Go Diana, go!

I've asked questions. Soapblox has asked questions. The Democratic CD7 candidates have asked questions. And now, CD1 Democratic congresswoman Diana DeGette is asking questions.

We all want to know why Republican CD7 candidate Rubber Stamp Rick O'Donnell has been able to give small groups of rich donors access to decision makers inside the Bush administration.

Contact DeGette. Thank her for standing up for her constituents. And tell her to keep asking questions.

Bill Ritter, healthcare, and an aside about Shawn Mitchell

What do Singapore, Slovenia, Taiwan and Cuba all have in common? According to the CIA, they all have lower infant mortality rates than the United States. Ditto for Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, about 30 other countries, and Macau, which is a special administrative region of China.

Point being, healthcare in America is not what it should be. And Colorado's system is in even worse shape. In fact, 17% of the people in our state don't even have basics like healthcare insurance.

Welcome to reason number 4,329 to vote for Democratic candidate for governor Bill Ritter.

Today's Rocky Mountain News reports that Ritter has set out the ambitious goal of securing healthcare coverage for the 770,000 Coloradans who live without it.

Republican gubernatorial candidates Marc Holtzman and Both Ways Bob Beauprez refused to join Ritter at yesterday's healthcare forum, which was sponsored by the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved. Instead the Republicans sent Shawn Mitchell. And what a mistake that was. Mitchell claimed governmental health insurance was a mistake because the Republican administration "that bungled the response to Hurricane Katrina would screw up health care."

You have to be kidding me. Basically Mitchell said, "We don't know how to govern. Please don't make us!"

Don't worry, Mitchell. We won't. We're throwing you all out in November.

Gordon ad Denver's best

Ken Gordon's newsletter points out that Westword gave his campaign an award for having the best political ad of the year. You can see the ad on Ken's website.

O'Donnell [heart] the White House

For bald-faced politicking, you just can't top Republican CD7 candidate Rubber Stamp Rick O'Donnell. First he claims he's a rebel who'll clean up the cesspool on the Potomac. Then he promptly turns around and goes fundraising with DC insiders like Vice President Dick Cheney, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, and EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson.

Now the Rocky reports O'Donnell is bringing in Ken Mehlman. Ken Mehlman? Will someone please tell me how fundraising with Bush's campaign manager and the chair of the RNC helps O'Donnell position himself as an outsider?

A.B.W.

I contacted the Larimer County Dems to see what they were planning to do about e-spammer Republican Jim Welker. I was informed that two Democrats have jumped into the race to remove him from his HD51 seat. Their names are Becky Jay and Jodi Radke.

Neither Jay or Radke has a website up. But I'm officially endorsing Anybody But Welker.

Tancredo depressed. Me, not so much.

A Senate committee passed a bill that includes a guest worker program yesterday, according to the Rocky. In response, Mad Tom Tancredo lashed out at everybody from Ted Kennedy to Wayne Allard.

Allard said, "Right now, a lot of our basic industries exist - particularly in Colorado - because of new immigrants. They support the tourism industry, agriculture, construction, not to mention the restaurant industry."

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go call my shrink. Agreeing with Wayne Allard on something has me all weirded out.

Winter is netroots' choice for progressive patriot

From Senator Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund:

"I'm proud to congratulate [Democratic CD6 candidate] Bill Winter as being the netroots' choice for our second Pick a Progressive Patriot event. Bill received thousands of votes from members of the Progressive Patriots Fund community, and we'll be sending him a contribution of $5,000 today to help his efforts."

No, five grand won't be enough to unseat Mad Tom. But it's inspiring to see the rush of support Winter has received from the netroots. And it's exciting to think that this could be the year we turn CD6 blue.

If the wingnuts didn't hear the footsteps before, they do now.

Extra money in the Colorado House?

Colorado's proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 should be introduced in the House today. The Rocky reports, "Lawmakers have to decide the best way to spend the extra money voters approved in Referendum C." (Emphasis added by me.)

I'm sure I'm not the only voter under the impression that the Ref C money is already tied up in various essential state programs. If so, the Rocky's usage of the word extra either exposes rightwing bias or journalistic expediency. Or both. Or I'm missing something. Which happens. Lots.

