Lamm calls for Congressional Iraq hearings

You may remember that CD7 Democratic candidate Peggy Lamm jumpstarted my career as a sunglass wearing sleaze merchant. Today, she's got bigger fish to fry. A press release states, in part:

It is far past time for the Bush administration to be held accountable for its incompetent and irresponsible policies in Iraq. That accountability should begin with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's immediate resignation. Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation should be followed immediately by bipartisan Congressional hearings into the Bush administration's policies in Iraq.

I feel the same way. Except for me, you can replace the word "resignation" with "incarceration."

Joe Rice saves Arapahoe County

Sometimes I worry about the campaign of HD38 Democratic candidate Lt. Col. Joe Rice. I think he may be too good a person to get elected.

I saw him on the morning news recently talking about his service in Iraq. Rice didn't even mention his campaign. The anchor had to remind him. Similarly, Joe's recent newsletter skips the usual fundraising requests. Instead it talks about the Colorado Center for the Blind. And then it asks people to join Littleton VFW Post 4666 in writing letters to soldiers in Iraq.

A candidate that puts community before politics? Dare to dream, folks. Dare to dream.

Evangelicals take on global warming?

Please let this story from the Denver Post be true:

A national poll of 1,000 Americans who identify themselves as evangelical or born again indicates strong support for environmental protections. Three out of four of those surveyed support policies to reduce global warming or prevent destruction of wilderness.

Things get worse for Marc Holtzman

If it's not one thing, it's another:

Holtzman's campaign manager, Dick Leggitt, admitted Friday that he lied to a Denver Post reporter in an e-mail by fabricating poll numbers... Holtzman had his own problems when he was contradicted a few times on the witness stand by his previous deposition testimony. At one point, for instance, he said Leggitt had advised him it was a 'bad idea' to so publicly oppose Referendum C. Attorney Scott Gessler read him back his deposition testimony taken earlier this month where he had said no one had advised him it was a bad idea to be the face of the opposition.

For awhile, I thought the Holtzman campaign was being run by honest, passionate wackos. Now, it turns out they're dishonest, sleazy wackos. Too bad. Vote Ritter for governor.

Hat-tip to Coloradopols for the Denver Post link.

Mollie-oke and the limits of vlogging

I spent this evening at a fundraiser for HD39 Democratic candidate Mollie Cullom. The Cullom campaign had a karaoke machine. I had a digital video camera. After the success of vlogging Bill Ritter, vlogging Democratic candidates like Cullom and Bill Winter singing 70s rock songs seemed like a great idea.

Except it wasn't a great idea. It was a terrible idea. Maybe the worst idea I've ever had. Most voters don't want to see their elected officials sing. And with good reason. Most politicians can barely carry a tune. Halfway through the event, I looked at Steve Ludwig and said, "If I vlog this, the Republicans will have a field day."

I was joking. Kind of.

So what I'm left with is basically some funny tape of multiple Democratic honchos. It'll definitely make the post-election blooper reel.

I'm also left with a newfound respect for Mollie, whose 2004 defeat seems to have made her and her organization much stronger. She's a clinical social worker in the Cherry Creek School District. So her words about education and healthcare have special resonance. And while no one said it, most the people there were aware of the current HD39 representative's uninspiring record in the state house.

Anyway, it's late. And I'm tired. I better sign off before vlogging Winter's rendition of Summer Nights starts to sound like a good idea.

Ritter in his own words: Abortion

There have been a lot of questions about Democratic candidate for governor Bill Ritter's personal opposition to abortion. Here is a clip where Ritter lays out his answers. Note the end segment, where he says, "the law of the land is Roe v. Wade and we support the law of the land."

Holtzman joins the culture of corruption?

Not so long ago, I mentioned how hard it is to keep up with the multiple scandals plaguing the Colorado GOP. Republican candidate for governor Marc Holtzman didn't make my roll call of corruption. But I guess it was only a matter of time. From today's Rocky Mountain News:

A former employee of an issue committee that ran TV ads opposing Referendum C last fall testified Wednesday that staffers from Marc Holtzman's gubernatorial campaign were directly involved in running the group, which would be a violation of Colorado campaign finance law.

More smears courtesy of Both Ways Bob? Or has Holtzman bought in to the GOP way of doing business?

