Blogging the Denver SOTU protest

At democrats.org, only a few people had signed up to attend the State of the Union rally on the west steps of the capitol. So I was surprised to see about three dozen people taking the opportunity to express their feelings about the Bush administration.

I'm not saying CD7 candidate Herb Rubenstein was the only candidate there. But he was the only one I saw. Give the man credit for reaching out.

The State of the Union is starting as I type these words. I am sure the national blogs will have plenty of coverage. Try daily kos.

UPDATE: This thread is open for comments on the speech. At least Bush identified the right issues - terrorism, the Iraq mess, the environment and healthcare. I was afraid he'd start rambling about nonissues like steroids or Mars again.

Kerry coming to Denver

TakeBackTheHouse just posted this:

"Yesterday I mentioned that I might have some info on an event coming up on Feb. 24th. Alito filibustering blogger, Senator Kerry will be coming to Colorado on that day, and in addition to a number of other stops in support of Democratic organizations and candidates, he will be helping Ed Perlmutter take CO-7 out of Republican hands. I know the when, Feb. 24th from 2-4 pm..."

Read the whole story over at Soapblox.

Unrelated link: This video about Bush's domestic spying program is funny stuff.

I think my head just exploded

The Rocky Mountain News leads today's paper with a frontpage, fawning profile of Tom Tancredo.

Mentions of the fact Tancredo is up for re-election this year? Zero. Mentions of Democratic challenger Bill Winter? Zero.

Keep in mind that the Rocky published a puff piece on Tancredo on December 16, 2005, just six weeks ago. And the Denver Post published their own mash note to Tancredo on November 27, 2005.

I already knew Denver's papers had a conservative bias. But today's article borders on journalistic malpractice. Contact the Rocky and cancel your subscription.

UPDATE: Sometimes I blog when I am mad. Now that I am not, I want to give a frontpage response to some of the criticism I got for blasting the Rocky.

First, Tom Tancredo has let his obsession with protecting his version of our national identity preclude any sort of responsibility he has to the people of CD6. Any article that does not admit this upfront is biased.

Second, most people don't critically read newspaper articles. The frontpage photo is clearly pro-Tancredo.

Third, Tacredo has received a lot of press recently. More than Hefley, Musgrave, DeGette or any other congressperson. Some of his press has been good and some of it bad. But the sheer volume of words dedicated to this loudmouth is staggering. It needs to stop. So I encourage everyone to contact the Rocky and let them know that you are sick of Tom Tancredo.

Get behind lobby reform bill

I wrote about the importance of HB 1149 about five days ago. The lobby reform bill is coming up tomorrow. And, Mike Weissman, the Colorado Dems and Progress Now Action are asking people to get behind it. Read what the bill is about. And then call your congresspeople and tell them to support it. You can find contact info at thismatters.org.

UPDATE: You can read about some of the fallout of the bill in the Rocky Mountain News. Including Repub. Repre. David Schultheis' confusing contention that cleaning up the lobbying system will convince the public that lobbyists are dirty. "This is one of a number of bills we get up here every year that implies we all are crooks," Schultheis said.

Bill Ritter strikes back

Just got the following release from Bill Ritter's office. And its honest, take-no-prisoners attitude demonstrates what I like about Ritter, even though I differ from him on a couple issues:

"Bill Ritter, the leading Democratic candidate for governor, today issued the following statement regarding ongoing speculation about the gubernatorial race:

"'I'm in this race for the long haul regardless of who else may or may not get in,' said Ritter, who named Colorado Children's Campaign president Barbara O'Brien as his lieutenant governor running mate two weeks ago. 'We're committed to leading Colorado to a better place and creating hope and opportunity for all Coloradans.'

"'I hope Mayor Hickenlooper remains in office and finishes the job he started,' Ritter added. 'Regardless of his final decision, I remain focused on talking with Coloradans from every corner of this state and reclaiming the governor's office for Democrats.'

"Ritter, 49, was appointed by then-Gov. Roy Romer as Denver district attorney in 1993. Ritter was elected three times after that and served until January 2005. He recently left his job with the law firm of Hogan & Hartson to campaign full time. O'Brien also is resigning her job at the Children's Campaign to join the Ritter ticket."

Short takes on Colorado politicians

Just now at Soapblox, Phoenix Rising wrote that Salazar has voted for cloture. Looks like Alito will be joining the Supreme Court. You heard it here second.

A coloradolib reader had this idea: "Allard always has a poll on his site... What if we encourage everybody we know to go there often and take the poll?" OK. You're all encouraged. Today's poll is about animal rights. Go to allard.senate.gov/public.

