June 27, 2012
Gov. Hickenlooper and the Bark Beetle Epidemic
A few stories found with the search terms "Hickenlooper" and "bark beetle" - arranged in chronological order.
Summit County: Forest health pow-wow at Keystone - November 14, 2010
Forest health, fire risks and wood utilization will be on the agenda at the Keystone Conference Center Nov. 15 as top state and federal officials hold a forest health summit meeting. This image by Derek Weidensee shows an area in Montana where a fire burned through stands of mature lodgepole pines, while an area cut previously for regeneration apparently withstood the blaze relatively unscathed.Top state and national officials, including Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, Gov. Bill Ritter and Senator Mark Udall, will gather at the Keystone Conference Center Nov. 15 for the Governor’s Bark Beetle Summit in a public meeting that hasn’t received much publicity.
Governor-elect John Hickenlooper has also been invited.
Gov. Hickenlooper appoints new Director of Paper Distribution in the Department of Natural Resources - April 1, 2011
“Scott’s success in selling paper will help Colorado effectively and efficiently move the large amount of bark beetle lumber from the forest and into the marketplace, creating tons of jobs and making lots of money,” Hickenlooper said. “This is a unique opportunity to resolve Colorado’s forest health and budget issues.” (...) “Scott will be a wonderful addition to our paper team, focusing particularly on the use of beetle kill in paper production,” Hickenlooper said. “We hired him based on his skills, personal drive and love for ‘That’s what she said’ jokes.”112 homes hit by northern Colo. fire - June 15, 2012
Firefighters have been in a see-saw battle with the northern Colorado blaze, extending their lines along the eastern flank but losing ground on the west and north sides as flames burn through a dry forest thick with trees killed by bark beetles. (...) Investigators said lightning triggered the fire, which is about 15 miles west of Fort Collins and 60 miles northwest of Denver. (...) The fire is burning on land owned by private parties and the U.S. Forest Service. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who oversees the Forest Service, is scheduled to meet with fire managers on Saturday.A 30-acre blaze near Lake George in Park County was 50 percent contained. It started Wednesday and was also caused by lightning.
Separately, a fire believed to have been caused by lightning destroyed a house four miles outside Rollinsville on Friday. Gilpin County sheriff’s spokeswoman Cherokee Blake said no one was hurt.
Gov. John Hickenlooper signed an executive order Thursday banning open burning and the private use of fireworks throughout Colorado.
Thr second item really got me since it was on the official colorado.gov site :)
Posted by: Robert at June 27, 2012 8:59 PMMy blog brother's summation?
I have to admit that I have been pretty impressed with His Hickness (hey, when I vote for a Democrat...) both before the fire and after.
Beetle kill is a huge problem surrounded by passionate opinions but I can think of no better solution that harvesting it for paper.
Was this a big wet kiss for our Governor? Knowing my bro, I suspect not.
My take is that using the dead timber issue as joke fodder looks, at the least, very insensitive in retrospect and that the governor should have known better even then. I know that I remember it being in poor taste.
Yes, harvesting the wood for any use is a good solution. So why isn't it happening? As I have heard but not yet verified the answer can be given in a single word - Environmentalists.
And finally, I couldn't help noticing the impotence of the governor's knee-jerk response of banning open fires and fireworks since every fire mentioned in that story was sparked by lightning.
Posted by: johngalt at June 28, 2012 12:06 PMNovember 6, 2010
Contented Tom Tancredo weighs his political future
Contented Tom Tancredo weighs his political future - The Denver Post
"I went to dinner at 6 o'clock and kept thinking 'This is really going to work,' " Tancredo said in an interview with The Denver Post on Thursday. "And of course it didn't. I'm content in the fact that it's part of God's plan. I just wish he wouldn't tease me so much."
I have a suggestion for your future, Mister Congressman...
The scientific method requires that we look to reproducible results to test our hypothesis, so we need other instances of men who have run for office on the strength of their claims that God Almighty told them to run. There are two others I can recall: Jimmy Carter and Pat Robertson. The latter lost in his bid, while the former achieved the office only to prove to not be up to the task, thereby earning the title of "Worst President In The History Of The United States" - a ranking he held singlehandedly until January 20, 2009.
My conclusion, based on reproducible results, is this: when God calls upon a man to run for high office, it's probably not so much that he is a chosen leader, so much as he needs to be humbled. To date, I can recollect none who have listened.
Herein endeth the lesson.
Posted by: Keith Arnold at November 6, 2010 8:39 PMAmen.
Tom said, "Unless there is some purpose, I don't know if I will go back to Republican."
Gee, I wonder if there is some purpose behind active participation in party politics...
"I hope you will join me in the Republican precinct caucuses in March, the county assemblies in April and then at the state convention in May. Besides supporting candidates who support the Contract with Colorado, help me lay the foundation for a generation of conservative leaders."Posted by: johngalt at November 7, 2010 9:09 AM
Beautiful, KA! Loved the comment.
I hope that Tom moves to that retirement home for kooky politicians, otherwise known as California (sorry, KA!). One kook, more or less, would go unnoticed.
See, guys? I told you there was a reason y'all keep me around.
BR, on the notion of sending Tancredo here to California: I say go for it. He may be a kook, but we have a shortage of kooks at his end of the political spectrum here, and he might either balance out what we currently have, or his kook-fu might be safely diluted in our burgeoning political class. Who knows? The only danger is if he and Jerry Brown get too close to each other; Brown's kook-fu is strong. It would be like flushing antimatter through the warp nacelles, creating a catastrophic fission event, leaving a smoking crater where California once was.
All in all, I mean, that would be a net gain, right?
Posted by: Keith Arnold at November 8, 2010 12:36 PMNovember 1, 2010
This just in...
... on election eve. A high-profile endorsement in Colorado's governor's race. Michael Sandoval's entry covers every detail I would've hit so I'll just let him tell it.
Excellent. I've needed a good reason to distance myself from the endorser.
Posted by: jk at November 1, 2010 7:32 PMI am very sad to report that for the first time since we met jg and I have not cast identical ballots.
Posted by: dagny at November 2, 2010 3:09 PMNot too sad, you prize your individuality, n'est ce pas?
Besides, he can't help it if he's a big lunkhead...
Posted by: jk at November 2, 2010 3:23 PMLOL! Jus' don't call me "backward" or "stupid."
Posted by: johngalt at November 2, 2010 4:48 PMOctober 25, 2010
"It's Only a Flesh Wound"
As I said not long ago, [10th comment] I'm glad I can still laugh about this.
Somebody has found what they consider to be a perfect metaphor for Colorado's 2010 Gubernatorial election - Monty Python's "Quest for the Holy Grail."
Dan Maes as the Black Night is believable but I'm having trouble with Tom Tancredo as King Arthur. And this portrayal incorrectly casts the battle as 'mano a mano' but Tancredo had the might of the state GOP establishment pulling ropes and levers for him. Nonetheless, quite humorous.
If we agree to "call it a draw" between the Liberty Movement and Republican Establishment I think I could live with a Tancredo vote on my conscience. On to round two!
Well, I knew I had the chance to make both JG and JK mad with a single act - getting Dagny, too, is just a bonus.
Seriously, any other vote is one for Hick directly or indirectly. Four or eight years of his rule will further institutionalize liberalism in this state. We may never be able to turn back the clock.
I disagree with Tancredo on immigration and the way he has handled this whole situation. At the end of the day, I had to ask whether Hick or Tanc would best promote may positions. On balance, for better or worse, it's Tanc.
I'm mostly sorry that the Republicans could not have put forth a better candidate (and McInnis was not it either).
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at October 25, 2010 10:50 PMDagny has not processed through as many of the stages of grief as I have - yet.
I have many reasons to pull the T lever:
1) A Hickenlooper administration will ignore free-market voices just like the White House and Congress have done for two years. We'll be reduced to "pounding on the gates" and I've seen enough of policies favoring companies who promise abundant energy from "magical unicorn farts" while proven industries and businesses are throttled.
2) Despite what some have said on Dan Maes' Facebook page, although Tancredo is many undesirable things he is NOT a Progressive. Hickenlooper most definitely IS.
3) Choosing a governor is like choosing a spouse - their family is part of the deal and I don't want anything to do with Hickenlooper's political "family."
4) A Hickenlooper victory in this pro-liberty, anti-tax "TEA Party" climate will be hailed as a vindication of the Progressive ideology. As BR aluded, this entails far greater threats to liberty than whatever bombs Tancredo may throw from the governor's mansion.
5) Redistricting.
6) Judicial appointments.
7) I and the majority of the rural residents of Colorado and every other western state are not "backward thinking" and I resent the Denver Mayor's unguarded and unrepentent boast of his and his fellow travelers' superiority.
Mayor Hickenlooper, you may SHOVE IT.
Posted by: johngalt at October 26, 2010 10:52 AMThe day I put up this post I tried adding a comment but apparently it didn't stick. Thusly:
"Another fit between this metaphor and reality is that the Black Knight's injuries were NOT self-inflicted." Well, at least not totally. Both Maes and the Black Knight did fail to adequately defend themselves.
Dagny still balks at voting for the "slimy scum" Tancredo. "Are there shades of slimy scum," I asked? "Is Hickenlooper slimier and scummier?"
I asked her and I ask JK, "If we agree with Tancredo on almost every position and hold the opposite view of Hickenlooper, is it not 'adherence to principle' to vote for Tancredo?" As Maes supporters we must choose the candidate who can carry out his agenda. We must concentrate on the ideas and not the personalities of the candidates.
Clearly this conclusion is based on the assumption that "Dan Maes can't win." Having hoped against the polls when H. Ross Perot had 22 points I find it unconscionable to do so again when Maes has 5.
So where am I wrong?
Posted by: johngalt at October 27, 2010 11:08 AMI enjoyed Dagny's enthusiasm, but I can't tell anybody his/her vote is right or wrong.
I voted for Mayor Hickenlooper.
-- I actually thought he did well in the debate. He's got some goofy Democrat ideas but he is a moderate with a great private sector resume.
-- I overlap with Rep. Tancredo on spending and the Drug War, but I'm with Hick on immigration, gay rights, and reproductive rights. It is not a 90/10 split like Obama-McCain.
-- I know you and I do not see eye-to-eye on immigration, but a Gov Tancredo might push for draconian, anti-business immigration "purges."
-- I will not reward a Murkowski who will not allow the levers of power to be wrestled from an effete, establishment state party apparatus. We picked a poor candidate but I have no desire to go back to letting the State GOP pick them for me.
I literally stayed up a couple nights. But I marked my ballot and am quite at peace. As would you, if you followed your conscience and voted for Dan Maes.
Sounds like JG and I are of a mind.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at October 27, 2010 12:02 PMWell, since I see spending as 80% of government's problem that makes it a 90/10 split for me.
Yes, I am confident I would be at peace with a Maes vote before election day, but if Tancredo loses narrowly I will have regrets. Not just for witholding my individual vote, but my advocacy as well.
Posted by: johngalt at October 27, 2010 2:27 PMI'm sorry. Really, I am.
The Refugee took the window of opportunity between rides in a crowded silver tube to cast his 2010 ballot. All of the decisions were easy, except for the governor's contest.
At the final moment of truth, with a patina of sweat across his brow, knowing that he may be forever ridiculed on ThreeSources and branded with a scarlet 'T', he furtively glanced over his shoulder to avoid on-lookers and pulled the methaphorical lever for Tancredo. Yes, he feels soiled. But it's done and can't be taken back.
In the end, he realized that a vote for Maes was merely a vote for respecting the process. Maes has no shot - zero - and a vote for him is a vote for Hickenlooper. Governor Hickenlooper will appoint another generation of liberal judges and facilitate Democratically gerrymandered districts to assure at least another decade of liberal Democrat representation in Congress for what is fundamentally a center-right state. A Governor Tancredo might prove embarassing at times, but there are worse outcomes than a deadlocked executive vs. legislative session. Getting nothing done would be a step in the right direction. Tancredo will at least appoint decent judges (presumably) and prevent the worst of the gerrymandering.