Videoblog comments thread

Computers that can't see Quicktime movies aren't going to be able to load the clips below. And they will slow down readers with dial-up conections. So some might want to read TBTH's report on the evening instead of proceeding further.

But I still decided to post some clips of Democratic candidate for governor Bill Ritter speaking last night. Because it gives people a chance to see firsthand what a strong, moderate candidate we have. Consider this a thread to post comments on the videoblogging itself. It's my first attempt. Be gentle.

Ritter in his own words: Referendum C

Ritter in his own words: Healthcare

Ritter in his own words: The White House

Ritter is a gun owner. And he's personally anti-abortion. And many of his policies can only be described as pro-business. Still, it warmed the leftwing of my heart when he got off this shot at the Republican administration.

Ritter in his own words: Biofuel

Democratic candidate for governor Bill Ritter and his running mate Barbara O'Brien both showed up at Drinking Liberally tonight. They answered questions for nearly an hour. And these weren't always softball questions. The crowd at Drinking Liberally is, well, liberal. And drinking.

Here's some soundbites from the evening. Beginning with Ritter on biofuel.

HB1149: Let 'em know we're watching

Lobbyists give me nightmares. Fortunately, Democratic Representative Morgan Carroll came up with HB1149. And the state house had the sense to pass it. Now, we need to make sure our state senators know we expect them to do the same. You can find your state senator's contact information at thismatters.org.

Drinking Liberally with Bill Ritter

Coffee and drinking with Kos were huge events last week. But they ought to pale in comparison to tonight. The next governor of Colorado will join us at Drinking Liberally. And I ain't talking about Both Ways Bob.

If you want to share a beer with Bill, you can find information at Soapblox. I'm going to attempt to vblog the event, so make sure to check back in tomorrow.

Ritter: Clean energy for polluted times

These are dark times for Coloradans with children. Yesterday, Governor Bill Owens voted against a clean air bill. Today, President George Bush eased environmental regulations on gasoline. Tomorrow, I hear the GOP is planning to pour soot directly into the lungs of sleeping puppies.

Fortunately, in November Colorado has a chance to elect a leader with an actual plan for the emerging energy economy. One that creates jobs without asking us to give up our health. A press release from Democratic candidate for governor Bill Ritter states:

Ritter's seven-point plan calls for leading Colorado toward self-sufficiency by promoting alternative energy, encouraging cleaner ways of extracting and using fossil fuels, and rewarding efficiency and conservation.

The plan includes new ways to create jobs and increase energy efficiency. It calls on Colorado's rural communities to be "important drivers of the New Energy Economy through production of wind, solar and biofuel energy." And it borrows proven best practices from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Even free-market fans will support Ritter's plan to set up a Western regional carbon-offset credit market.

While the Republican candidates are busy arguing about their own party's corruption, Ritter is already coming up with policies that will benefit our state. But don't take my word for it. You can download a PDF of the plan here.

A new reason to love Diana DeGette

I'm a couple weeks late on this story. I just ran across it in the Virginia Progressive.

Every year, the American Conservative Union puts out their ratings of national legislators. Three of the four Colorado Republican representatives - Both Ways Bob, the Pink Lady and Mad Tom - received "perfect" scores. Only one of our Democratic representatives received the coveted donut. Diana DeGette.

Can I propose a new nickname? How about Diana "The Definitive Democrat" Degette?

Linkmania: Rams, Buffs, Pink and Bright Eyes

I restructured Coloradolib's links sections and added the CSU and CU Democrats. Politically aware students impress the heck out of me. When I was in college, I chased sorority girls, not votes.

Who do you think sings the better protest song? Pink? Or Bright Eyes?

Schultheis sinks to new low

I thought that when Loveland Republican state representative Jim Welker decided not to run in 2006, the Colorado legislature would become a more civil place. Leave it to Colorado Springs Republican state representative Dave Schultheis to prove me wrong. Check out today's Rocky.

Hat-tip to Progress Now Action.

3rd Annual Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown

There's one thing wrong with Ed Perlmutter, Bill Winter, Mollie Cullom and Morgan Carroll. They all went to CU. And today, I got a problem with that. Go Rams.

UPDATE: Rams 9. Buffs 6. That's right.