The Rocky Mountain News reports Hickenlooper is "still on the fence." Yawn.

Lunchbreak blogging

Most people use their lunchbreak to run some errands or hit the gym. Not me. Oh no. I use mine to do mostly worthless but sort of interesting statistical analysis of the Colorado governor's race.

I was curious which candidate was getting the most mentions online. So I entered the following searches into Google and got the folowing results.

+"bob beauprez" +governor = 61,700
+"john hickenlooper" +governor = 41,500
+"bill ritter" +governor = 35,000
+"marc holtzman" +governor = 31,300

When I performed the same search with the added term "+2006," the order of candidates remained the same.

+"bob beauprez" +governor +2006 = 43,000
+"john hickenlooper" +governor +2006 = 28,300
+"bill ritter" +governor +2006 = 26,100
+"marc holtzman" +governor +2006 = 20,000

What does this mean? Probably nothing. But I expected Holtzman to have more results than he did. It seems like the guy is in the news every day. Instead, his rival for the Republican nomination is doubling up on him.

Marc Holtzman all over the place

Republican candidate for governor Marc Holtzman is making a "surprise announcement" at 1 p.m. today, according to Coloradopols. Conservative blogs (like Mount Virtus), have been gossiping that Holtzman will name former House Speaker Lola Spradley as his running mate.

Holtzman is also in the Denver Post today. Apparently his donors include John Elway. The idea of my boyhood hero giving money to Marc Holtzman makes me get all teary-eyed.

More interestingly, Holtzman once gave money to Democrat Mayor John Hickenlooper's campaign. That little factoid should put to rest claims that Hickenlooper is some sort of flaming liberal. And it shows Holtzman's hypocrisy when he said that there was a "secular, godless tone" to Hickenlooper's administration and "rogue municipality."

Let me get this straight, Marc. You donated money to help create a godless rogue municipality? Tsk, tsk.

State of the Union watch parties?

The Democrats are encouraging people to watch the State of the Union in groups. (Hopefully, this is less about encouraging group-think and more about making sure people don't skip the speech in favor of whatever is on the WB.) The only party I've found in Denver is on the steps of the state capitol. I'm not sure if there's going to be a TV set up there or what. Anybody got information on that event or a better idea?

SAFER thanks Weissman

I know one group that is pretty psyched about Louisville Democratic State House Representative Paul Weissman's successful (and then not successful) attempt to change Colorado's marijuana laws. I got an email from SAFER that states:

"Yesterday, the Colorado House of Representatives passed a measure designed to protect the citizens of Denver - who passed a law making the possession of marijuana legal in the city - from prosecution for marijuana possession under state law. This is the first time in U.S. history that a state legislative body has voted to remove state penalties for recreational marijuana use! Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived, as the provision was later removed from the bill. SAFER would like to thank Rep. Paul Weissman (D-Louisville) for proposing the original amendment, and we encourage you to thank him, too... Here is the e-mail address he has posted on his Web site: reppaul@aol.com."

Four reasons to be glad you live in Colorado

This is my 200th post on coloradolib. And I ain't gonna waste it on negativity. Not when there is so much good stuff going on.

1. Right now, activists are spending their Saturday at Building to Be the Change.

2. Progress Now Action bloggers infiltrated the Leadership Program of the Rockies yesterday. Read all about it on their blog.

3. Democrats are gonna win the governor's mansion in November. Right now, Democrat Bill Ritter is trailing Bob Beauprez, 39% to 38%. That's just one percentage point! That's nothing, considering Beauprez has much higher name recognition. Plus the Holtzman/Beauprez primary will leave both Republicans badly bruised. By November, a Democrat will be governor and Beauprez's CD7 seat may be in Democratic hands.

4. Bill Winter vs. Tom "A Fence Around CD6" Tancredo. If you aren't psyched about this race one way or the other, you're probably reading the wrong blog.

Two reasons to wish you lived someplace else

1. Today, our Colorado state legislators accidentally passed an amendment that made it easier for Denver pot smokers to escape prosecution. After they realized what they'd done, they killed the amendment. No word on whether they got high in the brief period in between. You can read about it in the Rocky Mountain News.

2. Two Colorado FEMA employees got busted taking kickbacks in New Orleans. Again, you can read the story in the Rocky.

Man, suddenly Colorado feels kind of icky.

Anybody wanna be U.S. Attorney in Colorado?

