Too little, too late for Bob Beauprez

Marc Holtzman is behaving like a like a frat boy on the last night of spring break. He's struck out with easy targets, angered his friends, and spent all his money. But for some reason he thinks one more margarita might turn the whole thing around.

But as deluded as Holtzman sounds, Both Ways Bob Beauprez is even worse. Because he seems to believe that Holtzman's self-destruction will allow him to move towards the political center.

Both Ways, it's way too late for you.

The voters have already watched you waffle. The business community has already rolled its eyes at your financial ineptitude. Your attack ads have already sullied the airwaves. Your misleading rhetoric has already taught Colorado that you can't be trusted. Your military posturing has already angered veterans. And your lockstep voting with President George W. "29%" Bush has already exposed you as the soulless political animal you are.

Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Bill Ritter has developed concrete plans to save Colorado's environment, economy and healthcare system.

Sure, I hope Holtzman decides to take his case to the Colorado Supreme Court. It'll make for good blogging. But even if Holtzman dropped off the face of the earth, it wouldn't matter. Bill Ritter is going to the governor's mansion. And Both Ways is heading home.

If it's late on a Friday...

...Governor Bill Owens must be vetoing bills. This is becoming a regular thing with him.

Beauprez runningmate decides Holtzman's fate?

The person most likely to be Both Ways Bob Beauprez's runningmate is Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. The person overseeing the qualifying petition process of Beauprez's primary election opponent Marc Holtzman is also Secretary of State Gigi Dennis.

I'm no fan of Marc Holtzman. In fact, he seems a bit, uh, nuts. But I know a conflict of interest when I see one. So do the folks at Progress Now Action. They are calling for Dennis to recuse herself.

More good news for Bill Ritter

GOP primary contender Marc Holtzman, isn't. Not only did he get busted for violating campaign finance law, he missed the ballot by 724 signatures.

There ain't no quit in Holtzman, though. The Denver Post reports that Holtzman plans to take his case all the way to the Supreme Court of Colorado, if necessary. So, you know, our tax dollars are going to be paying for that.

Putting Holtzman's campaign in the past tense is a good sign for our state. An even better one is this Post story:

Some Republican business leaders are thinking about abandoning Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez for Democrat Bill Ritter because of Beauprez's continued opposition to Referendum C... Ritter's campaign manager, Greg Kolomitz, said Ritter is doing everything possible to reach out to business leaders and has set up a series of business roundtables over the next two weeks... When asked what he thought about GOP business leaders appearing open to a Democrat, let alone one with little business experience, Kolomitz said, "We live in interesting times."

Holy cow, that's a lot of energy plan!

We all say we want politicians who stick to the issues and have big dreams for America. But, wow.

CD7 candidate Herb Rubenstein has collected enough signatures to get on the primary ballot. And he's celebrating by releasing a 15-page comprehensive energy leadership plan. I haven't made it all the way through, but I'm putting a downloadable PDF here. Happy reading.

Holtzman violated campaign finance law

Democratic nominee for governor Bill Ritter and GOP candidate Marc Holtzman were supposed to tape an epsiode of the Aaron Haber Show today. I wonder if that's still going on, since Colorado Pols just reported the Holtzman campaign has been convicted of illegally co-ordinating with the If C Wins, You Lose committee.

And you thought Hostel was scary

Modern masters of horror like Rob Zombie and Eli Roth could learn a thing or two from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The anti-environment think tank has produced two short pieces of film so frightening, they made me vomit in terror.

The first, "Energy," posits that without pollution, little girls couldn't pick daisies, or something like that. It ends with the line, "Carbon dioxide. They call it pollution. We call it life."

The second, "Glaciers," claims that arctic glaciers are thickening, not melting. It is based on a study by Curt Davis of the University of Missouri. Davis has publicly bashed the ad. He told The New Republic:

These television ads are a deliberate effort to confuse and mislead the public about the global warming debate. They are selectively using only parts of my previous research to support their claims.

TNR explained Davis' research:

Global warming is melting sea ice and the coastal areas of Antarctica at an alarming rate, which in turn has increased precipitation, thus thickening the ice in the interior. In other words, the melting coasts are making it snow more in the middle.

CEI's ads are based on complete fiction. But then, a lot of great horror films are.

DeGette, Lamm and stem cell research

I hate to get too involved in the hysterical slap-fighting that is the CD7 Democratic primary. But I can't help myself. When I see the words "stem cells," I get giddy.

To me, stem cell research is a perfect illustration of all that is wrong with the GOP. Their position flies in the face of science and innovation. They're letting millions of sick Americans die just so their extremist candidates can kiss the ass of the religious right just a bit harder.

It's also an issue where a Colorado Democrat, Diana DeGette, has taken the lead, trying desperately to get her House bill passed in the face of the Senate's laziness.

