The Colorado Index

Are Mark Udall and Bill Ritter Closet Marxists?

OK, we admit it.  We are addicted to Google Alerts.  We get stuff from all over the world on some subjects. There are some really wild-eyed folks out there, even wilder-eyed than Boulder Liberal Mark Udall and Bill Ritter when it comes to writing about climate change.

One of the most sane of the wild-eyed sites is the Devon Socialist Party Articles blog.  That's right, these folks are real, honest-to-goodness Marxists.  Here are two paragraphs that Boulder Liberal Mark Udall and Bill Ritter could easily agree with though they would be reluctant to admit that they are advancing a Marxist agenda:

We must also ask ourselves as Socialists what do doomsday prophesies achieve? Do we really think that we can win people to Socialism by telling them that the human race and Capitalist industrial development may already have destroyed the environment and therefore the future? Why would anyone bother with Socialism – or any other form of society - under those circumstances?

Rather as Marxists we should be pointing out that both safeguarding the environment for the future of Humanity and coping with the impacts of inevitable ‘climate change’ can only be effectively dealt with, and planned for, by a Socialist Society, organized on a global scale, which could address those issues and effect necessary change across the earth, seas and skies. A society which could ensure our future sustainability, utilizing all our resources and technology effectively and efficiently for the benefit of the whole human race and the whole planet.

The funny thing is that the Marxists are a bit more sane that Boulder Liberal Mark Udall and Bill Ritter, two environmentalist puritans:

A positive socialist program on the environment, highlighting the benefits of moving towards renewable sources of energy and a low carbon society, will serve as a contrast to those in the environmental movement who seek to impose an environmental puritanism on people, particularly less well-off people who won’t be able to afford to maintain their standard of living with extra ‘green’ taxes on everything, while the well-off continue to consume and travel as before.

Workers of the World - Untie

Global Warming - Know Your Enemy

Only $800 million a year for six years.  Chicken feed.  That is what the alarmists are saying it will take to keep global warming down to 2 degrees Centigrade.

The philanthropy phools don't have that much money, but they think that by focusing their money on "pinch points" they can force us all to pony up.

From that granddaddy of all climate alarmist organizations, the William and Flora Hewitt foundation comes this advice for other foundations:

Focus

Know the facts, know the strategies, and especially know the decision-making venue. The energy industry is large and is populated by enormous vested interests—and they are generally inclined to resist change. The scale of the energy business is also huge—some $4 trillion per year, worldwide. Philanthropy in the field therefore needs to have an intense focus, aimed at changing decisions in the pinch points in the system. Building codes, utility

regulations, and auto fuel efficiency standards, for example, can affect hundreds of billions of dollars of capital investments, switching these capital flows from high-carbon to low-carbon alternatives.

Design to Win

Build the strength to win in the venue. Use whatever tools are necessary to get the job done. When a venue is selected, learn it well, and then select the best strategies to win. The list below hints at the range of options available and gives examples of where they can be used. But these are not random choices and are not equally likely to succeed in any situation. Venue knowledge can tell you which to use, when, and with what intensity.

Economics arguments (State Public Utility Commission (PUC), RPS)

Technical (building codes)

Science (California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32))

Legal (Pavley, PUC)

Public opinion (RPS)

Grasstops (AB 32)

Grassroots (California Zero-Emission Vehicle Regulations)

Stay the course

Social change is never fast. Large-scale change requires funding the full cycle, from idea origination to selling to early adopters to mass rollout to serious implementation. Jumping in and out is unlikely to produce serious results.

Join with others

Very few foundations have the mass, patience, and expertise to transform decisions in any one venue. An organized strategy can use the strengths of colleagues to win.

Moving Slowly to Keep Energy Prices High

Boulder County resident and current Congressman Mark Udall wants to replace outgoing US Senator Wayne Allard. This begs the question: will Mark Udall vigorously defend Colorado’s interests in the Senate as well as Wayne Allard?

 
From the Rocky Mountain News story (Hat tip: Instapundit):

The Senate Appropriations Committee today narrowly defeated Sen. Wayne Allard's attempt to end a moratorium related to oil shale development in Colorado.

It was a big day for Colorado energy issues on Capitol Hill as Gov. Bill Ritter testified before a senate committee asking lawmakers to move cautiously on oil-shale development until more is known about the environmental impact and other issues.

Governor Bill Ritter testified against this? Isn’t this contrary to his interest in giving more play money to colleges and environmentalists via his severance tax proposal?

Meanwhile downstairs, the appropriations committee was considering a massive Emergency Supplemental Spending Bill. Allard, a member of the committee, attempted to insert an amendment that would reverse the moratorium that lawmakers approved late last year.

The moratorium prevents the Department of Interior from issuing regulations so that oil companies can move forward on oil-shale projects in Colorado and Utah. Allard said the moratorium has left uncertainties at a time when companies need to move forward and in the long term make the United States more energy independent.

