According to media reports, Obama reiterated that Social Security would not be privatized while he was president. Hopefully, that will only mean another two and one half years. He suggested that the struggling federal entitlement program only needed some minor “adjustments” to make it solvent, which is blatantly inaccurate and he knows it.
A few months ago a friend told me about a persistant rumor in the Denver Public School District -- that Ritter appointed Senator Michael Bennet had an affair with one of his daughter's teachers. This isn't just the normal "you know what I heard?" type of thing. There have been several reports of it, but apparently the liberal media won't investigate.
This came to light when a fellow teacher walked in on then Superintendent Bennet and the teacher in (shall we say) and unusual position. Apparently everyone quickly was told that superindendent Bennet was going places and it was best not to make an issue of it.
I can't prove this, except that the National Enquirer is looking into it (yes they think Aliens visit Earth, but they are the same people that uncovered John "$500 haircut" Edward's affair with a staffer).
PS- bringing up this story got me banned from Colorado Pols. Apparently they will do whatever they need in order to protect our appointed Senator.
( - promoted by Hestons Ghost - )
Holy cow. Just when Ken Buck thought that everything was going his way (what with the dirty Washington, D.C. money pouring in to Colorado on his behalf and all), he got a little too comfortable and let this one slip at a recent event:
Yes. He did say that. He did say that the reason Colorado voters should support him is because he "...doesn't wear high heels."
Good luck defending that one, big boy.
( - promoted by Hestons Ghost - )
So when the "Colorado Promise" fails to assuage voters' angst regarding (fill in the blank - the disaster in the Gulf, $13 trillion budget deficit, mandated health care, increased taxes, etc.), generalization is the 'go to' tactic.
In his latest fundraising missive and blog entry, Andrew Romanoff suggests that those on the far right speak for the GOP as a whole. While nothing could be further from the truth, it's an interesting move on his part, and I think we can all rest assured that the media will begin lapping this stuff up and regurgitating it to the unwitting public.
The question is, will the public buy it this time around?
First off, using former Congressman Tancredo's speech given at a "Ken Buck for U.S. Senate" rally or the "tweets" of State Senator Dave Schultheis as legitimate representation of what this election is about, much less what the GOP is all about, is just poor form.
(Honestly, Mr. Speaker, where was your indignation when Madam Speaker Pelosi called then-President Bush a "total failure?" Where was the public outrage when House Democrats booed and heckled the president during his 2005 State of the Union Address?)
Second, the public is tired of spending. Period. They're tired of government taking and taking and doing nothing - taking more money, taking away freedom, taking more taxes. They're scared for the future and the future of thier kids. And they ought to be.
At this point, Democrats have controlled Congress and the U.S. Senate for four years. They've controlled the presidency and the majority of governors' mansions for almost two. How long will Democrats point their fingers at Republicans and think the public won't notice the smoke and mirrors?
Can Tancredo and Schultheis get a little nutsy? Sure, but so can Sen. Reid and Rahm Emanuel.
This election is about jobs and the economy. It's about restoring freedom, getting government out of our way and letting Americans do what we do best - finding a way out of this mess. It's about creating opportunity for businesses and employees, not creating new taxes and burdensome regulation. It's going to take a stiff upper lip and a strong stomach to reach in and make cuts - among other departments, it will likely mean cuts to Medicaid (which eats up 30 percent of the state's budget) and cuts to education (which eats up 43 percent of the state's budget).
Does it stink? Yes. But, can we afford to continue down this path of infinite spending looking always to tomorrow to bail us out? No. Is the answer to our problems a tax increase? Probably not during a recession.
We've got real problems Mr. Romanoff. And while you and your friends in the media try and obfuscate and spin, make excuses and point fingers, voters are smarter than you give them credit. That's a Colorado promise you can take to the bank.
We can sort this all out after Nov. 2, but in the meantime, if Romanoff would be kind enough to tell us what his solutions are and limit his name calling and broad (not to mention, disingenuous) generalizations to beating up his Primary opponent, that would be fantastic.
( - promoted by Hestons Ghost - )
U.S. Senator James DeMint (R-SC) paid a visit to Colorado to support Senate Candidate Ken Buck in his effort to be the GOP Nominee. As part of the events surrounding DeMint's visit, a notice went out to 912 Project and Tea Party activists to come to a Downtown Denver City Park for hotdogs, potato salad and soft drinks. The invitation was selective and most required a logon to find the details of the picnic.
Ken Buck was among the first to throw his hat in the ring for the Senate race and over the past months he has visited with and spoken to virtually all GOP organizations in Colorado. His hard work has apparently paid off, garnering him endorsements from Eric Ericson at Redstate.com and Dick Army as well as DeMint.