It is amazing to me that Republican Senator Wayne Allard supports the president when Bush embarrasses him like this. Coloradopols reports:

"Sen. Wayne Allard nominated three people to succeed former U.S. Attorney John Suthers... more than a year ago. Since then, nothing has happened... The White House is supposed to approve a name for confirmation, but they've never gotten around to it... Allard Chief of Staff Sean Conway calls it, 'an embarassment.'"

There are all sorts of resulting problems. Read about the story at Coloradopols.com.

Updated links

I added a few links to coloradolib today. And separated the Democratic sites and blogs. It got me thinking. There are plenty of interesting conservative blogs. Like Vodka Pundit, which occasionally makes sense. Or Atlas Shrugs, which almost never makes sense but is apparently written by a woman who is a dead ringer for Charisma Carpenter. But I have yet to find a locals-only conservative blog which covers Colorado the way that Soapblox or some of the other liberal blogs do. If anybody knows of one, please post a comment on this thread.

Grammar: A lesson from David Schultheis

David Schultheis, current HD14 representative and SD9 candidate, has apparently taken up a second career as a grammar teacher. An eccentric, bigoted grammar teacher.

A leaked memo reveals that Schultheis is adamant that legislators refer not to "undocumented workers" or "illegal immigrants," but to "illegal aliens." (You can download a PDF of the memo here. Hat-tip to ProgressNowAction.)

Aliens? Now that's a word that's sure to make people reach for their laserguns.

Why do I suspect the representative's desire is less about love of proper English and more about wanting to dehumanize and demonize illegal immigrants?

PR from Ritter and Draft Hick

Dueling press releases from Democratic candidates for governor this morning. Bill Ritter's team writes, "Bill Ritter and Barbara O'Brien, Democratic candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, will be making separate campaign stops through southern Colorado this weekend." Meanwhile the Draft Hick crew writes, "The job before us has changed: We no longer need to Draft Hick to run for governor; we now must Draft Hick to win the Democratic primary on August 8, 2006. A crucial Invisible Primary is going on for the Democratic nomination for governor as you read this."

Hat-tip to Coloradopols for pointing out the latest polls at Rassmussen Reports. Hickenlooper crushes all comers, while Ritter is narrowly behind the likely Republican opponents. But I expect Ritter to pick up steam as he continues to campaign. And Hickenlooper to start losing support in late March if he hasn't declared by then.

Drinking with Bill, part two: The speech

I'm a sucker for America. When I hear somebody - even Bush - talk about the promise of a land where people govern themselves, I get excited.

What I can't stand is when people tell me that loving your country means assuming it's perfect. If you truly love your country, you have to be vigilant. You have to take care of it. Every day.

That was the message that CD6 candidate Bill Winter delivered last night to a room of about 25 people. He made flatout the most inspirational speech I have ever heard. Rambling, rough edges and all, Winter reminded us of the promise of America.

Winter has dedicated his life to service. He volunteered for the military. Twice. He gave a up a six-figure salary to teach school. And now he is putting himself on the line to help America get rid of one of the worst congresspeople in its history. He is a person who loves America. And who deserves your support.

TakeBackTheHouse has posted a detailed account of the night over at Soapblox. Go read it. And then go to winterforcongress.com, donate, and volunteer to help Winter win in November. Your country is counting on you.

Drinking with Bill, part one: Linkmania

Thanks to John and the team from Soapblox for putting together a great installment of Drinking Liberally. CD6 candidate Bill Winter was our guest. And his comments deserve their own post.

Hello to the people that write Heading Left, YAL and Tovah Dancer. Nice seeing you all.

Also, thanks to CD7 candidate Herb Rubenstein for dropping by. Always good to chat with Herb.

Speaking of CD7, Aaron told me Ed Perlmutter's new blog is up. So check that out.

And I learned a bit about Equal Rights Colorado 2006 Lobby Day on February 20. I'll post more about the event as it gets closer. But Pat told me they are expecting a crowd of a couple hundred people to meet legislators and get lobbying tips. You can learn more at equalrightscolorado.org, and I'll post a reminder for the event as it draws near.

So, uh, yeah. Lots of stuff going on. But the man of the hour was Bill Winter. And I'll post about his speech shortly.

Meet up with other liberal types

Liberal? Like beer? Come to Drinking Liberally tonight. Our guest will be Democratic CD6 candidate Bill Winter.

Liberal? Female? Live in Arapahoe County? Get on the Women in Gear email list at womeningear@aol.com.