"If we are really serious about reducing pain at the pump, this is a vote that would make a difference in people's lives," Allard argued.

But in a 14-15 vote, the committee spilt (sic) strictly on party lines and rejected the amendment.

One of the key votes was from Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who said Sen. Ken Salazar had urged her to reject the amendment even though she personally thinks the moratorium on oil-shale development is unjust. [Emphasis added]

So Ken Salazar and Bill Ritter applied as much pressure as possible to prevent Colorado from harvesting its own natural resources. What would Mark Udall do if he was in Senator Allard’s position? Last year, he sponsored the amendment to put the moratorium in place.

 Congressman Mark Udall (D-Eldorado Springs), succeeded today in getting an amendment included in the Interior Appropriation bill which will bar the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from issuing any final regulations for commercial-scale leasing of oil shale and from offering any commercial oil shale leases during fiscal year 2008. Current law requires BLM to issue those regulations, and to move to a full-scale commercial leasing program, on a crash basis and under a tight deadline.

 “My amendment will slow that process down so that we can be thoughtful about oil shale development." 

This suggests a new campaign slogan: Mark Udall, Ken Salazar and Bill Ritter—moving slowly to keep energy prices high.

by Civil Sense

Time Sensitive Rayburn Press Release

BENTLEY RAYBURN’S CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE

FOR THE WEEK OF

MAY 18-24

May 18 1:30pm Coffee in Cripple Creek at Carr House Pubic Invited

6:30pm El Paso County Lincoln Day Dinner

May 19 Meet and Greet Tim and Jan Murphy for details call Jeff at 719/884-7457

May 20 Luncheon Reception hosted by Jay Cimino for details call Jeff at 719/884-7457

Meet and Greet Bruce and Cindy Kramer, Buena Vista for details call Jeff at 719/884-7457

May 21 Education tour Chaffee County

May 22 Petition Signature Walking for details call Jeff at 719/884-7457

May 23 Petition Signature Walking for details call Jeff at 719/884-7457

May 24 Petition Signature Walking for details call Jeff at 719/884-7457

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The Greens are Winning; Sanity has Lost

The two very best editorials of the day come from Vince Carroll and David Harsanyi.

Harsanyi writes about McCain and Bush being left wing light:

A betrayal of fiscal conservatism and limited government by George Bush has fractured the Republican Party, and mending it won't be easy. Certainly, co-opting liberal ideas and repackaging them for moderates has failed to elect a single Republican. You may wonder, then: Why does it remain the GOP game plan?

Exhibit One: Republican presidential hopeful McCain unveiled his plan to nationalize energy with a cap-and-trade system (among other nuggets). McCain, in a speech that could have easily have been delivered by Al Gore, bemoaned the "profit" motive and claimed his solutions were "market"-driven.

If you believe McCain's new, massive energy bureaucracy is essential, there is already a party out there that will undertake the task with gusto.

Memo to John McCain:  When Republicans begin adopting a socialist energy policy - it isn't even liberal - they lose my vote.  You will do much less damage in the US Senate, sorry to say.

Vince Carroll has been going through the Colorado PUC testimony.  Governor Bill Ritter, never one to shy away from higher taxes and fees, plans to stick it to utilities rate payers to fund $1.5 billion in environmentalist gimmicks.

Here's one possible reason, gleaned from the testimony at the Public Utilities Commission by Tom Plant of the governor's energy office:

"As important as the rate is when calculating an electric bill, it is only part of the equation," Plant said last month. "A rate is multiplied by measured electric use to yield what electric customers care most about - their bill. . . . It may be helpful to start thinking of customers as 'billpayers,' not as ratepayers. An astute 'billpayer' may see a higher rate on their bill when they see a DSM (demand-side management) cost adjustment charge. However, if that customer avails himself or herself of a utility-sponsored DSM program he or she will see a lower bill, will experience greater comfort, and will be playing a part in improving the environment. I urge the commission to adopt a focus on customers' bills."

Someone please send that man a copy of The Wizard of Oz. After all, the wizard was so much more succinct when advising his audience to ignore a painfully obvious fact. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain," he urged Dorothy and her faithful band.

Has anyone noticed that the left wingers have stopped talking about a consensus on global warming?  Unfortunately, Newton's third law of motion applies to politics:  A political body in motion tends to remain in motion until removed from office by a newly sane electorate.

Mark Udall: For Local Control Except When He Is Against It

It wasn't all that long ago that Boulder Liberal Mark Udall was making the high minded claim that he supported a handgun ban in the District of Columbia because he favored local control.

We've known for some time that Boulder Liberal Mark Udall opposes local control regarding the Roan Plateau.  Of course, that may be less high minded principle and more high dollar principle, given the rush of the Sierra Club to come to his aid.