So, what can I say? Peggy Lamm pushed one of my hot buttons with a press release that reads, in part:

Peggy Lamm, candidate for Colorado's 7th Congressional District, today called on Congress to expand federal funding for crucial stem cell research and to increase the number of stem cell lines currently eligible for such research.

"The biggest obstacle to furthering stem cell research and potentially life-saving cures to terrible diseases is a Republican congress and an administration that is beholden to the extremists in their party," said Lamm...

Unfortunately, Rubberstamp Rick O'Donnell offers just more of the extremist status quo. In a 2002 Rocky Mountain News questionnaire, O'Donnell stated that he would not support the expansion of stem cell research beyond the limitations set by President Bush.

In contrast, Lamm strongly supports the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, legislation authored by fellow Coloradan, Representative Diana DeGette. Rep DeGette's bill would lift the current ban on expanding stem cell research, bringing us closer to finding cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Juvenile Diabetes.

Focus on the Family attacks Ken Salazar

Everybody knows that healthcare, the environment and national security are meaningless. Clearly the most crucial issue of 2006 is gay marriage.

In a valiant effort to prevent monogamous homosexuals from destroying America, Colorado Senator Wayne Allard is sponsoring the Marriage Protection Amendment, which the Senate will consider in June. Today, Focus on the Family obligingly launched a series of radio and print ads attacking Colorado's sane senator, Ken Salazar. From The Denver Post:

Ads running in the The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News feature a freckle-faced boy and the question, "Why doesn't Senator Salazar believe every child needs a mother and a father?" They ask readers to call the Colorado Democrat and "urge him to support the Marriage Protection Amendment."

I'm urging Wayne Allard to quit pandering to religious wingnuts and get his ass back to work.

America to environment: "Bite me"

Our Senate has confirmed a planet-hating new Secretary of the Interior. Only eight Senators even murmured their disapproval. You can find out who these brave souls were at Critterthink, an outstanding enviro-blog I stumbled across while researching the proposed loosening of Colorado's trapping regulations.

In related news, Alaska is melting and Adams County has a radioactive dump so sketchy Denver is afraid to use it.

The mainstream media takes a day off?

I think the media is having one of those days. They're reporting GOP spin as fact. And portraying hard facts as liberal spin. They're patting themselves on the back instead of crediting the bloggers who actually break the stories. They don't seem to know how many Democrats are running in CD7. And according to SAFER, the Colorado papers completely missed a shocking story on the health benefits of marijuana.

Colorado veterans endorse Bill Ritter

As expected, Colorado Veterans for America has endorsed Democratic candidate Bill Ritter for governor. From a press release:

"We believe Bill Ritter will serve veterans and their loved ones exceptionally well," said Larry Drake of Colorado Veterans for America. "Bill Ritter has been working for months with Colorado veterans to thoughtfully develop his positions on veterans issues, including solutions addressing problems and needs in the areas of health care; rehabilitation, education and training; benefits and services; and homeland security..."

"Colorado can do a better job taking care of its aging veterans and their families," Ritter said. "As governor, I will take a strong leadership role in making sure high-quality care and services are available across Colorado, not just in our urban areas but throughout our rural areas. We also must ensure that young military personal returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are prepared to re-enter the civilian workforce and are equipped to cope with the challenges ahead," said Ritter, whose father served in the Army during World War II and is buried at Fort Logan Cemetery.

Ritter criticized Congressman Beauprez for failing to represent the needs of America's veterans in Washington. "Congressman Beauprez has one of the worst veteran-affairs voting records of any member of Congress," Ritter said. "For the last two years, the Disabled American Veterans has given him a rating of zero. We can do better."

"I have the deepest respect for those who put their lives on the line in the name of public safety, whether here in Colorado or on foreign battle fields," said Ritter, who won the endorsement of the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters Association last week.

Photo courtesy of Ritter for Governor.

Colorado veterans speak out on Memorial Day

Democratic nominee for governor Bill Ritter will spend Memorial Day marching in the the Commerce City Memorial Day Parade. After the parade, he'll accept the endorsement of Colorado Veterans for America. An easy choice, given Both Ways Bob Beauprez's sketchy record on veterans' affairs.

Meanwhile, another Colorado veteran, CD6 Democratic candidate Bill Winter, has been firing up the blogosphere with posts like this one on Daily Kos:

I know I didn't give ten years of my life to serving America in the Marine Corps and the Navy only to stand by and do nothing as hate and discrimination are written into the law! I'm going to stand and fight - fight for equality, fight for what is right, fight for freedom and equality for ALL Americans...

Happy Memorial Day!

Photo of Winter with Russ Feingold and John Salazar courtesy of Winter for Congress.

Two's company, three's a crowd, and 18 is...

Hope you're in the mood for a little light reading. Here's a link to the Denver Post's summary of the 18 issues that may be on the ballot in November. The Post reports:

Only 24 states give their citizens this kind of direct access to both constitution and statute books. Oregon historically has the most ballot issues, followed by California. Colorado is third.

Hat-tip to Coyote Gulch.