Every Seat is Now in Play

by Mr. Bob | 2:25 pm, January 20, 2010

#tcot #reid #redco
Any incumbant seat is now in danger…if they are for big government, we have had enough. Bawney Fwank…bye, Reid, bye….Republicans too? …you bet if they aren’t for conservative principles.

Jared Polis finally pulls “Fake Vet” video from YouTube; Charges for “Stolen Valor” Unconstitutional argues group

by elpresidente | 2:03 pm, January 20, 2010

The video, still available as of early last month (screencap), has finally been yanked from the Representative’s YouTube page. Now a civil liberties group argues that Rick Strandlof’s lies are protected speech: Rick Strandlof may have lied about being a decorated Iraq War veteran, but those lies are protected by the First Amendment, according to [...]

Scott Brown’s Google Blast: How Targeted Online Ads Reduced Costs and Brought Victory

by elpresidente | 1:05 pm, January 20, 2010

In the present (and in the future), the quickest and surest way to victory will necessitate a walk on the Google side: Politics aside, you can count Google as a clear supporter of at least one aspect of Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown’s campaign — the use of online media. “He has definitely run a [...]

Vacation, but still paying some attention

by Rossputin | 11:48 am, January 20, 2010

As we’re attempting to relax in Mexico, trying to get maximum value from our hotel’s “kid’s club”, I had the good fortune to watch Scott Brown’s acceptance speech last night. I was impressed with his intelligence, his sense of humor, his apparent independence. He struck me as a man who intends to run for President in the not-too-distant future, like a smarter, more experienced, conservative version of Barack Obama.

Since I’m on vacation, I’m going to keep this short.

The big short-term questions are: How soon with Massachusetts sent the “appropriate paperwork” to DC so that Brown can be seated? And will the Democrats try to pass some sort of health care bill requiring both a House and Senate vote before then?

If the latter seems likely, what procedural moves can Senate Republicans use to delay the process until Brown is seated? That said, I think it’s extremely unlikely that the Senate would be able to vote prior to Brown’s being seated, especially with Senator Webb (D-VA) and Senator Durbin (D-IL) saying the Senate should not vote until after Brown is seated.

And if it seems that a Senate vote prior to Brown’s being seated is not possible, will Pelosi try to get the House to just pass the Senate bill? House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is already saying the Senate bill is better than nothing. He knows it isn’t in terms of health care and economics, but the political truth is unusually coming from the forked tongue of Obama’s political advisor David Axelrod. From Politico.com:

“I think that it would a terrible mistake to walk away now. If we don’t pass the bill, all we have is the stigma of a caricature that was put on it. That would be the worst result for everybody who has supported this bill.” He said the administration will work with Capitol Hill to figure out how.

It’s not at all clear the House would pass the Senate bill, with various interest groups, even on the Democratic side, having some objections, in particular the “Bart Stupak group” of pro-life Democrats. I don’t think the far left who want a public option will vote against it because they realize this bill is the first step toward their desired government takeover of health care. But the Massachusetts election is a massive wake-up call.

If the Democrats jam this bill down America’s throat, America’s anger will turn from a roughly equal balance of anti-Democrat and anti-incumbent to almost entirely anti-Democrat and I would think the GOP would then have a 50/50 chance of winning back control of the House, and maybe a 20% chance of winning back the Senate.

In the medium term, I expect to see quite a few more Democratic retirements.

Congratulations to Scott Brown. He’s the sort of “hope and change” that America needs, rather than the hapless anti-capitalist Manchurian Candidate that so many naive voters elected 14 months ago.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Tax on a Fee? Thank Bill Ritter, Diane Primavera and Colorado Democrats

by Ben DeGrow | 8:59 am, January 20, 2010

Thanks to the Democrats in the state legislature, a new tire-waste disposal fee isn’t good enough: You’re also getting taxed on the fee! Yes, that’s right. Check out the new report created by my Independence Institute colleague Todd Shepherd:

Imagine paying for your new car tags, and the person behind the counter also assesses a sales [...]

Colorado school districts school state on transparency

by Amy Oliver | 7:01 am, January 20, 2010

Some Colorado school districts aren’t waiting for the General Assembly to mandate financial transparency. Greeley Evans School District Six in Northern Colorado has placed its check reigstry online.
But most impressive is what Colorado’s largest school district Jeffco Public Schools has provided for taxpayers on its financial transparency Web page. Interested taxpayers set the date parameters, [...]

Coloradans Speak Out Against Obama Care

by Ari Armstrong | 4:17 am, January 20, 2010

As Massachusetts voters filled Ted Kennedy’s former Senate seat with a Republican, Coloradans rallied against the Democratic health bill, vowing to pass a state initiative blunting the force of the federal bill — should it pass and be signed into law by President Obama.