Boulder Liberal Mark Udall also seems to oppose local control when he can collect big union bucks by co-sponsoring something like the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act.  That title sounds like something Bill Ritter would write, doesn't it?

The bill as sent to the Senate makes the following findings:

(4) The Federal Government is in the position to encourage conciliation, mediation, and voluntary arbitration to aid and encourage employers and the representatives of their employees to reach and maintain agreements concerning rates of pay, hours, and working conditions, and to make all reasonable efforts through negotiations to settle their differences by mutual agreement reached through collective bargaining or by such methods as may be provided for in any applicable agreement for the settlement of disputes.

It looks a lot like local control to us, NOT.  Boulder Liberal Mark Udall is always for local control except when he is against it and can collect big campaign bucks.

Increased Ridership Causes Denver RTD Budget Shortfall?

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) in the Denver metropolitan area is well known for its pie-in-the-sky budgetary estimates for its FasTracks rail expansion. However, it appears RTD cannot perform its primary function—transporting people on busses and trains—within its budget. From yesterday’s Rocky Mountain News story:

RTD buses and trains are attracting new riders in record numbers as fuel costs and congestion drive more commuters to abandon their cars.

In fact, ridership is up so much that the agency is having difficulty keeping up with the costs of moving all those new customers.

RTD had an 11 percent increase in ridership last year and, through the first quarter of this year, is up another 8 percent.

But the transit agency is falling victim to its own success as it spends more for fuel while contending with flat sales tax revenue that's combined to create a potential $24 million shortfall that could force service cuts. [Emphases added]

What is the cause of this budget shortfall? Read on…

As the agency adds buses to its most crowded routes, it is paying 55 percent more than it did a year ago to fill them with diesel fuel.

Worse, RTD is far off budget in revenue collections. Even with the unexpected increase in riders, farebox revenue is 3.3 percent lower than anticipated in spite of a general fare increase that took effect in January.

That's because a good portion of the new riders are taking advantage of an annual flat-fee program through their employers. That means more riders, but no more fare revenue.

And sales taxes, the backbone of RTD's budget, are nearly 6 percent below budget through March…

Because fares only cover about 20 percent of the cost of service, collecting less in sales taxes has a big impact. RTD board member John Tayer said the agency has to develop a better forecasting model for predicting sales taxes in the metro area. [Emphases added]

Obviously, RTD cannot control the economy and its sales tax revenue. Fuel is a fixed demand commodity for the service (though they lock in fuel rates for each year at approximately $1/gallon below the service station price).

From the RTD website, a monthly local pass costs $60.00 for adults. At the regular fare price of $1.75 per one-way trip, this pass covers unlimited local trips in a month for the price of 34 individual fares. Seniors over 65, RTD Special Discount cardholders, Medicare recipients, and K-12 students under 19 only pay $30.00 per month.

Certain groups pay even less than this discount rate. One area hospital system offers a yearly pass to its employees for only $32! That is $2.67 per month (a 95% discount)! Plus, this $32 covers express and regional routes, too (retail price: $144). It is no wonder that the total fare collections only cover 20% of operational costs.

In nearly every instance, public transit requires heavily subsidies from the taxpayer. While it is easy to support subsidies for students and the elderly, it is more difficult to support subsidizing doctors and pharmacists. RTD needs to reexamine the wisdom of offering passes to employers at such an extreme discount from face value. Also, RTD should raise the normal fare to cover 100 percent of that rider’s share of the operating cost.

Finally, RTD needs to reexamine the wisdom of continuing FasTracks. It seems remarkably silly to expend so much capital to construct new rail lines while the expansion of ridership will only lead to further deficits. Unfortunately, the standard operating procedure at RTD is to leap first, then try to justify the budgetary problems at a later date.

by Civil Sense

A Tale of Two Ads

Today, the Denver Post, the Rocky Mountain News, and The Gazette each have an article on the mountain moving mistake in the Bob Schaffer ad.

Only The Gazette noted:

The Colorado Democratic Party and Progress-NowAction, a liberal advocacy group, were quick to jump on the mistake, sending news releases noting that apparently all mountains look alike to Ohio natives like Schaffer.

Both news releases ridiculing Schaffer misspelled Pikes Peak as "Pike's Peak."

Recall that Mark Udall is from Arizona and that his spokeswoman, Taylor West is from Iowa, so recently that the corn kernels are still coming out of her ears.

This isn't the first ad in the US Senate race where out of state stock photos were used.  Long ago, when we were still writing on Schaffer v Udall, we wrote a three post essay disassembling a Mark Udall internet ad.  In part, we said:

15 Seconds into the commercial (it moves fast) is a photo of Bob Schaffer standing beside a building with a large plaque. Curious minds that might want to know where in Colorado that building and plaque might be will be disappointed to see that a triangular shaped haze with two embedded rectangles has been produced by the animator to make it unreadable. It is funny to see how clear and sharp the photo is to the left of Schaffer's image and how fuzzy it is where the plaque is located.

