**Update–CNN reporting 12 9 dead including 1 gunman, 1 shooter an officer?, as many as 6 soldiers, rest are civilians?; Fort Hood Massacre: 7 dead, 20 wounded; 3 gunmen suspected

by elpresidente | 2:44 pm, November 5, 2009

Check these sites for constant updates–details coming fast and furious: Hot Air has early reax–3 gunmen would indicate a plot of some sort, definitely pre-planned. More updates at Jawa Report and Gateway Pundit. MSNBC reports suspected shooter in custody has an “Arabic-sounding name” CNN: “The slain gunman was identified as Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, according [...]

Help Steer the Local Political Discussion in Colorado

by Night Twister | 2:17 pm, November 5, 2009

It’s Time for the November survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature. Ben Degrow and El Presidente have already completed two of these surveys, and they’ve just released another one.
Click here to take the November 2009 Colorado online political survey
One thing I noticed about the previous surveys is the rest of Colorado outside of the Denver [...]

GOP live 12-hour anti-Pelosicare/Obamacare program on now

by Rossputin | 1:51 pm, November 5, 2009

For 12 hours, starting at 1 PM Eastern (11 AM Colorado time) on Thursday, the GOP is doing a live 12-hour broadcast explaining the disaster of the Democrats’ proposed health care “reforms”.

You can tune in HERE, and please pass this around!

H/T Michelle Malkin!

Schultheis Retiring, Lambert May Run For Seat

by admin | 11:35 am, November 5, 2009

Sen. Dave Schultheis recently announced that he would not be seeking re-election to SD-9 in 2010. As Ben DeGrow reports, conservative Rep. Kent Lambert may be announcing his candidacy for the seat later today.

Lambert will be the de facto nominee if he declares his candidacy. While Schultheis was facing a primary opponent in Tom McDowell who will likely continue to run, McDowell has proven time and time again that he does not have the temperament for public office and has demonstrated a propensity for making ludicrous statements that is at least as strong as the outgoing Schultheis.

McDowell has predicated his candidacy on expanding the big tent of the Republican party and has put that goal into practice by:

• Randomly accusing center-right bloggers of being "social conservatives" trying to drag down the party, usually levelling the charge at blogs that rarely or never discuss social issues.
• Libelling several Republican campaign operatives for no apparent reason.
• Throwing an odd tantrum at a conservative commentator for "name-calling" Mark Udall.
• Railing at activists about "social conservative" conspiracies.
• Constantly deriding primaries as damaging to the party; before declaring himself a primary candidate against an incumbent legislator.

Run, Kent, run.

Help Steer the Local Political Discussion: It’s Time for the November Survey

by Ben DeGrow | 9:56 am, November 5, 2009

Mount Virtus readers, this post will remain sticky through the end of the survey (November 13). For newer postings, please scroll down.
It’s that time again. Yes, El Presidente and I have commissioned and fashioned another survey that we hope you will take 10 minutes or so to complete — especially if you’re from Colorado.
These aren’t [...]

What Happened in NY-23?

by Ben DeGrow | 9:07 am, November 5, 2009

Everyone and his brother (a particularly strange piece of slang I picked up from my childhood) has been offering spin to explain why on an election night so good for Republicans and conservatives, insurgent Conservative Doug Hoffman came up short against Democrat Bill Owens. I think that’s looking at it the wrong way: given the [...]

Mike Pence: Let your voice be heard on health care “reform”

by Rossputin | 4:09 am, November 5, 2009

This speaks for itself…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT7xfoSiH5Q

Google shows “Net Neutrality” hypocrisy by blocking phone calls

by Rossputin | 2:28 am, November 5, 2009

[Update: A recent article in The Hill describes pressure mounting on Google.  It’s interesting because I believe Google is in the right, conceptually, but they deserve to be hung by their own petard when it comes to using government to manipulate and thwart competition.]

Last week, it was reported in the NY Times and elsewhere that Google was blocking access to certain phone numbers by its Google Voice phone service.  NPR also has a 4-minute discussion of the issue which is fairly informative.