Winter closes in on PPF win?

Friday's stats from the Progressive Patriots Fund show Democratic CD6 candidate Bill Winter leading the race for a $5,000 PPF contribution. Voting closes at midnight central time. So go support Bill if you haven't already.

Mad Tom: The world's best alarm clock

This morning I woke up, flipped on George Stephanopoulus, and was greeted by a rambling Tom Tancredo.

Talk about a wake up call.

Mad Tom was brought down to earth by Republican Senator Arlen Specter and conservative pundit George Will, who said something like, "Tancredo wants to deport 11 million workers. Is he totally out of his mind?"

Stop the madness, people.

Fortunately, the next segment featured Naomi Wolf, who is considerably easier on both the eyes and mind.

Happy Sunday morning.

Jim Welker: Addicted to hate speech?

Republican state representative Jim Welker has been under fire for emailing out an essay that claimed that the main victims of Hurricaine Katrina were "immoral, welfare-pampered blacks that stayed behind and waited for the government to bail them out." A statement that manages to be false and racist simultaneously.

Today the Rocky Mountain News reports that this isn't the first time Welker has spammed the legislature with hate speech. In fact, his own party told him to cut it out three years ago, after he forwarded around an email that claimed (brace yourself, because this gets icky), "gay men regularly ingest the urine and feces of their partners, leading to massive outbreaks of various diseases." The forwarded email questioned why gays and lesbians were allowed to work with children, the elderly and in the food industry.

And a couple days ago, the Rocky pointed out that Welker has forwarded emails claiming immigrants are "illiterate Third World mothers who, like birds to a feeder, know a good deal when they see or hear about it."

Democratic New York state attorney general Eliot Spitzer told Business 2.0 one of his golden rules for success is, "Never put anything in an e-mail." Welker should've paid attention.

Now it's too late. Welker's gotta go.

Be the Change endorsement all wrong

Two seconds ago, I wrote a post that claimed Be the Change had taken the odd step of endorsing two Democratic candidates in CD7 - Herb Rubenstein and Ed Perlmutter.

One second ago, I got a phone call from the Peggy Lamm campaign informing me that BTC had not endorsed any candidates, much less two candidates. The people at BTC confirmed this for them.

So I appreciate Peggy Lamm's folks pointing out my error. And I'd be real interested to know who is feeding Coloradopols false info.

UPDATE: Or, of course, this could all be a big misunderstanding. I'd like to know, either way.

Colorado caucuses demand censure

Be the Change reports that resolutions to support Senator Russ Feingold's censure of the President failed in only 1% of precincts. Eighty-four percent passed the measure unanimously. Think about that. Ninety-nine percent of Colorado Democratic activists support censure. And one survey indicates that they are joined by a plurality of Americans.

Be the Change also offered a dual endorsement of Herb Rubenstein and Ed Perlmutter in the CD7 Democratic primary. Herb actually won the support of a plurality of BTC members, but didn't have the majority he needed to carry the endorsement all by his lonesome.

Hat-tip to Coloradopols.

The company Mad Tom keeps

Conservative Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi nails it:

"Tancredo also claimed he was opposed to illegal immigration and not immigration. Until, that is, a couple of minutes later when he called for a moratorium on all immigration... Whatever his critics may say, Tancredo's populist rhetoric is free of rancor. The problem, however, is that Tancredo attracts too many nativists and extremists."

Tancredo's flip-flops are designed to court the fringe. And you're judged by the company you keep.

The 2008 Presidential race. What does Matt think?

Inspired by the National Journals race rankings, I am going to take an early stab at the 2008 Presidential field.

The Republicans

The right side of the field breaks down like this. You have the moderates, like McCain and Rice. The intelligent conservatives, like Romney and Gingrich. (Oh man, I know I am going to hear it from the left on Gingrich!) The professional politicians, like Frist and Allen. And the cultural wingnuts, like Santorum and Brownback.

I'm torn about who I want the Republicans to nominate. I love my country, so I sort of want them to nominate someone from the first two categories. But I also love politics, so I sort of want them to nominate someone I'll be happy about mashing into a fine pulp.