Hillman doesn't want Trailhead's help

The disgusting tactics of the Trailhead Group are even angering Republicans. Trailhead is running unsolicited radio spots praising Republican State Treasurer Mark Hillman. The Denver Post reports, "Last week, Hillman wrote a letter condemning the ad bought by Trailhead, the political fundraising group founded by Gov. Bill Owens, oil magnate and GOP fundraiser Bruce Benson and former U.S. Senate candidate Pete Coors."

Ludwig on 17 county assemblies

County assemblies can be exhausting. So I have much respect for Democratic statewide candidates like Ken Gordon, Bill Ritter and Fern O'Brien, who had to race from county to county, talking to voters.

Steve Ludwig, at-large candidate for Colorado University regent, attended 17 county assemblies, concluding with Pitkin County last night. So I asked him for reflections on the experience. He said water rights, the sale of public land, and disaffection with the White House are on people's mind all over Colorado. As for the regent's race:

In my race, people respond to the fact that a Democrat hasn't been elected statewide to the Board of Regents since 1976; how Colorado needs great higher ed to remain competitive globally; and that football isn't first - students, professors and academics are.

If you want it done right, let a Dem do it

Republican candidate for governor Marc Holtzman has concerns about the integrity of the Colorado Republican assembly. Both Ways Bob Beauprez stands by the system. As usual, it's a Democrat who has an answer. From Ken Gordon:

Secretary of State candidate Ken Gordon announced today that he will make himself available to assist the Republican Party in the counting of votes at their May 20th convention...

"The Holtzman-Spradley campaign appears to have legitimate concerns about the ability of the Republicans to accurately count the votes in their own preference poll," said Gordon.

"In the interest of bipartisan cooperation, I am glad to offer the Republican candidates my assistance in the counting of votes at their convention. I am completely neutral in the race between Mr. Holtzman and Congressman Beauprez. I think that neither candidate is any better than the other," Gordon added.

Salazar: Tancredo should "get real."

Some folks think I'm too hard on Democratic Senator Ken Salazar. So I wanted to make sure to give Ken some respect for a blast he let fly at Mad Tom Tancredo. From the Montrose Daily Press:

"The bill that we had put together was comprehensive in nature," Salazar said. "It was a bipartisan bill supported by Republicans and Democrats, endorsed by the president... We need to deal with the economic reality in a realistic fashion. For people like (Rep.) Tom Tancredo who say that there is only one fix and that is to put a wall at every one of our borders, I say get real."

Nicknameapalooza: O'Donnell gets "Dirty"

The 2006 election nicknaming season kicked off several months ago, when Republican candidate for governor Marc Holtzman branded his primary opponent Both Ways Bob Beauprez. The name stuck, despite some discussion that Beauprez's record of obsequiousness had earned him the nickname Bush Beauprez.

Similarly, Republican CD7 candidate Rick O'Donnell has earned a variety of nicknames. His fondness for hobnobbing with Dick Cheney and other GOP DC insiders inspired some to call him Rubber Stamp Rick O'Donnell. But now several revelations of sleazy fundraising tactics have made some folks wonder if Dirty O'Donnell might fit him better.

Mad Tom Tancredo seems to be sticking. Jeff Crank is a nickname all by itself. And I'm lobbying for John "I Love Trailhead " Suthers.

I can't wait to see what sort of nicknames the Republican bloggers will come up with for our 2006 candidates. Bill "Choirboy" Ritter? Morgan "Perfect" Carroll? Bill "I Could Kick Your Ass, But I Won't Because I'm So Nice" Winter?

Drinking Liberally with Kos

Great writeups on last night's to-do at Soapblox and Daily Kos. And it was great to see candidates and bloggers like, well, basically everyone listed in my links section.

Congrats to the Drinking Liberally crew, especially Johne, shown here giving Kos a pie.

Colorado GOP keeps smearing away

The embattled Colorado GOP is still trying drag the Democrats down with it. Today's Rocky Mountain News reports that:

The chairman of the state Republican Party today called for an investigation into Colorado House Majority Leader Alice Madden's sponsorship of a bill that would give $316,000 to an organization with which she has ties.

The organization in question? Colorado University. And anyway:

Colorado law says if a lawmaker has a personal or financial interest in any bill, he or she shall disclose it and not vote on the bill. But Madden noted that last week the House approved a resolution that states, "The only conflict is when there is direct financial benefit" to the lawmaker.

