Ritter – Not a Defender of Colorado, Not a Defender of the U.S. Constitution

by Elliot | 10:10 am, October 16, 2010

Colorado Governor Ritter has announced that he will be joining with several governors in support of the Federal law to require that every person purchase health insurance. Let’s get something straight – our federal government was set out to be a government of limited, enumerated powers.  The power to regulate health care is nowhere listed [...]

Backbone Radio, Oct 17, 2010: John Suthers and Meeting the Libertarians

by Rossputin | 7:44 am, October 16, 2010

Please join me on this week’s edition of Backbone Radio when I’ll be joined by guest-host Krista Kafer as we focus on some of the less-discussed parts of Colorado politics.

In our first hour, we’ll be joined by Colorado’s Attorney General, John Suthers, who is running for re-election in this 2010 campaign.  While Suthers would seem to be one of the most secure incumbents in high-level state-wide executive offices (not least because the rest are Democrats), it’s nevertheless important for an educated citizenry to understand why a person deserves to hold elected office.

With that in mind, we’re going to cover a range of topics related to the AG’s job, not least being Mr. Suthers’ fight, along with other states’ AGs, against Obamacare.  We’ll talk about other major cases Suthers is working on, as well as his take on illegal immigration enforcement within the state.

If you have questions for AG Suthers, please don’t be shy about calling in, or sending me an e-mail or instant message.

In our second and third hours, we’ll be joined by two Libertarian Party candidates for office.

At 6 PM, we’ll talk with Jaimes Brown, Libertarian candidate for Governor of Colorado.  We’ll talk about a wide range of policy issues, including Brown’s take on ballot issues 60, 61, and 101, which I expect he supports. 

And at 7 PM, we’ll visit with Maclyn Stringer, Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate.

As always – and as a “small-l” libertarian and former Libertarian Party member – I’m most interested in the potential intersection of libertarian beliefs with conservative beliefs, and in the potential appeal of the Libertarian Party to both Republicans and Democrats as well as the potential appeal of libertarian-leaning Republicans to the broader electorate.

My view is that a plurality, and perhaps a majority, of Americans are libertarians even if they don’t know it.  They (we) basically want government to leave us alone.

Another topic which I expect to discuss with Brown and Stringer is alternative voting systems, such as Approval Voting.  You can (and should) read a bit more about approval voting at some of the following links.  It’s an interesting system, with fairly strong pluses and minuses.  Generally, the pluses seem to outweigh the minuses for smaller political parties (like the Libertarians), but perhaps not for the current major parties.

For more info:
http://www.approvalvoting.com/ (a site in support of Approval Voting)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Approval_voting (Wikipedia entry on Approval Voting, includes some discussion of praise and criticism of it)
http://archive.fairvote.org/?page=1920 (Web page of a group which supports a different alternative voting method)

Please join me by listening to (and calling in to) this week’s Backbone Radio program from 5 PM to 8 PM on 710 AM KNUS in Denver and 1460 AM KZNT in Colorado Springs.

If you’re not in range of the radio waves, you should be able to listen to the show online by clicking HERE.

I hope you’ll actively participate in the conversation with me: Call the studio at 303 696 1971, e-mail me at rossputin(at)rossputin.com, or instant message from my site at http://rossputin.com or through AOL Instant messenger to screen name Rossputin.

Real Gubernatorial Genius

by T.L. James | 11:14 pm, October 15, 2010

…is in short supply in Colorado this year, but Todd and Justin at Complete Colorado are at least having some fun with the unfunny situation.
Republican (sigh) Walter Mitty, Dan Maes:

Democrat (meh) Denver mayor, John Hickenlooper:

American Cons…

Real Gubernatorial Genius

by T.L. James | 11:14 pm, October 15, 2010

…is in short supply in Colorado this year, but Todd and Justin at Complete Colorado are at least having some fun with the unfunny situation.
Republican (sigh) Walter Mitty, Dan Maes:

Democrat (meh) Denver mayor, John Hickenlooper:

American Cons…

Cato: "Subsidies Amount to Little More Than Legalized Theft"

by PerlStalker | 10:42 pm, October 15, 2010

Cato’s Downsizing the Federal Government blog points to a Wall Street Journal story which marveling at the growth of the farm economy. The Cato post draws, what I think is, an excellent conclusion.