The Democrats

I like Senators John Edwards and Russ Feingold. And I have high hopes for Mark Warner.

Hillary would be a great President. But I have this pet theory about voters and careerism. I think a lot of people voted against Kerry because they were turned off by his sheer ambition. The guy lived his whole life like he wanted to be President. War hero. Prosecutor. Senator. People don't like relentless achievers. They're more comfortable with the guy who ambled into history.

If you grant me this (wacky) theory for two seconds, you'll see the biggest problem Hillary really has. It's not the liberalism. It's the political calculation. The fundraising. The move to New York. The staying-with-the-cheating-husband thing. Biden has the same problem. So does Bayh. Their resumes are almost too good to be trusted.

It's early.

I'm not saying Tom Vilsack couldn't get me out waving signs on street corners. I'm just saying that I can't see myself getting fired up over a Biden vs. McCain race. But if it's Edwards vs. Brownback, I'm quitting my job and working full-time to save my country.

Goodbye to Colorado Luis

Colorado Luis has long been one of my blog's top referrers. His musings and beer-bloggings were always well-written and insightful. Today he decided to close up shop to pursue other projects. So long, Colorado Luis. The blogosphere is less interesting without you.

This DL is brought to you by the letter P

P is for "podcast."

There was no speaker at last night's Drinking Liberally. But we were visited by some representatives from Good Politics Radio. The non-partisan Internet radio station has seven state-specific feeds, including one for Colorado. You can listen to their interview with CD7 Democratic candidate Herb Rubenstein at goodpoliticsradio.com/colorado.

P is for "petition."

Someone was there passing around a petition that would have stopped the government from seizing the property of private citizens and then turning it over to corporations. Just about everybody supported the petition in theory. But there was some discussion about its wording, which called for a Constitutional amendment instead of a ballot initiative.

DL organizer and Soapblox poster Johne also asked us to sign this petition demanding an investigation of the Trailhead Group.

P is for "probably too much whiskey."

I vaguely remember discussing pregnancy and parenting with my acupuncturist friend Tovah Dancer. And seeing Kathryn Poindexter from the Peggy Lamm campaign. And ordering a Jack Daniels from a waitress who looked a bit like Jessica Alba. And then then night was over. And then I woke up. And now P is for "publish this post."

Drinking Liberally tonight

There is no speaker tonight at Drinking Liberally. Which means you have no excuse not to drink. Liberally. People show up at seven-thirty or eight. You can follow this map to Double Daughters in Denver.

Laugh along with Coloradolib

I'm gonna lump the two wacky stories of the day into one laugh-a-minute post.

First, according to the Denver Post, Tom Tancredo has spent more taxpayer dollars on car leases than all but five members of the U.S. House. He actually tripled the amount spent by Both Ways Bob Beauprez or Diana DeGette. Tancredo insists he needs two trucks to cruise around Centennial. But I'm probably not the only person who is wondering if Mad Tom found a way to attach a gun turret to the roof of a Chevy Avalanche and then went on a tour of southern Arizona.

Second, according to the Rocky Mountain News, Republican "Attorney General John Suthers' office on Tuesday declined to prosecute a Republican group for sending out mass, pre-recorded phone calls" despite the fact the the recklessly false calls violated Colorado law.

Did I promise a laugh-a-minute post? I'm sorry. I meant rage-a-minute. Here's how to contact Suthers.

A caucus of yours truly

My caucus was insanely easy. No contested races. And I was the only person from my precinct who stayed for the entire event. So I basically elected myself to the county assembly, decided on the various resolutions however I wanted, and unanimously voted for Bill Ritter.

Here is a photo of HD5 legislator Joel Judd, who spoke last night.

The biggest news seems to be how most Democratic caucuses demanded that AG Suthers investigate the Trailhead Group for knowingly making false statements about Democratic candidates in violation of section 1-13-109 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. One version of the idea started with johne at Soapblox. CDP chair Pat Waak and AM760 DJ Jay Marvin are also asking for an investigation. And even the Rocky Mountain News has picked up the story.

