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2010-04-28T12:41:00.001-06:00

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Coloradolib is fast asleep. Like, hibernating.

2007-04-11T12:05:00.000-06:00

For the time being, I'm blogging solely at SquareState. Don't want to search for my diaries? Skip straight to my SquareState page. It even has its own RSS feed.

The Coloradolib archives are still alive and kicking. Link away.

Coloradolib is taking a nap

2007-04-10T10:02:00.000-06:00

Do something useful. Blog something brilliant.

Who's awesome?

2007-04-06T12:36:00.000-06:00

Morgan Carroll, Jay Leno and Diana DeGette, that's who.

DeGette's stem cell bill will be voted on in the Senate next week, according to the Post. And yesterday I got two press releases from her office. The first reported her urgings that Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt appoint "a new Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Population Affairs who is committed to family planning and women's health." The second read that next Tuesday, DeGette "will host a roundtable discussion on pending federal reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program."

Photo: DeGette speaking at the Point to help launch a new Fannie Mae program to assist minority home ownership in Denver.

A theory on a confusing Presidential poll, informed by the CD7 primary

2007-04-05T12:53:00.000-06:00

Without research, one could be forgiven for assuming that John Edwards and Barack Obama are duking it out to become the liberal alternative to Hillary Clinton, whose pro-Iraq War, anti-free speech record has drawn the ire of activists. But the polls show something different. As noted at Eschaton:

Obama/Edwards supporters don't seem inclined to support the other one. Clinton is a popular 2nd choice as well as 1st one, and when Obama or Edwards are excluded from the poll their support largely shifts to Clinton.

Conventional wisdom, thrown under the bus by the truth.

That poll also shows support for Edwards as first choice nearly doubling from 9% to 19% since November 2006, while Obama's support has remained level at 19% - 20% since the day he declared. And there I go, evidencing Atrios' interpretation. I lean towards Edwards and I find myself bashing Obama.

Meanwhile, a very recent University of Iowa poll (found here) reveals this:

Results show that Edwards remains the leader among likely Democratic caucus goers, competing primarily with Clinton for caucus support. Edwards led by a substantial margin with 34.2 percent. Clinton followed with 28.5 percent, and Obama with 19.3 percent... Although Edwards led in support among Democratic caucus goers, this same group believed Clinton was the strongest candidate.

Why would the caucus-going supporters of two theoretically similar candidates default not to each other, but to a third, less-similar candidate? Consider the CD7 primary of 2006, where Peggy Lamm, a female centrist with a history of cooperating with Republicans, faced off against two ostensibly liberal male contenders. One was Ed Perlmutter, a Democratic insider with high name recognition and a long history of campaigning in the contested district. The other was Herb Rubenstein, an intelligent, affable newcomer who could claim early opposition to the Iraq War. Three months before the election, the polls put Perlmutter at 51%, Lamm at 31% and Rubenstein at 6%.

Now exit the realm of provable facts and consider a theory.

In a Democratic primary, voters are torn by competing forces. They want a candidate they can ethically support and they also want a candidate who can win a general election. An ideologically-driven candidate's mission, then, is not just to sell him or herself, but to sell the idea that an ideologically-driven candidate can win the general election. If the candidate fails, primary voters shrug their shoulders and vote for the centrist.

In CD7, Perlmutter succeeded because the voters of CD7 knew him as a person. Edwards is following a similar path in Iowa, where he has been campaigning forever.

Rubenstein did not have Perlmutter's name recognition or ground game, so he tried an alt-strategy, reaching out to anti-war voters, bloggers and activists. Similarly, Obama has not spent as much time in Iowa as Edwards, so he is trying his own alt-strategy, becoming a fundraising juggernaut and outright celebrity who the voters of Iowa may soon see as a potential winner.

If Edwards/Perlmutter or Obama/Rubenstein supporters conclude that their candidate is a loser, they are likely to default not to a similar candidate, but to someone they view as a general election winner.

There are doubtlessly imperfections in this comparison. But if you're thinking I'm forcing it just to give myself an excuse to start posting Christina Aguilera videos again, well, that's just crazy. Since you brought it up, though:

CoCo stirs pot

2007-04-05T09:04:00.000-06:00

Let me see if I followed yesterday's chain of events correctly. CoCo uncovers. GOP scrambles. Rocky reports.