The short version is that the “free conference call” services and certain other cheap or free services available which involve calling some phone number are often based in rural areas where supposedly pro-competition regulation allows carriers to charge high fees for use of their lines.  Conference call services funnel thousands of calls through these lines and split the fees with the local phone carriers.

Google has found that people using its service to call those “free” services was costing Google an enormous amount of money and Google has responded by blocking access to those conference call (and apparently some sex chat) numbers.

If I were Google, I’d do just what they’re doing.  They have every right to control access to and use of the asset that they’ve spent untold millions of dollars developing.  After all, any functioning definition of “private property” must include not only title to the property but the ability to control it, including the ability to exclude certain usage.

What’s interesting is how Google’s action shows its utter hypocrisy in their position on “Net Neutrality”, which I’ve written about before.  Essentially “Net Neutrality” is a policy that would force AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and other “Internet Service Providers” (“ISP”s), i.e. the companies which have spent billions of their shareholders’ dollars on the Internet “backbone”, to allow Google and other “content providers” to use that backbone without any ability for the ISPs to charge more for content which takes a disproportionate share of the ISP’s available bandwidth.

It’s no wonder the NY Times notes that AT&T has not come to the FCC to argue alongside Google on this issue, even though they might have similar interests.

Google’s hypocrisy has been laid bare by their own actions.  My guess is that not one single Democrat, particularly on the FCC, will notice.  And if they notice, they’ll look the other way, with Google’s quarterly lobbying expenses now having surpassed $1,000,000 for the first time.

 

Mandatory insurance: higher costs, less care, rights violations, & rationing

by Brian Schwartz | 1:30 am, November 5, 2009

So explains Paul Hsieh MD in “ObamaCare: A National Version of RomneyCare”

Massachusetts’ system of mandatory insurance drives up costs and violate individual rights
“Coverage” is not the same as actual medical care
The Massachusetts plan will end in rationing.

Tea Party Express Gathers Steam Across America

by El Marco | 11:48 pm, November 4, 2009

As Democrats in Washington plan a cram down of their massive health care bill, America’s burgeoning Tea Party movement is gathering momentum. The call has gone out to converge on the nation’s capital Thursday and confront lawmakers face to face in their offices.
The Tea Party Express bus tours November 3rd Denver stop coincided with Election Day 2009. Thousands [...]

Denver’s Initiative 300

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 11:40 pm, November 4, 2009

Westword was kind enough to publish my letter on Denver’s Initiative 300 this week (third letter down). Here it is:

An Oldie, But a Goodie: “Censorship gets a bad rap.”

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 11:31 pm, November 4, 2009

Wake up and smell the coffee:Censorship gets a bad rap. If the government is not involved, censorship is great. In fact, life would be nigh on impossible without it. Censorship is the examination of something “in order to suppress or delete any contents considered objectionable.” If you did not censor, you would have to read everything, watch everything, and listen to everything. That would be hard.

Have you ever turned the channel because you were offended? Have you turned off a movie because your mother entered the room? Do you refuse to buy girlie magazines? Have you been given a piece of art you did not hang on your wall? Do you turn the radio to another channel when a song you dislike comes on?

You, my friend, are a censor. You have personally suppressed something you find objectionable. And that’s good. The only bad censorship is government censorship. Unfortunately, people confuse the two. Personal censorship is not government censorship. We cannot do without the former. We must never succumb to the latter.

This unfortunate confusion manifested itself when the owners of a Diedrich coffeehouse recently removed artwork depictingSaddam Hussein and a separate painting of Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (Off Limits, June 16). The artist, Miguel Flores, said the removal of his paintings was censorship. Yep. So what? A private company made a decision about what goes on its walls. Stop the presses.

I have some drawings I would like to display, too. I wonder if Flores would let me put them in his house. If not, he is censoring me and my work.

If the government had ordered the removal of the paintings, I would be right there protesting with Flores. That is not the case. The state does not run this Diedrich coffeehouse. “Mr. Diedrich” does.

