In the recent Rasmussen poll there were several polling results that were not made public and were only available to subscribers. One of the most interesting was Gov. Bill Ritter's dismal job approval rating:

Ritter as Gov. (3/5)
Approve: 34%
Disapprove: 63%

Ouch, no wonder he decided not to run for re-election.

Amazon.com sent out the following notice to small businesspeople using their online-affilliate program last night:

Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate:

We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to "voluntarily" collect Colorado sales tax -- a course we won't take.

We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states.

There is a right way for Colorado to pursue its revenue goals, but this new law is a wrong way. As we repeatedly communicated to Colorado legislators, including those who sponsored and supported the new law, we are not opposed to collecting sales tax within a constitutionally-permissible system applied even-handedly. The US Supreme Court has defined what would be constitutional, and if Colorado would repeal the current law or follow the constitutional approach to collection, we would welcome the opportunity to reinstate Colorado-based Associates.

You may express your views of Colorado's new law to members of the General Assembly and to Governor Ritter, who signed the bill.

Your Associates account has been closed as of March 8, 2010, and we will no longer pay advertising fees for customers you refer to Amazon.com after that date. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to March 8, 2010, will be processed and paid in accordance with our regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of March 8, any final payments will be paid by May 31, 2010.

We have enjoyed working with you and other Colorado-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.

Best Regards,

The Amazon Associates Team

( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )

Around the state, those voters that have heard of Mayor John Hickenlooper know he’s the guy that helped folks out with the parking meters. He’s the guy that ingratiated himself to the downtown business community by pushing tax increases for FasTracks, the Justice Center, the local school district, Ref. C. and pledged to end homelessness in Colorado.

As has now been reported by multiple sources, Gov. Bill Ritter is scrapping his campaign for reelection.

The sudden nature of this makes it clear that fundraising was not an issue. Political Wire reports that his campaign staff was sent home in the middle of the day. This should seem obvious, even if Ritter's fundraising had dropped substansially he still has a large warchest and would be calling the DGA begging for money instead of dropping out.

At this stage, there are really only two logical possibilites given the sudden nature of this. The first is that Ritter is involved in some sort of major political scandal that would make it impossible for him to win against a Republican. The second is that Ritter or an immediate family member is facing a life-threatening medical crisis. Ritter is slated for a press conference tomorrow at 11AM to announce he is dropping his campaign and this should give some hints, if not the reason itself, as to why Ritter is doing this.

Who Might Run?

As we reported in February of last year, Ken Salazar was rumored to be looking at running for Governor in 2014 even as he was beginning his tenure as Secretary of the Interior. This apparent ambition, along with his established fundraising base from his Senatorial campaigns and close proximity to Washington-based Democrats who will be searching for a candidate make Ken Salazar the most likely choice to replace Ritter.

Treasurer Cary Kennedy has faced her own problems in her race for reelection to that office, but still stands as the only Democrat in the state with a state committee with enough to act as seed money. While the amount that would transfer over from her current race would still be dwarfed by Scott McInnis' cash-on-hand, she at least wouldn't be starting from zero and she is on good terms with Democratic donors in the state.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter is being reported by some media outlets as a potential replacement and is a more remote possibility than Kennedy or Salazar. Perlmutter's main strength is that he is one of a handful of Democrats left who could potentially raise enough cash to challenge McInnis and is not involved in another race.

Who Won't Run?

Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien is unlikely to run for the office in 2010, though if Ritter resigns his office on the spot tomorrow she may serve out the remainder of his term as Governor. O'Brien was rumored to be looking to switch jobs earlier in the year so running for Governor may not be part of her plans.

Who Might Be In Trouble?

Bill Ritter's departure could also cause problems for Sen. Michael Bennet as he loses his main Democratic ally and advocate. Expect Andrew Romanoff's insurgent primary challenge to gain some new life amid Ritter's chaotic departure and his subsequent absense.

( - Promoted by Hestons Ghost - )

Democrats are playing the blame game as to why Villafuerte withdrew her nomination for the U.S. Attorney position for Colorado.  An aide to Sen. Mark Udall gave his observation.

According to Alan Salazar, an aide to Senator Mark Udall, among Villafuerte's most prominent and powerful backers, much of that guesswork has simply been wrong.

"The notion that we got behind closed doors and pushed her out is total bullshit," Salazar says. "It didn't happen. In fact, it was just the opposite."

Operation C.Y.A. begins.

"Mark felt an obligation to talk to Senator Sessions to see if this delay was about stopping the confirmation," Salazar says. "He was thinking, 'How do we fix this? How can we have Stephanie answer any and all questions so the confirmation process can go forward?'"

Time will be the only thing that acquits or convicts Villafuerte.  In the mean time all we can do is sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

The latest poll from Rasmussen Reports shows Bill Ritter trailing Scott McInnis by 8-points.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows former GOP Congressman Scott McInnis ahead of Ritter 48% to 40%. Four percent (4%) like some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided.