Rightwing robocalls net lawsuit

2007-04-05T08:45:00.000-06:00

A lawsuit has been filed over the pre-HB-1338 robocalls I mentioned here. Yesterday, the Post reported:

Two state lawmakers filed ethics complaints Tuesday accusing lobbyists for Colorado homebuilders of falsely claiming the legislators were pushing a bill that would raise taxes and help trial lawyers. The allegations come amid an aggressive campaign by builders against a measure that would restore the ability of some homeowners to sue over construction defects.

Today's Rocky has more:

E-mails contradict a lobbyist's claim that his well-heeled organization had nothing to do with a deceptive phone-call campaign conducted in March... In March, the calls went to senior citizens in certain Democratic districts. The seniors were told their local lawmaker supported a bill that would increase taxes. No such bill existed at the time. The bill eventually introduced, House Bill 1338, does not increase taxes.

Five facts about the case of Mike Merrifield

2007-04-03T12:46:00.000-06:00

Eliot Spitzer once wrote that the secrets to success are, "Never write when you can talk. Never talk when you can nod. And never put anything in an e-mail." It's a lesson Colorado Representative Mike Merrifield learned too late.

Merrifield has "stepped down as chairman of the House Education Committee." But in the resulting furor, the media lost perspective. Here are five facts that voters would do well to remember.

• Indications are that Merrifield wasn't talking about all charter school advocates, just two former School District 11 board members. [Source]

• The whole thing was uncovered only because of a "fishing expedition into private emails sent prior to session." [Source]

• The mainstream media has sometimes failed to note the biases of the rightwing website that broke the story. [Source]

• The dust-up was absolutely not more embarrassing than the Mark Foley scandal. And it is morally reprehensible to suggest that it is. [Source]

• The case should be considered closed. It's silly to suggest that Senate Education Committee chairwoman Sue Windels - the recipient of Merrifield's email - should also step down. [Source]

UPDATE: CoCo is reporting on who filed the open records request and why. Meanwhile, Jason Bane explains how the GOP managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Tom Tancredo live-blog: He's running

2007-04-02T08:07:00.000-06:00

[Ed. - Since this is a live-blog, accuracy of all quotes is subject to how fast my fingers can type.]

8:09 - Listening to WHO, courtesy of a link off of the Rocky. Tancredo is on. The host says there are journalists waiting around.

8:11 - Tancredo thanks talk radio for pushing the issue of illegal immigration. It is "talk radio that has allowed us to get where we are today." He claims 15 million are here illegally.

8:12 - "The melting pot is cracked."

8:15 - "Diversity can be positive, but not when it becomes a sort of state religion... Our national leaders have forgotten this... I am going to run for President of the United States."

8:17 - Host thanks Tancredo. Says listeners love him. Tancredo makes a fundraising pitch.

8:23 - Back from commercial. Host asks what "pushed Tancredo over the edge." He answers "the field of candidates." He says they all are for some form of amnesty, in some form of another. Host asks for Tancredo's plan on immigration; says in Iowa there are between 50,000 to 60,000 illegal immigrants who cost taxpayers millions of dollars, even if they are hard-working. Tancredo answers with a "controversial" part of his platform - "Enforce the law." Includes building a "barrier" on the border.

8:28 - Bush is working with "McKennedy" to stage "high-profile" raids that are largely for show, not because there is any real commitment to enforcing the law. Tancredo states we must go after employers. "It is not necessary to talk about rounding up millions of people." There will be attrition if you prosecute employers and enforce the borders.

8:32 - Host mentions a Cardinal Mahony saying there is a religious duty to help immigrants. (I assume it's this guy.) Tancredo says we should show compassion for American workers whose wages have been depressed and countries of origin, where people have been left behind.

8:41 - Tancredo asked to weigh in on Alberto Gonzales. Tancredo calls for his resignation. Not so much because of the current scandal, but because of Gonzales' prosecution of border agents.

8:47 - Caller asks about Tancredo's support for Fair Tax proposal. Tancredo says he supports it because it gets rid of the "burdensome" IRS. Tancredo claims a consumption tax will stimulate the economy and create millions of jobs.

They will do another segment, but I have to move on. My personal opinions later.

UPDATE: Oval Office 2008 questions Tancredo's timing, the Rocky and CNN's Political Ticker cover the story, Oreo fills us in on Tancredo's connections to hate groups, and Tancredo Watch wonders if "his candidacy will help frame the debate at all within the Republican party."