So, process be damned. But if you'll excuse him, The Refugee now needs to go take a shower.
The Refugee cast a thoughtful vote for which this ThreeSourcer will not fault him (well, until Governor Tancredo does something really stupid!)
I have been sweating over the vote for days and it is clear that I will cancel yours and cast my first Democrat vote in remembered history.
Posted by: jk at October 25, 2010 4:02 PMOctober 22, 2010
Denver Mayor's "I don't want to be Governor" Moment
(Or as my brother-in-law suggested, "I'm too sexy for this job.")
Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus.
I realize that all of you outta-staters must get pretty bored with the detailed coverage we've been giving the Colorado governor's race. I appreciate the effort it must take to have any interest whatsoever. But this time, this story, will be worth it - trust me. Not since candidate Obama was caught on tape telling a sympathetic audience that rural Pennysylvania voters "bitterly cling to their guns and religion" have I seen such a self-inflicted smoking gun of political idiocy. And to make it that much better, this time we have video.
For those who don't have time to watch at the moment (and because I'm such a sadistic bastard I want this Democrat's words repeated as many times as possible) here is the money quote:
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper: "I think a couple things, I mean, you know, the tragic death of Matthew Shepard occurred in Wyoming. Colorado and Wyoming are very similar. We have some of the same, you know, backwards thinking in the kind of rural Western areas you see in, you know, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico."
I can hear his poll numbers crashing in every non-metro precinct in the state. If ours was a 2-party race between fully supported candidates of the 2 major parties I'd be dancing a jig right now. Alas.
[Credit for transcribing the quote to NRO, linked through CompleteColorado.]
UPDATE: I thought the money quote needed more emphasis - MUCH more emphasis.
I saw that. Curious if that will come up in the debate tonight (TiVoing now).
Cui bono? Tancredo. I had decided to vote for Maes May have to bail out Hick after all.
Posted by: jk at October 22, 2010 10:29 PMI thought of that. My original intro line was going to be "JK might have to vote Hickenlooper after all" but the last minute quip by my B-in-L was funnier.
This race is so insane it's hard to fault the reasoning for just about any vote. I'm just reverting to core principles: Won't vote for a statist; won't reward an insider hack hypocrite's highjacking of an election; this year's Republican nominee is a TPD - I'm votin' for him.
I feel even more strongly that way having watched tonight's debate. Maes ideas and policy goals are just head and shoulders above the other two guys from a free-market perspective.
Posted by: johngalt at October 22, 2010 11:22 PMThe debate was indeed disturbing. I'll agree on Maes's positions (mostly) but he and Rep. Tancredo sniped at each other like three year olds, making Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper look like an elder statesman. I agree with Maes that Tancredo should have honered the party process, but that's not very convincing in a debate. The three guys he had clapping for him was truly sad.
I went from disliking Tancredo to out and out fear. He is not stable enough to run our state.
Then, at the end, he provodes an eloquent assessment of the drug war.
Posted by: jk at October 23, 2010 10:54 AMFriend. Pragmatist. I think you may want to start thinking about the bright side of "Governor Tancredo." [Maes- 5 points?!?!] I am. (His stance on the drug war seems like a very solid seed kernel.)
Posted by: johngalt at October 25, 2010 2:04 PMOctober 19, 2010
"Tell that hypocritical, draft dodging, TARP voting, pot endorsing, thug to get out of the race and let the people's choice win this thing for real conservatives!"
A Dan Maes supporter claims to have been the conduit for up to three different overtures of a deal, on behalf of the Tancredo campaign, for Maes to withdraw from the governor's race. The supporter characterizes the offers as "at their core illegal."
From the Facebook page of Joe Harrington, of Tancredo ACP Lawsuit fame:
Over the past three weeks I have approached or been approached by many people regarding making a deal with the Tancredo campaign. I spoke to a well-known blogger, two Metro-Denver area GOP county chairs, two senior operatives for Tom Tancredo, a former senior officer of the state GOP, and directly with Tom Tancredo. In three of the discussion threads, deals were conveyed from an un-known source that were at their core illegal: Dan Maes was to be offered a bunch of money in a 501c)4 non-profit foundation, in exchange for getting out of the race - with the money coming from some un-named wealthy donor. Several of the people who conveyed the offers to me commented that they found the offer repulsive but felt it their duty to pass the offer along. In each instance, I did my best to repeat the deal offered, as carefully as I could state the deal, directly to Dan Maes. In each case, he never batted an eye and, after making sure he understood the deal, rejected the deal outright.
The obvious question is, "What did Tom Tancredo know and when did he know it?"
The other obvious conclusion is that if this story becomes state-wide news then "Tom Tancredo Can't Win."
(For remainder of Facebook post click 'continue reading.')
I proposed instead a poll to all of them: the poll was to be only of Assembly delegates or GOP primary voters, and it would ask them what they wanted Dan and Tom to do. Dan's body language was that the only deal he would accept was one clearly selected by the voters who asked him to be where he is today - as the Nominee of his Party. Dan was willing to accept the outcome of such a poll - specifically targeted to the audience that voted him in. Tom was not willing to accept the outcome of the poll, rather Tom and his emissaries pointed to the media-touted and in my view generally rigged polls which include Dem's, independents and R's in proportions not indicative of the actual voter turnout in a wave-Republican year.When the last deal fell through last night, Dan's response was priceless, and I copy it here exactly as he emailed to me:
"Here is my offer to them:
Tell that hypocritical, draft dodging, TARP voting, pot endorsing, thug to get out of the race and let the people’s choice win this thing for real conservatives!"
In all my dealings with Dan Maes he has never come close to taking the bait on anything immoral or illegal. A deal similar to "Musings on Water" is not interesting to him and if all he was after was money or a job he would have taken one of these deals.
I mailed in my ballot this morning - For DAN MAES for Governor! I hope you will too.
PS: I agree with about 90% of what Ross wrote at www.rossputin.com although he presents it selectively to emphasize what he wants to emphasize (it's his blog and he can do what he will there). He confirms that someone (not Tancredo, but the best way to find them is to talk to someone close to Tom) was conveying the idea to several people that the best deal to get Maes out of the race was to offer him employment at a privately funded Commission. Well - that is what I said. You could call it a foundation but it is someone out there offering a deal "of value" to Maes. Maes was willing to do a deal that would involve voter feedback driving the decision and Tancredo couldn't accept that. Maes has abided by the will of the voters expressed in 4 separate events (the caucus, the county assembly, the state convention, and the primary). Tom Tancredo does not trust the voters enough to place his future in the hands of the voters. He short-circuited the process to get a small party to put him on the ballot and didn't even use their assembly process to do so - rather he bought off their Executive committee to make the deal happen after their voters had picked a different candidate. Tom doesn't trust the voters who pay attention, rather he wants the general election voters to decide based on populist pleas and red-meat shoveled off the back of the campaign wagon in the last month of the election cycle. Dan Maes might be flawed in many ways, but he trusted the voters to decide his fate.
Joseph G Harrington
Highlands Ranch, Douglas County Colorado
I have been enjoying this on FB. I must admit, the "Pot Endorsing" clause ameliorates my antipathy a bit.
Posted by: jk at October 19, 2010 3:15 PMOctober 15, 2010
Rasmussen: CO Guv race a "toss-up"
JK's worst nightmare seems to be coming to pass: Hickenlooper 42, Tancredo 38
Less than two weeks ago, Tancredo earned 35% of the vote to Hickenlooper's 43% and Maes' 16%. That shifted the race from Solid Democrat to Leans Democrat in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard. Now the race moves to a Toss-Up.
I'd be far more comfortable with a Tancredo administration than Hickenlooper's. I just don't think I can bring myself to vote for him. Still sticking with the 12 percenters.
Isn't that the same theory of the RINOs? I'm guessing yes because I think I used most of those on you...
For four years, yes, we'd getter better laws and possibly better judges. Yet I look at what the media has done to Arizona Gov Jan Brewer. She is far more reasonable that Rep. T, and unlike him, I don't think she was spoiling for a fight.
Every stupid thing he says in Four years will be front page news and will be tied to the GOP. That's not worth it.
I also consider Hick as a centrist and pragmatic Dem. He was making a payroll in a private business when the President was Community Organizing (don't look that up for accuracy, it's a good line). I can see a Gov. Tancredo passing regulations against imports and draconian checks of private businesses to find undocumented workers. These would possibly be more destructive than a few Green Energy boondoggles and some Commie, pinko, UN, bike paths.
I am leaning towards JK's stance. And I'm a big believer in either doing something about illegal immigration or else opening the boarders but not leaving things as they are.
Tancredo is an embarrassment and he's been feeding at the trough of his fans so much that he thinks it's great.
Man, this is a toughie. JG is absolutely right about the judges and the gerrymandering.
In actuality, a governor has very little say on the issue of international trade - probably less than a Congressman. He can also ask ICE to enforce immigration laws, but can otherwise do little if the Legislature doesn't go along.
I'd still like to vote for Maes, but I'm well aware that it would be a wasted ballot and he's probably not worth such a waste. In contemplating what it would be like to vote for Tancredo, I think I know what waterboarding feels like.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at October 17, 2010 12:24 AMI'm glad I can still laugh about all of this.
I see voting for Hickenlooper or Tancredo as manipulations of my vote. The Colorado Democratic Party is mailing postcards to registered Republicans saying, "Don't vote for Doug Aden. He's on the Constitution Party ballot with Tom Tancredo. He wants to end all spending that's not in the Constitution!" And, "Don't vote for Cory Gardener. Tom Tancredo says he hasn't shown enough 'spine.'" Dems are eager for as much conservative vote splitting as they can get. Driving some of us to the Democrat candidate in any given race would just be that much the better, as far as they're concerned.
My Maes sign is still up and my Maes bumper stickers aren't going anywhere either.
Posted by: johngalt at October 17, 2010 11:17 AMI'm sure there are high fives every day at CentennialStateDonkies.com. The hapless Republicans have muffed it.
But I will not blame the loyal opposition. The fault lies squarely, 100%, totally-dude on the thick megalomaniac head of Rep. Tom Tancredo. The state party has done quite a bit for him and he should have swallowed hard and supported Dan Maes. Some simple arithmetic applied to the poll shows he would be quite competitive in a two way race with Tancredo's support.
If Mayor Hickenlooper prevails, I would certainly like to have added to Maes's totals, thereby making it clear what an ass Tancredo is. Perhaps I'm not cut out for strategic voting.
My point wasn't to blame the loyal opposition, but to call out Tancredo for the opening he's given to them. His presence in the governor's race is hurting Republicans up and down the ticket.
Posted by: johngalt at October 18, 2010 11:49 AMOctober 4, 2010
Boids of a Featheh...
Two of my favorites have found each other. He spotted her across the room, taking candy from an illegal immigrant baby. She caught his gaze as he was deporting a high school valedictorian.
Michelle and Tommy,
Sitting in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
It seems Ms. Malkin has decided that that election-primary-thingy is not so important. She has decided that Rep Tancredo is the man for Colorado. And you thought the Post's endorsement was a shocker!
Hat-tip: Brother Keith, on Facebook. I guess he thought I didn't have enough things to cheese me off today.
To quote that great American philosopher, Maxwell Smart: "Sorry about that, Chief."
Posted by: Keith Arnold at October 4, 2010 2:20 PMIn the "understandable but unexpected" department, what say ye about this?
Tancredo, who is best-known for his staunch position against illegal immigration, also leads Hickenlooper among Hispanic voters, 42 percent to 40 percent.Posted by: johngalt at October 4, 2010 3:38 PM
Well, then, you're in luck! Dan Maes has just received the ringing endorsement of... wait for it... RNC Chairman Michael Steele, that bastion of support for genuine conservatives
Posted by: Keith Arnold at October 5, 2010 9:55 AMMaes put some pictures up on Facebook. Steele's finest hour since his Senate Race.