Madden's post on the Board of Directors of the C.U. Law School is unpaid.

Fortunately, the smear-'em-all strategy doesn't always work. The GOP tried its hardest to spread lies about Democratic HD36 representative Morgan Carroll. But Carroll's anti-lobbyist bill passed the State House today anyway.

Drinking Liberally with Kos tonight

Activities will include making fun of Rick O'Donnell, repeatedly shouting "You did a heck of a job, Scotty," and ordering too many Jack and diets.

Ritter out-raises Republicans in governor's race

After a recent misunderstanding, I swore I'd quit cut-and-pasting portions of press releases. But, well, you know:

Democrat Bill Ritter scored a key fundraising victory in the first quarter of 2006, out-raising both of the Republican candidates for governor. Ritter raised more than $465,000 from Jan. 1 to March 31, according to a campaign finance report filed with the Secretary of State’s office this week. Congressman Bob Beauprez raised about $415,000 and Marc Holtzman collected nearly $365,000.

"Our first-quarter numbers are monumental," Ritter said. "We’re gaining momentum. As Democrats, we're showing that we can out-maneuver the Republicans at their own fundraising game, and we're doing it under Colorado's strict $1,000-per-individual contribution limits. Our fundraising shows that Colorado is hungry for the kind of responsible leadership that this campaign is all about."

Counting down my 15 minutes of fame

I figure my cameo in Peggy Lamm's video took three seconds off my fame clock. Now how much is this photo at Progress Now Action going to cost me?

Winter calls on Tancredo to return DeLay funds

Now that I'm done philosophizing about the role of local blogs, I'll return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Which is basically me selling Democratic CD6 candidate Bill Winter. I just got a release from the campaign that reads, in part:

Bill Winter, Marine and Navy veteran and Congressional candidate in Colorado's 6th Congressional District, called on Tom Tancredo to follow Bob Beauprez's lead and return the contributions from Tom DeLay.

Tancredo, who received $28,439 from DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority PAC, has criticized the "trumped up" charges against DeLay... Tancredo voted to weaken House ethics rules and to allow DeLay to continue serving as GOP House Leader after an indictment.

"It is time to clean up the corruption and cronyism in Washington that is cheating Americans from Baghdad to Bourbon Street," stated Winter.

[Photo courtesy of Winter for Congress.]

Kos, Progress Now Action and me: Part 3

Political bloggers are strange animals. On one hand, blogging is a thankless gig. You give up huge chunks of your life life to bring the issues to light. And your efforts generally go unrecognized.

For instance, it was an activist blogger who helped make sure Republican Rubber Stamp Rick O'Donnell's quirky approach to fundraising made the papers today.

On the other hand, certain bloggers are rockstars. Someone like Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas Zuniga reaches more than a million readers a day. And his book Crashing the Gate has lit a fire under the DNC. So it was pretty amazing to be one of only a few folks who were able to sit in with Kos after his webcast at Progress Now Action.

One thing Kos made clear was just how important local politics are. People may enjoy reading about the sleaziness of the Bush White House. But right here, right now, Colorado Democrats have real battles to fight over immigration, healthcare and the environment. And groups like Soapblox and Progress Now Action are on the front lines.

It may be thankless work. But it matters. A lot.

Kos, Progress Now Action and me: Part 2

Best button I got this morning: Mom, baseball, apple pie, and a unified Democratic juggernaut.

Here I am with TBTH and Johne from Soapblox.

Kos, Progress Now Action and me: Part 1

Where am I right now? I am sitting at a strange computer in a cluttered office at an undisclosed location. To my left is TBTH from Heading Left. In front of me are Johne and Pacified from Soapblox. And through the door is none other than Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, who is doing a live webcast for Progress Now Action. The webcast is wrapping up. Stay tuned. I will blog about my experiences here over lunch.

Kos on Progress Now Action tomorrow

What's the world's most popular political blog? Well, it would be Coloradolib, but for some reason people in, say, New York aren't that interested in the exploits of Joe Rice, Mollie Cullom and Jennifer Mello. So instead the world's most popular political blog is Daily Kos, which attracts more than one million visitors every day.