Hickenlooper wearing out his supporters

On November 25, I told Jay Marvin's listeners that I thought it was high time for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper to decide if he was interested in the governor's race. On December 17, I wrote that I was getting sick of his waffling. Today it looks like the Denver Post agrees with me. And it doesn't sound like Hickenlooper will announce a decision this week. He is in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

My main gripe? Hickenlooper's stalling may be hurting Democrat Bill Ritter's campaign. In the Post, Bob Loevy, a political science professor at Colorado College, said, "He is harming Bill Ritter's candidacy... and really owes it to the Democrats and Ritter to put himself in or out of the race by the precinct caucuses."

The precinct caucuses? That's the end of March! Bob Beauprez is campaigning fulltime and Marc Holtzman has offended 85% of Colorado already. The Democratic candidates need to get moving now.

Brokeback Greeley

Brokeback Mountain is a powerful film. How could it not be? Great director. Majestic setting. Timeless story of unfufilled love. But it's not playing so well with cowboys in Greeley, according to the Tribune. I'm going to defend the cowboys on this one. There are a lot of people out there who didn't enjoy The Notebook, Phantom of the Opera or Moulin Rouge. They shouldn't be forced to see a movie they know they're going to hate just to prove they're not homophobic.

Two stories about Morgan Carroll

Democratic State Representative Morgan Carroll got a gift yesterday, when Republican challenger Brian Boney dropped out of the race for personal reasons.

In other Carroll-related news, the HD36 representative has introduced a lobby reform bill (HB 1149) which will be heard on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 1:30 p.m. The bill:

1. Requires lobbyists to disclose the bill numbers in addition to the descriptions of bills they are lobbying.

2. Requires lobbyists to disclose the position they are lobbying for their client.

3. Requires lobbyists to disclose campaign contributions to candidates or elected officials.

4. Requires lobbyists to disclose business relationships or affiliations with lobbyists.

5. Clarifies definition of employer, principal and client to close the disclosure loopholes that hide true clients.

6. Creates a one-year cooling off period before lawmakers, executive elected officials, and executive department heads can become lobbyists.

Colorado was threatened with a failing grade from the Center for Public Integrity because of loopholes in our law. Rep. Carroll's bill takes the state a lot closer to best practices in this area. Call your state representative before Tuesday and make sure your voice is heard.

UPDATE: ProgressNowAction has a petition to support Carroll's bill. Sign it on their website.

Soapblox: "Democrats standing up for property rights"

The Republicans used to stand for less beauracracy, fewer abortions, deficit control, a strong military, rigid ethics, and generally keeping government out of our lives. They have surrendered all those positions to the Democrats. Now, as Republicans try to seize more and more land for their buddies in the gas and mineral business, Soapblox reports that Democrats are starting to stick up for private property rights. The Ayn Rand fan in me is doing a little jig.

Exactly who out there is still voting Republican? The pro-life movement? No, 73% of Coloradoans say our government should have no say at all in the abortion debate. The "refuse to admit a mistake" movement? Perhaps. The gas and mineral business? Most definitely.

Dr. Warren Hern takes on Bill Ritter

A little over a month ago, I received a couple emails from Dr. Warren Hern, explaining his opposition to Democratic candidate for governor Bill Ritter. Hern believes that a pro-life Democratic governor would set the women's rights movement back even further than a pro-life Republican governor.

Hern popped up in the Rocky Mountain News today. The article states that "Dr. Warren Hern delivered a lengthy statement on Ritter's candidacy in the Capitol Building on Monday, a day after the 33rd anniversary of the Roe. vs. Wade decision. 'Although I want to see a Democrat returned to the governor's office in Colorado, I will not accept this at the cost of the loss of freedom of access to safe abortion services for Colorado women,' he said. Hern said Ritter's views on the issue represent 'a historic step backward' for the Democratic Party."

Ritter is "personally against abortion. But he has said that if elected governor, he would 'oppose any effort that would seek to criminalize women or their doctors over this issue' and that he would 'enforce existing laws, including Roe. vs. Wade.'"

Hern is a thoughtful advocate for women's rights, but I don't agree that Ritter would be more injurious to the pro-choice movement than, say Marc Holtzman. If you don't like the candidates, affiliate with a party and work to get better candidates. Don't ruin the country out of spite on election day.

Salazar appointed to Ethics Committee

In 2004, I watched Ken Salazar debate Pete Coors on Meet the Press. When the show was over, I called a friend and said, "Is it my imagination, or does Colorado have the weakest Senate candidates in the history of the world? Neither one of these guys can even form a sentence."