Posted by: jk at October 5, 2010 11:23 AMOctober 2, 2010
Get Outta Town!
Post formally endorses Hickenlooper for Governor.
Damn, who could've seen that coming?
I didn't see Intrade numbers on it...
Posted by: jk at October 2, 2010 11:08 AMHere's another fine mess you've gotten us into, Tom!
Heard the first anti-Tancredo ad on radio this morning, paid for by "Our Community Votes" - an issue advocacy group that looks like an ACORN fragment, judging by the rhetoric on its website.
"There's a new political party in this year's election. The American Constitution Party. Its candidates, Tom Tancredo and Doug Aden, are too extreme to represent us. Both want to make English the official language of the United States, which threatens our diverse culture, and eliminate congressional pensions, which would make it harder for people who want to serve in congress as a career."
I paraphrased from memory but this was the gist of the message. Yes, I know I'm a weirdo but those particular criticisms just make me like these two guys more. If they wanted to expose these guys' bad ideas they should have talked about Tancredo getting in the race out of last minute spite or Aden's advocacy of new international trade tariffs to "keep jobs in the US." [I heard him say this at Friday's Longmont Chamber forum.] But it appears they don't actually want to discourage voting for them. Fort Collins Coloradoan:
But the content of the ad seems designed to promote Aden's candidacy with conservative voters who might cast ballots for him rather than Republican Party nominee Cory Gardner.(...)
Kyle Saunders, a political scientist at Colorado State University, said the ad by a Democratic-affiliated group aimed at boosting Aden was "not at all surprising."
"Every vote Aden gets from a disenchanted or confused Republican voter is very likely a vote that is taken away from Gardner," he said.
Fair enough, but why mention Tancredo? Because Tancredo has wide name recognition and Doug Aden is an insect, politically speaking. Link them together and Aden's vote count goes up by a factor of ten. And their mention of the American Constitution Party? Nobody had heard of them either until Tom and his antics made them front page news. All of this is calculated to siphon support from the GOP. Tom Tancredo must be very, very proud of himself.
October 1, 2010
Robocall from my pal Tommy.
Rep Tom Tancredo (RACP, White) just called to invite me to a rally. He told me how bad Democrats have been for business (then why are you helping elect one?) and ended by saying "I'll make Colorado a welcome place for business and an unwelcome place for illegal aliens."
No thanks.
September 30, 2010
Ritter gets an 'F'
CATO ranks the best and the worst! And our guv is included!
The fact that my governator only sank as low as a D is thin gruel, acceptable only by comparison.
Posted by: Keith Arnold at September 30, 2010 1:28 PMAnd according to the Colorado Union of Taxpayers [page 4] Ritter found a way to act in favor of taxpayers a whopping 8% of the time! They don't give letter grades but anything less than 60% used to be an "F."
Posted by: johngalt at September 30, 2010 2:56 PMSeptember 28, 2010
Hickenlooper: Tancredo a "lifetime politician" for agreeing with me
That's essentially what Denver Mayor and Democrat candidate for governor John Hickenloopersaid of the minor party spoiler candidate, Tom Tancredo recently.
Asked whether it looked to him like American Constitution Party candidate Tancredo was trying to move toward the middle now that he seems to be running ahead of Republican nominee Dan Maes, he noted that Tancredo has indeed changed his tune on the three tax-cutting measures on the ballot.“He was in favor of all three, but now he seems to be rethinking that, which reveals him as a lifetime politician. I’ve been in business most of my life and I’ve been opposed to all three of those from the beginning,” he said.
Logic: exit stage left.
Hickenlooper continued his circular logic with this:
In the long-term, he said the answer to transportation funding is the same as the answer to all other state funding — creating a stronger business environment in Colorado. “We need to have a more pro-business attitude all across the state,” he said.
Proving that this is mere feel-good campaign rhetoric, since the Colorado Union of Taxpayer's open letter regarding those three tax-cutting measures Hickenlooper opposed "from the beginning" says that this is exactly what they aim to do.
- By reducing the rate of growth of tax rates, we will create conditions for economic expansion in Colorado.(...)
- Expanding the economy will create more jobs
(...)
- Charter schools will also benefit from expanding Colorado’s economy.
(...)
- Expanding Colorado’s economy will also benefit fire protection districts and law enforcement agencies.
"...By reducing the rate of growth of tax rates..."
Not to put too fine a point on it, that's not reducing taxes, just increasing taxes more slowly. Good thing votes still know how to diagram sentences, or they might miss this promise to continue increasing taxes.
What????
Posted by: Keith Arnold at September 28, 2010 6:30 PMYeah, yeah, I know. It's also a good thing VOTERS know how to type.
Posted by: Keith Arnold at September 28, 2010 6:32 PMThat line might refer to something else but the tax rate is actually scheduled to decrease under one of these measures. 0.1 percent per year for 10 years. The horror!
Posted by: johngalt at September 29, 2010 3:25 PMSeptember 22, 2010
Tancredo Delenda Est!
New CNN Poll. Likely voters:
- Hick 47%
- Maes 21%
- Whacko 29%
(Better news Buck 49% - Bennet 44%)
Why is Daddy's little Senator in Alaska big national news, when Colorado's well known sore loser is not?
Hat-tip: @ariarmstrong
Just heard on KHOW: Maes told Dan Caplis that Tancredo is "an illegal immigrant in this race" who is "trying to take a job away from someone who earned it." Caplis was speechless.
Posted by: johngalt at September 22, 2010 8:06 PMAwesome line!!
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at September 22, 2010 10:12 PMUPDATE: Audio here. [13:58]
Another good line from Maes:
[7:45] "You guys have no clue what's gonna happen tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day." Followed by Caplis claiming "we actually do." I guess maybe there really is a God, and he works for KHOW!
Posted by: johngalt at September 23, 2010 2:03 AMSorry. Didn't mean to hijack your post brother.
To answer your parting question, I think the national attention in the Alaska race has something to do with a certain former VP candidate's endorsement and support. We also started hearing about the Delaware race after Palin got involved. And for what it's worth, it isn't too late for such a game changer in the CO Guv's race. First address the character attacks with corroborative evidence, wait for the reality of a 3-way race to set in and then, pick your moment. Mail-in ballots go out around October 13.
Posted by: johngalt at September 23, 2010 2:26 AMMi post, su post Hermano.
I too loved the "illegal immigrant" line. At least we can have a little fun.
Posted by: jk at September 23, 2010 8:44 AMIt was actually not that good a line. Putting aside my contempt for the democratic process: it does expose Tancredo's hypocrisy in pushing for one law he likes but ignoring another he doesn't, but applying it to illegal immigration is stupid. The rebuttal is easy to anyone who realizes that "it's against the law" is a red herring: if you want to hire someone who'll do as good a job (or better) for less money, and you're harming no one else, why shouldn't it be your right? You "earn" a job only because the one hiring you has willingly chosen you. That's the whole problem with the typical GOP line on immigration. They cling to "the law" when it suits them, and in seeking to deny others the freedom of peaceful commerce, they are directly stating that citizenship or "lawful residency" somehow entitles you to job preference over someone else. What that philosophy is saying is that the right to work, the right to exchange freely with another individual, is only with the permission of government.
All that said, these rules to prevent third candidacies shows the inherent hypocrisy of politics. Tancredo would be doing the same damn thing if he had won the primary. Ordinarily it's good to have additional options, an additional person to "hire," except that this farce of democracy is about using others' money to hire the one who promises you the most.
Posted by: Perry Eidelbus at September 23, 2010 8:50 PMSeptember 17, 2010
Black Helicopters Appear in Broad Daylight...
...embarking from the White House.
Republican candidate for CO governor Dan Maes took some heat in early August for suggesting that statist influences at the United Nations are inserting themselves into state and municipal governments through an organization called ICLEI. I'll admit that if you've never heard of these self-important busybodies the whole idea can sound a bit conspiratorial. Even our own jk joked "See the bikes all come in black helicopters..."
Yet today, from the "just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not really out to get me" department, we have the White House's Ocean Policy Initiative.
What the administration in effect is putting in place is an alternative power structure that circumvents existing state and local decision-making bodies and replaces them with made-in-Washington zoning. All of this is taking place without the consent of Congress, without the consent of the governors, and, most important of all, without the consent of the governed.
Suddenly the idea that similar efforts to influence local decision-making by the U.N. might "threaten our personal freedoms" doesn't seem like such a crackpot remark. JK commented "Let's pick smarter fights than this, boys." I'll counter with, "Someone has to start connecting the dots for voters sooner or later. Let's hope that when they do it isn't too late to get our liberty back using the ballot box."
September 10, 2010
Tancredo's "Lost His Freakin' Mind" going 3rd Party
That is what guest host George Brauchler told caller "Eric" in this interesting 5 minute conversation on Peter Boyles KHOW radio show this morning. [Starts at 0:45]
I thought this Eric guy made some pretty good points:
Tom Tancredo is not a legitimate candidate for a 3rd party. He's a Republican. The primary is over.How can Tom Tancredo sleep at night after violating his own advice NOT to go third party?
Dan Maes is the victim of character assassination by the Denver Post.
The absence of 1099's for Dan Maes from the KBI doesn't prove that Maes is lying.
To put the headline in context, the full statement by Brauchler was as follows:
"So listen, I get what you're sayin' Eric. I disagree with what he did. I think it's hurtful to the conservative movement. I think it's gonna put someone in office I completely disagree with. I think Tom's lost his freakin' mind. But how does that translate into, 'He should not have a voice on the stage if voters are gonna have the choice between these different candidates?"
Not bad radio!
Tancredo, party of one, your table is ready... Tancredo, party of one...
Posted by: Keith Arnold at September 10, 2010 4:59 PMIt's more than one, but not a lot more. There are the 20 Benedict Arnold "Republicans." And a bunch of talk radio regulars who I've been privately referring to as "Tanc's Cranks."
Clearly Tancredo's supporters number in the hundreds or even thousands across the state. But our population is over 5 million.
Posted by: johngalt at September 10, 2010 6:51 PMAll Hail Harsanyi!
I try to help my friends out. Brother br is on the road and suggests a David Harsanyi column. A David Harsanyi column whacking Rep. Tom Tancredo (R - White). I'd better post:
Approximately 70 percent of citizens are concerned about a lack of border control, but very few share -- as former Republican Majority leader and Tea Party activist Dick Armey appropriately described -- Tancredo's "harsh and uncharitable and mean-spirited attitude on the immigration issue."Stemming from this all-inclusive fear of illegal aliens, Tancredo has taken protectionist and isolationist positions -- voting against a number of free-trade agreements in Congress, for instance -- that are antithetical to the tenets of fiscal conservatism.
My pal Harsanyi is still too harsh on Dan Maes, but a Tancredo whack is always appreciated.
September 9, 2010
20 Prominent Republicans Pledge Not to Vote for Republican Governor
More than 20 elected and formerly elected Republicans have abandoned their party's gubernatorial nominee Dan Maes to throw their support behind third-party candidate Tom Tancredo.
Here's hoping that Dan Maes eventual margin of victory will be more than 20 votes anyway.
I hope that was not the surprise.
Posted by: jk at September 9, 2010 6:08 PMI must admit to being disappointed at finding Bob Beauprez on the list. Prominent Republicans don't need to support Maes, but they don't need to endorse his opponent, either.
Republican party rules (at least last I knew) prohibited any party official from endorsing a non-Republican. These endorsements also strike me as a violation of Reagan's 11th Commandment.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at September 9, 2010 6:09 PMAnd I just voted for Joe Wilson (last time).
Big time violation of Reagan's 11th.