David K. Williams Jr.
Denver

Kent Lambert’s Announcement Thursday: Going for Senate District 9?

by Ben DeGrow | 11:15 pm, November 4, 2009

Yesterday Republican state senator Dave Schultheis announced he would be retiring from office in 2010. This evening a press release went out from (and about) one of my Leadership Program of the Rockies classmates:
Representative Kent Lambert, House District 14, will make a short public political announcement on Thursday, November 5, at 12:00 at the El [...]

KRCX Seng Center 10/29 – Part One – Tom Tancredo Unplugged!

by Jimmy Sengenberger | 5:00 pm, November 4, 2009

In Part One of the 10/29 edition of the Seng Center college radio show, we sit down with the ever-controversial former Congressman Tom Tancredo!

Ever wondered the inside scoop behind Karl Rove’s admonition that Tancredo never “darken the doorsteps of the White House,” or the real backstory behind the former Congressman’s icy relationship with John McCain?  We got it!  In this exclusive interview, the 2008 presidential contender finally goes unplugged on a college campus, without liberal interference.  He gives us the inside scoop into his political forays while in Washington, D.C. and tells us his unadulterated views on Barack Obama, illegal immigration, multiculturalism, and much more!

(Note: Due to recording issues, the beginning of the show and interview are not included in the podcast.)

Direct Link
71.69 MB Download

Comments are more than welcome!  E-mailed Jimmy at Jimmy@SengCenter.com or post on the site!  As always, please be respectful in your remarks.

Tune in LIVE to Seng Center every Thursday night from 6-8pm MTN online at krcx.org, official website of KRCX 93.9 Regis University.

Democrats vs. small business

by Brian Schwartz | 2:30 pm, November 4, 2009

From Grace-Marie Turner:
For example, the bill requires employers to pay at least 72.5 percent of insurance premiums for an individual and 65 percent for families. Data from a 2009 Kaiser Family Foundation survey suggest that at least 30 percent of firms with fewer than 200 employees that now offer insurance would fail the test for [...]

Colorado Supreme Court & School Funding: Case to Clear the Bench now overwhelming (Ben DeGrow on Face The State radio)

by CTBC Director | 2:23 pm, November 4, 2009

Cross-posted from the Peoples Press Collective and Mount Virtus websites, from commentator Big Ben (big, but “not as big as Rasmussen“) DeGrow:
“Despite all the hoopla (much of it well-deserved) about the election results, let’s not lose focus on an easily overlooked issue that should factor into some of our important decisions for 2010 — namely, the Colorado [...]

Colorado Supreme Court & School Funding: Case to Clear the Bench

by Ben DeGrow | 1:36 pm, November 4, 2009

Despite all the hoopla (much of it well-deserved) about the election results, let’s not lose focus on an easily overlooked issue that should factor into some of our important decisions for 2010 — namely, the Colorado Supreme Court delving into political questions of how our schools are funded in Lobato v State.
You now can listen [...]

Election 2009 Tea Party and “Shred the Bill”

by elpresidente | 11:04 am, November 4, 2009

Ballpark crowd estimate–1000-1500. PPC’s coverage of the event, including several interviews with folks on the question–”why are you here?”–and the “shredding” of the health care bill that will be delivered to DC and the Capitol steps tomorrow (along with Rep. Michele Bachmann, Mark Levin, and Jon Voight) by one of PPC’s own and others from [...]

Rep. Darrell Issa: The Democrats’ legislative delusion

by Rossputin | 8:59 am, November 4, 2009

Over at Politico.com, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa (CA), has an article noting how the history of government-run health care in several of our states has been nothing short of a disaster, and wondering why they persist in pursuing repetition of these “failed experiments”.

Please see “Dem proposals: Legislative delusion“, Darrell Issa, 11/4/09

Election 2009, From Va. to Local School Board: Mixed Bag, More Good Than Bad

by Ben DeGrow | 8:49 am, November 4, 2009

Quick reflections on last night’s election results …
National
The Bad: In what was a late insurgent campaign, conservative Doug Hoffman loses New York 23 (though Erick Erickson tries to spin it into a favorable light). Tax-limitation initiatives in Maine and Washington went down in flames.
The Good: Obviously, the Republican sweep in Virginia — governor, lieutenant governor, [...]