Better news for taxpayers would be the abolition of…

CO Senators release "Pledge to Colorado Taxpayers"

by PerlStalker | 10:25 pm, October 15, 2010

Colorado state Senate Republicans have released their own Pledge to Colorado Taxpayers. One of the more interesting items is this.

Institute supermajority vote (3/5) for all fee increases
· Change the law to make a clear and enforceable disti…

Tancredo Within Four in Colorado Governor’s Race

by PerlStalker | 9:46 pm, October 15, 2010

More good news in the polls today. Rasmussen has Tom Tancredo within four of John Hickenlooper. That’s even with the incompetent Republican Dan Maes pulling in 12 percent of the vote.

It’s time for Dan Maes to realize what everyone in Colorado has be…

RCP Ranks CO-3 as "Leans GOP"

by PerlStalker | 9:19 pm, October 15, 2010

Great news for Southwestern Colorado. Pretend fiscal conservative, John Salazar, is in big trouble. Republican candidate Scott Tipton is up by eight and RealClearPolitics has rated the race “Leans GOP”.

While Salazar continues to make the ridiculous …

Cheat Sheet for Those Resisting The “Vote Tancredo” Talk

by Elliot | 9:08 pm, October 15, 2010

Well, I had an argument today with a good friend who is also a very articulate Tancredo supporter.  This friend, who shall remain nameless, likely was motivated by Tancredo’s stellar performance in recent polls.  During the argument, the supporter maintained that I needed to tell my friends to support Tancredo and support him myself.  I [...]

Connect Four

by completecolorado | 3:08 pm, October 15, 2010

Six percent.
One-in-sixteen.
That’s how likely you are to get four straight “heads” results on four straight coin flips.  Possible?  Yes.  Likely?  No.
But that’s what you’ve got from the Denver Post’s endorsement of appointed Senator Michael Bennet.  Four straight endorsements of Democrat senate nominees.  Another way to think about it, the Post has yet to endorse a [...]

Friday Funny from IowaHawk

by Mr. Bob | 2:26 pm, October 15, 2010

#tcot #teaparty #whyimvotingdemocrat as the kiddies say…OMG I am ROTFLOL. This is way geeky funny. WELCOME TO ADVENTURE! WOULD YOU LIKE INSTRUCTIONS?>YESYOU ARE SOMEWHERE IN BELTWAY FOREST, WHERE SOME HAVE FOUND TREASURES OF GOLD ALTHOUGH SOME HAVE E…

New poll shows Tancredo within margin of error

by Rossputin | 1:57 pm, October 15, 2010

A Rasmussen Reports poll released today shows former GOP Congressman Tom Tancredo surging in his bid to become the next Governor of Colorado.

Tancredo now trails liberal Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper by 4%, at 42% for Hickenlooper to 38% for Tancredo, with the poll’s margin of error at 4%.  Dan Maes now receives only 12% support.

Just two weeks ago, Tancredo was down by 8%.  Essentially, he’s taken 3% from Maes during that time, with one percent of Maes support seeming to go now to “some other candidate”.

Although the number is too small to really be significant, Tancredo should also take some comfort in the fact that Hickenlooper dropped 1% while undecided (separate from “some other candidate”) rose 1% over those two weeks.

It is becoming clearer by the day that Tom Tancredo would have more than a passing chance of beating John Hickenlooper in a two-man race and that Dan Maes’ continued presence in this election can serve only to help the Democrat get elected.

If Maes hasn’t gotten out by now, odds are he won’t even if polls show him in single digits.

If I may play armchair psychologist for a moment, at this point Maes’ behavior seems motivated primarily by spite against Tom Tancredo.  After all, by staying in, Maes is hurting Tancredo and the citizens of Colorado. But more than that, he’s absolutely destroying what little chance he may still have had remaining of being able to run for a more modest political office in the future.