Posted by: jk at September 9, 2010 6:49 PMBR is correct. I was told as much at a precinct captain's meeting this evening. "Party bylaws prohibit any of us [representatives of the Republican Party] from publicly advocating for any candidate who is not a Republican." Then she said, "But they don't say anything about what you can do in private." There was a clear sense that many in the room wanted to support Tancredo. There was never anything improper said, however, so I held my tongue. "If you can't say anything nice [about Maes] then don't say anything at all," we were told.
The quote of the night came when it was suggested that, if we have a T-shirt for one of the Republican candidates, to wear it while we're out knocking on doors and if you don't have one then we can get you one. Then one man said, "I'll need one. All of my T-shirts are obsolete."
Posted by: johngalt at September 9, 2010 10:45 PMTancredo is so far right he's warped around to the left, just like Pat Buchanan. Catch Harsanyi's piece in The Post today to read it put much more eloquently than The Refugee ever could.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at September 10, 2010 11:05 AMDan Maes 'Little Surprise' Quip Makes NRO Headline
What a pleasure it was to find a national reference to Colorado's gubernatorial race that has something positive to say about the Republican nominee, Dan Maes. On its Battle '10 blog NRO's Michael Sandoval tells us that Dan promised a "little surprise" on Thursday (today.)
I'll avoid temptation and not excerpt the most exciting speculation that Sandoval engages in for fear of creating expectations. You'll have to read for yourself.
Here's another possibility: Some evidence to corroborate his believable but ridiculed KBI story would be helpful.
September 8, 2010
Maes Addresses Concerns...
Over police work, Frieda Poundstone and "overstated" business success.
As a political outsider who is being shunned by the party, Dan doesn't have access to the same contribution channels that Scott McInnis would have (or that Tom Tancredo does.) Nor is he treated well by established media. So he has to rely on personal appearances, the internet, and bloggers, to get his message out. Like this.
Tancredo ACP Lawsuit Filed
Last week I linked a story explaining how Tom Tancredo's third-party challenge to Dan Maes violates state law. Today a pair of apparent Maes supporters filed a lawsuit seeking to remove Tancredo from the ballot.
"Our attorneys have reviewed the recent complaint by the disgruntled Maes voters related to this certification and are confident that the courts will find no grounds on which to overturn the decision by the one individual with authority to make such decisions," said Bay Buchanan, Tancredo's campaign manager.
Yes, that Bay Buchanan. But those filing the lawsuit are quite a bit more objective in their statements. From a radio interview [last third of clip] on 630 KHOW this afternoon, plaintiff Joe Harrington said,
"The US Supreme Court held in a case in the past (...) in a case called 'Storer' that the general election ballot is reserved for major struggles; it is not a forum for continuing interparty feuds. The disaffiliation statute protects the direct primary process by refusing to recognize independent candidates who do not make early plans to leave the party and to take the alternative course to the ballot. It works against independent candidacies prompted by short-range political goals, pique, or personal quarrels.It is also a substantial barrier to a party fielding an independent candidate to capture and bleed off votes in a general election that might well go to another party."
Harrington closed by saying, "These aren't real complicated rules but, you know, he's got to follow the rules the same way that illegal immigrants have to."
Buried the lead, bro -- that last line is a "Quote of the Day" if I e'er seen one!
Posted by: jk at September 8, 2010 10:06 AMHarrington left it as a parting shot so I followed his lead. Quite a zinger, eh?
Posted by: johngalt at September 8, 2010 2:29 PMSeptember 5, 2010
Our Insecticide Dates from 1776
Al Maurer of The Constitutionalist Today makes an analogy between the race for Colorado's next governor and a trio of ponderosa pines in his rural backyard. Two trees on the other side of his fence were infested with pine bark beetles. He feared that the beetles might infest a tree of his, "which was bigger, straighter, older and yet stronger than the two infected trees" so he cut them down. But it was too late and his tree was also infested with beetles.
Unless you live in Black Forest like I do, why should you care about my tree? Because the story is a fitting analogy for this year’s Colorado governor’s race.The two trees on the other side of the fence are Tancredo and Hickenlooper. Dan Maes is our tree. We in the Liberty movement and the Republican Party didn’t plant him or grow him. We listened to his message and because it is like ours, we bought into him and his candidacy. It was our support rather than his brilliance as a politician and campaigner that brought victory at the state assembly and the primary election. He’s not the most beautiful or strongest tree in the forest, but he’s our tree. And he’s a whole lot better than those two infected trees on the other side of the fence.
He’s taken some hits this week. The beetles that are the establishment press, the pundits, and the self-appointed power brokers are focused on destroying him. When they’re done with him (or their ratings start to decline), they’ll move on to the next target. Abandoning him will not save the other candidates on the ticket—quite the contrary, it will embolden these insects to attack someone else.
No, We the People and the new alternative media are the insecticide. You see, the beetles are not all-powerful. Not all of the beetles carry the fungus that destroys the tree. Strong trees can survive and even thrive if assisted. The insecticide I used was pretty old; I wasn’t sure it was going to work. Our insecticide is old too—it dates from 1776.
Dan said yesterday that he is in it to win it. Always has been.
Are we?
Denver Post: "Disgraced" Maes must step aside...
In an editorial posted 24 hours prior to the ballot certification deadline Denver's newspaper said that Colorado voters "deserve a credible Republican choice" for governor. (I'd be glad to know that the Post's editorial board is so concerned about a quality Republican candidate if I believed that they were not irretrievably invested in Democrat, statist, ideals.)
The Post's parting thought is this:
Coloradans deserve better than what we have now, and would benefit greatly from a legitimate race involving both major parties.
This is where I agree with them. What do Coloradans have now? A Democrat governor and a Democrat-controlled legislature who have conspired to raise taxes and fees on state citizens and their businesses, contributing to a virtually stagnant job market.
Another possibly unintentional admission by this statement is that ours is a two-party political system. Minor parties exist but our office holders are chosen by a party primary vetting process and a general election to choose from between the two competing sets of ideas and visions of the major party nominees.
"The issues facing Colorado are important, and voters deserve a legitimate gubernatorial race and debate between credible candidates — not a sideshow," says the Post - disengenuously, since their newspaper has played a large role in creating the sideshow. (The paper elevated Maes' "oh, by the way" bicycle program comments into a major issue story and bragged in the editorial that their reporter pushed the Kansas police work issue that supposedly led to all the establishment GOP defections. And yet, ColoradoPols.com says "It's not a new story--inferences about Maes' time as a cop in Liberal, Kansas 25 years ago, a job from which he was fired, have been widely circulated. (...) But it seems to be the pretext that Colorado GOP kingpins were looking for.")
Alright then, Post. let's debate the issues. You have the ball.
Instead the Post continues to disparage the Republican candidate with relentless ad-hominem:
"Disgraced." Not "credible." Paid a "huge" fine. $300 cash donation "violated state law." And finally, "Maes apparently lied" about doing undercover police work in Kansas - a self-serving characterization if there ever was one.
My wife believes I may be so invested in Maes candidacy that I can't be objective in evaluating him. This is certainly possible, and I've asked myself the same question over the past week. But my investment thus far is less than $100 and ten hours at the State Assembly, and a few fundraisers/speaking events. (Okay, and some blogging.) But isn't it possible that the anti-Maes voices are invested as well? From the Post editorial: "We've questioned Maes' credibility for two months and said he wasn't fit to serve as governor." No reason to change their minds now, I suppose. Even if, as Colorado Pols purports, "After everything Republican leadership have themselves done to force Maes out since his victory over the tainted McInnis, there's very little question who is orchestrating this avalanche of bad press for Maes, slamming home just as the last day his name can be replaced on ballots approaches." Isn't there a story here? Isn't it news when the chairman of one of the state's two major parties declares "I am very disappointed in the decision by [my party's nominee] to continue his candidacy for governor." Isn't there a story here? Particularly when, as Colorado Pols asks, "And for all the angst about Maes among GOP leadership, why don't the voters share it?"
Unfortunately for those of us interested in the truth, the Post and the GOP establishment are both deathly afraid of the same threat: voters thinking for themselves.
September 3, 2010
On the ballot: Hickenlooper - Maes - Tancredo
The 5pm deadline has passed and neither Maes or Tancredo has abandoned his campaign. It will be a 3-way race.
Maes: “After speaking with, and hearing from, numerous Coloradans – from former Senators to family farmers – I’ve determined that I cannot turn my back on the 200,000 voters who nominated me to run for this office,” said Maes. “During this time of deliberation, I listened equally to those who wanted me in this race and those who did not, and after internalizing that advice, I’m proud to say I’m in it to win it."Tancredo: “It doesn’t matter what Dan Maes does or what the Republicans do,” Tancredo told The Post. “I don’t care if they bring back Abraham Lincoln to run. From this moment on, I’m never going to answer this question again. I’m here to stay.
“I have done more than any other candidate to try and correct the problems in the Republican party but they have said no.
“I no longer consider Dan Maes a serious candidate. He is now the third-party candidate.”
So let's get this straight: 200,000 Colorado Republicans said that Dan Maes is the party's nominee, and one ex-Republican says he's "now the third-party candidate?" Which of these men is delusional?
It's Time, Dan
Dan Maes has now lost the support of not only of the state GOP luminaries/establishment, but of the Tea Party and 9/12 groups that got him through the primaries. With those losses, he has become unelectable. But even if he were elected, could he govern? Probably not. It's time to go, Dan.
John Andrews was President of the Independence Institite, then a state legistator and a candidate for governor (lost to Romer as I recall). Here's a link if you want to know a bit more about his positions.
http://www.liberty1.org/whythe~1.htm
Creating more safe seats for liberal Democrats won't do much for liberty, either.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at September 3, 2010 12:47 PM"Vast, moderate-wing conspiracy." No, certainly not. The establishment Republicans that are all publicly leaving Maes' side are certainly mainstream, but not "moderate." I've struggled to find the connection between them and the firebrand TPD* Tom Tancredo in fervent opposition to the other TPD Dan Maes. I think the answer may well be abortion politics, and Tambor Williams may have been the last straw.
It's still left to play out throughtout the day, and my 20 percent estimate is now up to 30 percent with the Ken Buck defection (that I was expecting) but I still see this as a battle for control of the state GOP.
I think the Maes campaign still has a chance to win in November because abortion politics is a political loser in Colorado - even, I assert, among Republicans.
I'll also disagree with JK - The anti-Dem sentiment in the state and the nation is so strong the electorate is begging for an alternative to Hickenlooper. Most would vote for Norton, or Beauprez, or even Tancredo or Maes. The best outcome for victory is to just limit the choice to any ONE of these.
Posted by: johngalt at September 3, 2010 2:56 PM*TPD (for those who still don't know the acronym): Tea Party Darling.
Posted by: johngalt at September 3, 2010 2:58 PMJG, I don't think the issue is about policy, abortion or otherwise. Andrews is decidely Libertarian, though I don't know his specific stand on abortion. The others are pro-life, but none of them based their candidacies on the issue. Of course, everyone mentioned knows everyone mentioned, so there may be some group-think going on. They are certainly talking.
Nevertheless, they may be reading the same tea leaves that I am: Maes is making one unforced error after another. You might call his gaffes embellishments, white lies, political truth-stretching or whatever, but they appear to be falsehoods nonetheless. If it were just one, it would be a mistake. But, he has issues on his business, his political contributions, his personal finances and his work record.
Pre-primary, it might have been Establishment vs. TPD. Afterward, though, he picked up many establishment endorsements; I don't think they were just setting him up. Moreover, the other TPD, Buck, does not have any of these issues with Republican leadership. There's just too much smoke to believe that there isn't a fire somewhere.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at September 3, 2010 3:19 PMI think it may have been in an interview that I heard Andrews say he is staunchly pro-life.
How many of those Establishment endorsements came after the naming of Tambor Williams as Maes' running mate? Zero, as I recall.
Conversely, Tancredo's running mate made a point of her pro-life credentials.