Neurosurgeon Sanat Dixit spoke out against the Democratic health bills:

Jon Caldara introduced the rest of the speakers and offered his own thoughts (presented here in a selection of clips).

I captured the views of some of the ralliers.

State Senator Shawn Mitchell adds his concerns:

Here Justin Longo offers the perspective of a young buyer of a high-deductible health insurance plan:

See the People’s Press Collective for more.

Cato’s David Boaz on Scott Brown’s victory

by Brian Schwartz | 1:30 am, January 20, 2010

David Boaz, Executive VP of the Cato Institute, has a well-linked post with some good insights. Some excerpts:
Scott Brown takes over a seat in the United States Senate that has been held by one family (including its seat-fillers) for just over 57 years, since John F. Kennedy was elected to it in 1952, before Brown [...]

The Scott Heard Round the World

by T.L. James | 12:13 am, January 20, 2010

Despite my relief at the Scott Brown victory, I’m going to be a voice of sobriety here: important though it may prove to be, this is one victory. One. Brown’s win may or may not derail the nationalization of healthcare, depending on whether Obama, Pelosi, and Reid “double down” in an all-out push to ram through [...]

Colorado Rejects Obama Health Care Reform at Rally

by wesley | 11:59 pm, January 19, 2010

**Update 3** Ari Armstrong has video interviews from the rally posted on Free Colorado. **Update 2** Welcome Michelle Malkin readers! **Update 1** Complete video of the speakers is now available from El Presidente here on the People’s Press Collective, so if you missed the rally, just scroll down for video. Opting out of federally-mandated ObamaCare: [...]

Clear the Bench: “Fringy Perennials”? Our buddies at Colorado Pols think so!

by Jimmy Sengenberger | 11:21 pm, January 19, 2010

Our best buds over at Colorado Pols have left no doubt as to their conclusion that Clear the Bench Colorado is made of “fringy perennial ‘Clear the Benchers’” led by that “Bad Elf” John Andrews and his band of “judiciary-hating” cranks – in the process entirely ignoring its real leader, our own Matt Arnold, and [...]

Please Consider Supporting My Friend Libby Szabo for House District 27

by Ben DeGrow | 6:30 pm, January 19, 2010

I’m excited to be able to share the news that conservative Republican Libby Szabo — one of my favorite people — has announced she is running to be my next state representative. She will be a formidable challenger to incumbent Democrat and Ritter disciple Sara Gagliardi in a very winnable race.
Below the fold is a [...]

Transparency in Greeley Schools?

by Amy Oliver | 6:27 pm, January 19, 2010

The good news is that Greeley Evans School District Six has finally learned a lesson about transparency…well, sort of. Lack of transparency is a major reason why the school district endorsed massive tax increase 3A went down in flames. In response to the public’s demand for more transparency, the school district placed its check registry online [...]

Join Us Today: Defend Colorado From Obama Care!

by Jon Caldara | 9:47 am, January 19, 2010

Come join me on the west steps of the Capitol at noon. Show your support for our great state, and say NO! to federal mandates!

The Left Will Cheat – buy votes, vote 10 times to win

by Mr. Bob | 9:11 am, January 19, 2010

#msnbc #cnn #edschutz #tcot #teaparty #propaganda
This is why I am not celebrating the Kennedy seat going to a Republican until it actually happens….

For the context watch the whole video but for the kicker, listen to Chris Mathews (at 3:30 in the vid) harken back to the old days when they could buy votes from people on the street and laments they can’t do that any more…I am not kidding. Here is what he said.

“You know in the old days…if the Democrats faced this kind of a disaster in the works, you`d go back to your ones, the people you were sure are going to vote Democrat, and you`d make sure they got to the polling place,” Matthews told NBC’s Chuck Todd on Friday’s “Hardball.”
“You`d get them lunch, you`d get them a car. You`d make sure they got there, and in some cases you`d be buying people to get them,” he continued. “But I hear talking to somebody today there aren`t people up there in Massachusetts like that anymore”

Now listen to CNN’s Ed Shultz encourage people to cheat in this election.

This is where the Democrat party has gone ….if you are a Dem you are in the fight of your life, not with Republicans but with the Progressive socialists bent on taking over this nation by whatever means necessary. They are using your once great party as a host…they are in the GOP too I know…but the Democrats have been eaten up from the inside by this group.

Time to Get Up to Speed on Proposed Colorado FASTER Late Fee Repeals

by Ben DeGrow | 8:57 am, January 19, 2010

(H/T Complete Colorado) The new Colorado News Agency gets the scoop and breaks down the details on a series of bills and debates that will make one of the hottest stories out of the legislative session this year: the proposed repeals of late fees in Governor Bill Ritter and the Democrats’ 2009 FASTER legislation. Pardon [...]