Well, I was wrong on two counts. First, Oklahoma's 2004 Senate candidates have been scientifically determined to have been the weakest in our nation's history. Secondly, our junior senator has shown a real knack for getting down in DC.

The latest evidence comes in the form of a press release from Salazar's website. He announced that he has been appointed to the Senate Ethics Committee. The Rocky Mountain News seems to think this puts Salazar in a precarious position. Being on the Ethics Committee "can put a member of congress in an uncomfortable position at times, as Colorado Springs Republican Rep. Joel Hefley learned last year, when he chaired the House Ethics Committee and presided over an investigation into his party's leader, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. After DeLay was admonished three times for campaign fundraising and other issues, Hefley was replaced as committee chairman. Democrats and government watchdogs cried foul, claiming Hefley was being punished for enforcing ethics rules."

But with scandals all over our nation's capitol, the Ethics Committee should be on the frontpage a lot. And people will be watching more closely than they were when Hefley got railroaded by his own party. I think the committee is a pretty good place for any ambitious politician to be.

Detour alert! National stats ahead!

I try to keep coloradolib local. But this paragraph in Molly Ivins CNN anti-triangulation editorial deserves to be passed around. Ivins was blasting Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and other Democrats who shift right in an effort to appear "centrist." She points out that sticking up for liberal ideals shouldn't be difficult:

"What kind of courage does it take, for mercy's sake? The majority of the American people (55%) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65%) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86%) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60%) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66%) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes. The majority (77%) thinks we should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment. The majority (87%) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. Who are you afraid of?"

Grossman won't run for re-election

There has been speculation on coloradopols for weeks. And now Democratic State Senator Dan Grossman has made it official. He will not seek re-election. Meanwhile, the Rocky Mountain News breathlessly fawns over four young "rock stars" from the Republican party.

This is the first year in a long time when I felt that the Democratic bench was deeper than the Republican bench. In the governor's race, for instance, the Democrats could run any of several great candidates without hurting the state or the party. The Republicans, on the other hand, had to pluck their candidate, Bob Beauprez, away from the U.S. House, where he had a seat on the Ways and Means Committee. This prompted the The Denver Post to say Beauprez "abandoned his responsibilities to the people of Colorado."

Now Grossman is out. And the Republicans are making celebrities out of their state legislators. I hope the Democrats can find some bright young "rock stars" of their own.

The Lamms vs. democracy

Only the most politically obsessed will spend their Broncos Playoff Sunday reading a local liberal blog. For you troubled souls, I suggest Richard and Dottie Lamm's editorial in today's Denver Post. The Lamms think that democracy may be unable to cope with current economic and environmental challenges.

Not depressed yet? Try visiting ovaloffice2008.com. It's a non-partisan blog run by a Londoner who tracks all of America's potential presidential candidates. The only Colorado politician on the site? Tom Tancredo.

Terrorism: One down, one to go

Federal prosectuors have announced 11 indictments against the eco-terrorists allegedly responsible for the 1998 Vail fire. This is great news. I hope the criminals are punished. And after they are punished, and after the secular despot Saddam Hussein is punished, and after Bush gets done chopping wood on his ranch in Texas, I hope someone in the administration finds some time to go after the Islamic fundamentalist terrorists that are the real threat to our country.

Since 9/11, official U.S. government websites have listed 27 known terrorists. How many have been captured or killed? Three. And how many convictions has our government won against members of Al Qaeda? Only twenty-three as of June 2005.

Is it insane for me to suggest that perhaps we ought to pay at least as much attention to Al Qaeda as we do to the Earth Liberation Front?

The ups and downs of Herb's latest newsletter

Here's what I liked about the latest newsletter from CD7 candidate Herb Rubenstein:

1. "Herb Rubenstein was the only candidate in this race to attend the annual retreat of the 32 MetroMayor Caucus on January 14th at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science." OK, seems like a good start.

2. Herb has a winning campaign manager. "Terry Snyder managed Mitch Morrisey's successful campaign for District Attorney."

3. Herb gave much attention to CD7's status in the scientific community. Including where it's a leader. And where the challenges are.

Here's what I didn't like.

1. I distinctly remember several people telling him that email open rates are highest on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I'm not sure that 5:15 p.m. on a Friday was the best time to make contact with constituents.

2. Of all the links to Al Gore's recent epic speech, Herb provided the one that led to the Drudge Report. The Drudge Report? Why not a liberal or at least credible site? Like algore-08.com?

You can sign up for Herb's newsletters at herbforcongress.com, if you are so inclined.