Daily Kos blogger Markos Zuniga will be in Colorado for a couple days promoting his book Crashing the Gate. Make sure to visit him on the Progress Now Action blog at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.

For Zuniga's complete schedule, visit this link at Soapblox.

Photo of Joe Rice receiving the Bronze Star from Ambassador Bremer courtesy of Citizens for Joe Rice.

Fawcett out-raises Republicans in CD5

Quick, who's leading the fundraising race in CD5? Lamborn? Crank? Nuh-uh. It's Democratic candidate Jay Fawcett. A press release states:

Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and Desert Storm combat veteran Jay Fawcett is gaining political and fundraising momentum in his race to win the 5th Congressional seat recently vacated by ten-term Congressman Joel Hefley (R). Fawcett raised $80,191 for first quarter of 2006, which is more than any of the Republican candidates, according to the FEC website.

"Our campaign is on the move," Fawcett said. "People around this district, around Colorado and around the country are getting behind our candidacy in a big way. People are hungry for different kind of leader. Now more than ever we need more leaders in Congress who not only talk about wars in the Middle East but leaders who have served uniform and served in a war in the Persian Gulf."

UPDATE: Due to a typo in the press release, this post is inaccurate. You can find out more here.

Time: Allard one of America's worst senators

Confirming what some consider obvious, Time Magazine has named Colorado Republican Wayne Allard one of America's five worst senators. And don't give me some argument about liberal bias. Time's top 10 is 60% Republican.

O'Donnell [heart] lobbyists?

Soapblox blogger TBTH has uncovered new information that further indicates that Republican CD7 candidate Rubber Stamp Rick O'Donnell may have given lobbyists illegal access to government officials.

Crazy activist bloggers. If this keeps up, one day government will actually be accountable to the people.

You can read some of my past posts on this story here, here and here.

Happy tax season

According to the Rocky, 60% of Americans say our tax system is unjust. A study showed that "unhappiness with the tax system was spread fairly evenly across income groups, age groups and education levels." Colorado residents don't have too much room to complain. The Census Bureau says our state is ranked 47th in per captita taxes.

Hat-tip to Ms Jones for the Census Bureau link.

Three bands you should know

Elliott Brood, which is like the White Stripes, but with bluegrass and minor chords. And they're mad and stuff.

Neutral Milk Hotel. And if you've ever heard anything this real, I'll give you a million dollars. Seriously, there have only been three great bands in history and NMH is one of them.

Polytoxic, which is playing a benifit concert for SAFER on Wednesday, April 19 at Quixote's True Blue .

It ain't easy being sleazy: Part 4

Well, looky here. My three seconds of fame got moved to the frontpage of Peggy Lamm's site.

And while we're talking about CD7, did you see that the Democrats there handily outraised the Republicans last quarter? Unfortunately, the money was split between our three Democratic candidates. But the numbers show that Colorado Democrats are getting close to matching the Republicans' fundraising firepower.

Trailhead protest spooks Suthers?

Today Republican Attorney General John Suthers was supposed to give a speech on the importance of integrity in elections. But the speech was cancelled at the last minute.

Why?

Maybe because Suthers learned that Citizens for Integrity in Government was going to be protesting outside.

Why?

Because Suthers is the last person who should be talking about integrity right now. The Trailhead Goup funded robocalls that made false claims about Colorado legislators. But Suthers refused to prosecute.

Why?

Because IRS filings reveal that Suthers shares donors with the group. And the group is linked to Republican Governor Bill Owens, who appointed Suthers to his job.

The C.I.G. people went ahead and marched on over to Suthers' offices, where they delivered a petition demanding that he investigate Trailhead or recuse himself.

Why?

Because the people of Colorado deserve an attorney general who will prosecute the laws of our state. Duh.

Read another take on the protest at Soapblox or Progress Now Action.

Suthers and Trailhead: The truth

'Twas only last night that I was wondering why Republican Attorney General John Suthers refused to prosecute the Trailhead Group. And now we know. Suthers and Trailhead rely on the same cabal of wealthy GOP donors. This is a big conflict of interest for Suthers. He should recuse himself immediately so the state can appoint a prosecutor who isn't in the pocket of the right:

The complete text of the Colorado Democrats press release:

A review of filings with the Internal Revenue Service and the Colorado Secretary of State shows that several top donors to Attorney General John Suthers' election campaign have also written large checks to the Trailhead Group, a 527 organization which the Colorado Democratic Party has asked Suthers' office to investigate for possible violations of state law.