By showing himself to be not just a borderline-fraud, but a narcissistic borderline-fraud at the expense of absolutely everything he claims to care about, Dan Maes has shredded what little respect any but the most blinkered Maes supporters still held for the man.

It’s one thing to have some admiration for a guy who really wants to be a citizen-politician, who really wants to bring the spirit of a non-career politician to the state’s government.  It’s another thing entirely for that guy to show his willingness to subject the state to a leftist radical-green liberal governor who will have substantial ability to damage Republican electoral competitiveness for a decade to come through the upcoming redistricting process.

Dan Maes, the man who gives out pennies in change while collecting $20 bills in a burlap sack in order to avoid campaign finance regulations, is no longer an amusing distraction.

He is a self-absorbed, spiteful wannabe who deserves our scorn, not anyone’s vote, and who, with any luck, will have the good sense to move back to Kansas if John Hickenlooper wins this election.

I repeat what I’ve said several times in recent weeks:  While Tom Tancredo and I have some substantial policy disagreements, we agree more than we disagree and he would be a far better governor than John Hickenlooper.  I have contributed to Tom’s campaign in the past week.  I urge all of you to do so as well, even if it’s just a few bucks.  And I encourage you to explain to your perhaps less politically attentive friends how important it is to vote for Tom Tancredo.

Congressman Mike Coffman Endorses Amendment 63

by Jon Caldara | 12:11 pm, October 15, 2010

Media Release:
Golden, Colorado – Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman has formally endorsed a yes vote on Amendment 63, the “Right to Health Care Choice” citizens’ initiative.
“I was there firsthand to fight the gross federal overreach of Obama Care, and the unseemly tactics and procedures used to pass it,” said Coffman. “While we may have lost the [...]

Tea Party power: an all-ages show

by Kelly Maher | 11:41 am, October 15, 2010

Meet Bonnie Johnson – who said she’s in her late 70s and a Tea Partier – and wants to help “take back our country.” She’s one of the reasons the Tea Party is flexing so much muscle this year. “Tea Party Set to Win Enough Races for Wide Influence,” The New York Times is reporting.

The Smears keep getting worse

by Al Maurer | 11:19 am, October 15, 2010

On the way to work this morning I made the mistake of turning the radio on. All the advertising was campaign-related and just when I thought the lies couldn’t get any worse–they did. The first was against Karen Cullen, running … Continue reading →

Ben DeGrow Seeks Education Reform

by Ari Armstrong | 10:23 am, October 15, 2010

Ben DeGrow, the Independence Institute’s top education reformer, discusses opting out of union dues. He also reviews the impact of the three recent documentaries on education, “The Cartel,” “The Lottery,” and “Waiting for Superman” (which he has seen s…

Complete Colorado: Real Gubernatorial Genius

by Rossputin | 8:29 am, October 15, 2010

Thanks to Todd Shepherd for sending this along…great way to start the day with a laugh.

How much hate-mail will we get from the oh-so-sensitive supporters of Dan Maes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBdduM7sFU8

As Waiting for Superman Opens Today in Colorado, Listen to an Exclusive Interview with Director Davis Guggenheim

by Eddie | 8:18 am, October 15, 2010

You might be saying by now: When will this kid stop writing about the movie Waiting for Superman? To be honest, I don’t know. I’m too young and impulsive to plan that far ahead. But since today is the movie’s official opening in Colorado, what better reason to bring it up again today?
Well, here’s one. [...]

Complete Colorado’s A-Maes-ing Finale to Real Gubernatorial Genius Series

by Ben DeGrow | 8:11 am, October 15, 2010

Complete Colorado’s Real Gubernatorial Genius is back with the third and final edition in the series, highlighting Republican candidate Dan Maes — Mr. I’m-Gonna-Be-Somebody-Someday. In my opinion, it will give you the purest laugh-out-loud experience of the trio: In case you missed them, watch the earlier lampoons of Tom Tancredo and John Hickenlooper. Put together, [...]