Off to the caucuses

I'll post about the Denver caucuses tomorrow. In the meantime, this thread is open for anyone who wants to say anything about their caucus. I would love to hear from CD7.

Vote for Winter at Progressive Patriots Fund

This came up in a thread yesterday. But I want to frontpage it. Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund is going to donate money to one of eight candidates. Bill Winter is in the running. You can cast your vote for Bill at this link.

"Most targeted ad ever" works

Remember my post about the most targeted ad ever? Maybe it hit its mark after all. Democratic candidate for governor Bill Ritter picked up the endorsement of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union. And in doing so, he highlighted his commitment to providing healthcare for Colorado.

Both unions made clear that healthcare was a major factor in their decision process. A press release quotes Ritter, "It is simply unacceptable that nearly 770,000 Coloradans lack health insurance. Many of them are children. Many of them are working men and women. Fixing Colorado's broken healthcare system is one of this campaign's highest priorities."

Who captures your imagination?

I'm not going to blog today. Partially because I'm a bit exhausted. And partially because I have to focus on some other stuff. So I wanted to throw out a question that I've been mulling over recently.

There's a divide between the candidates we like and the candidates we actually vote for. I want to know who out there gets you excited about politics. I don't care if your choice is actually a viable candidate. I don't care if you name a Republican or Democrat. And I don't care if you name a state-level politician, a congressional candidate, or a potential '08 Presidential nominee.

I just want to know, what candidate captures your imagination?

Some good stuff about Ken Salazar

I have written some glowingly positive stuff about Colorado Democratic Senator Ken Salazar. (This post, for instance.) But recently I have been pretty disappointed in our junior senator. Especially his refusal to support censure, even though a majority of his constituents think President Bush broke the law. But just as I was about to abandon Salazar all together, I read this post at Soapblox, which points out that Salazar is better than Pete Coors. Which, of course, he is.

Most targeted advertisement ever

I saw an ad on the side of a bus today that said, "Running for governor? Healthcare should be your priority." I could have sworn it was an ad for healthcarevoter.org/co. But apparently I am remembering that URL wrongly, because it doesn't resolve anywhere. Maybe it was coforhealthcare.org. Anyway, I sincerely hope the ad reaches all three people in its target audience.

Mark Udall endorses Bill Ritter

Just a follow up to an earlier post. Congressman Mark Udall did indeed endorse Democrat Bill Ritter for governor today. A press release states:

"One of the nation's leading energy-policy experts, Congressman Mark Udall, today endorsed Bill Ritter for governor of Colorado, declaring that Ritter will lead the state toward a New Energy Economy. 'I'm proud to endorse Bill Ritter today because he truly embraces the new energy technology we have right here in Colorado,' Udall said. 'The potential is limitless. And with Bill Ritter as governor, Colorado will be at the forefront of this national movement.'"

Plurality of Americans support censure

America is behind Senator Russ Feingold's call for censure 46% to 44% according to this poll. Somebody ought to tell Allard and Salazar. As Molly Ivins once wrote, "That is the center, you fools. Who are you afraid of?"

Beauprez, Holtzman vie for anti-immigrant vote

According to Republican candidate for governor Both Ways Bob Beauprez, he totally whupped Marc Holtzman in yesterday's GOP debate. And according to me, I'm totally better looking than Brad Pitt.

I wasn't at the debate. But I did find it interesting that Both Ways Bob's press release takes a moment off from patting him on the back to zero in on the issue of immigration. "Holtzman spent much of the debate hurling desperate and baseless attacks on immigration, ignoring Beauprez's proven reform record and his backing from immigration stalwart Tom Tancredo."

Beauprez's blog also highlights his cuddly relationship with Mad Tom. Meanwhile, Holtzman's own website is currently headlined, "Click here to join Marc's campaign against illegal immigration."

From the attitude of the GOP, you'd think that we'd found Osama, reconstructed Iraq, fixed healthcare, and found an efficient way to run our cars on a blend of soybeans and gorgonzola. You'd also think we all lived in Arizona.

There's a classic scene in The Simpsons where Mayor Quimby quiets a mob by telling them, "People your taxes are too high because of illegal immigrants!" Apparently the GOP is basing its entire strategy in 2006 off this single moment.

