Who's awesome?

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.

Tom Tancredo live-blog: He's running

[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.

Tancredo to proceed with vanity campaign

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.

Thompson, Tancredo and Beauprez get weird

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."

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

• 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."

Bill Ritter, Morgan Carroll cheer me up

This morning the GOP has been corrupt, hypocritical, racist and corrupt again and again. I almost didn't want to check my RSS feeds again for fear I'd learn yet another way wingnuts are messing up our country.

But I did, because I'm actually getting my RSS feeds through an IV drip now. And I was pleased to find this from the Rocky:

More than a dozen bills aiming to transform Colorado into the green energy capital of the nation are wending their way through the legislative process, inching toward Gov. Bill Ritter's desk for his blessing.

Bills that double Colorado's current goal for electricity from renewable resources, help build power lines to carry wind energy, require gasoline to contain a certain amount of ethanol and have new homes and buildings comply with energy efficiency codes.

Ritter is expected to approve most of the major renewable energy and energy efficiency bills. He promised voters last year he would transform Colorado into a new energy economy that depends less on foreign oil or pollution-causing fossil fuels.

Promises made, promises kept.

Then I learned from Morgan Carroll that her worker's comp choice bill has passed out of the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee.

Sunshine and lollipops and rainbows, people. Life is good.

CPAC, RNC reject Tancredo candidacy

Good for them.

I guess Tom Tancredo's running for President...

...because he's flip-flopping and weaseling like a real contender.

Tancredo two years ago:

TANCREDO: ...if this happens in the United States and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist, Muslims, um, you know, you could, you could take out their holy sites.

HOST: You're talking about bombing Mecca?

TANCREDO: Yeah.

Tancredo today:

GUEST: Congressman Tancredo is the same man who a few years ago said that we should consider taking out Mecca in order to send a message to the terrorists.

TANCREDO: Whoa, that is absolutely...

GUEST: This gentleman is not the man to be...

TANCREDO: You have no respect to say a thing like that.

GUEST: ...to preserve all human life.

TANCREDO: That is absolutely untrue that I said we should take out Mecca in order to send a message.

As Zappatero points out, "I guess it depends on what the meaning of "message' is."

Assorted snark from the 2008 primaries

• McEwan to Edwards: "Adios."
• Hillary to Rove: "Boo!"
• Russert to Dems: "Huh?"
• Tancredo to House: "Whichever."

And finally, SquareState points out that the Ken Salazar for Vice-President rumors I wrote about last year are still swirling.

Evan Bayh would probably make a better runningmate for Hillary, Richardson or Obama. But an Edwards/Salazar ticket would be just about perfect.

More Tancredo-worship from the Rocky

Media Matters lets 'em have it.

Peter Boyles, Gunny Bob to host Tancredo fundraiser

From the Rocky:

Rep. Tom Tancredo's talk radio buddies are about to give his White House ambitions an off-the-air boost. Conservative talkers Peter Boyles and Robert "Gunny Bob" Newman will share the emcee duties at a Feb. 25 fundraiser for Tancredo's newly-formed presidential exploratory committee...

Boyles goes on the offer the least rousing endorsement in the history of party politics, "He doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell."

Assorted snark from the Coloradolib inbox

• McInnis to Schaffer: "But I don't want a primary!"
• Republicans to Democrats: "Hillary big like Hulk!"
• Linkhart to Denver: "I'm in. And I'm in to win."
• Tancredo to voters: "Immigration? Never heard of it."

Tancredo treasurer tied to FAIR

Not too long ago, I mentioned that many Republicans are uncomfortable with Tom Tancredo's relationship with the Federation for American Immigration Reform. But Tancredo has made no move to sever his ties with the group. In fact, today's Rocky reports that Tancredo's campaign treasurer "has served as a deputy director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform."

In other Tancredo news, Dave Barry thinks the CD6 representative is an "ignorant yokel blowhard," a "xenophobic dimwit," and a "clueless tourist dork."

