Tag: colorado

As CO-07 goes, so does the nation?

That’s certainly the subtext of this Washington Post article on the district.  CO-07 is described as being an almost stereotypical suburban swing district (the article goes so far to describe it as being designed to be 50/50 in partisan breakdown); it currently has a two-term Democratic incumbent (Ed Perlmutter) and went 59% for Obama in the last election – thus making it representative of the Democratic wave of 2006-2008.  Today it’s being categorized as being representative of the receding of that wave; Perlmutter is vulnerable and facing an insurgent candidate in Ryan Frazier, and is actually (barely) behind Frazier in what polling exists.  Meanwhile, the article also notes that suburban districts nationally are breaking two-to-one in favor of Republican candidates in generic polling, which is probably making a lot of Democratic strategists frantic.

But probably not as much as the fact that it’s Ryan Frazier who’s looking like he’ll be beating Perlmutter.  Certainly the Washington Post (not to mention CBS in the link above) did their level best to avoid bringing up what may be the most inconvenient-to-Democrats* detail about the man…

Moe Lane

PS: Ryan Frazier for CO-07. Continue reading As CO-07 goes, so does the nation?

Sen. Michael Bennet (D, CO): Stimulus hypocrite.

Either that, or he’s lost all situational awareness of the relationship between cause and effect.

August, 2010:

…not only do we have $12 trillion in debt, not only have we mortgaged ourselves to the Chinese, but the tragedy of it is, we have absolutely nothing to show for it, absolutely nothing to show for it. We haven’t invested in our roads, our bridges, our transportation, our ports, anything.

September, 2010:

“I think passing the recovery package was an essential thing to do in order to save us from, you know, the Great Depression,” [Bennet] said.

Continue reading Sen. Michael Bennet (D, CO): Stimulus hypocrite.

Buck *invited* by Romanoff.

Acts of civility all around, really: Andrew Romanoff (former Democratic candidate for CO-SEN) decently invited Ken Buck (R CAND, CO-SEN) to his birthday party, and Ken graciously accepted that invite.  The birthday party was also a debt retirement party – the Colorado (and national, of course) Democratic establishment of course has no intention of encouraging future challengers to their anointed picks – so Ken’s present was along those lines.  Nothing objectionable about that at all, if you’re reasonable enough to recognize that there comes a time to put down the partisan rhetoric, particularly when the other side is holding out a legitimately conciliatory hand. Nothing objectionable, and perfectly reasonable.

Unless you’re a hyper-partisan Lefty, of course.  In that case, there’s nothing left for you but to mutter dark comments about “party crashers” and mock the losers of your primary.  And if you’re the guy who has to depend on these hyper-partisan Lefties to win, you encourage them by starting a negative ad campaign against the guy who got an invite to a birthday party and had the effrontery to bring a present.

No wonder Bennett’s now losing in the polls, apparently.  Too much time around the Democrat establishment, I wager.

#rsrh Tattooed vegan arrested for… guess.

Yup. Arson. Supposedly he calls himself “Lone Wolf” and is responsible for burning down a sheepskin factory, a leather factory, and a restaurant that sells foie gras*. A real eco-guerrilla, by all accounts.

So meet Lone Wolf:

(pause)

Ayup.

Moe Lane

PS: Actually, I think that it’s great that they’re starting to self-identify themselves in public like this, for the benefit of normal people.

*Which is admittedly kind of a not-nice food – force-feeding, and all that – but, shoot, it’s just ducks and geese.

Meet Bob McConnell (R CAND, CO-03).

He’s one of the candidates looking to upset John Salazar in November… and if given the chance, he just might do it, too. Bob’s a good guy and he was nice to talk with; I can see why Sarah Palin made it a point to endorse him. If he wins, I think that we have a race here.

Bob’s site is here.

Crossposted to RedState.

Colorado Democrats put more Amazon money in my pocket. #rsrh

(Via Instapundit) Not that I wanted them to, but if they’re going to insist on shutting down Colorado’s Amazon Affiliates program* I can at least look on the bright side.  Fortunately, there are enough Marylander legislators with working brain cells to continue to make it possible for me to put up this link:

Amazon.com

…and still hope to generate revenue from it.  I’m truly sorry that people from North Carolina, Rhode Island, and now Colorado can’t, but it’s not my fault that all three states have Democratic-controlled legislatures.