Oh well. At least I know Karl Rove and I watch the same cartoons.

Hat-tip to a poster at Coloradopols for pointing to Beauprez's press release.

It ain't easy being sleazy: Part 2

I see Herb Rubenstein quite a bit. Typically at progressive rallies and meetings. And I have met Ed Perlmutter three times now. Always at Democratic party events. But I have never really spent any time with the third CD7 Democratic candidate, Peggy Lamm. I've judged her almost solely based on my relationship with her staffers. So one reason I agreed to act in Peggy's podcast was that I hoped it might give me the chance to get to know her a little.

The problem is that politicians are tough people to know. They meet thousands of people. They give the same speeches over and over. And they tend to watch what they say when they know they're talking to a blogger. A five minute conversation with a politician almost always leaves me shrugging my shoulders.

But watching Peggy play with a two year old child? That told me all I need to know.

Like a lot of guys, I am sort of in awe of babies. But since I have one of my own on the way, I've started paying more attention to how people treat their children. Peggy spent a big chunk of time on the set playing with a couple's two-year-old child. Trying to get it to laugh. That sort of thing.

Does that mean she's qualified to be the CD7 nominee? No. But as I have written before, all of the CD7 Democratic candidates have the right qualifications. And none of them are as ethically-challenged as Republican Rubber Stamp Rick O'Donnell.

What I was looking for was a reason to disqualify one of the Democrats to make the field a little narrower. But it's just not there. Whoever is doing candidate recruitment for the Democrats deserves a gold star. And CD7 has a tough choice to make.

Udall to endorse Bill Ritter

Seeing as how Bill Ritter is the Democratic Party's only candidate for governor, it's not really news anymore when he gets the endorsement of high profile Dems. Still, congressman Mark Udall is a big name to have behind you. A press release from the Ritter campaign confirms that Udall will endorse Ritter at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Udall co-chairs the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, so it is fitting that the endorsement will take place at the Solar Harvest House in Boulder. The home is 100% solar. It recently received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's highest Energy Star rating among 30,000 new Colorado homes.

Speaking of sleazy, here comes Rubber Stamp Rick!

Republican CD7 candidate Rick O'Donnell hasn't even been elected. And yet he has already managed to prompt an ethics investigation.

Rubber Stamp Rick is refusing to turn over the list of attendees at a recent campaign event. The O'Donnell campaign had illegally used the federal title of the featured speaker, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, to publicize the event

I know of at least two people who have filed FOIA requests to force O'Donnell to turn over the list so they can see if anyone at the event had business before the EPA. One of those people is CD7 Democratic candidate Herb Rubenstein. The other is super blogger and Ed Perlmutter volunteer TBTH .

It ain't easy being sleazy: Part 1

Kathryn Poindexter of the Peggy Lamm for CD7 campaign called me the other day. She said, "We're filming this podcast thing. And we need someone to play a sleazy lobbyist. So I was wondering..."

Little did Kathryn know she'd just said my two favorite words. "Play" and "sleazy."

Peggy's spot will be available by podcast and email in a couple weeks. One segment features me with my hair slicked back, which is pretty funny looking. In the meantime, I'll post a few photos from the set. Here's one of Peggy telling someone something while something happens in the background. Future photos should be less blurry.

If you want video now, Check out this link for a Fighting Dems video featuring Jay Fawcett and Bill Winter.

Tancredo gets in knockdown brawl

I am exaggerating. Slightly.

Anyway, mentioning Mad Tom is a convenient lead-in to a post about a new study by the Bell Policy Center. The study shows that "immigrants - legal and undocumented - use less subsidized healthcare than U.S. citizens... Immigrants are not driving up the costs of healthcare."

So why are Republicans planning "to ask Colorado voters to approve a constitutional amendment to prevent these immigrants from receiving state and local government services"? Hm.

I become a sleazy DC lobbyist

Stay tuned for pics and video.

Keep hassling Allard and Salazar!