Trailhead is funded by a group of wealthy Republican donors and is responsible for repeated misleading, malicious automated phone calls to voters in 10 state house districts represented by Democratic legislators.

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak in February asked Attorney General Suthers' office to investigate Trailhead for possible violation of Colorado Revised Statute section 1-13-109, which states, "No person shall recklessly make... any false statement designed to affect the vote on any issue submitted to the electors at any election or relating to any candidate for election to public office."

Yet on March 21, 2006, the attorney general's office notified the Democratic Party of its opinion that "the statements made by Trailhead... do not rise to the level of reckless disregard" for the truth.

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak issued the following statement:

"Republican leaders know they cannot run against Democrats' record of accomplishment, so they have formed the Trailhead Group to conduct a campaign of character assassination. Now we know that four different donors to the Trailhead Group have also donated large sums to Attorney General Suthers' election campaign. This presents a clear conflict of interest.

"Several questions need to be answered. What, if any, subpoenas did the attorney general's office issue as part of its investigation of Trailhead? What, if any, letters or phone calls of inquiry did the attorney general's office send or make? What, if any, questions did the attorney general's office ask of the Trailhead Group? Finally, can Coloradoans count on the attorney general to investigate a group whose donors are also funding his own electoral ambitions?

"Law enforcement cannot be subject to partisan politics. If Suthers' office cannot objectively investigate Trailhead's activities he owes it to Coloradoans to recuse himself."

"In light of this conflict of interest we cannot help but note the irony that Suthers is scheduled to deliver a talk on Thursday entitled "Importance of Compliance with our Campaign Laws," Waak added.

Trailhead's 2005 IRS Form 8872 filing shows contributions to Trailhead totaling $176,000 from Jones International, Pete Coors, Cortland Dietler, and the Benson Mineral Group. Suthers' election campaign filings with the Colorado Secretary of State show contributions to his primary and general election campaign funds by Glenn Jones, Pete Coors, Cortland Dietler, and Bruce and Marcy Benson. The contributions to Suthers' election campaign made by these Trailhead donors were the largest amounts permitted under state law or, in one case, were within $1 of the legal limit.

All the cool kids are doing it: Part 1

The National. The Fabric Lab. And the Winter for Congress campaign.

Suthers flunked high school lit?

OK, maybe Republican Attorney General John Suthers didn't really flunk his high school literature class. But apparently he was absent the day his teacher discussed irony. Because on Thursday, he's giving a speech entitled, "Importance of Compliance with our Campaign Laws - A Matter of Public Trust."

This is the same Attorney General John Suthers who refused to prosecute the Trailhead Group. The idea that he is speaking about "law" and "trust" is a big, fat, extremely unfunny joke.

Why won't Suthers prosecute Trailhead? Well, as House Majority Leader Alice Madden said, "Geez, let me see. Bill Owens appoints John Suthers. Bill Owens founds Trailhead... John Suthers won't prosecute Trailhead."

Citizens for Integrity in Government is planning a protest outside Suthers' speech. Folks should gather this Thursday, April 13 at noon outside the Colorado History Museum at 1300 Broadway. There will be signs. Loud noises. Possibly some chanting.

What else can you do? Vote for an attorney general who will enforce our state's laws. Like, say, Fern O'Brien.

The GOP tries to smear the blame around

The Republicans' '06 strategy is pretty clear. The GOP isn't even going to try to convince voters it isn't corrupt. Instead, it's just going to try to drag the Democrats down with it. Its latest lame attempt came Monday when a GOP partisan filed a complaint against Democratic CD4 candidate Angie Paccione. Thanks to the fine work of Musgrave Must Go, we know there's reason to doubt the sincerity of the complaint. Nice try, GOP.

UPDATE: This post was edited 15 minutes after initial posting to make it a bit clearer. Sorry for any confusion.

HB1149 moves to a House vote

Representative Morgan Carroll's HB1149 has been voted out of committee. Which means the whole House gets to vote on it next. Read a PDF of the bill here. And then contact your legislators and let 'em know we're watching. Unless you think lobbyists are doing a swell job of running our government. In which case, feel free to go watch Oprah.