Oh, yeah, full disclosure: I generate revenue from Amazon Associate links.  As if you hadn’t guessed already.

Moe Lane

*More details here, including some pushback on the standard Lefty objections to Amazon.com ending its CO affiliates program.  See also here for a site dedicated to reversing this.

Colorado charging taxes on taxes.

Via Big Government:

Coloradans must pay a $1.50 waste-tire fee every time they dispose of an old tire at a retail outlet. And according to an “FYI Memo” from the state department of revenue, “ Effective August 5, 2009, the waste tire recycling development fee is considered part of the purchase price and is subject to sales tax.”

Based on the revenue of the waste-tire fee from previous years, this means the state and other sub-governments could collect a grand total of anywhere between $300,000 to $500,000…all because they are taxing a fee.

Memo here.  Three guesses which political party controls the executive and legislative branches of the state government of Colorado…

Moe Lane

PS: We will now pause while people complain that it’s technically a sales tax on a government fee, not a tax.  Wait, what?

Crossposted to RedState.

Gov. Bill Ritter (D-CO) abruptly withdrawing from re-election race?

Two questions: is it true? – and if it’s true, does it have anything to do with this?

Governor Ritter was embroiled in a separate controversy this year when he nominated his scandal-plagued chief of staff, who he is rumored to be having an extramarital affair with, to be the state’s top federal prosecutor. Stephanie Villafuerte abruptly withdrew her nomination to be Colorado’s next U.S. Attorney when the media exposed her role in illegally accessing a restricted database involving an illegal immigrant drug dealer who sexually assaulted a child after Ritter, then Denver District Attorney, gave him a probation deal.

No, that’s a completely different guy than Senator Max Baucus (D MT), who also tried to give his adulterous lover a job as a US Attorney. Apparently it’s becoming quite the fad among Democratic legislators these days.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

CO-GOV: Bill Ritter (D) at 40%.

It’s a bad time to be an incumbent Democrat:

Like many Democrats nationwide these days, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter who was easily elected in 2006 finds himself trailing his chief Republican opponent in a potential 2010 match-up.

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.

This is down from McInnis/Ritter 44/39 in September, and can’t really be blamed on the health care rationing bill, although it’s entirely possible that the Democrats’ recent decision to shut down the coal industry is a factor here.  What makes this fascinating to watch is that Bill Ritter was a 2006 Golden Child; even in 2008 he was popular.  Right now Colorado Democrats should be giving serious consideration to trying to replace him in the primary.

Won’t happen, of course.

Moe Lane

PS: Scott McInnis’ website is here.

Crossposted to RedState.

Non-aggressive bears non-aggressively invading Aspen.

[UPDATE]: Welcome, Instapundit readers.

Today’s “local bears collectively realize that people don’t shoot them on sight anymore” story comes to us from Aspen, Colorado (and via Drudge). They’re up to ten times the usual number of sightings, with a proportionate increase of well-meaning, yet dumb, comments from mystic environmentalists:

“Bears are emblematic of the Aspen community,” said Aspen resident Mark Goodman. “They are wild, beautiful, fabulous creatures that are awesome, yet you keep your distance … the beauty and the fear is what makes it so fascinating.”

Actually, they’re quarter-ton omnivores who fairly quickly work out that those metal cylindrical things usually contain a lot of perfectly edible food, that people keep around a good number of easily-caught animals, and that for some reason it takes a while for humans these days to start shooting off the boom-sticks in response to a black bear taking advantage of the first two points.  Not that I have anything against bears, but romanticizing them is a bad idea.  If for no other reason than because romanticizing them leads to this kind of cognitive dissonance:

Black bears tend to be timid and are generally not aggressive.

[snip]

In Aspen, three people this summer have been attacked in their own homes, including Maureen Hirsch. A bear came into her house through locked French doors.

I’d love to know what ‘aggressive’ even means in this context. The bear has a switchblade?

Moe Lane