A Maes-Ritter matchup was not polled.

Despite this story being the nail in Bob Beauprez's coffin in 2006, the Villafuerete-Voorhis saga is showing some remarkable starying power. The Denver Post reports today that the issue just isn't going away in Stephanie Villafuerte's U.S. Attorney appointment:

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama questioned U.S. Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano this morning about the firing of a Colorado immigration agent and asked why the agent's supervisor still has a job, despite the agency's finding that he was not telling the truth about the accessing of a restricted federal database.

"I am not personally familiar with this," Napolitano replied during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Homeland Security. "But I will become personally familiar with it."

The exchange is the first public indication that Sessions is closely following the case of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis. That could be significant because Sessions, as the ranking Republican on the judiciary committee, will have a say in Stephanie Villafuerte's nomination to be Colorado's next U.S. attorney.

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A press release from the Colorado Republican Party whacks Bill Ritter on the Villafuerte scandal.

DENVER - Colorado Republicans today called on Governor Bill Ritter's deputy chief of staff, Stephanie Villafuerte, to either answer questions regarding possible inappropriate conduct during the 2006 campaign or she should withdraw her nomination for U.S. Attorney.

"It is time for Stephanie Villafuerte and her boss Bill Ritter to finally come clean on possible inappropriate behavior during their efforts to smear ICE agent Cory Voorhis," said Colorado Republican State Chairman Dick Wadhams.  "Mark Udall and Michael Bennet should withdraw their support of Villafuerte until these questions are answered."

"Today's revelations in the Denver Post are very disturbing and suggest direct collusion between then-Ritter campaign official Villafuerte and the Denver District Attorney's office," Wadhams said.  "What did Bill Ritter know and when did he know about these possible illicit conversations and inappropriate actions?"

"It is incomprehensible that Ritter's spokesman would actually suggest Villafuerte will possibly answer questions if and when she is confirmed by the Senate as U.S. Attorney," Wadhams said.  "That's comparable to an alleged thief saying he will answer questions on why he robbed a bank after he's acquitted."

This certainly leads to some credibility issues with Ritter.  Well, one among many.
 

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I know I’m a bit late on this, but I was struck recently thinking about Senator Josh Penry and Governor Bill Ritter’s back and forth related to the hiring of state employees. In an article this past month, The Denver Post illustrated the arguments of both governor candidates Penry and Ritter.

From The Denver Post:

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce has delivered a list of business tax breaks to the governor's office that it thinks should be preserved to prevent damaging the state's economic recovery.

The business organization also is asking Gov. Bill Ritter for more detail from his revenue staff about which industry sectors benefit from various tax credits and exemptions before it joins talks on how to spare the state's budget from severe cutbacks.

In recent weeks, lawmakers have suggested scaling back, nixing or suspending tax benefits or loopholes for businesses to avoid sacrificing dollars intended for education and other social programs.

So far, the state business community has resisted offering suggestions, instead stressing the value to the economy that existing tax benefits provide.

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I have to admit, it struck me as odd to see Ritter’s Chief of Staff posting the governor’s latest fundraising numbers on the Dead Guv’s site. All I could think about was half of Ritter’s staff in one room poring over the state budget for areas to cut and in the other is Carpenter happily counting cash in a dark room with one flickering, swinging light bulb. 

As Colorado citizens and state employees continue to make sacrifices, at least we can continue to read witty press releases and twitter updates from Ritter’s vast communications team.

The Denver Post reports:

During Ritter's gubernatorial campaign, Villafuerte came under scrutiny for her role in the federal case brought against immigration agent Cory Voorhis.

Voorhis was charged and later acquitted of improperly accessing a federal crime database and providing information to the campaign of Ritter's 2006 opponent, Bob Beauprez.

Records showed that Villa fuerte had called a staffer at the Denver district attorney's office and apparently asked about the same person Voorhis had checked in the federal database.

A short time after Villa fuerte's call, the DA's office also accessed the federal database to get the same information as Voorhis.

The Denver Post has done some probing into the Ritter administration and revealed an odd series of exchanges surrounding the resignation of David Skaggs:

The state's higher education chief edited his resignation letter at the request of the governor's office, toning down language referring to "a principled disagreement" and dropping mention of a controversial "strategic plan" altogether, records show.

Both the first draft of David Skaggs' resignation letter and his correspondence with Gov. Bill Ritter's aides refer to tensions surrounding the upcoming revamp of the state's strategy for its beleaguered higher education system. But the exact nature of the disagreement remains unclear.

"I am grateful to have had the opportunity to help lead . . . the development of a new strategic plan for state higher education," Skaggs, the former director of the Department of Higher Education, wrote in his first draft, dated Aug. 27. "I deeply regret that we have encountered an area of principled disagreement regarding the management of the Department and the work of the Commission."