Both Ways Bob dumps campaign manager

Here's the thing about the gubernatorial campaign of Republican congressman Both Ways Bob Beauprez: He should be winning. He's got name recognition, political experience, and connections to the GOP fundraising elite.

But he's not winning. Instead, he's getting beaten by Democratic candidate Bill Ritter. And Beauprez's own party is sharply divided.

So what does Beauprez do? Does he take a stand on the issues? Does he clarify his potisions? Heck no. He parts ways with his Christian Coalition-trained, beltway-insider campaign manager.

Bob, it ain't your staff. (And it ain't your blog, which is really cool, by the way.) It's the issues. Ritter understands them. And all you understand is playing politics.

Me and Marc Holtzman in line at Starbucks

[Open on me in line at Starbucks. I turn around to see Republican candidate for governor Marc Holtzman behind me.]

Me: So, Marc Holtzman, huh?

Marc: Yep. Oh, uh, you're that liberal faux-lobbyist guy.

Me: Yeah, that's me.

Marc: Hm.

[Thirty seconds of awkward silence.]

Me: Uh, like universal healthcare?

Marc: Not really. Like complaining about Denver?

Me: No. Not so much.

[Thirty seconds of awkward silence.]

Marc: You know who I don't like?

Me: Me?

Marc: No. Well, yeah. But you know who else I don't like?

Me: Who?

Marc: Both Ways Bob Beauprez.

Me: Oh my gosh! Me neither!

Marc: The way he refuses to debate me!

Me: That stupid stuff about milking cows!

Marc: The flip flops!

Me: The big spending!

Marc: He's so dumb!

Me: You said it, bro!

[Me and Marc high-five. Then we remember that we don't really like each other all that much. Thirty seconds of awkward silence. Fade to black.]

Four Sunday morning huzzahs

1. Congrats to Democratic Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper on the economic, efficient implementation of a citywide 311 number. Now my permanently disgruntled neighbor won't have to get out the phone book when he wants to complain about the potholes on our street.

2. Congrats to hate-speech connoisseur Republican Jim Welker for doing the right thing. Welker announced he will not defend his seat in November. His decision may make HD51 harder for the Democrats to capture in November. But it will help keep our legislators' e-inboxes spam-free.

3. Congrats to CD7 Democratic candidate Herb Rubenstein, who emailed me his five-step plan for ending the Iraq War. And double congrats for emailing it at 9:46 p.m. on a Saturday night. That's a work ethic that's positively Clintonian. The five steps, are, ah, you know, if I go through them now, then this post will be like an outline and nobody likes outlines. I'll get into them later. Or maybe they're on his website. Now, where was I...

4. Congrats to statewide candidates like Bill Ritter and Steve Ludwig, who barnstormed the state yesterday, speaking to thousands of delegates in several counties. I heard Republican candidate for Governor Both Ways Bob Beauprez used a helicopter. No, I'm not kidding.

Denver County Assembly, part 2: Results

The party platform was passed with close to unanimous support. The only drama was over resolution 19, which involved (suprise!) immigration. Somehow, the resolution contained statements that urged fair and respectful treatment of "all workers, regardless of their country of origin" and resolved "to enact stiffer immigration laws" with no chance of amnesty for undocumented workers.

The language seemed contradictory. So the crowd noisily demanded that the two statements be severed and voted on separately. 19A passed with few dissenting voices. 19B failed, but seemed to receive many shouts of support. At this point, a few people jumped up and demanded a visual vote so that everyone could see exactly who was supporting 19B. There was a lot of disagreement over whether the rules of the assembly permitted this, but eventually each house district did its own visual vote. The visual vote wasn't close. 19B failed by a wide margin.

There was also a divide on the governor's race. Everyone seemed very excited about Bill Ritter. But when the preference poll was taken, I was surprised to discover that many districts will send uncommitted delegates to the state assembly in May. I haven't the slightest idea what these people's problem is. You can read this post for my opinion on Ritter.

Wandering around the halls after the assembly, I heard Jennifer Mello received 60% of the votes in SD32. Which leaves 40% for Fran Coleman. The other race I was trying to watch was in HD1. No confirmation on this one, but apparently Labuda and Hernandez were very close, while Atencio came in a distant third.