Michael "Paid For" Bennet

by Rossputin | 7:06 am, October 15, 2010

The other day in a blog note asking rhetorically “Does Michael Bennet think he’s fooling anyone?“, I missed the opportunity to make an important point, one which is often overlooked in these times of huge debt and deficits but which merits pounding into the heads of voters as often as we (supporters of liberty and limited government) can.

I’d like to correct that oversight today.

While I correctly noted that Bennet is lying when he says he only supports bills that are “paid for”, perhaps the more important point is that Bennet’s rhetoric implies that government spending is OK as long as it doesn’t add to the deficit and the debt.

But that’s false.

The measure of the burden of government is not the deficit; it’s the spending.

The deficit and debt represent the part of that burden which we’re placing on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren.

But our legitimate concern with this intergenerational theft should not distract us from the recognition that the part of government spending which is “paid for” is paid for by you and I and every other American taxpayer through the government’s taxing away the results of our labor and investment.

A $50 million earmark which is “paid for” means that the public, in the aggregate, has $50 million less to spend on better schools for our kids, a better (safer, more efficient, or just better looking) car, better health care, or even just a decent vacation.

Alternatively, government spending which is “paid for” represents money which could have been used to pay down the debt and reduce the intergenerational theft which, in my view, represents the single most immoral long-term behavior of our nation’s government since slavery was mercifully exterminated.

Piling on trillions of dollars in national debt in order to try to buy the continuing electoral favor of the SEIU and UAW is the economic equivalent of an environmental crime: A company intentionally pollutes an area, leaving it all but uninhabitable and completely unfit for raising crops or livestock for at least a generation.  That’s what is being done to our once-fertile economic fields by our federal government; they are poisoning our nation’s future and our children’s chances of living a life at least as good as ours has been.

To be sure, the exponential explosion of spending and debt began under President Bush and a Republican Congress.  Under Bush, the national debt doubled.  In other words, Bush, with his accomplices in Congress, added as much to the debt in 8 years as all prior presidents had accumulated.

According to the CBO, Barack Obama’s proposed budgets are likely to roughly double the debt again over ten years.  In other words, Obama’s budgets are estimated to add nearly twice as much debt as all presidents before George W. Bush combined.

If Obama were a CEO, he’d be thrown out, if not jailed for malfeasance.

Which brings us back to Michael Bennet.  Bennet is the ultimate Senator from Obama.  He does exactly what the Democrat “leadership” tells him to do, just when they tell him to do it.

He pretends to be a moderate after voting for every big-government idea which Obama and Chuck Schumer have wanted to shove down our throats.

And he wants us to feel better because he will only support things which are “paid for”?  Putting aside for the moment, the fact that that’s an outright lie on his part, voters should remember that when a mugger steals your wallet and then buys himself a beer, that beer is “paid for”.  And in case you’re unclear, government is the mugger – and Michael Bennet is the look-out man, making sure the coast is clear for the mugger to get away after clubbing you over the head and taking your money.

Knowing that Bennet’s spending is “paid for” is cold comfort indeed.

So If the Difference Between Tanc and Hick Is So Big…..

by Elliot | 6:24 am, October 15, 2010

Then why is the Gazette, long known as a conservative/libertarian paper, endorsing Hickenlooper instead of Tancredo?  Maybe the “you are throwing your vote away by voting for Jaimes Brown” argument isn’t as strong as some notable libertarians seem to think….. (said in good jest!)

Make a word meaningless: add “social” in front of it!

by Brian Schwartz | 6:02 am, October 15, 2010

Michael Cannon at the Cato Institute makes a great point: [HuffPo blogger Jesse Larner writes that] “Cannon is not in favor of universal coverage as a social right.” True, that.  “As a libertarian, he doesn’t even recognize the concept of social rights.”  I believe it was Friedrich Hayek who said there’s no better way to [...]