UPDATE: I had Tancredo at about 250-1 to secure the GOP nomination. After listening to Republican talkshow host Hugh Hewitt rake him over the coals on a wide range of subjects, I think 500-1 might be more like it:

HH: ...GOP question, just two years and three months ago, Tom, you endorsed an American Independent Party candidate over the Republican nominee in a special election out here in Orange County. Is that material to a campaign for the GOP nomination, that you threw the Republican overboard just two years ago?

Meanwhile Wonkette writes that Tancredo is "officially the 51st person and 4th diagnosed psychotic to enter the race." That's not just Wonkette being pithy. According to Raoul Lowery Contreras writing at TownHall, "Historians should note that when [Tancredo's] student deferments ran out at Northern Colorado University during the Vietnam War, Tancredo informed his Selective Service Board (the Draft) that he was mentally ill and suffered anxiety attacks."

The Politico reports that Tancredo is currently not one of the nine GOP hopefuls who will debate on May 3. Yikes. Tancredo has too many devoted followers to finish 10th in the early primaries. But he'll be hard pressed to break into the top 6, which means he may well decide to hang onto his CD6 seat in 2008.

The YouTube Election is happening right here, right now

2007-03-30T20:25:00.000-06:00

On March 23, 2007 Forbes wondered "Will '08 become the YouTube election?" It might. If the Denver City Council election of 2007 doesn't get there first.

Here are videos from two Progressive Majority endorsed candidates. First Darrell Watson in 8:

Next a volunteer for Chris Nevitt in 7:

I'm not endorsing either candidate, necessarily. But if the second most dangerous organization in America likes them, they must be good.

There are many more videos of city council candidates on magneticbottle's YouTube channel. And candidate bios and news are all over Denver Politics.

Tancredo to proceed with vanity campaign

2007-03-30T08:55:00.000-06:00

Rocky Mountain News:

Rep. Tom Tancredo will use Iowa talk radio on Monday to announce his plans for the 2008 presidential race, and all indications are that he's moving full-steam ahead on a longshot White House bid.

UPDATE: More from Mulkern. CD6 implications at CoCo.

Objectivity trumps facts in the classroom?

2007-03-30T08:45:00.000-06:00

[This diary was cross-posted last night at SquareState - Ed.]

Not too long ago, a group of sixth graders decided that global warming was a hoax. And it seemed sort of cute because sixth graders are young and of course they'll grow up someday.

But yesterday a Longmont paper revealed that the sixth graders' teacher has decided to quit to pursue a career writing books supporting creationism. Some snips from the story:

A science teacher who's spent 10 years with the St. Vrain Valley School District is retiring this spring to write more books on creationism and the dangers of Darwinism. Ken Poppe, 58, made national news last week after his sixth-grade paleontology class debated global warming and decided humans aren't causing it...

Though his students were free to choose as they pleased, Poppe said he too disagrees with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which declared Feb. 2 that it's 90 percent certain human-generated greenhouse gases are to blame for global warming...

"I'd talk about the alternatives to evolution if kids brought it up. But I'd never set out to challenge evolution," Poppe said of his classroom focus.

It appears that Poppe attempted to separate his personal faith from the scientific facts he taught in class. Now that he has reached a point where he feels that his faith is more important than the curriculum, he is honorably retiring. Kudos to him.

But a closer look at the earlier story reveals this worrisome quote:

Ken Poppe said he let students choose which side of the debate to argue. Poppe personally believes global warming is cyclical and not affected by humans, while his Colorado State University student aide David Richards believes the opposite. Both, however, said they presented both sides equally to the students leading up to Thursday's debate.

Presenting "both sides equally" is not the same thing as presenting the facts. And if a teacher decides that opposing views deserve to be heard, they should be given the respect due to them and no more. The IPCC is 90% certain that global warming is manmade, not 50%.

An obession with objectivity has damaged mainstream journalism, which often seems more concerned with presenting both sides to a story than it is with uncovering the truth. This same tendency should not be allowed in the classroom. I can see it now:

"Most mathematicians believe that two and two equal four. But others believe that numbers are an artificial construct designed by their creator to help them grasp the concept on infinity."

And then the teacher will allow the students to debate the subject and dare parents to question their kids' ability to make up their own minds.