Defend Colorado from Obama Care!

by Amy Oliver | 8:41 am, January 19, 2010

Hell No! We Won’t Go…to Obama Care. Make Colorado a “sanctuary state” for free choice in health care.
Jon Caldara, my boss at the Independence Institute, is calling for an amendment to the Colorado constitution that would opt our state out of the onerous health insurance mandates being forced upon us by the federal government. Check [...]

Free Our Health Care Rally Today!

by Jon Caldara | 6:27 am, January 19, 2010

…It’s good to remember that the states created the federal government and not the other way around. As Obama Care becomes closer to reality, we in Colorado have the right to say “No.” This is a chance for freedom loving people from across the state to come together and send the Colorado General assembly a [...]

Post article puts partisan spin on Attorney General John Suthers statement on Colorado Supreme Court retention elections

by CTBC Director | 5:56 am, January 19, 2010

An interesting spin on some remarkable news…
After being scooped by The Business Word newsblog, State Bill Colorado, and Greenwood Village News, the Denver Post has caught up on reporting about an issue of extreme significance to Colorado voters.
An article in today’s Denver Post (AG Suthers may not back 3 on state Supreme Court) puts a [...]

Massachusetts election today

by Rossputin | 4:57 am, January 19, 2010

Thanks to everyone who volunteered for or donated to Scott Brown’s campaign in Massachusetts.

Today is the big day.

Remember, ACORN and other left-wing groups can only steal an election if it’s close. If Brown wins by even 2%, it is probably not close enough to steal and probably not close enough for absentee ballots to change.

So if you’re a registered voter in the Bay State and you believe we are suffering under a Democratic Party tyranny – even if you’re not an avid conservative or Republican – I urge you to get out there and vote for Scott Brown. A Brown win will leave the Democrats with 59 votes in the Senate. If they can’t get even one Republican to go along with a given bill, it’s hard to imagine that it’s a bill which a majority of independent voters would support.

It’s not as if this election will give GOP control over anything. It will simply prevent Democrats from being able to continue to utterly ignore the will of the people. How hard could it be for Harry Reid to have an idea just good enough to get one, just one, Republican vote?

A vote for Brown is a vote against tyranny.

I don’t know what time we’ll have results in the race, but I’ll post some thoughts fairly early tomorrow as soon as there’s some news.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Antarctic sea water shows ‘no sign’ of warming

by Rossputin | 4:07 am, January 19, 2010

As reported in THIS article, a new study of Antarctic sea water temperatures shows that the water under the ice in that particular region is “very close to freezing” and is not melting the ice above it.

Unfortunately, just like every article on the subject, the author felt the need to include some of the global warming alarmists’ most extreme claims about potential sea level rise, even though all recent evidence shows no increase in the change of sea levels over recent decades, and no sea level rise at all around the island nations which are usually the poster children for global warming paranoia.

Meanwhile there remains a robust debate over whether Antarctica is gaining or losing ice mass overall, with (not surprisingly, given their consistent pro-alarmist positions and employees) NASA taking the position that it’s losing ice and others taking other view, such as:

Eastern Antarctica (the large part) is cooling, and Western Antarctica “May Not Be Losing Ice As Fast As Once Thought“
THIS study blaming a particular ice sheet collapse on structural issues rather than warming
THIS report explaining how glaciers grow, move, and melt

For most of the last year, the Antarctic sea ice extent has been above the 1979-2000 average:

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Colorado Right to Health Care Choice Initiative

by Brian Schwartz | 1:30 am, January 19, 2010

On January 15 Jon Caldara submitted the Colorado Right to Health Care Choice Initiative to the legislative council “to exempt Colorado from the mandates of Obama Care.” Read the full text. Several media outlets mention this (click on link for full article):
The Denver Post:
Independence Institute president Jon Caldara on Friday filed a ballot proposal that [...]

No Shocker: Daily Kos Poll Skewed, Michael Bennet is Actually Behind

by Ben DeGrow | 10:28 pm, January 18, 2010

So the Democrats’ Research 2000/Daily Kos crew has released a poll today showing incumbent appointed U.S. Senator Michael Bennet one point ahead of leading Republican challenger Jane Norton. But, you say, wasn’t it just Friday — three days ago — that Rasmussen had Norton up 12 points on Bennet?
Rasmussen’s margin of error (MOE) is 4.5 [...]

Staggering ignorance from the left.

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 11:31 am, January 18, 2010

This morning a caller on David Sirota‘s “progressive” radio talk show said that the Haitian tragedy is proof that a libertarian government would always fail because the Haitians didn’t have any building codes.

The ignorance behind that statement is staggering.

Haiti is not a libertarian government. It is a corrupt authoritarian regime.

They are opposites. Antonyms. Diametrically opposed.

Sirota let the statement pass without correction. He knows better.