Tancredo gets chilly reception in New Hampshire

The Rocky Mountain News (via Coyote Gulch) finds Tom Tancredo getting a cold shoulder in New Hampshire.

The story quotes Tancredo, "Yeah, I'm an underdog, but it's been the case almost every single time I've run.'' Which is totally accurate. Unless you count his races against Toltz in 2000, Wright in 2002, Conti in 2004, and Winter in 2006.

The many, many people who are not Diana DeGette

At some point during Democratic CD1 representative Diana DeGette's media luncheon, I realized that many people are not Diana DeGette. Like me. And you. And all the people discussed below.

The 106th Congress was not Diana DeGette.

DeGette started by running down the early accomplishments of the 110th Congress. In just the first 100 hours, Congress passed bills to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, increase the minimum wage, improve America's energy situation, and more.

Then DeGette talked about global climate change and Iraq War escalation. And she listed the leadership posts she'll hold in the House.

One goal she won't pursue: The impeachment of George Bush. She said it would be a distraction from issues like healthcare and global warming.

The contrast between the Democrats of the year 2007 and their Republican counterparts from eight years ago couldn't have been clearer. Imagine how much better off America would have been if the Republican-controlled 106th Congress had put aside its petty and nasty partisan games and focused on moving America forward.

George Bush is not Diana DeGette.

DeGette is an advocate of increased protection for children on the Internet. She is drafting legislation that would require ISPs to keep records for one year, making it possible for police to trace crimes back to the perpetrators. Privacy advocates worry that the bill could infringe on the rights of Internet users. But DeGette, herself an ACLU member, envisions safeguards to protect the innocent. Law enforcement officials would have demonstrate probable cause and obtain a subpoena before accessing records. And Internet providers would be asked to retain identifying data only, not communications.

The President has his war on terror. DeGette has her war on online predators. But DeGette has the skill and vision to wage her war without trampling the Constitution. Bush does not.

Tom Tancredo is not Diana DeGette.

I often tell the story of the elderly African-America woman who stopped me on a Denver sidewalk to tell me how much she loved Diana DeGette. I was doing a lit drop for Bill Ritter. And I asked the lady if she would be voting for him in November.

"I will if he's in the same party as Diana DeGette," she answered.

I asked DeGette how she'd managed to engender this sort of loyalty while leading a national campaign to legalize federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. She talked about her roots in Denver and her passion for seeing the West prosper.

Like DeGette, Congressman Tom Tancredo is a national player with a signature issue. But Tancredo's issue has consumed him to the point where he has lost touch with his district. DeGette's has not.

Joe Lieberman is not Diana DeGette.

DeGette represents a district that's sure to re-elect her as many times as she cares to run. Yet she still listens to her constituents. And makes time to reach out to party leaders, liberal activists and the media.

Joe Liberman lost the 2006 Democratic primary not just because of his opinion on Iraq or his fondness for Bush. He was shown the door because he looked the party faithful in the eye and told them he did not care about their opinions. He thought he was above the democratic process.

Despite the relative safety of her CD1 seat, DeGette is still taking risks and earning and re-earning her election. I don't know how much longer she'll serve. But it's hard to imagine a better representative for Denver.

More at SquareState, Daily Kos and Colorado Confidential.

Tom Tancredo "misstates the facts"

The hysteria is the same, but the fiction is new:

Rep. Steve Cohen said Tancredo's press statement, under a headline that says Cohen was rejected "because of his race," misstates the facts. He never asked to join the caucus and was never rejected, he said.

Tom Tancredo rethinks amnesty

Tom Tancredo's Presidential bid requires the support of mainstream Republicans. And mainstream Republicans don't like his hardline stance on illegal immigration. So he's wiggling. From The Austin American-Statesman, via TancredoWatch, via ColoradoPols:

Tancredo has repeatedly opposed a guest-worker program because he said it would reward immigrants who entered the country illegally. But now, "if I see we're truly enforcing the law... I'd be willing to talk about a potential guest worker program."