A is A, people. It always will be.

Assorted snark, where have I been and congratulations edition

2007-03-29T17:15:00.000-06:00

I've been blogging about objectivity in the classroom and Diana DeGette today at SquareState.

Congrats to Drinking Liberally for being bipartisan and popular. And congrats to CoCo, Wash Park Prophet, Progress Now Action, Colorado Media Matters, ColoradoPols and Coyote Gulch for also being very popular.

Homeowner Protection Act passes House despite drama

2007-03-28T17:15:00.000-06:00

A press release from the House Democrats states, in part:

With an initial voice vote, the House today passed House Bill 1338, the Homeowner Protection Act of 2007. Sponsored by State Representative Jack Pommer (D-Boulder) and State Senator Jennifer Veiga (D-Denver), the bill preserves basic protections for homebuyers that protect them from contracts that leave them with no right to get a defective home fixed...

Nearly all major homebuilders in Colorado today use contracts that force homebuyers to waive their rights that are actually protected under the Construction Defect Action Reform Act. HB 1338 corrects this egregious problem by prohibiting homebuilders from systematically waiving the rights of homeowners. The bill now heads to the Senate for further debate.

HB-1338 has been the subject of much infighting among the GOP. As johne wrote yesterday, GOP stalwart Debbie Stafford claimed that she was threatened for supporting it. ColoradoPols reported that her Republican colleagues essentially called her a liar.

Today's Rocky reported on the threats and the robocalls before getting to the heart of the matter:

At issue is a measure designed to protect homeowners from having to waive their legal rights, at the time of buying their homes, to compel their home builder to fix construction defects.

Opponents argue that House Bill 1338 does much more than that, opening the door to lawyers collecting huge judgments for their clients.

"I don't get that," said Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, the Senate sponsor of the measure. "That's not in there."

It's really not. HB-1338 is a common-sense measure that will protect the rights of homebuyers.

UPDATE: The Rocky via ColoradoPols is reporting that the person who threatened Stafford was HD39 Republican David Balmer.

Thompson, Tancredo and Beauprez get weird

2007-03-28T08:52:00.000-06:00

The GOP is obsessed with electing actors, and that's weird. Tom Tancredo is being sued for $5 million, and that's weirder. But for pure What? Factor weirdness there's this from the Rocky:

Ex-gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez dropped by the Capitol on Tuesday to say that rumors of his political death have been greatly exaggerated.

Beauprez joked with House Republicans that after losing a lopsided election to Democrat Bill Ritter in November some people made him feel "a little like the corpse in the coffin."

"But we did not die. The sun did come up the next day . . . and we're going to live to fight another day," Beauprez said, drawing applause and knowing laughter from the House Republicans Caucus...

He won't rule out a run for the U.S. Senate in 2008.

"You look rested!" shouted Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I am so rested. But I'm not staying idle," said Beauprez. "The virus that is politics is a permanent one."

Media reports on HB-1281

2007-03-28T08:38:00.000-06:00

Rocky and the Post on the HB-1281 signing.

UPDATE: More at the Chieftan and Daily.

Today is a very good day

2007-03-27T08:58:00.000-06:00

Today at 12:15 p.m. Governor Bill Ritter will kickstart the New Energy Economy when he signs HB-1281 and SB-100. I'd fully intended to make the trek out to NREL to watch the signing ceremony. But it appears life is going to get in the way. So instead I'm just going to be happy.

UPDATE: Done. A paragraph from the press release from the governor's office, for posterity:

"These new laws will improve our economic security, our environmental security and our national security," the governor added. "They will breathe new economic life into rural Colorado. They will create new jobs, and they will say to the rest of the world, 'Colorado is open for business in what will be one of the most important industries of the 21st Century.'"

Some facts about the two bills, again provided by the governor's office:

House Bill 1281

• Sponsors: Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village; Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder; and Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Genesee.

• Doubles the renewable energy standard established by voters with the 2004 passage of Amendment 37.

• Large investor-owned utilities like Xcel must now provide 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020.

• Requires municipal utilities and rural electric providers to achieve a renewable energy goal of 10 percent by 2020 (they had been excluded from the requirements of Amendment 37).

• Provides a 3-to-1 credit to rural electric associations for investment in solar energy.