Ritter picks up Teamsters endorsement

To my knowledge, I've known exactly one Teamster in my entire life. But they pop up on The Simpsons fairly regularly, so I know they're important. Bill Ritter, a Democratic candidate for governor, just announced that he has been endorsed by the Colorado Council of Teamsters.

Apparently, Ritter was union worker at one point. The news release states, "Ritter himself was a member of Laborers Local 720 more than 20 years ago working his way through college and law school as a pipelayer."

With all the politicians and organizations endorsing Bill Ritter, you wonder if anybody is going to be around to get on the Hickenlooper bandwagon if and when he declares. Then again, I haven't the slightest idea what organizations endorsed Mares or Hickenlooper in the last mayoral race. After all, it is the voters that pull the levers on Election Day.

UPDATE: Coloradopols has some insight on how much the endorsement really means.

Beef according to Colorado Senators

Democratic Colorado Senator Ken Salazar is among those requesting a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on the USDA Packers Program Audit. Apparently the audit discovered that the USDA was logging phony investigations to "keep up appearances of enforcement while none were taking place." Read Salazar's Jan. 19 letter on his website.

Meanwhile, Republican Colorado Senator Wayne Allard wonders why Japan is considering banning U.S.A. beef.

Colorado Consumer Health Initiative update

Just got an update from CCHI about what state bills they are watching right now:

"The Health Assurance Districts bill (SB 47) was voted out of the Senate Local Government committee on Thursday, Jan 19th! This legislation will give local communities more opportunities to fund healthcare services, and CCHI is actively supporting its passage. On Monday, January 23rd, the Hospital-Acquired Infections bill (HB 1045) will be up for a vote in the House Health and Human Services committee. This legislation will require hospitals, dialysis centers, and long term care facilities to report their rates of hospital-acquired infections to the public for consumer review and use."

Every year, the Consumer Health Initiative monitors healthcare legislation in the Colorado legislature. For more information, visit cohealthinitiative.org.

Even Republicans need Denver

Thanks to Dailykos for providing a link to some recent polls about retiring Republican Governor Bill Owens. The governor's popularity has risen substantially over the past couple months. But the stats that surprised me showed how closely Owens' statewide approval rating tracks with his Denver rating. In fact, he is more popular in the metro area than he is in the rest of the state. This should serve as a warning to any candidate for governor who thinks he can badmouth Denver, its voters and its mayor and still win his primary with votes from the Western Slope, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins.

And while we're discussing Marc Holtzman, maybe a Republican coloradolib reader (I know there are at least three of you!) can answer a question for me. I tried to track down Mr. Holtzman's website and blog to get his side of the story. But marc2006.com doesn't seem to have been updated for about three months. (His "Notes From The Road" section begins, "Last Monday, November 7, the alarm went off...") Do I have the wrong campaign website address?

Three excuses to boogie

One of my favorite folks is on the campaign trail. Democrat Karen Middleton is defending her CD7 Board of Education seat. She will be hosting a trio of fundraisers on February 10th, 11th and 12th. Anyone who hits all three wins my undying admiration. You can get details at Karen's website.

Parsing the puzzle that is Marc Holtzman

I dare anybody to read the Rocky Mountain News without getting a headache. Republican candidate for governor Marc Holtzman, apparently confusing attention with praise, sounded off with a hysterical web of accusations.

Holtzman claimed Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper wanted to cancel Christmas, an apparent allusion to Hickenlooper's attempt to include multiple religions in the city's holiday parade.

He accused Hickenlooper of running a Mason-like secret society, dedicated to destroying Christianity. "There's a secular, godless undertone to the policies of the administration... Happy holidays is a code word for the secular left."

Holtzman broke with the individualist policies of the Republican party to say that Hickenlooper should have somehow subverted the will of the people during the Initiative 100 debate.

He claimed that "Hickenlooper is running a 'rogue municipality' that encourages illegal immigrants to call Denver home." There's that rogue term again.

And then he claimed that Hickenlooper and uber-Republican, never-votes-against-Bush, toe-the-party-line, good ol' boy Bob Beauprez are somehow similar. "Bob Beauprez is Hickenlooper light... There's not a lot of difference between the two."

Uh, yeah.

Salazar to vote no on Alito?

I am notoriously bad at guessing how Democrat Senator Ken Salazar will vote. But it looks like I may have actually called one right. A few days ago, I guessed Salazar would vote no on Alito. And today The Pueblo Chieftain reports that he is blasting Alito's views on presidential power and civil rights. In related news, hell froze over.