In spite of the semi-private nature of the event, there were several TV crews crowding around DeMint and Buck as they made their rounds meeting and greeting the supporters. One interesting thing about the crowd was the high number of middle aged women. Sarah Palin has made a lot about the Mama Grizzlies, women who have raised children and know when to protect their young. You can see a great video made by the Sarah Pac here. Seeing these strong, sincere women come out forcefully for Ken Buck, you can't help but be impressed by what Ken Buck has accomplished already.
Mail-in ballots for the August Primary come out shortly. The senate race between Norton and Buck has become the most dramatic inter-party race for Colorado this cycle.
( - promtoed by Rocky Mountain Right - )
It’s been about a week since Kay Rendleman dropped a bombshell on the El Paso County Republican Party by resigning to become Ken Buck’s campaign manager. Because there are so many ways to look at her decision and its ramifications, I was hoping that someone would post a blog to get the conversation going. In the absence of anyone else doing it, here are my thoughts. Feel free to discuss.
First, on a personal level, I can’t fault Rendleman for taking the position that was offered her. She was looking for a paying job, and a statewide CM is a pretty good offer. I can understand why she did it, and I hope she finds fulfillment and satisfaction with her new position. She is a decent and well intended person, and I wish her the best.
However, I think she has done a terrible job as party chair; and as a Republican, I am glad we will have new leadership going into the 2010 elections. The party nearly lost its headquarters building because of Rendleman’s complete inability to raise funds (sort of like the Buck campaign). While the Garcia administration raised over $300,000 to support party efforts, Rendleman raised around 5% of that. In my opinion, volunteer coordination, development, and infrastructure has gotten worse over the past year. In fact, I can’t really think of anything of significance the party has done since Rendleman took office. If we hold it up to the standard of the late Gipper “are you better of now than you were four years ago” or two years ago in this case, the answer of any objective observer would be a resounding NO! So this begs the obvious question: Why would Ken Buck hire Kay Rendleman to run a statewide campaign when she has failed so badly as party chair?
So a week later, I am still scratching my head over this hire. Usually you hire someone to fill the gaps of your campaign. If I were Buck, I would have picked someone with a proven record of raising money. Assuming Buck could win the primary, does anyone really think that Rendleman, who has had trouble raising $15,000 in a year to keep the Headquarters building open, could run a winning campaign against Michael Bennett who raises about $15,000 per day? Short of someone with a great fundraising record, I’d pick someone who is a legendary grassroots organizer, not someone who has struggled to simply keep the most Republican of counties barely functioning. I’m totally confused by the Buck campaign’s decision here.
( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )
This last week, I noticed a couple things that made me scratch my head. First, Michael Bennett on the TV. I’m not surprised that he is already on TV. Goodness knows that his poll numbers are terrible, his president is doing everything he can to guarantee a Republican landslide in November, and he has more cash than he knows what to do with. What I was surprised about was the message. He says that
The second thing I noticed was the comments on blogs and in news stories from the “have-not” candidates in the Senate and Governor’s race (and some in Congressional races around the state as well). Supposed “Tea Party” entities are livid that two candidates, Scott McInnis and Jane Norton, are raking in the dough. They believe this shows that these are “establishment” candidates. Apparently in this election, only the self proclaimed Tea Party folks get to name the candidates, and one of the criteria they use is that they must not be friendly with the establishment (you know, the thousands of folks who traditionally donate to Republican candidates). This is now a disqualifier. A number of writings from established bloggers and conservative writers stated that money didn’t matter in the primary; the conservative base would have to fund the eventual winner of the primary and give him/her all the money they need. So here is the rub. These self declared Tea Party folks (and I support the Tea Party, but I think it is being abused by some self interested parties) have decided that they get to pick the Republican candidate. One of the criteria they use is that that you can not have the support of the "establishment." Then after the Johnny Come Lately folks pick the candidate based on who the "establishment" does not want, the "establishment" must fund these newcomers' choices. Does anyone else see the stupidity of this?
( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )
( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )
What an amazing year for Politics in the U.S.A. On March 6, 2010, the 912 project and tea party groups combined to host a Candidate Search 2010 Forum at the Douglas County, CO Events Center. The events center was divided in half for the event. One side had tables for candidates and other sponsors, kind of like a trade show. The other half held a stage and seating for the crowd to hear the candidates. The event lasted all afternoon.
For the Colorado Governor's race, both of the GOP announced candidates, Scott McInnis and Dan Maes, appeared. Mr. Hickenlooper was a no-show. For the Colorado U.S. Senate race, candidates Steve Barton, Jane Norton, CleveTidwell, Ken Buck, and Tom Wiens appeared. Our current sitting Senator Bennett and Andrew Romanoff were no-shows.The area reserved for candidate tables had a lot of Independent candidates as well as Republicans. Hats off to Diane Bailey, a Democrat candidate for County Treasurer for having the courage, as the lone Dem, to appear. Its too bad that Hickenlooper, Bennet and Romanoff are in full bunker mentality.Independents are the biggest set of voters in Colorado. When all of the major Democrat Candidates are afraid of the biggest voter group, you have a true mess on the Obama side. You can see a compilation video of the Senate Candidates here.