• A recent study found HB 1281 would provide significant economic benefits, particularly to rural Colorado, by:
1. Increasing Colorado's share of the GDP by $1.9 billion through 2020.
2. Increasing total wages paid to workers by $570 million.
3. Increasing the workforce by 4,100 person-years of employment.
4. Providing farmers, ranchers and other landowners with $50 million in lease payments for wind farms, crops and solar parks.
5. Generating $400 million in property tax revenue through 2020 to fund education and other services, particularly in rural Colorado.

Senate Bill 100

• Sponsors: Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, and Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West.

• Requires electric utilities subject to rate regulation to identify high-potential wind-energy locations by undertaking biennial reviews to designate "Energy Resource Zones" where transmission constraints hinder the delivery of electricity

• These utilities are then required to develop construction plans to improve transmission capacity.

• The bill allows utilities to recover costs during construction.

• Allows us to break the "chicken and the egg" cycle whereby wind companies don't build turbines until there is adequate transmission capacity, and utilities don't build transmission capacity until there are turbines.

Anytime you can get "the chicken and the egg cycle" into a press release, you should.

Assorted snark, superlatives edition

2007-03-27T08:50:00.000-06:00

• Second most dangerous organization in America: Progressive Majority. I know, I know. It made coffee shoot out of my nose, too.

• "Most heavy-handed" move by the state GOP: Threatening one of their own. [UPDATE: johne has more on this story.]

• Most successful state senator and representative: Joan Fitz-Gerald and Mike Cerbo, respectively.

• Most underhanded move by the Bush administration: Tough one, but last week's reinterpretation of the Endangered Species Act was pretty slimy.

• Busiest man in the state: The guv.

• Wonkiest greeting: "Happy Long Bill Day!" In vaguely related linkage, here's a story about Ritter administration budget director Todd Saliman:

"A budget is more than a spreadsheet. It's a values document, and where you spend your money reflects where your values are. That's pretty powerful."

Bill Ritter works in bipartisan fashion, no one seems to care

2007-03-25T11:21:00.000-06:00

When Governor Bill Ritter vetoed HB-1072, he wrote that he "vowed to listen to a wide range of views, to unite and to build consensus around a public policy agenda that speaks to the common good."

In today's Post, Denver Post Capitol Bureau Chief Jeri Clausing reports that "[a] bipartisan group of lawmakers turned that around on Ritter last week in a letter asking him to slow down and open broader discussion of his plan to overhaul the state's oil and gas regulatory agency." Not until the article's seventh paragraph does Clausing write, "To be fair, Ritter has reached out to stakeholders on all sides of the education and oil and gas regulation issues."

That's an understatement. Members of the Ritter administration spent more than 30 hours in stakeholder meetings discussing HB-1341. And his administration will "likely grant more than 6,000 new drilling permits, a doubling from just a few years ago."

The media needs conflict. GOP partisans want a fight. And some legislators have their own pet agendas. Hopefully the voters can look past the hype to appreciate Ritter's centrism.

Cross-posted at SquareState.

Bill Owens for Senate?

2007-03-25T10:42:00.000-06:00

A Bill Owens for Senate campaign is a possibility I mentioned months ago and which Mike Littwin considered in yesterday's Rocky:

[I]f Udall wins, you could see two Democratic senators in Colorado for maybe the next 20 years. So, you make the call. And you know where it has to go - to [Colorado GOP head Dick] Wadhams' old boss, Bill Owens.

Good advice, if the Colorado GOP decides it would rather not self destruct.

UPDATE: ColoradoPols has more from The New York Sun:

In sum, Mr. McInnis was the Colorado Republican Party's best shot at holding the line in 2008. However, he seems to have been forced out of the race by social conservatives who, in a state that is home to Evangelical leader James Dobson and his Focus on the Family, want a "traditional" Republican (i.e., one of them) to be their nominee.

Good vs. bad update: Good appears to be winning

2007-03-24T14:58:00.000-06:00

HB-1341 is defeating the doubters. And the Edwardses are beating the haters. But the planet is still struggling in a tight contest with carbon dioxide.

Diana DeGette: Change America's course in Iraq

2007-03-23T13:16:00.000-06:00

A press release from the congresswoman states, in part:

"Today I had the opportunity to support legislation that will change America's course in Iraq," said Rep. DeGette. "The U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act shows that Congress is no longer a rubber stamp for President Bush's failed Iraq policy."