UPDATE: It's official. See the press release on Salazar's website.

UPDATE: You can follow GOP reaction at Soapblox.

UPDATE: Coloradopols reports that Salazar is making up new words. Oh, and he will not support a filibuster of Alito.

Blogging from Bill Ritter's press conference

Democrat candidate for governor Bill Ritter announced that Barbara O'Brien would be his running mate today. I dropped by the press conference and snapped the photo shown here. There was only one question asked by the media. "Why announce your running mate so early?" Ritter responded by citing the qualifications that, in his mind, will make O'Brien a great lieutenant governor.

When there were no other questions, Ritter deadpanned, "Barbara, this is the easiest press conference you will ever have."

Personally, I would have mentioned that I'd been campaigning for nearly seven months and it was about time to pick somebody. There's also the obvious answer that Ritter wanted to make sure Bob Beauprez didn't get all the press this week.

By the time I was back in my desk chair, a press release was waiting for me. It read, in part:

Bill Ritter, the leading Democratic candidate for governor, announced today that Barbara O'Brien will join him on the ticket as his lieutenant governor runningmate. For the past 15 years, O'Brien has served as president of the Colorado Children's Campaign, the state's top child-advocacy nonprofit agency. O'Brien becomes the first lieutenant governor candidate in the 2006 race.

Ritter searched the entire state for someone who shares his vision, his energy and his commitment to making Colorado a better place. O'Brien was an easy choice, he said.

"This campaign is about making a difference in people's lives and creating hope and opportunity. It's about the future of Colorado, and children are our future," Ritter said. "There is no one more dedicated to improving the lives of Colorado children and their families than Barbara O'Brien."

Ritter said O'Brien will be responsible for establishing a coordinated strategy aimed at improving the health and education of Colorado's kids. Colorado currently ranks 44th in the nation for 2-year-olds with full immunizations. "This administration will take Colorado from the bottom of the list to the Top 10 within two years," Ritter said.

O'Brien served as head speechwriter and deputy policy director for former Gov. Richard Lamm from 1983-85. During her tenure at the Children's Campaign, she was instrumental in creating the Colorado Child Health Plan, the Infant Immunization Act and the Tony Grampsas Youth Services Fund. She co-chaired the Amendment 35 (tobacco-tax increase) campaign committee and led the effort to get Amendment 23 (school funding) approved.

Coloradolib gets a facelift

Coloradolib is a very active blog. And I just got tired of looking at that light brown background. I realize switching to white may throw some folks. But all the links and the site feed should be unchanged. Let me know if you want me to switch back.

The domestic partnership debate

In perhaps the strangest news lead ever, today's Rocky Mountain News compares domestic partnerships to Britney Spears' ill-fated first marriage to that guy named, uh, ol' whats his name. (This is America. If a story doesn't relate to a celebrity, the News fears we just won't understand.)

Some Republicans will have one of two reactions to the Democrats' plan to give domestic partners the same rights as married couples.

1. This is just political posturing to preempt a culture war that the Dems might lose.

2. Those Democrats are gay lovers who are going to hell hell hell.

Both those reactions are ludicrous. This debate is about three things.

1. The Democrats didn't pick this fight. The wingnuts did.

2. The Democratic party believes that denying rights to individuals is wrong.

3. Nearly anything Colorado can do to encourage stable families is good.

Why can't the Republicans just be honest, stand up, and admit they think people can't take care of themselves?

Ritter to announce running mate

The Rocky Mountain News says that "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter will name Colorado Children's Campaign President Barbara O'Brien as his running mate today." I assume there will be a press release on this later today, and I'll update this thread then. I don't know much about O'Brien. Anyone who does, please chime in.

UPDATE: The press release just showed up. It doesn't mention O'Brien by name. It states, "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter will announce his choice for lieutenant governor at 11:30 a.m. today. Ritter will be the first candidate in the 2006 race to make a decision about his runningmate."

MP3 of Bill Winter on Air America

Soapblox has put an MP3 of CD6 candidate Bill Winter's recent radio interview online. Download it now. Want to hear what Winter has to say for yourself? Join us at Drinking Liberally at Double Daughters on Wednesday, January 25.

Demand common decency from Beauprez

Somewhere back in the coloradolib archives, I wrote about how Bob Beauprez was picking up bad habits in Washington DC. One of those, apparently, is rolling around in Tom DeLay's money. If Beauprez wants to lead this state, he should at the very least be ethical enough to give back the money he got from DeLay. Sign the petition at Progress Now Action.