In the Ice Cream Social with Dan Maes at the State Assembly he told all of us in attendance that he is "definitely pro-life" and a few more sentences to buttress the point. (The woman in front of me said, "GOOD!") It seemed like he was building up an area of perceived weakness. My current working theory is, as I suggested above, the pro-life wing of the GOP was never comfortable with him and Tambor Williams broke the dam.
Sad.
On the other hand, if I am right then I'll definitely be pleased to see Dan tell his detractors he's not so easily dispatched. We should know in the next few hours.
Posted by: johngalt at September 3, 2010 3:37 PMCompleteColorado-dot-com has evidence of GOP dirty tricks against Maes.
Posted by: johngalt at September 3, 2010 6:54 PMSeptember 2, 2010
Establishment Republican Withdraws Maes Endorsement
"I'm concerned about the revelations. I'm withdrawing my endorsement," said Brown, referring to a Denver Post story today that Maes embellished details about his law enforcement background. "I'm beginning to find that (Maes') explanations are not adequate."
"Revelations?" I'm not surprised that the Denver Post is calling retired city managers and chiefs of police in another state to investigate the nature of "undercover" work that Dan Maes may have done as a Kansas cop twenty-five years ago, but I am a little surprised that a veteran politician would balk over such a triviality.
On Dan Maes Facebook page someone said that "Hank Brown is an old crony of Tom Tancredo." I replied,
I don't know about Brown being a Tancredo crony but he is definitely an "establishment" Republican. Dick Armey* said a mouthful when he warned, "The [TEA Party] movement is not seeking a junior partnership with the Republican Party. It is ...aiming for a hostile takeover." It seems to me that many GOP insiders are fighting back, slinging mud, and trying to maintain their stranglehold on the Colorado Republican Party. This is sad. If true it means they'd rather be in control than win the election.
UPDATE: Democrat blog 'Colorado Pols' discusses what looks like a Last Ditch Attempt to Force Maes Out.
First of all, we don't buy that the "9/12" groups--who, mind you, are not the 'Tea Party' and subject to their own influences--are spontaneously rising up against Maes, any more than we think Hank Brown didn't know all about Maes when he endorsed him. After everything Republican leadership have themselves done to force Maes out since his victory over the tainted McInnis, there's very little question who is orchestrating this avalanche of bad press for Maes, slamming home just as the last day his name can be replaced on ballots approaches.
Word is the GOP Kingmakers want to replace Maes with their 2006 loser, Bob Beauprez.
Brown can do what he wants, I s'pose. I am curious how much play it would have gotten if Gary Hart had withdrawn his endorsement of Hickenlooper. I don't know how much play this got in the print edition, but he Post tweeted and Facebooked this story heavily yesterday. Big news.
Posted by: jk at September 2, 2010 10:31 AMThe story was prominantly Page One in the print edition, as are most anti-Maes stories.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at September 2, 2010 11:04 AMThe Denver Post BREAKING: Former state senate president John Andrews is latest in GOP to call for Dan Maes to drop out of the Colorado governor's race. Maes is reportedly weighing whether he should stay in.
The 17th Amendment is looking better all the time -- thanks Wilson!
Posted by: jk at September 2, 2010 2:06 PMHow much leverage do you think it took to turn Andrews? As of yesterday Maes had Andrews' "unwavering support." Today it wavered.
Posted by: johngalt at September 2, 2010 4:41 PMCynical to suggest that The Denver Post's implicit offer of a front page story for an endorsement retraction is to tempting for your average (or below) politician?
Posted by: jk at September 2, 2010 5:16 PMReport: Tancredo Candidacy Violates State Law
Colorado Revised Statute 1-4-1304 to be exact. Kyle Getchey reports in The Constitutionalist Today that Colorado Law and the American Constitution Party's own bylaws require that the party's nominees be registered members of the party no later than January 1, 2010.
So, who will reign in this invalid candidacy?Under Article 8, "the chairman shall enforce the observation of the bylaws and rules of the ACP." But obviously this isn't happening. So, if the ACP's Western States Area Chairman Frank Fluckiger (no joke) will not enforce the principled party's bylaws, then maybe some nice Republican should mount a legal challenge. Perhaps this distinguished member of the GOP could pursue action against the ACP, Tancredo, and Fluckiger, all three. That could make for good sport.
With a byline dated today (mountain daylight time) this story looks like it might have legs. But hurry, the ballot printing deadline is Friday!
Would CRS 1-3-1304 stand in the way of Fluckiger joining Hickenlooper on a ticket? Bumper sicker sales alone could fix the state deficit...
Posted by: jk at September 2, 2010 10:38 AMBut I'm being flip -- superb post!
Posted by: jk at September 2, 2010 10:39 AMSeptember 1, 2010
Tom "Third Party Approach is Suicidal" Tancredo
Many times over the past weeks since Dan Maes won the Colorado gubernatorial primary I have searched for a copy of the video showing Tom Tancredo telling TEA Partiers, "Whatever you do, stay with the GOP. Don't form a third party." This is significant, of course, because bolting for a third party is exactly what the GOP stalwart has done, supposedly to prevent leftist Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper from winning the election. Ironically, polls have shown that Maes has an excellent chance to defeat Hickenlooper head-to-head in a 2-way race. (Particularly if the GOP establishment would stop hounding the man at every opportunity.) I still haven't found that video but I did finally find Tom's open letter to Tea Party Patriots.
Some patriots are tempted to launch a third political party or back one of the existing small parties that never attract more than one or two percent of the vote in state races. I strongly believe that such a course is suicidal and would only result in splitting the conservative vote and guaranteeing the re-election of liberals and socialists.I believe the Republican Party is the natural home of conservatives and that the road back to constitutional government lies in taking control of the Republican Party from top to bottom, from county committee to the statehouse and all the way to Washington, D.C.
(...)
Yes, over the last decade, many individuals left the Republican Party because George Bush led the national party to abandon its principles and support several big government programs. But leaving the party is not the answer. Fighting for your principles and reshaping the party is the answer.
Throughout our nation’s history, third parties have never succeeded in taking power and running the government. They have sometimes succeeded in pushing a major party in a new direction, but just as often, they succeeded only in electing the more liberal candidate after many conservatives waste their votes on a third party candidate. Remember 1992? Ross Perot never had a chance to be president, but he did help elect Bill Clinton.
(...)
We know that our country faces real dangers – from Radical Islam abroad and from multiculturalism and the Marxist agenda at home. We also know politics is not a game, that the choices we make today affect our future for generations to come. Our children’s and grandchildren’s liberties are at risk as never before.
I hope you will join me in the Republican precinct caucuses in March, the county assemblies in April and then at the state convention in May. Besides supporting candidates who support the Contract with Colorado, help me lay the foundation for a generation of conservative leaders.
Well Tom, we did that. Dan Maes was a close second at the March caucus. He won the top spot at the state convention. And, most recently, he won the statewide party primary. And what have you done? You have joined "one of the existing small parties that never attract more than one or two percent of the vote in state races" and unless you somehow cajole Dan into quitting the race he is so completely invested in you likley will succeed "only in electing the more liberal candidate after many conservatives waste their votes on a third party candidate."
Gee thanks.
I may be softening on the Tea Party again. It is astonishing how little faith the State GOP puts in the voice of its members.
I know Estes Kefauver won, but he should step aside and let us annoint Adalai Stevenson...
We could do far worse than Governor Hick. If this year cleans out some deadwood from the CO GOP, it will be a good year.
Posted by: jk at September 2, 2010 11:00 AMTancredo Polling at 9 Percent
Our friend David [Harsanyi] opines after citing a new Rasmussen poll showing all CO governor candidates losing support over the past few weeks but most notably the self-important Tom Tancredo's support is in single digits when poll respondents are asked for not just their preference, but which way they really expect to vote. David says-
And when it’s all said and done, Tancredo’s vanity entry into gubernatorial politics will expire in the same state it existed, instilled with a false sense of importance.
(The third comment on the Harsanyi post is pretty good too.)
Third comment is pretty good -- probably some crackpot though.
Took me a second to get the "Three's Company" picture. Hail Harsanyi, but lighten up on Mister Maes...
Posted by: jk at September 2, 2010 10:27 AMAugust 31, 2010
Tom Tancredo: Pariah
That's where the former congressman is headed according to Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli.
"Tancredo has lost the support of the Republican Party," local pollster extraordinaire Floyd Ciruli told me. "The only question is when he becomes a pariah."
This from a Vincent Carroll column that tries to shine some light into one of Tancredo's ear holes, such that perhaps he can see for himself what is going on.
In the Republican-heavy Ipsos Public Affairs polling sample, only 10 percent of respondents identified immigration as one of the "biggest problems" facing Colorado — not even the biggest problem, mind you — and yet Tancredo is running on little else.(...)
"I couldn't stand by and watch the Republican establishment just hand over the state to Obama's hand-picked Democrat candidate," Tancredo tells his supporters.
So, rather than stand by, Tancredo has resolved to guarantee the outcome he supposedly dreads.
Dear Tom. Drop dead.
Talking to my otherwise sensible but enforcement-blinded brother-in-law, it occurred to me that that was a huge possible benefit from this election. If the rest of my Colorado GOP buddies come to like Rep. Tancredo (R -'Merica, dammit!) as much as I do, then the election will not be a total loss.
Humorously, the platform of the American Constitution Party, under whose auspices he runs, is a dream platform for every 3srcer. But who believes that a Governor Tancredo would find time for anything but immigration? Not me.
I'm just a little surprised that Tancredo did not pick Mark Holtzman to be his running mate. Now there'd be a pair.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at August 31, 2010 5:01 PMAugust 29, 2010
Hick: 'Taxes couldn't possibly be lower'
I recently endorsed, tongue in cheek, Mayor Hickenlooper for Governor because of his stealthy promise to "create jobs and cut government spending." And why do we want to cut government spending? There are many reasons but a big one is to reduce the tax burden on private (job-creating) industry. The problem being that when said tax burden reaches a certain weight most businesses can no longer support it. They go out of business, hunker down in survival mode, or potential new businesses are never started. The idea of the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party movement is that America has already reached, and is surpassing, that threshold:
But many, maybe most, Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate Mayor John Hickenlooper, have an alternate view: Taxes couldn't possibly be made any lower than they are now:
A Conflict of Visions indeed.
At least he's a Democrat. This brought up the sad vision of Rep Tom Delay’s (R - Tom Delay) assuring a questioner that ten years of GOP rule had expunged all the pork spending from Congress.
The TRULY invidious part is his comparison of government to private trade. The supplier who wanted a better beer price was able to dicker with the brewery down the street or make his own. The "businesses want cheaper inputs" line is appearing on Democratic States all over this year. But it's false.
I'm starting to feel a little more optimistic. Hick has supported some hard Left groups that could compromise his "moderate" image. Will Coloradans listen? Who know, but my pessimism meter is back off the peg.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at August 30, 2010 1:07 PMAugust 20, 2010
Hickenlooper for Governor!
(Thought that might get your attention.)
In a web version of Democrat candidate John Hickenlooper's first campaign ad for Colorado governor he apparently said, "Colorado needs a governor who brings people together to create jobs and cut government spending." Go Hick! You're the man!
I have to admit I missed the "cut spending" message on my first viewing, but those lefties over at Open Left sure didn't.
Because Republicans are likely to split the vote in this three-way race featuring GOP nominee Dan Maes and third-party candidate Tom Tancredo, this gubernatorial race is all but a coronation for Hickenlooper, which means he could be using the free pass to do what Colorado Democrats in the recent past have been doing to great electoral and public policy success - namely, countering the right's insidious "cut government spending" mantra with a more constructive vision. But instead, Hickenlooper's ad, while certainly cute in its construction, is actually using the free pass to reiterate the Republicans' central (and most legitimately dangerous) argument about what Colorado's fundamental challenge really is.
