. I planned the trip. I didn't plan the experience. It started with a meeting on Monday evening with […]
Suffrage, Saran Wrap and Shoe Boxes: A Mom’s Touch in Shaping the Future
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) Tonight, while the male Senate leaders tied the bow on a deal aimed at ending the government shutdown, the credit for shaping the package is being given to a group of women. As quoted by Senator John McCain: “It’s a good outcome” … “Leadership, I must fully admit, was provided primarily […]
The ‘Tolling of the Bell’ for Sunflower?
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) On Friday the Kansas Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, invalidated the air pollution permit granted to Sunflower Electric Power Corporation for their proposed Holcomb coal plant. This is a significant development in what has become a series of [failed] attempts by Sunflower, who is nothing more than a proxy for […]
Gardner Won’t/Can’t Back Up Health Premium Hike Claims
UPDATE: Via the Colorado Independent, Rep. Cory Gardner's insurer, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, appears to dispute Gardner's claims of a massive premium increase: The chief marketer for Rocky Mountain Health Plans told the Colorado Independent on Wednesday that policy-holder Congressman Cory Gardner, whose current plan is being canceled, can choose from a “ton” of different […]
Breaking up is for the best
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) Breaking up with your old health insurance plan. Colorado Consumer Health Initiative Your health insurance plan is being canceled, and that’s a good thing. A lot of Coloradans are getting notices from their insurer saying their insurance plan is being canceled. Before you freak out, it's important to realize, your specific plan may […]
Food Stamps, Jobs and [Junk] Food Subsidies
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) "There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy: hypocrisy, fraud and tyranny" ~Frederick William Robertson Last weeks vote in the House of Representatives, significantly gutting the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program [SNAP], was both an historic and a close vote. Historic in the sense that it was stripped from […]
Creepy Koch Ad Tells Young People To Go Uninsured
Chris Moody at Yahoo! News reports on what may be the most over-the-top anti-"Obamacare" ad ever made–and though we haven't seen them all, we're pretty sure that's saying a lot: Generation Opportunity, a Virginia-based group that is part of a coalition of right-leaning organizations with financial ties to billionaire businessmen and political activists Charles and […]
GOP Chairman Backpedals Marble Criticism, Now Blames Fields
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 […]
Mythbusters: Rate Shock
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) The myth of rate shock continues to be just that…a myth. Colorado Consumer Health Initiative On Friday, the Division of Insurance released the final rates for health insurance plans in 2014, and Coloradans will have a robust marketplace with strong competition that should combat increases in premiums going forward. Some had […]
Vince Carroll: Governor Owens Pulled a Boner, Congressman Coffman Benefited.
Here's Denver Post editorial page editor Vince Carroll in today's (7-31-2013) Denver Post: "The administration of Gov. Bill Owens, in a major blunder, lobbied for the (Colorado PERA) fire sale as a shortsighted way to encourage early retirement . . ." This action by Governor Owens (and the failure of the Colorado Legislature to pay […]
The Farm Bill Folly of 2013
(Promoted by Colorado Pols) The ink hadn't yet dried on the House-passed version of the 2013 FAARM [Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act] Act of 2013 before the guile began: “I applaud the passage of the farm bill in the House today. It is an important piece of legislation that provides certainty for America’s […]
Misinformation Reigns As Gun Safety Laws Take Effect
(Bumped up for the holiday weekend by popular demand – Pols) 7NEWS reports: Ammunition magazine limits and universal background check requirements are set to take effect in Colorado on Monday, even as county sheriffs fight to overturn the new laws in court. But after months of tense debate among state officials, the signature pieces of […]
Udall To NSA: Not Good Enough
FOX 31's Eli Stokols updates on Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado's campaign to hold the National Security Agency accountable following contractor Edward Snowden's disclosures of ongoing large-scale collection of American domestic telephone records: Colorado Sen. Mark Udall called on the National Security Agency to correct inaccurate and misleading information provided by the agency in a fact sheet […]
The NRA Pays For Dave Kopel, Too
FOX 31's Eli Stokols with a late-breaking story today: Dave Kopel, the Independence Institute’s resident Second Amendment expert, is the lead attorney on the lawsuit. And FOX31 Denver has found that Kopel has received $1.39 million in grant money from the N.R.A. Civil Rights Defense Fund between 2004 and 2011. The group continues to fund […]
Today In BS: How It Gets Spread (Even If You’re Dead)
THURSDAY UPDATE #2: Media Matters weighs in with gusto: Kopel is not a reputable source of information in the gun policy debate. [Pols emphasis] During a December 2012 appearance on CNN to discuss a high-profile shooting involving an NFL player, Kopel falsely claimed that there is no link between gun availability and homicide rates, even though […]