Everyone I know who emailed Democratic Senator Ken Salazar to ask him to support the censure of President Bush got the same response. "I believe that warrantless spying on Americans is extremely serious. I also believe that Congress must insist on collecting all of the facts about any warrantless spying program and thoroughly accounting for precisely what actions were taken by the Administration before considering other action. Censure of an American president has occurred only once in our history, back in the early days of our Republic, when Andrew Jackson was President."

And everyone I know who contacted Republican Senator Wayne Allard also got the same response. "Eat my shorts." (OK, maybe he didn't say it. But I swear I heard him say it under his breath.)

Don't stop calling! Ask Salazar exactly what information he is waiting for. And point out that censure is actually a pretty mild punishment for someone who breaks the law.

Colorado Division of Wilddeath, revisited

I sent another email to the Colorado Wildlife Commission to ask them if they'd approved the Colorado Trapper Association's request to let them keep species off the protected list by killing them. The commission responded:

"The Wildlife Commission has a three-step process for considering changes to regulations: Issue, Draft and Final. The CTA petition was presented at the March 9th meeting at the 'Issue' stage - since the Commission voted to move the petition forward it will proceed to 'Draft' stage in May. So, in sum, the petition is going through the process and has not yet been approved or denied."

If you have an opinion on this (I know I do), contact the commission at this link or at wildlife.comm@state.co.us.

O'Donnell to Colorado: "Just trust me, OK?"

Republican Rubber Stamp Rick O'Donnell is still refusing to turn over the list of names of those who attendended his recent event. The O'Donnell campaign "accidentally" violated the Hatch Act by using the featured guest's official government title in the event invitation.

Cleland campaigning for Jay Fawcett

War hero and former Democratic senator Max Cleland is still making the rounds to help out Fighting Dem Jay Fawcett. The Fawcett campaign says Cleland and Fawcett "will be available for comments and questions about the Iraq war, the $1 billion shortfall at the Veteran's Administration, and the continued challenges of rehabilitation for our vets returning home." The event will be Saturday, March 18 at the Antlers Hilton Hotel in Colorado Springs. Want to know more? Contact the Fawcett campaign.

Sorry for any typos in this post. I am typing this as I listen to the complete 760AM CD7 debate. You can download the mp3s here.

People speak. Elected Dems clam up.

I have to hand it to Senator Allard. When I emailed him to tell him to apologize to Russ Feingold, his office at least sent me a form email.

What did I get from Ken Salazar's office? Nothing. And apparently U.S. Senate Democrats aren't exactly tripping over themselves to support Feingold's call for censure.

But the people of Colorado are behind Feingold. Thousands of people have signed Progress Now Action's petition to demand an apology from Allard. Have you?

Hernandez kicks off campaign. Last week.

Things are busy. I had to skip the Alfredo Hernandez for HD1 campaign kickoff last week. Fortunately, Hernandez was nice enough to shoot me an email:

"The party was a great success in spite of the weather. It was a real tribute to the spirit that people have shared with me throughout this campaign. We had a packed house and I was introduced by my treasurer Michael Carrigan and Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey."

Allard to U.S. Constitution: "Bite me."

In an interview yesterday, the most conservative Senator in America, Colorado's Wayne Allard, accused Senator Russ Feingold of siding with the terrorists. No word on whether Allard feels the same way about the plurality of Coloradans who agree that our President's wiretapping program broke the law.

I can't believe that we live in a country in which adhering to the law is considered unpatriotic. Bush should be censured, if not impeached. Feingold should be given a medal for bravery. And you should go to Progress Now Action immediately to sign the petition demanding that Allard apologize to Feingold. And to me, while he's at it. Then call Allard's office at (202) 224-5941 and demand he start behaving like a real, live Senator instead of a walking rubber stamp.

If Allard wants to live in a monarchy, he should move to Brunei. In fact, he should move to Brunei anyway. Just get him out of America.

Larimer County Dems Dinner invite

You (yes, that means you) are invited to the Larimer County Democrats Presidents' Day Dinner this Saturday, March 18th, at the Fort Collins Hilton. Ambassador Joe Wilson, author of The Politics of Truth and husband of exposed CIA agent Valerie Plame, will present the keynote address. Other speakers include CD4 candidate Angie Paccione, CD6 candidate Bill Winter, and gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter. Tickets can be purchased at larimerdems.org or by calling 970-980-5911.