Natelson Reviews Constitutionality of ObamaCare and More

by Ari Armstrong | 7:43 pm, October 14, 2010

Rob Natelson discusses the constitutionality of ObamaCare, the 17th Amendment, and amending the Constitution. Natelson is a former law professor at the University of Montana and a Senior Fellow with the Independence Institute.

Bob Beauprez Endorses 7th CD’s Ryan Frazier, Calls Out Ed Perlmutter

by Ben DeGrow | 6:00 pm, October 14, 2010

This is a great piece of news to read today from my next Congressman Ryan Frazier, and it comes not a moment too soon: Former 7th CD Rep. Bob Beauprez Backs Ryan Frazier, Declares Perlmutter Corrupt More evidence Washington has changed Ed Perlmutter Aurora, CO – Ryan Frazier, candidate for the 7th Congressional District, today [...]

Tom Tancredo to Address Northern Colorado Voters

by Lesley Hollywood | 5:20 pm, October 14, 2010

We’ve heard from Republican candidate Dan Maes on many occassions throughout the past months, as well as at a well attended meeting of his supporters a couple of weeks ago. We feel it’s only for the best to offer a platform for American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo to address voters – an opportunity for voters to [...]

Amendment 63 (Health Care Choice) Yard Sign Distribution This Saturday Morning, Available at Victory Offices!

by Jon Caldara | 12:39 pm, October 14, 2010

This Saturday, October 16, from 9:00 AM to Noon you can pick up your Amendment 63 yard signs at a location near you. Supporters have volunteered their homes as distribution points. All you have to do is drive to the nearest location to pick up an Amendment 63 sign. Take all that you can [...]

Lois Court: Our unfortunate First Amendment rights

by Rossputin | 11:49 am, October 14, 2010

Thanks to Ben DeGrow for posting the original coverage of this story…

Incumbent Democrat Colorado State Rep Lois Court who is running for relection to State House District 6 against Joshua Sharf (who is, among other things, the producer of my radio show), gave us a rare glimpse into the way “Progressives” really think.

It’s a glimpse which should cause all independent voters and even many Democrats to think twice before supporting her re-election.

In a public forum on Tuesday, Court said “(U)nfortunately it is a First Amendment right for political free speech, for anyone to say anything about anybody, and to spend any amount of money…”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1MPEr0KgZM

Ben’s analysis is spot-on and I won’t repeat it here except to wonder aloud just where these people come from who believe that political free speech is unfortunate…and where the people come from who would vote to return such a politician to office.

Court went on to brag about trying to place hurdles in the way of people who want to collect signatures for petition drives for ballot measures.  Of course, like all “Progressives”, Court believes that only she and her type are smart enough to rule over us.

Politicians like Lois Court make me sick; they make me fear for the future of our nation as they expressly yearn for political control worthy of the USSR.  And perhaps saddest of all, they remind me that from time to time people get the government they deserve.

I encourage residents of HD6 to vote for Joshua Sharf.

VOTER GUIDE Libertarian Party of Colorado: Summary of Official Positions on 2010 ballot issues.

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 10:55 am, October 14, 2010

Amendment P –Regulation of Games of Chance. No position taken. Amendment Q –Temp Location of State Seat of Government. Yes on this amendment. Amendment R –Exempt Possessory Interests in Real Property. Yes on this amendment. Ammendment 60 –C…

Colo. Sec. of State implies small law firm not “a real business”

by Kelly Maher | 10:48 am, October 14, 2010

There’s a difference between expressing expertise and communicating condescension – and Colorado Secretary of State Bernie Buescher crossed that line during a debate with opponent Scott Gessler at the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce.

I’ve Got The Reformer-Michelle Rhee-Resigned-from-Her-Job-in-D.C. Blues

by Eddie | 10:47 am, October 14, 2010

Sorry, no long post today. I’m sad, and reeling a bit. My edu-crush and reform hero Michelle Rhee has announced her resignation as chancellor of Washington, D.C., public schools. Guess I knew it was coming, but was probably in denial. The place to go for thoughtful reactions is School Reform News, where many respected education [...]

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