Mike Robinson is Sr. Partner at Robinson & Henry P.C., a Castle Rock Law Firm.
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Q4 2009 Fundraising Totals (Incumbent in Bold)
Michael Bennet - 1,149,091
Tom Wiens - 725,000
Jane Norton - 550,605
Ken Buck - 39,850
John Salazar - 187,160
Scott Tipton - 109,981
Bob McConnell - 12,471
Betsy Markey - 227,442
Cory Gardner - 197,553
Diggs Brown - 61,174
Tom Lucero - 25,824
Ryan Frazier - 218,824
Ed Perlmutter - 215,201
Lang Sias - 30,931
U.S. Senate
Michael Bennet's fundraising continues at a monumental pace and it is starting to look as if he will have a massive advantage no matter who the Republican nominee may be. Jane Norton once again posted strong numbers, though many observers found it troublesome she did not improve much over the last quarter's take.
Though the Wiens campaign is declining to say how much of the $725,000 they are claiming to have brought in came from the candidate himself, it appears safe to assume that Wiens followed through on his previous statement that he would be investing $500,000 of his money into his campaign. Regardless of where the money came from, this means Wiens now has a very well-financed primary campaign.
Ken Buck had an extremely disappointing quarter. The sole consolation here is the massive ad buy by the Campaign for Liberty that can free up some money that may have been allocated by the Buck campaign for media and divert it into organizational costs.
CD-3
Scott Tipton had a strong showing for his first month in the race. If he is able to keep up the pace he should be able to place the seat into play.
CD-4
Cory Gardner had another strong fundraising quarter. Despite being outraised by Makey, CD-4's Republican voter registration advantage means that Makey would have to be raising even more than she is to make it up. Gardner is strongly positioning himself as the leading candidate in both the primary and general elections.
At $61,174, Diggs Brown has enough money to mount a primary challenge, even if it is a long-shot. He will at least be able to afford a working campaign organization, which is more than what most other underdog candidates in these Republican primaries can say.
Tom Lucero again had a lackluster quarter, but even more damaging to his prospects than his low fundraising haul is his astounding 200% burn rate. When a campaign spends twice what they raised in a given quarter, it is a sure sign it is on it's last legs.
CD-7
Ryan Frazier had a strong fundraising quarter and stands as the only Colorado Republican challenger for federal office to outraise the Democratic incumbent. While a narrow victory, Frazier's take places what was expected to be a safe Democratic seat into play.
Ex-Democrat and Mark Udall supporter Lang Sias, despite starting fundraising at the beginning of November and having most of the quarter to fundraise, came in with a dismal $30,931. Nearly half of his money came from Washington DC, as opposed to Frazier who blew him out of the water and raised funds mostly from in-state, and $5,000 of that came from John McCain's PAC. While Sias gave the illusion of being a strong candidate with his McCain backing and much-touted Washington connections, after raising only $30,391 it is hard to see how he is even remotely serious. Sias' funding problems will become even more severe as he is rumored to be planning to bypass the grassroots by running a costly petition campaign in the coming months.
Ken Buck, Ali Hasan, and Tom Lucero are an unlikely trio of underdog candidates that have the distinction of being among the first candidates for office to feature in campaign commercials.
"Campaign for Liberty" Spending $350,000 On Buck
An ad run on behalf of Senate candidate Ken Buck is the most important of the three developments. A group calling itself the "Campaign for Liberty" (this is not necessarily Ron Paul's group, C4L is a 501c4 and is barred from running candidate ads) has purchased $350,000 of ad time focusing on Ken Buck's candidacy. These ads reportedly began running during local news programs earlier this evening and we are seeking a copy of the commercial to upload as soon as we can.
While Buck's fundraising has faltered in the last quarter and Jane Norton (who was not without fundraising issues of her own) has a modest lead after Q4 2009, Buck is poised to have a great deal of cash spent on his behalf by outside groups. In addition to national groups such as the Senate Conservatives Fund eyeing the race, certain interests based in Northern Colorado are preparing their own outside efforts on Buck's behalf.
Hasan Goes On Radio
Treasurer candidate Ali Hasan began running radio ads today. Denver-metro area listeners can hear them on 850 KOA.
Lucero's Gambit
CD-4 candidate Tom Lucero has invested what is left of his campaign funds on a TV ad buy in which he looks very surprised by the camera.
( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )
New DCGOP Chair Mark Baisley and Vice Chair
Pat Nohavec
The Douglas County, CO Republican Party held a special election on January 19th at the Douglas County Events Center to replace outgoing Chairman John Ransom on a joyous night that was made special by the voters of Massachusetts. Before formal activities began, it was announced that Scott Brown had decisively won the U.S. Senate Seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy.