Nov. '06: Winter wins 96% of the vote!

A recent poll of CD6 confirms that 3.82% of the district thinks immigration is "the most important issue facing Colorado." Those folks have permission to vote for Mad Tom Tancredo. I fully expect the other 96.18% of CD6 to vote for Bill Winter.

Colorado Division of Wilddeath?

A few days ago, I wrote about the Colorado Trappers Association's screwy new plan to keep species off the endangered species list by trapping them, killing them, and selling their fur to wealthy dowagers. According to a poster on Coloradopols, the Colorado Wildlife Commission actually approved the request. The commission's website, however, says that the request was "referred to staff for further consideration."

I emailed the Colorado Division of Wildlife for clarification. I'll keep you posted.

Cheney knows nothing about Colorado

Vice President Dick Cheney thinks Senator Russ Feingold's resolution to censure the President is silly. In the New York Times, Cheney said, "The American people already made their decision. They agree with the president."

Mr. Cheney, you haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about.

In fact, only 31% of Coloradoans believe that Bush's wiretapping scheme "obeyed the law."

Contact Senators Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard. Tell them how Colorado really feels.

Tancredo, Allard demand more flip-flops

Both Ways Bob Beauprez has been endorsed for governor by both Mad Tom Tancredo and Wayne "Too Dull For A Nickname" Allard.

House bill 1149 needs your support

I'm coming to you this morning not as the partisan hack I usually am, but as a citizen of Colorado. The good news is that Democratic Representative Morgan Carroll's HB1149 is still alive. It has been moved out of appropriations to the judiciary committee. That bad news is that just about every greedy hack in the Colorado government is trying to kill it.

The only way to make sure HB 1149 is passed is for every citizen of Colorado to contact his or her house representative and makes clear that we, the people, expect support for HB 1149. And then call the people on the judiciary committee and tell them to remove the poison pills from the bill so that the legislature has no excuse for voting it down.

If you don't, don't ever complain about how money is ruining our government again.

House bill 1149 will:

1. Bring more transparency in the clients lobbyists work for.

2. Require disclosure of bill numbers worked by lobbyists.

3. Require lobbyists to disclose the positions their clients have, if any, on every bill.

4. Require disclosure of direct financial relationships with lobbyists and lawmakers.

5. Require disclosure of contributions to elected officials and candidates over $100.

BTC likes Rubenstein

Results of the Be The Change endorsement vote are at btc-usa.org. Discuss.

Last day to vote at Be The Change

If Be The Change members want to weigh in on the CD7 primary, today's the day to do it.

Roy Romer braves weather to endorse Ritter

Most state Democrats have endorsed Bill Ritter for governor. Few have endured cold temperatures to do it. But today's chill won't stop former governor Roy Romer. According to a press release, Romer will endorse Ritter today at 2 p.m. at an outdoor event.

I'm going to hit the "publish" button quickly, before I make some 1986-style pun about fair-weather fans.

Tell Allard, Salazar to support censure

On This Week With George Stephanopoulos, Senator Russ Feingold stated he will introduce "a bill to censure Bush on illegal spying."

There is no doubt that our President broke the law. There is also no doubt that an impeachment proceeding would be bad for the country. Censuring the President is the best option. Contact Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard and tell them to support Feingold's bill.

Joe Rice kickoff event

"This doesn't feel like a kickoff, it feels like a victory party!" shouted Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. He had to shout. The room was packed with about 300 people who had come out to support Democratic HD38 candidate Lt. Col. Joe Rice.

Several state-level politicians were there, including HD39 candidate Mollie Cullom, CU regent Michael Carrigan, Board of Education representative Karen Middleton, and Democratic candidate for governor Bill Ritter. There were also many national-level politicians, like CD7 candidate Ed Perlmutter and CD6 candidate Bill Winter.

But more important to Rice was the number of veterans who came out to cheer him on. I couldn't catch all their names, but it seemed like a couple dozen men and women in the audience had served in the armed forces. Some of them had