Following a meeting with Ritter Chief of Staff Jim Carpenter, those comments were changed for the draft of Skaggs' resignation letter that was released to the media Aug. 28

This entire incident is rather indicative as a whole of the Ritter administration. Here we have a Governor so afraid of taking any sort of stand or potentially stirring anyone up that his staff panicked over a reference to a "principled disagreement."

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As local grocery workers struggle for increased benefits, the rest of the state learns what increased pay means for the union bosses. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 union represents Colorado and Wyoming meatpackers, grocery workers and healthcare workers. I would wager these folks aren’t driving around in fancy cars and are more than likely concerned more about sending their kids to college and trying to sock money away in savings.

Here’s what you got union grocery workers: contract talks are falling apart, the democrat leadership that your money also heavily supported bailed on you with the governor’s veto and there appears to be a corruption probe by the US Department of Labor. If you stopped paying union dues now, at least you could argue your take home pay went up.

Perhaps feeling nervous about hinging his own political career on Senator Who and the soured deal with Andrew Romanoff,  Bill Ritter has decided to drag Mark Udall and Bernie Buescher into his suicide pact with Michael Bennet on the eve of Andrew Romanoff's entry into the Democratic primary. The Ritter for Governor campaign blasted out a fundraising email on behalf of Bennet (is it even legal for a state committee to plug a federal candidate?) that reads in part:

Michael has only served for a short time, but he has already earned a reputation in Colorado and in Washington as a serious, thoughtful and straightforward public servant.

This is not surprising because no matter what the context -- business, government, or public education -- Michael has built a long record of success, of doing big things, of not shrinking from hard choices or entrenched interests. We don't need to tell you that we need more of that in Washington.

Please stand with us as we stand with Michael. We fully support Michael's campaign for election in 2010, and are asking you to join us in this effort.

The email was signed by Ritter, Udall, and Buescher.

It doesn't bode well for a Governor's re-election prospects when they are greeted with protests at a steak fry. The Associated Press reports:

The protests came before Ritter spoke to the semiannual meeting of representatives from 22 Western Slope counties Saturday. They centered on Ritter's oil-and-gas policies, tax increases, his support for a health care overhaul, and his decision to close a Grand Junction center where 32 developmentally disabled people receive care.

One protester outside the meeting repeatedly yelled, "Ritter stinks" while others waved signs.

Ritter staffers said they had not seen such protests on the governor's previous trips around the state.

Following up on the Washington Post's recent article predicting doom for Colorado Democrats, Rasmussen Reports follows up with polls on the Governor and Senate races showing bad news for Michael Bennet and Bill Ritter.

Colorado Governor's Race

Scott McInnis: 44%
Bill Ritter: 39%

Bill Ritter: 41%
Josh Penry: 40%

Colorado Senate Race

Ryan Frazier: 40%
Michael Bennet: 39%

Michael Bennet: 43%
Ken Buck: 37%

Of course, the NRSC is poised to piss away any gains in the Senate race by forcing through a divisive candidate as their annointed candidate and fracturing the party in the process. But, hey, us dumb hicks out here in flyover country can't be trusted to pick our own representation.

On another note, this is RMR's 1000th post so pop out the champagne and have a toast to the conservative  blogosphere. Or not.

( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )

The past couple of days in both The Daily Sentinel and The Denver Post, the papers cover a budget battle between Gov. Ritter and Gov-candidate Penry. At issue is the proposed closure of a Grand Junction mental health facility that helps people with severe developmental disabilities. Penry is undoubtedly frustrated with Ritter’s decision to cut services to constituents that cannot care for themselves. However, Ritter’s office said these are part of the difficult decisions involved with the necessary budget cuts.

Now, that’s money well spent on a lobbyist! Favors keep coming event after they’re gone.

( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )

Renowned reporter/blogger Chris Cillizza spends time this morning writing about Senator Josh Penry and his campaign to be the next Governor of Colorado.  In his "The Rising" series, Cillizza has spent time exploring the new faces of the GOP and what the party is doing to put forward candidates that don't fall in to the "same old same old" category.  It's a great piece that's worth reading:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/

This is just further evidence that Penry's campaign and his message of making a clean break from the GOP jokers that got our party in a ditch is gaining serious traction. 

The Washington Post has taken note of Obama's unusually low approval rating in the state and the Romanoff/Ritter civil war:

Bennet is preparing for a difficult general-election campaign, but his most immediate problem is a likely primary challenge from Andrew Romanoff, a former speaker of the Colorado House.

Romanoff was a leading candidate for the Salazar vacancy before Ritter tapped Bennet, and other Democrats see his challenge to Bennet as motivated more by personal pique than by principled differences with him. Whatever his motivation, Romanoff creates one more obstacle in Bennet's path as he tries to win his Senate seat outright.

Ritter also has problems. Foremost is the challenge facing every governor this year and next: how to run a state in the middle of a recession that has created a sizable budget deficit.