Obscene Executive Salaries

by Night Twister | 7:56 am, November 4, 2009

There is an alarming situation occurring in the Education Industry right now that is causing great concern. I am of course referring to the obscene salaries that are currently drawn by University Presidents across the country which has turned a record number of them into millionaires. Even as the government continues bail out [...]

Elections send shot across the bow of incumbents first, Democrats second

by Rossputin | 4:29 am, November 4, 2009

In Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell beat Democrat Creigh Deeds by over 17%, more than all but one poll ever showed as his lead and 4% more than the final RealClearPolitics average of polls of the race showed.  The incumbent is a term-limited Democrat.

In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie beat Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine by about 4.5%. Since September, only two polls showed Christie with a lead of over 4% and quite a few polls showed Corzine with a lead.  The final RCP poll average was Christie by 1%.  (I won a few bucks on this one…)

In New York’s 23rd Congressional District’s special election, Democrat Bill Owens beat Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, with so-called Republican Dede Scozzafava, who gave up her campaign over the weekend and then endorsed the Democrat, nevertheless garnering over 5% of the vote.  The most recent polls had tended to lean toward Mr. Hoffman. The seat was just vacated by a Republican who went to work in the Obama Administration.

While people are generally looking at how Republicans did versus Democrats in these three elections, maybe there is a more consistent theme:  All three new job holders are from the party other than that of the current/prior holder.  In Virginia and New Jersey, Republicans took governorships which have been held by Democrats.  In New York 23, a Democrat won a seat which had been held by a Republican.  (To be sure, there are far more other dynamics in the NY 23 race than in the others and few people understand politics well enough to give a nearly full explanation of why it went the way it did. One of those few is Human Events’ John Gizzi, with THIS opinion.)

While many on the left will argue that the results in NY 23 should give comfort to “moderates” in Congress who may be on the fence about voting for Obamacare or cap-and-trade, I don’t see it that way.  The result of all these elections should be to scare the heck out of anybody current serving in anything but an absolutely safe seat. And given that the conservative candidate in that race was not running on the Republican ticket, it’s hard to say what this means for the GOP.

Additionally, the magnitude of the Republican victories in both Virginia and New Jersey does some damage to the political capital of Barack Obama.  It’s not so much that the votes are anti-Him, but are a signal against liberal, high-tax, big government policies overall.  Obama campaigned hard for Deeds and extremely hard for Corzine, spending almost a full day there just before the election – something essentially unheard of for a sitting president. The fact that he couldn’t save Corzine is a huge message to the 60+ Democratic members of the House who come from districts that were won by George W. Bush or John McCain.

Also, in both VA and NJ, the Democratic candidates got a lower percentage than Barack Obama got in 2008…by about 12 points and 13 points respectively.

By my count, in Virginia the Democrat won 20 out of 134 counties and independent cities.  Importantly, the Republican won the three large northern Virginia counties of Loudon, Prince William and, most importantly, Fairfax.  He won them by 22, 16, and 2 points, respectively.  These are counties that Barack Obama won by 8, 16, and 21 points, respectively.  For a Republican to win Fairfax County is extremely important and shows that mostly-rich, mostly-white suburbs can become so upset with high taxes and liberal over-reaching that even they can be turned away from their frequently robotic support of liberals/Democrats.  Jon Corzine won Democratic suburban stronghold Bergen County, NJ, by two points; Obama won Bergen by almost 9%. Not as dramatic a shift as in Northern Virginia, but still important.

One thing is certain. As I’ve said before, the NJ Governor’s race is the most important race of the day, and it was a disaster for a Democrat incumbent.  As to whether it was more because of Corzine’s being a Democrat or more due to his being an incumbent, we can only speculate.  I think it was both, but more of the latter than the former.  In any case, the New Jersey result must frighten Democrats in Congress.  If Corzine had won this race, then no matter what happened in NY23, the Democrats could have rightfully expected that even stupid leadership, raising taxes, and reforming essentially nothing, could still leave them winning elections.  And they could have come to believe that Barack Obama’s halo was broad enough to cover many or most of them.  New Jersey proves that neither of these is true and that the Democrats’ only defense in 2010 will be their record…not something likely to give them comfort today.  Given that Nancy Pelosi wants “moderates” to commit political suicide by voting for Obamacare and cap-and-trade, the next truly fascinating battle will be among Democrats – though there should be a longer and just as interesting battle among Republicans for the soul of the party, much in the way that there was in NY23.