Cross-posted at SquareState.

Robert Novak just hates Colorado?

What is it with Novak attacking Colorado congressmen? First it was Tancredo. Now he's after Ed Perlmutter.

The Rocky adores Tom Tancredo

Explain how a dispute between Senator Ken Salazar and Congressman Tom Tancredo justifies the Rocky headline, "Colorado senators clash over Spanish speech." Um, did we elect a Senator Tancredo at some point?

I'm sure the Rocky will fix the headline shortly. At least, I sincerely hope they will.

Salazar delivered a speech in English and Spanish. Tancredo got whiny. That's the extent of the argument. And it exposes three critical facts:

1. Salazar has more courage than I sometimes give him credit for.

2. Tancredo's problem is not with illegal immigration. It's with what he sees as the dillution of a white, Judeo-Christian heritage. As Luis wrote at Square State, "Ah, but Tancredo is only opposed to the 'illegal' aspect of immigration -- it has nothing to do with having a problem with Latino culture. Riiiiiiiight."

3. The Denver papers love Tom Tancredo. Truly, madly, deeply. And nauseatingly.

There's more at Daily Kos.

Tom Tancredo and the definition of conservatism

The American voter imagines that there are only two political philosophies. Pete Stark sits somewhere on the left and Jean Schmidt sits somewhere on the right and the rest of us fit somewhere on a continuum between them.

The truth is much messier. And nowhere is that more obvious than in the case of CD6 representative and 2008 presidential contender Tom Tancredo.

Tancredo is trying to position himself as a conservative. In The Denver Post, he was quoted as saying, "It appears to me that there is a void, which I think I can fill, (being) a true conservative with a conservative history."

But Tancredo's biggest fans are not the free-traders and religious fundamentalists that the average voter thinks of as conservative. Read what three prominent conservatives have written about him:

1. RedState questioned Tancredo's conservatism: A person with even modest social conservative convictions would simply not be funded by an organization whose activities are as repugnant as FAIR's."

2. Captain's Quarters derided Tancredo's aspirations: "Front runners in presidential politics usually get there by having a broad policy outlook and developing the kind of experience that lends credibility to their executive potential. Single-issue legislators rarely fare well when throwing their hats in the ring -- Bob Dornan springs to mind here -- and usually wind up as a laughingstock, and their issue marginalized. Tancredo's exploratory committee might want to take all of this into consideration before wasting political donations better used to help the eventual Republican nominee win the general election."

3. Robert Novak blamed Tancredo for Republican failures: "Although no more than 25 House Republicans follow Tancredo's rigid line, that is enough to obstruct a coherent Republican posture... In trouble on Iraq and federal spending, Republicans are being lured into a nativist posture that is political fool's gold."

The most passionate Tancredo backers are not Republicans the way that, say, George Will is a Republican. They're paleoconservatives, a school of the conservative movement that emphasizes family, cultural identity and a strong military. Things get blurry after this. Because it's easy for troubled souls to confuse "family, identity and strength" with "eugenics, race and violence." And that's how you get conflicts like the one RedState was writing about.

Over the last few days, Tancredo hasn't proved himself capable of winning over mainstream Republicans. He's hired a key Pat Buchanan supporter to run his campaign in New Hampshire. And despite his instance that he's popular in Iowa, the latest polls show him getting only 2% of the likely Republican primary vote. This might feel familiar to Tancredo. His 1998 election was the result of a five-way primary that he won with only 25.7% of the vote.

Maybe Tancredo's base isn't the GOP at all.

Over the past year, I've become convinced that a healthy percentage of the CD6 representative's support lies outside his party. I've personally heard anti-globalist Democrats sing his praises. Online, I've seen self-identified liberals post pro-Tancredo statements. It makes sense, in a way. After all, it's not just Republicans who feel uncertain about the future, insecure in their jobs, and scared of an increasingly multicultural country.