UPDATE: The Mello people are fast. Just got a press release that confirms that she received 60% percent of the vote at the assembly. Mello said, "I have walked this district for years with my fellow Democrats and am eager to get back out there and take our message to a wider audience. My priorities include making pre-school and higher education more affordable; improving the environment and creating jobs by making Colorado the center of the renewable energy industry; lowering the cost of prescription drugs; and continuing the journey begun with Referenda C to create a state budget process that allows us to invest in Colorado's future."

Denver County Assembly, part 1: Quotes

Senator Ken Salazar: "We need to bring an end to the legacy of George Bush."

Mayor John Hickenlooper: "We don't have to accept the things we've been accepting. We can address a problem like homelessness and we can end it."

Secretary of state candidate Ken Gordon: "This is an all hands on deck moment. The American people, in their fury, will rise up with their vote and smite this administration."

State Senator Andrew Romanoff: "We inherited a mess and we changed it. We inherited a fiscal catastrophe and we fixed it. We faced a crisis in higher education and we saved it. We saw the disgrace of children standing in line for social services and we are ending it."

There were also great speeches from Congresswoman Diana DeGette, attorney general candidate Fern O'Brien and gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter.

Ritter, who had seemed a bit awkward the first time I met him, has come into his own, and his fiery, populist speech brought the crowd to its feet.

It ain't easy being sleazy: Part 3

I know I said I wasn't blogging until Sunday. But I lied. That's what we sleazy DC lobbyists do.

OK, maybe I'm not a sleazy lobbyist. Yet. But I play one in this video created by the Peggy Lamm for CD7 campaign. That's me, about 7 seconds in. And I think its fair to say that only RNC chair Ken Mehlman matches my sleaze quotient, which has been measured in the high 90s.

I'm sure Peggy's opponents will try to pick the video apart. But I was glad to hear her taking some definitive stands on issues like Iraq, the right to marry, and social security privatization. (Although I strongly oppose her position on Alan Jackson.)

In fact, it seems like all the CD7 candidates are trying to find points of difference with each other. While I was on my break last week, Herb Rubenstein sent me a white paper on "New Politics."

Fortunately, it looks like the Democratic CD7 candidates - Peggy, Herb and Ed Perlmutter - are essentially running against each other for the seat. The Republicans' sole contender, Rubber Stamp Rick O'Donnell, is already prompting calls for a U.S. House ethics investigation.

Let me repeat that. O'Donnell is sparking a House ethics investigation and he hasn't even been elected yet.

So, uh, where was I? Oh that's right. I was talking about how I'm not blogging today. Which I'm not. Anymore. Until Sunday.

You can read part 1 of It Ain't Easy Being Sleazy here and part 2 here. The photo is courtesy of the Lamm campaign.

Dude oughta get paid

Read HeadingLeft's story on the RTD strike. Seriously. The Denver Post wishes it had coverage that good.

Ouch. My brain.

I had fully intended to start blogging again today. But then I ran into this whopper in the Rocky Mountain News. Republican SD26 state senator Jim Dyer thinks Democrats are "soft on patriotism."

Being called unpatriotic by a guy who was found guilty of civil conspiracy in tricking an 83-year-old lady with Alzheimer's into quit-claiming her house for $10 makes my head hurt. So I think I'm going to stay on hiatus for a couple more days. I'll be back Sunday, after the county assembly.

How to write Coloradolib

I'm going to be offline for a few days. It may be Thursday before I can post. In the meantime, here is my handy guide to writing Coloradolib.

1. Read the Rocky Mountain News, the Progress Now Action blog, Soapblox, Coloradopols, every campaign website, every press release you can get your hands on, and various conservative blogs.

2. Spin.

Mess with Morgan, you mess with all of us

Democratic HD36 representative Morgan Carroll is one of the strongest, most ethical members of the Colorado legislature. So of course the Republicans have to get rid of her. They have started round two of robocalls to HD36 residents, spreading lies about Carroll. The robocalls without doubt break the "recklessly false" standard of CRS 1-13-109. But Colorado's Republican attorney general isn't prosecuting out of sheer partisan loyalty.

Morgan represents the best of Colorado politics. And the fact that she's the person the Republicans are going after makes me want to vomit in terror.