Douglas and El Paso counties have very special roles when it comes to statewide elections. Both counties are predominately Republican and the local outcomes are not always that dramatic. However, each of these counties is a net exporter of Republican votes that help statewide GOP candidates overcome the net exports of Denver and Boulder counties. In 2002, Douglas County cranked out a net plus of 44,337 votes for Bill Owens who became Colorado Governor. In 2006, Douglas County only generated a net plus of 6,129 for the GOP governor candidate Bob Beauprez. Democrat Bill Ritter won that 2006 election and went on to unionize Colorado Government, try to raise any tax or fee available, put Michael Bennet in the U.S. Senate, and serve as Barack Obama’s host and cheerleader, delivering Colorado to Obama’s 2008 win.
Obviously, turnout matters in Douglas County. It can affect the outcomes of races both near and far. In the only contested 2009 race, for school board, the DCGOP scored a clean sweep. Now they are looking forward to 2010 with a number of statewide races, including open races for both Governor and U.S. Senate.
Mark Baisley deservedly moved up to Chairman by acclamation after coming off his successes in 2009. The DC Republicans picked Pat Nohavec-Fink as their new Vice Chair and this was a smart choice. The new Vice Chair has been a bright light in social functions that are so important for fund-raising, social networking and getting out the vote on election day. When she got a chance to speak to the assembly, Ms. Nohavec gave a surprisingly powerful and moving speech, encapsulating the opportunities and challenges the Republicans have in the age of Obama. She will be a force to be reckoned with.
One of the voting delegates present was Major Aaron R. McAdow, USANG. Major McAdow has made 4 different deployments overseas since 9/11. He has crawled through darkest Africa and the Moslem world in defense of our nation dealing with our terrorist enemies. He is a Republican and he voted that evening for the Chair and Vice Chair. The Massachusetts loser this election night, Martha Coakley, believes there are no terrorists in Afghanistan. She is a Democrat and she lost handily that night. Poetic justice.
Some days are better than others. This election night was one to remember for the Douglas County Republicans and one to forget for the Dems.
Mike Robinson is Sr. Partner at Robinson & Henry P.C., a Castle Rock Law Firm.
( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )
As fundraising numbers keep trickling out, it's time to start thinking about what they mean. About a month ago, I made the prediction that the US Senate race could effectively end this month if fundraising was strong for Norton and weak for Wiens and Buck. Now that some numbers are being released, let's have another look.
In the Senate, Jane Norton had what can only be described as a bad quarter. After raising over $500k in the first 20 days, she had trouble matching it over a 90 day period. Also of note, her burn rate seems to be running at around 40%. She is burning around $3600/day which is mind numbing considering that advertising has not started yet. However, Tom Wiens and his campaign seem to be MIA; and Ken Buck is still unexciting. So unless we have a surprise, Norton is clearly heading toward an easy primary.
In the governor's race, McInnis must have also been disappointed with his take. However, Maes has shown that he is utterly incompetent as a candidate, raising less than 2% of McInnis. What began as what many perceived as a quest to gain name ID is now turning into a massive embarrassment. Time for Maes to quit and try to salvage what last bit of dignity he has.
The other interesting primary to watch is CD-7. Ryan Frazier built up a lot of good will by exiting the Senate race, and had a very healthy fundraising quarter. However, I think if Sias can post at least 50% of Frazier's take from Q4, we have a primary race.
Finally, some people are disappointed with the overall deficit that Republican candidates are raising relative to their Democrat opponents. But I don't think this will be a problem next fall. Republicans nationwide are showing a willingness to donate across state lines (Scott Brown), and I think that national money will flow into all of our serious races. I think we will have plenty of money in the key races to win in November.
ColoradoPols reports that the Michael Bennet campaign is in full-fledged damage control mode over a Rasmussen poll showing Bennet losing to all three major Republican candidates. Bennet's camapign has issued a release boldly asserting that Rasmussen Reports, which conducted the poll showing Bennet trailing Jane Norton by 12-points, has "long been identified as a partisan polling outfit whose survey results are consistently wrong, and always favor the Republican candidate."
The Bennet campaign's press release is accompanied by a poll conducted by their own partisan polling outfit showing Bennet trailing Norton by only 3-points.
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Well, here's my first post. I've lurked off and on, but today I felt the overwhelming necessity to share my inspiration for the upcoming election in Massachusetts. I can't imagine a better time to recall the wisdom of our 30th President upon being sworn in as the president of the Massachusetts State Senate. I think it serves as a fantastic rallying cry not only for this special election, but also as a guidepost for recalling the purpose of law and reconfirming the basis of limited- and effective-government conservatism in the year ahead. In the words of President Coolidge, "Have faith in Massachusetts."
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