Another reason I think the mood is tremendously anti-incumbent is the result in New York City’s mayor’s race, in which Michael Bloomberg won a much narrower victory than any poll had predicted, despite his being relatively popular and his having spent an unbelievable amount of money (reportedly $100 million of his own money) to win.  That said, part of the antipathy against Bloomberg is that he had the term limits rules changed so he could run again.

In my view, there is a mixed message for “Tea Partyers”.  The major message is that tea parties work…when they’re local and grassroots.  There is no doubt that Tea Partyers helped build enthusiasm for the conservative candidate in Virginia.  But in NY23, the massive influx of clearly non-local activists, including Colorado’s own Brian Campbell, and endorsements by conservative leaders such as Fred Thompson, Dick Armey, and particularly Sarah Palin, was unable to push the conservative over the line.  (Again, the fact that the conservative ran on the Conservative ticket rather than as a Republican could have made a big difference.  We’ll see if Doug Hoffman – or some other non-liberal Republican – ends up being the Republican nominee one year from now, and if the results are different if that happens.)  I would also suggest that the result is a body-blow to the Conservative Party and to proponents of third party candidacies in general. The very weak showing of Chris Daggett in New Jersey, getting fewer votes than any poll during the last two months predicted, reinforces this view. I maintain my belief that the only way we will be able to return to a government that even pretends to be guided by the nation’s Founding Principles is to force the Republican Party to go back there, not to rely on the Conservative or Libertarian parties – as much as I wish this weren’t the case.

And while I’m arguing that these elections might be more anti-incumbent than pro-conservative, there is certainly some of the latter going on with local elections in other states going noticeably toward Republicans.  To the extent that you want to characterize issues voting, such as in Maine, I’d say it’s more libertarian than conservative, with (as I write this) Maine voters rejecting their own legislature’s legalization of gay marriage by about 5% but supporting medical marijuana by 17%.  Maine voters decisively defeated a Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) measure which would have limited the growth of government…and against which unions spent large amounts of money and frightened voters by arguing that the measure threatened public schools (giving lessons to both sides of the argument in future similar situations.)

Another  interesting vote was the huge victory of Measure 71 in Washington State.  It’s billed as an “everything but marriage” measure, allowing “domestic partners” to have essentially the same rights and responsibilities as married couples, but without being called “married”.  Washington is mostly a rather liberal place, so the vote is not a surprise…nor is it one that bothers me.  I would love to see government get out of “marriage” entirely and let any two people make any contract they want (that doesn’t violate the rights of others), but that’s a topic for another day…  Again, it’s a result that offers lessons to both sides of the debate.

Overall, this was a bad night for Democrats but maybe a worse night for incumbents, particularly incumbents in federal or statewide office. (It appears that incumbents in local seats didn’t do too badly, which may argue against my proposition…we’ll see.) To the extent that there are a lot more Democrats than Republicans in Congress, however, a bad night for incumbents gives Democrats a lot to worry about.  All that said, I wouldn’t buy into GOP rhetoric that this means the GOP are popular again.  Americans are solidly conservative, but we’re fed up with Republicans.  Until they give us something to vote for, they’ll never have a large or stable majority.

Finally, the real key to today – and I don’t have the numbers yet – is how independent voters voted.  A Fox News exit poll showed 58% going for the Republican versus 33% for the Democrat, in New Jersey.  Others report exit polls of independent voters going almost 2 to 1 for Republicans on the night.  When the final numbers come out, they will be extremely important.  Fox also mentioned that in New Jersey, the percentage of the voting public which were among the youngest legal voters was about half of what it was in 2008.  The idealistic youth were not energized to vote for just any Democrat, i.e. Jon Corzine (and who can blame them)?  If the young get turned off and independents lean solidly Republican in 2010, our next elections will make 1994 look like a walk in the park for the Democrats.  On the one hand, I’d like to say “we should be so lucky”, but on the other hand, I’m not convinced that the GOP has learned its lesson, nor that they will learn the lesson if they regain a majority without making major changes, including throwing out big spenders, those who believe in man-made global warming, and those who chase “bipartisanship” over liberty.