Dan Maes Tops Scott McInnis: January Colorado Political Survey Results

by Ben DeGrow | 9:05 am, January 18, 2010

Introducing the detailed release of results from our January edition of the Survey of Colorado’s Political Temperature (click “Fullscreen” for best view):
January 2010 Colorado’s Political Temperature Survey Results
Thanks again to everyone who participated. And congratulations to our candidate winners this time around: Dan Maes, Ken Buck, Cory Gardner, Ryan Frazier and J.J. Ament.
Our plan [...]

Massachusetts: Obama’s high-risk, high-reward strategy

by Rossputin | 6:52 am, January 18, 2010

Yesterday, Barack Obama went to Boston to stump for Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley. While I’m skeptical that an appearance by an unpopular president will make the difference in this race, in a close enough race in a blue enough state, it’s not out of the question.

As Charlie Cook notes, “Last minute Democratic attacks on Brown have driven his negatives up some and slightly diminished the incredible intensity of support that Brown enjoyed, but it looks more likely than not to hold.”

The stakes here are enormous, not just for Barack Obama’s far-left agenda, but for the president himself.

If Coakley wins, it will be an enormous victory for Obama as he (or rather his proxies) will claim that he is still popular and that he can be a shield against electoral challenges against Democrats in close races. The Administration will try to use this to arm-twist wavering members of Congress not only on health care but on other issues where they squawk about how it might hurt them at home. To be sure, Obama will feign false modesty but Nancy Pelosi will do the bragging for him.

If, however, Brown wins, the opposite happens: Democratics in Congres will realize that the strong coattails which Barack Obama had just over a hear ago have been cut off. Yes, Obama’s defenders will simply say that Coakley ran a bad campaign, which she surely has. But members of Congress, particularly in the House, will have no faith that the Administration is anything but a huge political negative in their next elections. And they will be less reticent to vote with the wishes of and in the best interests of their constituents. (Only a minority of members of Congress live in districts so liberal that they support ObamaCare.)

By going to Massachusetts, Obama risks not only losing his health care “reform” dreams but also every other aggressive piece of his agenda. His deciding to campaign there has made a Scott Brown victory that much more important.

One last point before I head to the airport: Obama’s rhetoric in Boston was not just highly partisan, but highly anti-banking, with him saying “The bankers don’t need another vote in Washington.” I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: The banks deserve this. Their idiotic support of Barack Obama, their massive campaign contributions to Democrats, were far more naive than a group like that should be. Barack Obama is a dyed-in-the-wool socialist/fascist. It’s been clear since we first learned about him, clear from his associations and his own spoken and written words. Nobody should be surprised that he is willing to demonize the entire financial system. It’s not just for his personal gain. It’s straight out of the playbook of his idol, Saul Alinsky, whose motivation was to make people feel so desperate and so hopeless that they would turn to government for the solution to all their problems. The problem for Obama-linsky is that such an approach is distinctly anti-American, especially outside the low-income (and ironically also the high-income elites) in America’s big cities. Given that Barack Obama grew up surrounded by anti-capitalist haters of America, he’s probably greatly surprised how much push-back there is against his health care plan. Bankers should feel no such surprise at Obama’s ferocity in turning on them.

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

It’s not just the British who manipulate climate data

by Rossputin | 5:44 am, January 18, 2010

Last week on his Daily Blog, climatologist and Weather Channel founder John Coleman laid out a devastating case against the “warmest year” claims of two important American organizations, NASA and the National Climate Data Center (NCDC).

Not only do the organizations cut out data which doesn’t lead toward being able to claim global warming, but they have also reduced the number of planet-wide data points they use to a number so low that it’s all but impossible to accept their conclusions.

Coleman’s entire blog post is worth reading, but here’s a sentence for flavor:

Programmer E. Michael Smith and CCM Joseph D’Aleo, the two men who did the research, also revealed there are no actual temperatures left in the computer database when (NASA) proclaimed “2005 WAS THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD.”

Link to Original post at Rossputin.com.

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold presents the case for voting out four Colorado Supreme Court justices in Nov 2010 at Larimer County Republican Women’s dinner Tueday

by CTBC Director | 4:11 am, January 18, 2010

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is this month’s featured speaker at the Larimer County Republican Women’s dinner (Tuesday evening, January 19th) discussing the grassroots movement to restore accountability to the Colorado Supreme Court and bring back balance to the bench.
Learn more about the Mullarkey Court’s repeated assaults on the Colorado Constitution, the resulting impact to [...]

Proposed Boulder plastic bag ban: authoritarian environmentalism that suffocates freedom & creativity

by Brian T. Schwartz | 8:23 pm, January 17, 2010

Background from Daily Camera:
Shopping in Boulder could get greener if some local students have their way. Inspired in part by a ban that passed in San Francisco in 2007, New Vista High and University of Colorado students are drafting an ordinance that would prohibit businesses — such as grocery stores …