So why is Hick touting spending cuts? Could he actually believe that Republicans are right? Get outta town! [And here's where I admit my endorsement of him is sarcastic.] Is it because of the reverberating popular theme of public thrift kept alive by the 25% of us who are TEA Partiers? Maybe, if he thinks it will be a close contest with the Republican. But Open Left says "this gubernatorial race is all but a coronation for Hickenlooper." Apparently Hickenlooper isn't so sanguine.
So Harsanyi thinks conservatives should be more frightened of a Maes win than Hickenlooper's? I ask you David, which self-proclaimed spending cutter would you rather have? I'll take the guy who knows what it's like to scramble to pay his mortgage. I'll take Maes.
JG, I wish I could share your sanguinity (is that a word?). Anyhow, Hick has a record of dealing with Denver's budget woes, though that's not over. However, he proved to be much tougher fiscally than the City Council. Thus, it's not possible to slough him off as a knee-jerk spender who wrings his hands at the very idea of budget cuts.
I'll admit that Hick has said some moonbat things and maybe Maes will have some luck in framing him as such. (However, that will probably only serve to keep Boulder on board.) Even his moonbattedness (The Refugee making up all kinds of words today) is likely to be regarded as pretty harmless. Maes may know a thing or two about struggling to meet a mortgage and payroll (two elements to be admired) but Hick has proven he can deal with the second largest gov't budget in Colorado. Maes also can't say that he's the only businessman in the race.
Not sayin' I'm changing my vote, just trying to gauge how this thing will play in Paonia.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at August 23, 2010 10:04 AMJust think of me as the guy looking for silver linings in the clouds - and there are plenty of clouds.
Thanks for the good comments.
Posted by: johngalt at August 23, 2010 2:33 PMStill Hailing Harsanyi?
The last libertarian in conventional media executes a brutal, prison yard shanking of Tea Party and ThreeSources's darling Dan Maes.
There's no crime in the average guy, the political neophyte, the Common Man, running for political office. I wish more people would. But too many Colorado conservatives and activists have tied their political future to the silly belief that any everyman candidate is superior to any establishment one.No, it's not because Maes hit up an 80-something woman for 300 bucks (cash!) to help pay his mortgage. You know, I get that. No one forced her, right? Nor is it because he finagled tens of thousands in gas money through his campaign contributions. I'm actually kind of impressed.
And it's not that bicycle enthusiasts aren't sort of creepy. They are. And it's not that the United Nations isn't a hive of petty tyrants. It is. And, in our hearts, we all know that John Hickenlooper, if he could get away with it, would make Denver a signatory on a One World Commie Bike Plot.
It's just that responsible people generally understand those kinds of thoughts should be reserved for internal dialogue.
After that, he goes a little bit negative. Ouch.
A libertarian opinion journalist writes condemnations of the Democrat and the Republican candidate: Who'da thunk it?
And let's not forget he works at the Post, where the "Maes is an incompetent" Kool-Aid is served in every water cooler.
Posted by: johngalt at August 20, 2010 8:57 PMLong before Robert Taft secured the Republican nomination for the Presidency he had to secure the senate seat of Ohio. While on a campaign rally to do just that a sly reporter asked his wife in front of the campaign crowd, "Is your husband a common man?"
“Oh no,” she retorted, “he is not that at all. He was first in his class at Yale and first in his class at Harvard Law School. I think it would be wrong to present a common man as a representative of the people of Ohio.”
With this said Mrs. Taft turned away - and saw the gathered crown delivering an applause.
The population of America lies a hair above 301 million persons. Given this extraordinarily large number of people from which to choose we should have no difficulty finding the smartest, most capable men for running our public offices. Heck, we shouldn't have a problem finding incredibly capable and talented men and women who agree with our politics. The state of Colorado has some 4 million people in it. This is a lot of people. If you were to stand one Coloradan on top of another up through the atmosphere you would not just get to space - you would get to space and still have folks left over. You could construct sixty seven human towers before you ran out of people.
And out of this the best you can find is John Maes? Better than his opponent, by all measures, but is he the best? When the pool is 4 million big why should the people of Colorado settle for a common man?
JG asks if Harsanyi believes the electorate is too stupid to choose their own representatives. Harsanyi implies it; I will say so outright. I have no faith in the American people's ability to choose their own representatives. A third of us don't even bother to vote. And of those who do? Well, just look at Washington. They are the representatives elected by the people.
I'm reminded of the end line of one of my favorite Onion pieces. Says the fictional Obama:
At this point, the only positive thing I can say about the American people is that I'm pretty sure they've never rigged an election in their favor.
Taft. The thought of the 300 pounder in the oval office warms my heart to no end. And he was smart enough to buffalo TR into believing he was progressive -- then governed as a Constitutional Chief Magistrate. The horse is gonna be ok, Secretary Root.
The Mencken quote in the linked piece, alas, does Tyler Cowen in a single sentence. "Good and Hard," indeed.
But something is missing in the "elite versus commoner" discussion. The trouble with elites is Hayek's "Fatal Conceit." They're so elite, they think they should boss us around.
Frankly, I vacillate back and forth between "the public are idiots" and "the electorate is not stupid." Of course the reality is that a collective can not be judged for its intelligence. Only individuals can. Similarly, only individuals can choose to stand for election and most successful and competent ones have no interest. [Why, exactly, is a deep subject for another time.]
Is Dan Maes "the best you can find" to be governor of Colorado? No, he's merely the best who offered up his services to do so.
Posted by: johngalt at August 21, 2010 2:57 PMWell, Rover -- I mean jg -- you bring up what is sadly one of the important functions of the hated conventional party apparatus: candidate recruitment. I'll re-hawk Peter Robinson's It's My Party. Republicans find this especially difficult because the ideal GOP candidate could make ten times the money with half the crap in the private sector.
Don't mean to be too negative, but I do mean to point out that we cannot just destroy the party -- we have to rebuild it.
I'm not sure I agree that a millionaire is the "ideal" GOP candidate but your point is taken. One of the criticisms of Maes is that he "only" sold his business interest for six figures and that his reported income was below the poverty line for two years. This is typical of entrepeneurs - feast or famine. And how many millionaires got where they are without a head start through "connections?"
I haven't read the Peter Robinson book but the summary says he thinks the party has a problem attracting minorities and women. I have to think the gender thing is overblown, given the number of female GOP candidates on the scene and female campaign volunteers I've met in my associations with Maes and Ken Buck. But they came to the party wilfully, not because of some top-down "outreach" effort. Minorities do the same thing but dominant media dismisses and ridicules them, effectively dissuading others.
Posted by: johngalt at August 22, 2010 12:17 PMAugust 17, 2010
Maes - Williams
"We don't have a teleprompter -- this campaign can't afford one!"Dan Maes introduces his running mate, Tambor Williams.
Thanks for the kind words but ThreeSources is a bow-free zone.
I'll vote for the first. My eyes roll back into my head when people tell me their political plan is to "educate the electorate." Yeah, as Joni Mitchell would say "if you want me I'll be at the bar."
But who says that a principled candidate cannot hire competent staff? Politics is what it is and if you have to apply the five P's, I know a young man who can tell you what they are.
JK: thank you, and I agree - on the state of the electorate, the state of politics, and the realities of campaigning.
My alternative about the voting public, though, has an important implication. I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said "I know of no safe repository of the ultimate power of society but the people." He had faith that the voting public, the body of citizens, would hold the corrupting influence of power in check, and that they would restraint the government, and rightly should. I think we are now looking at a body of citizens who have allowed themselves to become dependent clients of the State, and a large fraction of which - dare I say 52%? - who are voting themselves the public treasury and casting their vote for the candidate who gives them the biggest cut of the booty.
Question: was Jefferson being naive? I covet your thoughts - and those of any other ThreeSourcers who might weigh in.
Posted by: Keith Arnold at August 19, 2010 11:40 AMYeah. Jefferson was the brain behind American liberty but I think he was hopelessly naive. He wanted a revolution every generation with lots of tyrant and patriot blood for the tree of liberty.
Poetic, but difficult to sell bonds for.
I'm a Madison Man. How can you structure this people's government against people's baser instincts? I think he did a hell of a job - it has taken 220 years for the failures you describe to grow. And who knows -- President Christie might strike them down.
I am blue because of Robert A Caro's Master of the Senate. It is magisterial and frighteningly informative, but he describes the forces of what I call liberty's (he's a Schlessingerite) entanglement with the wrong side of race after WWII. The South once again had the right side of the Constitution but the wrong side of liberty.
My devotion to property rights and the Fifth Amendment right to contract upheld chattel slavery in the Nineteenth Century. My beloved Federalism and separation of powers upheld Jim Crow and obstructed anti-lynching laws in the Twentieth.
I want to repeal the 17th Amendment and de-democratize (little d) the Senate. That provides me with perverse heroes: Sens. Theodore G. Bilbo and Richard Russell. Put the pictures up on the wall.
The answer is a new nation built on Madisonian government without the stain of slavery. I'll need a time machine or a rocket ship.
Back to the Governor's race - I'm not worried about packaging as a factor in the race between Maes and Hickenlooper. (You know, the Republican and Democrat in our two-party system?) Voters are not just willing but eager to vote for an everyman. Unfortunately, both of the guys I mentioned fit that mold. The difference, I believe, will be sound fiscal management ideas on Maes part versus happy kumbaya bullcrap from Hickenlooper. But my sense is a majority of voters know what that kumbaya stuff smells like this time around.
Another positive note: Maes press contacts are now being made by a spokesperson and not by himself or his daughter. More professional and easier to jettison the mouthpiece if he makes a gaffe.
Posted by: johngalt at August 19, 2010 2:47 PMHoping for the best, jg, I just cannot imagine in my wildest dreams Mayor Hickenlooper putting out something like that.
Posted by: jk at August 19, 2010 2:54 PMYou mean the audio clip and photos? Those are produced by the Face the State blog, not the Maes campaign.
Posted by: johngalt at August 19, 2010 3:07 PMAugust 9, 2010
Primaryeve Polling
It all comes down to this.
With Colorado's primary election day tomorrow the left-leaning pollster Public Policy Polling today released a new poll on the senate and governor's races. Bennet's 6-point lead over Romanoff is slightly more than the 4.6% margin of error for the Democratic poll, but the GOP races are both closer than the 3.5% theoretical uncertainty.
Among 767 "likely Republican primary voters" Norton leads Buck 45-43 (12 percent undecided) ((still?)) and McInnis leads Maes 41-40. The only poll that's going to settle these races is the one that starts to be tallied tomorrow at 7pm.
But here's something else I found interesting in the questions asked only of Republicans.
"Do you support or oppose the goals of the 'Tea Party' movement?"Support - 78%
Oppose - 9%
"Do you personally identify as a member of the 'Tea Party' movement?"
Yes - 35%
No - 47%
So while one-third of us are active anti-tax and spenders, three-quarters of Republicans support our cause. Bully!
(Also curious why they didn't poll those questions of the Dems.)
August 5, 2010
Bad Politics 101
Okay, he's my Gubernatorialguy! I pimped for him on these pages! I gave money! I mailed in my ballot yesterday with his oval completely filled!
This does not really strike me as good politics in Colorado:
Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is warning voters that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's policies, particularly his efforts to boost bike riding, are "converting Denver into a United Nations community.""This is all very well-disguised, but it will be exposed," Maes told about 50 supporters who showed up at a campaign rally last week in Centennial.
Maes said in a later interview that he once thought the mayor's efforts to promote cycling and other environmental initiatives were harmless and well-meaning. Now he realizes "that's exactly the attitude they want you to have."
"This is bigger than it looks like on the surface, and it could threaten our personal freedoms," Maes said.
See the bikes all come in black helicopters... I guess he wasn't planning on carrying Boulder County anyway, but this comes against the backdrop of Lance Armstrong and Governor Ritter announcing a new Colorado Stage race -- and all heading out afterward on a bike ride.