H.R. 1591 is legislation that will, for the first time require the President to:
• Set an August 2008 deadline for the removal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
• Enforce established readiness standards for the deployment of U.S. combat forces.
• And certify on July 1, and October 1, 2007 that the Iraq government is meeting political and military benchmarks.

The President has indicated that he will veto HR-1591 if the bill makes it through the Senate.

Assorted snark, mostly Republican edition with a sidebar about an actual policy post

2007-03-23T08:56:00.000-06:00

• Tancredo to voters: "You support me!"
• Wadhams to media: "You support me!"
• Club for Growth to Schaffer: "We support you."
• WeatherDem to Udall: "Support the Safe Climate Act."

John Edwards to hold press conference regarding Elizabeth's health

2007-03-22T06:25:00.000-06:00

Like rnoboa, I am holding my breath about this.

UPDATE: MSNBC is reporting that sources have confirmed Edwards "is suspending his campaign for the presidency, and may drop out completely, because his wife has suffered a recurrence of the cancer that sickened her in 2004."

As saddened as I am by Edwards' decision, it is a necessary one. My heart goes out to John, Elizabeth, and their entire family.

UPDATE: Not so fast. CNN reports that the Edwards campaign will continue, despite the reappearance of Elizabeth's cancer:

John Edwards said tests this week had shown his wife, Elizabeth, had cancer in a rib on her right side. He said the cancer is treatable but not curable.

Elizabeth Edwards said she was "incredibly optimistic" and said her expectations about the future were unchanged.

"You can go cower in the corner and hide or you can go out there and stand up for what you believe in," John Edwards said. "We have no intentions of cowering in the corner."

The Edwards family has endured unspeakable pain already. The inner strength John and Elizabeth possess is an inspiration.

I have given John Edwards a lot of coverage. Discussing policy with him at a Colorado bloggers roundtable, I became convinced that he had the vision, optimism and stamina necessary to be a great President.

As I wrote here, Edwards' quest for the presidency is as much a movement as it is a campaign. So it's totally feasible that it can continue while he and his family turn their attention to supporting Elizabeth. At least, I hope so. While Clinton, Obama and Richardson are all good contenders, the field would be much weaker without John Edwards - not to mention Gore, Kerry, Warner, Bayh and Feingold.

Opponents of New Energy Economy legislation wasting time

2007-03-22T06:21:00.000-06:00

Governor Bill Ritter's New Energy Economy means jobs. It means innovation. It means a cleaner state. It means a habitable planet.

It also means a whole lot of whining from entrenched oil and gas interests and their friends in the legislature.

On Tuesday, a group of legislators led by Yuma Republican Cory Gardner asked Ritter to slow down energy legislation including HB-1341, which would overhaul the oil and gas panel. (Read about it in the Rocky or the Post.)

It begs the question, just how slowly would they like things to move? Climate change has been an issue for years. Decades, even. The effects are being felt now. We are lucky that Colorado still has the opportunity to seize a leadership position in the new - and essential - green economy.

Fortunately, the governor seems to understand this. And he isn't inclined to cave on one of the central planks of the Colorado Promise. A statement his office released Tuesday night reads, in part:

"My administration has made every effort to listen to the concerns of the energy and resource-development industry. We understand how important this industry is to our economy and the value it brings to our state. Our intent is to balance the extraction of resources with the concerns the people of this state have expressed surrounding impacts to our water, air and land. Over the past five years, members of the public have lodged more than 1,500 complaints with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conversation Commission regarding those impacts.

"By end of this year, the state will likely grant more than 6,000 new drilling permits, a doubling from just a few years ago. We will have received more than 33,000 permit applications. Colorado is in the midst of one of the largest energy-development cycles in decades, probably ever, and we must do all we can to protect the public's health and our environment.

"Harris Sherman, the executive director of the Department of Natural Resources, and other members of my administration have spent more than 30 hours in stakeholder meetings with the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, the Colorado Petroleum Association and others interested parties regarding HB1341. We have spent twice that amount of time on the phone gathering input from and listening to stakeholders."

Translation: "The oil and gas industry has been heard. And will be heard. And now you're wasting time."

The same could be said in our nation's capital, where for years oil and gas interests have blocked attempts to slow global climate change. Finally, the voices of science, progress, passion and optimism are being heard. One can only hope they are not too late.