Let me put it another way. In the days before the 2006 election, Republican nominee Doug Lamborn in CD5 was pulling only 2% among Democrats. I will eat my computer if the same was true for Tancredo in CD6.

Allard, Salazar, DeGette, Udall, other Salazar, Musgrave, Lamborn, Perlmutter seek blizzard relief for farmers

Meanwhile, Tom Tancredo is busy proving he's a maverick. The Rocky explains.

The good, the bad and the funny

Coyote Gulch's 2006 in Water is amazing and exhaustive. Scott McInnis' failure to live up to his charitable intentions is wrong and I'm glad PNA is calling him on it. But for sheer jaw-dropping weirdness, you can't beat this golden oldie on the right-of-right WorldNetDaily, which I stumbled across while searching for conservative reaction to Tancredo's candidacy. In it, the author opines that Tancredo is the best choice for President, if Mel Gibson doesn't run.

Conservatives reject Tom Tancredo candidacy

When Bill Winter and Rolling Stone question Tom Tancredo's ties to racist groups, it's easily dismissed as liberal finger-pointing. But when conservative outlets like RedState and The American Spectator do it...

Obama and Tancredo in

The Chicago Tribune reports that Barack Obama is about to hop in the Presidential hunt. (You can read my worries about his candidacy here.)

Meanwhile The Denver Post reports CD6 embarrassment Tom Tancredo "will form an exploratory committee this week for a possible presidential campaign but does not plan to give up his House seat." (You can read my worries about his candidacy on practically every page of this blog. Starting here.)

Tancredo's bid hinges on Allard's?

The Tancredo campaign announcement I wrote about last night has been downgraded from imminent to contingent. As in, Tancredo is running for President if he can't run for Senate. From the Post:

In addition to evaluating Iowa, Tancredo is also waiting to see whether Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., decides to run for re-election in 2008, [Tancredo spokesperson Carlos Espinosa said. Tancredo has said he's interested in that statewide office.

The problem is that no one seems to know what Allard's thinking. Different story, same paper:

Sen. Wayne Allard has made up his mind about whether he will seek a third term in 2008, but he's keeping his decision secret a bit longer. Only Allard and his wife know his plans, press secretary Steve Wymer said Friday, confirming a report posted Thursday on Congressional Quarterly's website, CQPolitics.com. Allard has not said when he will announce his choice.

Tancredo and Allard are both extremely beatable opponents for probable Democratic nominee Mark Udall. But they have different weaknesses. Allard is so boring he's known in DC as Senator Dullard. Tancredo has the opposite problem; he's so not-boring he'll probably shoot himself in the foot at some point.

Tancredo can count on one thing. The fawning support of the mainstream media, which in Colorado includes the major dailies. Today's Colorado Media Matters reports that the Post is already giving Tancredo the benefit of their bias:

In a January 12 online article about U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) interest in a possible presidential run, The Denver Post uncritically reported Tancredo spokesman Carlos Espinosa's claim that U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) "is not a very popular guy in Iowa." In fact, according to a December poll commissioned by Des Moines, Iowa, CBS television affiliate KCCI, Iowa voters rank McCain the most popular potential Republican presidential candidate among 11 contenders.

Cross-posted at SquareState.

Tancredo running for President?

The blogosphere - from SquareState to RedState - is buzzing about this unsubstantiated tidbit from The Des Moines Register:

Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo is on his way to Iowa to announce his candidacy for president. Tancredo, a U.S. House member, plans to be in Iowa Friday through Monday, with public book signings in Council Bluffs Saturday and West Des Moines Saturday.

Now at the risk of being unpopular, this blogger places the blame for all of this squarely on you, the voters.

Death threats and the mainstream media

Tom Tancredo allegedly gets a death threat and CNN goes beserk. But when Democratic Rep. Terrance Carroll got death threats, the media tripped over itself to report both sides of the story. And when Bill Winter got death threats, you didn't hear a peep.