I'm thinking this round may have gone to the Democrats...
We in heap big trouble, bwana.
Even The Refugee's support for Maes began to waver until Susan Greene savaged him in a Denver Post column this morning. If he's on Greene's radar enough to hate him, those are bona fides enough for The Refugee to stay on board.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at August 5, 2010 2:47 PMBR is right. This is a hatchet job on the candidate that threatens both established political parties, hence the Denver Post has twice the reason to be nervous. All Maes did was point out that the bike program originated with ICLEI and suggest that voters learn what ICLEI is about. It IS bigger than it looks on the surface.
And those who get all their news from the Denver Post have probably never heard if ICLEI. But ThreeSourcers have.
Posted by: johngalt at August 5, 2010 3:38 PMA miniscule selection from ICLEI's "Habitat Agenda:"
"43. We further commit ourselves to the objectives of:
(...)
(m) Encouraging dialogue among public, private and nongovernmental interested parties to develop an expanded concept of the "balance-sheet", which recognizes that the economic, environmental, social and civic consequences for directly and indirectly affected parties, including future generations, should be taken into account in making decision on the allocation of resources;"
Posted by: johngalt at August 5, 2010 4:08 PMYeah, the "about 50 supporters who showed up at a campaign rally last week" comment engendered some solidarity. But let's pick smarter fights that this, boys, smarter fights.
Posted by: jk at August 5, 2010 4:24 PMAgreed on that point, JK. However, perhaps to JG's point, the Leftstream Media (I love that term) can take an off-hand remark and make it sound like the central theme of the campaign. The Post seems to be giving blatantly partisan coverage this season. On a day when they ran simultaneous front-page (very) negative stories on McInnis and Maes, they also ran full-page puff-pieces on Bennet and Hickenlooper about how dedicated they are to family how hard they try to balance work-life issues. The juxtaposition, IMHO, was no accident.
The Maes coverage that concerns me is from Vincent Carroll, hardly a left-wing stooge. I tend to give credence to Carroll's instincts. He's piled on Maes with all the rest.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at August 5, 2010 6:09 PMYes, I heard Carroll too. He's been in the newspaper business so long he's like a life-long congressman. He's been on the take for so long he doesn't even know anymore that he's on the take.
Posted by: johngalt at August 5, 2010 8:12 PMJuly 26, 2010
Tweet of the Day
So, Tom Tancredo wants to be Charlie Crist. Who knew? -- @baseballcrank
I'm fuming so much I can't say it in the third person.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at July 27, 2010 10:37 AMI have read this comment ten times and laughed on each occasion. The Refugee should consider himself thanked for the entertainment.
Posted by: jk at July 27, 2010 3:01 PMThe pleasure is all his.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at July 27, 2010 5:30 PMYep. Mondo HEH. Six stars BR.
Posted by: johngalt at July 28, 2010 9:18 PMJuly 23, 2010
Why the TEA Party Gamble Matters
Dear blog brother JK just cautioned, vis-a-vis the Colorado candidacies of Ken Buck and Dan Maes-
But My Pragmatic Heart (spleen at least) is becoming more concerned that our rush to put forward non-professional candidates might have us nominating a lot of wolf-fodder to wolf-like, professional, Democratic candidates in the fall.
I replied that "Voters are tired of status-quo Republicans. There needs to be a difference between them and the Dems." But someone else long ago said this with greater power and eloquence.
"Just get up off the ground, that's all I ask. Get up there with that lady that's up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty. Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something. And you won't just see scenery; you'll see the whole parade of what Man's carved out for himself, after centuries of fighting. Fighting for something better than just jungle law, fighting so's he can stand on his own two feet, free and decent, like he was created, no matter what his race, color, or creed. That's what you'd see. There's no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties. And, uh, if that's what the grownups have done with this world that was given to them, then we'd better get those boys' camps started fast and see what the kids can do. And it's not too late, because this country is bigger than the Taylors, or you, or me, or anything else. Great principles don't get lost once they come to light. They're right here; you just have to see them again!" - Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
As Smith also said, "EITHER I'M DEAD RIGHT OR I'M CRAZY."
Only because not enough 'mericans are displaying my Bumper Sticker. Pipe up folks - I'm serious about printing this one and will send you as many as you'd like for cost.
Posted by: johngalt at July 24, 2010 10:39 AMRE: Bumper Sticker
My vote would be neither the bang nor a question mark, and I like the declarative "Don't demand the unearned." I'm not a bumper-sticker guy but I would send some cash to defray printing if you would add www.threesources.com to the bottom. Then we could pass them out at political meetings. Might be just the schwag we've been looking for.
The other option is the CafePress type of place where you can print them onsey-twosey and people can order online.
JK, I disagree with the premise that Buck is unelectable, but wonder what lead you to that conclusion?
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at July 26, 2010 11:49 AMI do not find Buck unelectable. I'm deeply concerned with Sharron Angle and a bit with Rand Paul. Hearing the "high heels" comment made me worry that he might be a Sharron Angle with excrement on his boots.
My suggestion was that a new class of candidates to which DA Buck belongs has a higher than normal number of unelectable candidates. Not that he is one. Fair?
I guess if you're suggesting that a number of these candidates have not learned (and may never learn) how to conduct themselves and watch their words on the national stage, I would agree. It's not 100% necessary, case in point being Joe "Gaffe-a-Minute" Biden who's done pretty well for himself. That said, neither Buck nor Angle have Biden's charisma to pull them through in a pinch.
On the plus side, their opponents are far from perfect, either. WRT to Harry Reid, 'nuff said. The Nevada election is a referendum on him, provided Angle does not commit political suicide. WRT Colorado Dems, Bennet has the spine of an earthworm and Romanoff is a political suicide bomber. I've also got to say that I just don't trust Norton to stand on conservative principles. I could be wrong, but she just has the slimy politician feel to me
In the governor's race, the GOP is in big trouble. McInnis' goose is likely cooked and Maes is admittedly a long shot. We should probably cross our fingers that the GOP gets control of the legislature. There were some pretty good years with pro-business, moderate Democrats in the governer's mansion coupled with a Republican legislature.
Posted by: Boulder Refugee at July 26, 2010 4:49 PMI'm in sunny and cold southern (coastal) California this week for the AVA National Competition. (More on that later.) Local teevee has local political ads. I just saw one for Meg Whitman that showed some pro-Jerry Brown stuff and then explained, "the special interests have chosen their candidate. How about you?" It looked very persuasive to me without being overtly negative or populist. These are the kinds of political messaging that can overcome "gaffes." Restless natives can become enamored of amatueurism in politics.
Posted by: johngalt at July 28, 2010 9:29 PMJuly 22, 2010
ThreeSourcers for Hickenlooper!
A third party run by Rep Tom Tancredo! Oh joy!
Former Congressman — and perhaps former Republican — Tom Tancredo is considering running for Colorado governor as an unaffiliated or a third-party candidate."I'm not ruling it out," he said Wednesday. "I have a lot of things going on. I'm trying to figure out legal issues."
He added, "I will have more (to say) in the next 24 hours."
Tancredo cannot appear on the general election ballot as an unaffiliated candidate because he hasn't been a registered unaffiliated long enough, said Rich Coolidge, spokesman for the Colorado secretary of state's office.
UPDATE: Tancredo tells Maes and McInnis to bow out or he's in!
If they don’t, he said he will run for governor as an American Constitution Candidate, a move likely to split the Republican Party in November’s general election.“There’s nothing left to split. The reality is that with the two candidates we have, we will lose the general election,” Tancredo said in an interview.
Wayne Gretzky famously said, "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take." The supposed conservative talking heads I referenced in the prior post keep saying, "Dan, don't shoot, don't shoot!" This thing gets crazier by the day.
My read is Tancredo is playing chicken, mostly with Dan Maes. He can't think he could win in a normal race, much less as a minor party entry. He's trying to shake the tree so the "bad" apples fall out, to be replaced later by the 24 person executive committee. Trouble is, what does Maes have to lose? And if Tom really does follow through he'll just give Dan a ready excuse for not losing.
Is the GOP establishment in this state so afraid to lose control of its franchise to an insurgent like Dan Maes that they'd sabotage his candidacy even if it means a Democrat in the governor's mansion for another four years - and critically important years at that? Stunts like this one demonstrate that the answer is "yes."
Posted by: johngalt at July 23, 2010 1:17 AMOn Back-Rooms and TEA Parties
The third Harsanyi post of the day here on ThreeSources...
A week ago David wrote a nice expose on the "kingmakers" in Colorado GOP politics. [Nobody ever mentions any names but the ones that come to my mind are Bill Armstrong, maybe Coors and Monfort? Anybody?]
Republicans around the country are energized by a diverse group of candidates from a variety of backgrounds: from youthful political veterans like Marco Rubio in Florida to political neophytes like former eBay CEO Meg Whitman in California, the establishment and the grass roots have often found palatable choices ready for an ideological debate.Yet, in Colorado, the tin-earned Republican kingmakers dampen enthusiasm with their stale picks and then hire the same campaign staffs to lose one election after the next. One day, perhaps these guys will realize that name recognition isn't very important if no one likes your name.
This came to a head when the GOP establishment candidate Scott McInnis "Blew a tire" and left a clear path for TPD Dan Maes. But for some reason Dave doesn't like him either. Why? "Trust me" he seems to be saying.
What else can they do? They're stuck with Dan Maes. No credible candidate will expend the energy to compete in a primary against the establishment.But Maes will be unacceptable to business donors, to national donors, and he will be unacceptable to most voters — not because he's an insurgent or because he has wild ideas, but because he is strikingly unprepared for the role of governor. It won't take long before this fact becomes apparent to anyone who watches a debate.
While the prevailing national anxiety about Washington might save some flawed Republican candidates, it's unlikely to happen in the governor's race constituted as is.
I don't get it. Call me an optimist. Call me Pollyana. I think the talking heads in this town give way to much credit to Hickenlooper "The Invincible" and way too little to TEA Party fever. I also think, after much pondering, that all this "Dan can't win" talk is actually helpful coming from the establishment. It helps to lower expectations. I've heard these guys bellyache day after day and I still don't cringe at the thought of Maes and Hick standing side by side and asking voters to choose between a no-nonsense "nobody" and the aw-shucks darling of the Downtown Denver illuminati. Cross over that 470 beltway and your more likely to find people asking, Hicken-what-er? (In El Paso County they call him "Sanctuary City Johnny.")
July 14, 2010
In CO GOP Guv primary race, McInnis blows a tire
The "TEA Party Darling" for Colorado Governor, Dan Maes, was handed an engraved invitation to the GOP nomination with yesterday's revelation that his much better funded establishment rival, Scott McInnis, collected a six-figure payday for unoriginal, some say "plagarized" work.
As a Maes supporter before, during and after the State Assembly I shed no tears for Congressman McInnis. The news is consistent with my gut feeling about the man. I do worry, however, that Dan Maes loses more credibility with each day that passes before his promised revelation [12:20-23:40] that was supposed to take him off the defensive on alleged campaign finance rule violations.
"This has not been resolved. It's still being discussed, and we're just going to ask everyone to be patient and let the truth come out. (...) I ask everybody, be patient. 24 to 48 hours this thing's going to work itself out, the truth will be revealed, and I'm not afraid to admit - we made a couple, you know, clerical errors. We made simple mistakes that can really add up in this world and I think people will see that and they'll go, OK, we see that and we understand this happened and now let's get back to business as usual and get back on course."
Don Johnson at People's Press Collective is breathlessly annointing Democrat John Hickenlooper "Governor-elect" to which I say, keep your britches on Don. You [Don] give Dan Maes so little credit you've probably never met him. I have, and his honesty and directness won my support. Make Dan the nominee and put the party muscle behind him (like Hick will have) and watch the man work. I've seen him several times now, perused his campaign calendar, and I think the man is a Hoss.