Holtzman lets the bile flow

There are a few Republicans who seem rational, but who show their true colors when they are taken by surprise. (Dick Cheney and Tom Tancredo spring to mind.) Now we can put Republican candidate for governor Marc Holtzman in that category.

The Denver Post and Coloradopols report that last night, an unscripted question prompted a mini-tirade from Holtzman on how much he hates Denver. Holtzman called Hickenlooper a show horse who runs a rogue city government with an "overly secular agenda." He went on to say, "As governor, I will make sure state laws supersede the laws in that rogue city."

This is pandering, as state law almost always supercedes Denver law already. It's also bad politics. Denver is a Democrat stronghold, but insulting the half-million or so people that live there won't help Holtzman in the primary or the general election.

UPDATE: I did some research on what Holtzman may have been thinking when he called Denver a rogue city. When do the city's laws exempt it from state laws? I guess maybe he was referring to Denver's "home rule" status. So I tracked down a list of other home rule cities. (I found one at the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association site.) In Colorado, home rule cities include Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Arvada, Central City, Golden, Greeley, Gunnison, Sterling, Thornton, and Pueblo, among many others.

Am I missing something if I suggest that Holtzman thinks most of the cities in Colorado are rogue cities that should not be allowed to manage themselves? Perhaps local government types should vote Democrat in 2006.

Winter, Rice and Carroll: Golden Globe blogging

A lot of America is watching the Golden Globes right now. Personally, I think any film organization that thinks it can give awards without recognizing Christian Bale, Naomi Watts, Terrence Malick, David Fincher, Jim Uhls or Rob Zombie ought to be disbanded immediately.

But the awards got me thinking that there may be a lot of liberals in Hollywood. But none of them have ever been elected to public office. The Republican party, meanwhile, has elected Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sonny Bono, Fred Thompson and Ronald Reagan.

The Democrats are perceived as being the party of the Hollywood elite. But the reality isn't so simple.

Similarly, the Republican party is perceived as the darling of the military. But it is the Democrats who put their money where their mouths are. From John Kerry in 2004 to Colorado candidates Bill Winter, Jay Fawcett and Joe Rice in 2006.

Want more examples?

How about Ken Salazar's latest press release, calling for the Bush administration to give our troops the body armor they need?

Or today's press release from Morgan Carroll, announcing her new bill to finally provide housing for the troops that serve at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora. Rep. Carroll said, "The men and women at Buckley Air Force Base have served with great pride and distinction... The least we can do is make sure they have a place to live and access to basic state and federal services."

The list goes on and on like this.

There has been a lot of ruckus this year about the Fighting Dems. But the truth is that the Democrats have been fighting for our armed services for a long time. The Republicans? Maybe they're busy watching the Golden Globes, trying to find a 2008 presidential candidate.

Bob Beauprez blogs

I'm a Dem. But I'm also a blogger. And I have to admit that Bob Beauprez's new blog pretty much whups Bill Ritter's lack thereof. (Hat-tip to an anonymous Republican poster on Coloradopols.)

Even more news from Ritter for Governor

This morning, Coloradopols wondered why Bill Ritter for Governor chose to announce a flood of new endorsements on a Sunday. And now we know.

I just got another press release announcing the opening of Ritter's new campaign offices and inviting the press for a photo op. Two releases in two days? Seems to me like Ritter is trying to get his name in the press ahead of any announcement by John Hickenlooper or Alice Madden.

The release highlights the office's location in the old Ken Salazar for Senate digs. And it goes out of its way to point out how long Ritter has been campaigning:

"I'm hoping there's a lot of good karma left in this office to help get another moderate Democrat elected to statewide office," Ritter said. "After nearly seven months of campaigning in 2005, it feels great to now have the official campaign office up and running."

Ritter reminds us he was here first

The Post put Republican Bob Beauprez's official entry into the governor's race on the front page of the paper. And Democrat Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper gets more press than any non-candidate in the history of politics. But this afternoon's press release from the Bill Ritter for governor campaign showed that being first into the race has its advantages.

The release highlights super-popular state House speaker Andrew Romanoff's endorsement of Bill Ritter. And then goes on to list just a couple other politicians who have decided to back Ritter. Like state representatives Alice Borodkin, Terrance Carroll, Cheri Jahn and John Soper. And state senators Paula Sandoval and Jennifer Veiga. Plus former lawmakers Polly Baca, Nolbert Chavez, Mike Feeley, Ray Kogovsek, Stan Matsunaka, Gil Romero, Paul Sandova