Health care bill: Call your Congressman November 5

by Brian Schwartz | 1:30 am, November 4, 2009

Surely you have an opinion on health care policy. Make your voice heard on November 5.  Here’s a letter from Patients First:
As millions of Americans head to the polls today, it’s worthwhile to reflect on what our representatives in Washington are planning for the future of our health care – a complete government takeover over [...]

Oppose transparency; pay the price

by Amy Oliver | 11:34 pm, November 3, 2009

We’ve warned elected officials before.  Oppose transparency, and pay a political price later. Transparency Czarina Amy Oliver Cooke reports that our predication came true as voters in Greeley Evans School District 6 overwhelming opposed 3A, a massive, forever property tax increase. 
Ridiculous amounts of money and institutional support can’t overcome the will of voters who simply want to know how their tax dollars are [...]

Election 2009: GOP-Backed Candidates for DougCo School Board Take Early Lead

by RMR | 8:38 pm, November 3, 2009

The Republican Party backed slate of candidates for the Douglas County School Board have taken an early lead and will likely win barring a massive turnaround for their opponents.

John Carson, Dan Gerken, Doug Benevento, and Meghann Silverthorn are all leading in their respective races.

Election 2009: Charter School Supporter Wins Denver Race

by RMR | 8:23 pm, November 3, 2009

Initial returns from Denver indicate that charter school proponent Mary Seawall is on track to crush union-backed candidate Christopher Scott by at least a 2-1 margin in the Denver Public Schools board at-large race.

Initiative 300, a proposal to increase penalties for driving without a license, appears to be headed for defeat by a similar margin.

Election 2009: Exit Polls Show Obama Not As Helpful As He Thought

by RMR | 6:51 pm, November 3, 2009

Barack Obama made a number of trips to Virginia and New Jersey to help out Democratic gov. candidates Creigh Deeds and Jon Corzine, but exit polling of the races out tonight shows that Obama’s trips were a wash with voters in deep-blue New Jersey and may have actually motivated the opposition more in Virginia. The National Journal reports:

A majority of voters in both states said, for the most part, that Pres. Obama wasn’t a factor in their vote. In NJ, 60% said Obama’s support of Corzine didn’t play a role either way, which 55% of VA voters said they didn’t consider Obama’s embrace of state Sen. Creigh Deeds (D) when deciding how to vote.

Of voters who said Obama’s support did play a role, 19% of NJ voters said they were voting to support Obama, while 20% said they were voting to oppose him. In VA, 18% were seeking to support Obama while 24% voted as an expression of opposition to Obama.

Josh Penry Effectively Calls Out Governor Bill Ritter for “Hiring Farce”

by Ben DeGrow | 6:22 pm, November 3, 2009

Channel 7 investigative reporters Arthur Kane and John Ferrugia have exposed Democrat Governor Bill Ritter’s so-called “hiring freeze” for what it really was:
Gov. Bill Ritter promised a hiring freeze last year to help bridge the budget gap, but a CALL7 investigation found that as many as 2,300 employees were hired during the “freeze.”

As much as [...]

GOP Surprise: Dave Schultheis to Retire, Tom McDowell to Succeed Him?

by Ben DeGrow | 6:15 pm, November 3, 2009

From CBS4 Denver, foot-in-mouth State Senator David Schultheis (R-Colorado Springs) has pulled a surprise and announced he’s not running for re-election in 2010.
Does this make former blogger and self-proclaimed “big tent” Republican candidate Tom McDowell the frontrunner in Senate District 9?
It’s no secret that Tom once was a frequent visitor to this blog, [...]

Vote Today!

by Night Twister | 5:41 pm, November 3, 2009

If you’re a procrastinator like me, you’ve waiting until the last possible moment to get your vote turned in. The last day to make your selection for the Poudre School District Board members is today. There’s still time though! Get your ballot filled out right away. It’s too late to mail [...]

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