UPDATE (15:00 MDT): How does JK say it exactly ... Mea Maxima Culpa?
Dan issued a press release explaining the campaign finance fines 2 days ago. [Facebook login required for link.] All emphasis mine.
Maes Campaign Finance Matter Closed - No Misuse of Funds Occurred.Evergreen, CO- July 12, 2010 - On May 5th 2010 Grand Junction resident Christopher Klitzke, with his attorney Erik Groves also of Grand Junction, filed a citizens complaint alleging that Dan Maes, Republican Designee for Governor in Colorado, had violated campaign finance guidelines. The complaint made allegations that would result in approximately $25,000.00 in fines for various alleged violations. After Maes had agreed to not contest the matter on July 2, 2010 and pay the fine Groves re-approached Maes' attorney, Steve Jones, with a proposal to reduce the fine amount. After days of negotiating, the matter was closed today. Maes agreed to a lower amount of $17,500.00 reflecting fines for four violations. The fine was assessed for failing to disclose expenditures of over $20.00 in a timely manner though no specific finance laws dictate what timely is. It also included failure to properly record the occupation of 9 contributors and incorrectly listing a non-monetary (in kind) contribution as corporate instead of personal. Allegations of improper payments to Dan Maes by the campaign account proved untrue.
"Our campaign grew very quickly and the demands on it exceeded the resources we had for professional accounting staff. After our contract accountant left our campaign abruptly after our Q4 2009 report was due, we were left to use an inexperienced volunteer to complete the report. We made some clerical mistakes that we regret", stated Maes. "Our campaign must take responsibility for these mistakes. We have taken steps to insure these mistakes do not happen again. It is important that our supporters and other Colorado voters understand that there were no illegal contributions nor expenditures and every reimbursement made by the campaign to Dan Maes was a completely legal and appropriate reimbursement of resources loaned to the campaign throughout 2009," Maes continued. “Do the math, 80,000 miles over 16 months at a combination of .555 and.505/mile equals over $40,000.00. Many people do not understand the work load and travel involved in a statewide campaign.”
The release concludes with this, my favorite part:
"It is, however, obvious that this complaint was a politically motivated assault on our campaign and the grass roots voters, with the goal to drain our human and financial resources just as the primary season begins. It is a distraction from the serious issues facing the state of Colorado," Maes added. "We are ready to move forward and get to the real issues facing Colorado voters, and especially registered Republicans who deserve a debate between my Republican opponent and me. To date he has refused such a debate. The primary voters deserve to know the differences between us and he is denying them that privilege." Maes concluded.
Another example of Dan's willingness to tell it like it is in plain English. Imagine a governor with this quality. Actually, you don't have to imagine it. His name is Chris Christie.
It's almost enough to make a feller doubt the wisdom of Campaign Finance Reform...
Laws like these ensure a lifetime of establishment candidates on both sides -- nobody but the pros can navigate them.
Posted by: jk at July 14, 2010 7:44 PMCampaign Finance "Reform"? It's code for "full-employment bill for lawyers."
Posted by: Keith Arnold at July 14, 2010 9:09 PMMay 23, 2010
"Republicans put TEA Party Activist Dan Maes on Top of Their Primary Ballot
That's the way Fox News reported Colorado's GOP Convention vote today. I have the vote totals below and yes, Lynn Bartels did beat me to press with this one, but she only gives the share of the vote for each candidate, not the total votes. In my defense, I conserved my battery until the convention ended and powered up to look for wireless but it was pay to play and that is ten bucks that could be better spent on a Dan Maes campaign contribution.
The GOP state treasurer nomination goes to JJ Ament, with 2,788 votes to 690 for Ali Hasan. Hasan's 20% showing was below the 30% threshold to get him on the primary ballot.
The senate race was a little closer with Ken Buck's 2,701 votes surpassing Tidwell's 522, Greenheck's 56 and Barton's 35. Only Buck was voted onto the primary.
And then there was the governor's race. This one came down to the wire and the close finish was, I suspect, the reason it took nearly 2 hours to count and recount and verify and reverify the vote totals (after state party chair Dick Wadhams estimated 30 minutes.) Dan Maes drew 1,741 votes and party insider and long-time front runner Scott McInnis tallied 1,725. (YJ Mager received 21.) By a 16 vote margin the upstart "people's choice" candidate took the top position on the primary ballot. With 49% and 48% respectively, Maes and McInnis will face off in the primary election in August.
There is no picture of Scott McInnis because he and his family left before the voting ended to attend the wedding of Scott's eldest daughter in Estes Park. A campaign staffer made some cursory remarks to that effect.
In acknowledging his first-place finish Maes told the few of us remaining in the hall, "This is not about me. This is about you, the people, standing up and making yourselves heard. (...) We're just getting warmed up! (...) And to all of you Republicans in elective office out there, don't block me. This train is leaving the station and it's time to get on board. (...) The next step is to start sending in those contributions. It's time to start raising the money necessary to take this campaign to the next level." (Or something along those lines.)
UPDATE: Here's an interesting list of winners and losers from the Republican State Assembly
Winners2. Dan Maes: Edging out the party establishment’s favorite Scott McInnis, even by the narrowest of margins, gives an added boost to his campaign. Having given a great speech and recorded a strong showing today, Maes knows he has a lot of ground to make up in fundraising. But he’s in the game at least until August.
3. Ken Buck: Once Jane Norton decided to skip the assembly and petition on, a Buck victory was a slam dunk. But the Weld County D.A. put on an impressive showing of 77 percent despite the undervotes and protest votes. Primary race? Game on.
4. Cory Gardner: Clearing the 4th CD Republican field with 60 percent is a big relief for Gardner, as the GOP unites strong in its best chance to take back a Colorado Congressional seat from the Democrats.
5. Tea Party / 9-12 Project: The growing influence and focused energy of these groups was on display in Loveland. Besides the medium-sized sea of red shirts for Dan Maes, how else do you explain Bob McConnell winning 45 percent to make the ballot in CD3 and Dean Madere finishing a respectable second in CD4? Fiscal conservatism is alive and well and ready to rear its head in Colorado.
6. Republican Party unity: I think this point may be lost on some, especially on the other side, who are wishing for the opposite to happen. But despite (or maybe because of) heated primary competition, there was less dissension and infighting evident than at any of the past three state assemblies.
Losers
1. Negative campaign tactics: Ali Hasan banked a lot of his success on attacks suggesting fellow treasurer candidate J.J. Ament is a “fiscal liberal.” The delegates — whom no one could describe as anything but right of center — weren’t buying. Meanwhile, non-participating gubernatorial candidate Joe Gschwendtner bombarded delegates with robo-calls before the Assembly urging them to vote against Dan Maes saying he can’t win, a strategy that appears to have backfired. (See #2)2. Joe G: Gschwendtner’s campaign spokesman told Lynn Bartels earlier in the day: “After Dan doesn’t get his 30 percent, it will be McInnis and Gschwendtner.” Whoops. The late-entry campaign would have a steep enough hill to climb in a two-way race, but McInnis’ party establishment backing and Maes’ outstanding grassroots showing leave very little political oxygen.
4. Establishment backing: Many delegates this year seemed to be looking for candidates of integrity who have fire in the belly, candidates who send signals of running on principle rather than being handpicked by the powers that be. It’s certainly a reason Scott McInnis missed top line on the ballot, and it helps to explain why SD 16 candidate Tim Leonard was able to garner 70 percent support and avoid a primary with Mark Hurlbert.
UPDATE 2: Here's another local blogger's summary report.
Maes has won despite dismal fundraising and a few stumbles along the way. Putting some 70,000 miles on your car in less than 12 months while attending hundreds of political events can pay off. I think he comes off as being a bit smarter and more honest than McInnis, and he's willing to talk to both supporters and critics while McInnis is a glad hander who tries to avoid talking issues with supporters or, especially, the media and critics.
The TEA party has established itself as a force. I am still not certain it will be a force for good, but something had to be done.
Without it, Scott McInnis world have cruised to an easy nomination. I hate to harsh on the guy, but his picture is in the dictionary next to "establishment candidate." Bully for the TEA Party to give us a shot at Dan Maes.
PA-12 shattered my hopes for an überdevastating GOP sweep in November. And yet, perhaps better, primary results so far are increasing my hopes for a more supportable Republican Party going forward. In Congress, I have to be pragmatic, but statewide, I'd confess that I'd rather lose with Dan Maes than win with Scott McInnis.
Again, thanks for your efforts and reporting.
I applaud all of you do this but I'm not sure how much my health permits. I can do the contribution thang and I did just hit Mister Maes's.
Posted by: jk at May 23, 2010 11:18 AMSomething tells me you'd find a way to mitigate health factors in order to cover the Miss USA pageant. ;)
Posted by: johngalt at May 23, 2010 6:09 PMI try to be there when my readers need me, yes.
Posted by: jk at May 24, 2010 12:07 PMMay 21, 2010
CO 4th CD Assembly Blogging
1:50 pm MDT: Sitting in the front row of the 4th CD Assembly in Loveland, CO wearing my Cory Gardner T-shirt. I'll try to post a few tidbits that may be of interest. So far:
Collected a Ken Buck T-shirt in exchange for my promise to wear it to the State Convention tomorrow. Huzzah!
Found a fellow Maes/Buck supporter who said "I'm a Republican but I'm for limited government and individual rights, which really makes me a liberal." He is against the drug war and prohibition of abortion. Sorry though, JK, he's also anti-illegal immigration.
Talked for about 10 minutes with Dan Maes. Asked him how I should respond to the next McInnis supporter who says Dan was pro-amnesty on the first version of his website. Dan said he has never said anything of the sort on his website or anywhere else. He told us he had lunch with Tom Tancredo to get the lowdown on the immigration issue and that Tom seemed to come away from that meeting with the sense that Dan isn't "tough enough" on immigration. That impression, after working through the grapevine, became "Dan's for Amnesty." Dan also told us a Post reporter asked him if he, himself, is hispanic. "Maes is a hispanic name" the reporter said. Well, Dan's eldest daughter with his first wife, whose father was from Chihuahua, Mexico, is part hispanic. Perhaps that's where that rumor started from. Dad and I were both very impressed with Dan. He looked me square in the eye. He also suggested asking McInnis supporters what Scott's articulated position is on ANY issue. That gibes with my sentiment. Scott is commitment-phobic.
...and I would have attended the CO - 2nd District Assembly, but the other Republican has a cold.
Posted by: jk at May 21, 2010 4:41 PMHeh. Who does Tancredo think is 'tough enough' on immigration?
Posted by: T. Greer at May 21, 2010 5:31 PMThanks, tg, I was searching for the phrasing.
I know my buddies around here are angry that I see a little racism in the rush to enforce. One can be a principled defender of Law and order and national sovereignty and I accept that all ThreeSourcers are -- I just meet some people whom I am not sure fall into that camp...
I bring it up not to rub an old wound, but "Amnesty!" is the mirror image of "Racist!" Tancredoites hide behind it as quickly as La Mecha.
I have to say I was a bit overwhelmed at the amount of cheering from the delegates (see story above) at every mention of the immigration issue. It definitely resonates, as favorability of the Arizona law indicates, but I hope Republicans don't make it their marquee issue in the governor's (or any other) race. As this post attests, at least Dan Maes won't.
Posted by: johngalt at May 21, 2010 8:58 PMThanks, jg, that is a big concern for me. We can disagree on a lot of issues (and candidates) but immigration is so emotional, a candidate can easily decide to make it a signature issue. Hey, they don't call it populism 'cause it lacks appeal.
I don't think for a moment that the Colorado GOP would support a liberal-on-immigration candidate in the near future. But I can see McInnis leading with it.
-- And great reporting, btw, we're going to have to hold a telethon to get you an extra battery.
Posted by: jk at May 22, 2010 11:50 AM