The triangle shaped haze is a simple white triangle and two rectangles made translucent by the animator and placed in front of the building image. You can see where both rectangles extend outside the hypotenuse of the triangle. This part is very sloppy and cheaply done animation.

The Washington based producers of this deceptive piece of animation couldn't be troubled to find a photo of a Colorado building and weren't honest enough to let the viewer see that. Going out on a limb, we would go so far as to suggest that this building might be located in Alexandria, Virginia, given the unusually large size of the brick and the round object at the top of the photo. In Colorado, brick buildings are relatively scarce due to the easy availability of quarried building materials. We've never seen a building built with oversized brick.

The difference between the two ads:  The Mark Udall ad was intentionally deceptive in multiple ways.  The ad agency went out of its way to select photographs that conveyed a false picture and needed to be called on it.  The Bob Schaffer ad is an honest ad where a mistake was made by an out of state ad agency.

Memo to Dick Wadhams:  If you had actually been reading Schaffer v Udall, you might have picked up some good stuff, including a quick response to this little problem. 

Around And About

There is some mighty interesting stuff in the conservative blogosphere this week, and we didn't even get to all of our usual suspects:

Jon Caldera reports that the Independence Institute has a new education blog, Ed is Watching.  Cute.

Jon Caldera also has a funny introduction to a post about the tax increase litigation that begins "A statue of me?"  More seriously, it ends thusly:

[ Bill ] Ritter signed it on the west steps of the Capitol in a photo-op with little kids. But the governor read it too - not a penny slated for kids. I am tired of our children being used to pimp for tax increases.  They aren’t political props, they’re children.  It is just simple child exploitation, and it is ugly as hell.  Someday, maybe even in my lifetime, pimping kids for tax increases will be a transparent abuse and those guilty of it will have no political futures.

Jon Caldera also writes a wonderful mother's day essay, well worth reading even though Mother's day has come and gone.

Schaffer v Udall has one of the best essays they have done on Mark Udall as a Boulder Liberal in a while.   Every time Taylor West tries to climb out of the name calling slime pit that she has put herself in, SvU might remind her and its readers of the many times (this one included) that she claims that the Mark Udall campaign is above name calling when it is doing plenty of its own.

Schaffer v Udall, with the help of Vince Carroll, does a smack down on plagiarismnowaction.  It is about time that Alan Franklin (did we spell that right, Alan) admitted that he was a plagiarist.  Come clean Alan.

Face the State has two really useful essays on the State Senate races.  The best is on the competitive races.  More mundane are the noncompetitive races.   

Mark Hillman has put up a "Support Mark Hillman for national committeeman" blurb on his site.  We do because the other folks running aren't well suited for the job.

We'd like to say something nice about Ross Kaminsky at Gang of Four, especially after he called us a bitter s.o.b., but his essays are exactly what we expected, too long to be readable or read, and full of self promotion.  It took him only ten days to go after John McCain, and he did it viciously. If he works hard enough at destroying McCain, we can and will have a Senator Mark Udall.  We wonder if some folks are squirming a little.

Have Republicans Lost Their Way?

It is frustrating to work day after day to try to advance conservative causes only to watch those efforts wrecked by Republicans who can't seem to live the values they preach.

Today, The Gazette reported that Dan May is exploring the possibility of petitioning onto the ballot.

Greg Garcia, chairman of the El Paso County Republicans, said he was aware of the possibility of a May candidacy.

"We've just gone through the assembly, and our candidate for district attorney is John Newsome," Garcia said. "We've already been through the assembly and the caucus, and that's how we vet our candidates. For someone at this late date to petition onto the ballot and circumvent the caucus and assembly seems a little radical."

Having been a delegate at that assembly, I will note that no effort was made to vet the issue of alcoholism and the possibility that our prosecutor might be an alcoholic.  The subject wasn't mentioned. 

I've had an alcoholic in my family.  I've followed him around during temporary fits of sobriety when he claimed that alcohol wasn't impairing him. 

One day, we spent the whole afternoon driving from filling station to filling station in a unsuccessful attempt to find a flat tire he had left to be fixed.  He just couldn't recall where.  While he often drove drunk, he was never arrested and thus never convicted.

He died in a ditch, literally.  He was my father-in-law.

Having had that experience, I look at people who consume large amounts of alcohol and claim that they are not impaired as probable alcoholics.  If they are not already alcoholics, they are likely well on the way.

I don't vote for candidates who appear to be alcoholics.  To Greg Garcia's claim that the assembly vetted the issue, I say Bullshit.

Much more disturbing than the claim that the assembly vetted the issue were the next lines in the Gazette report:

Asked if Newsome appears to be a weaker candidate based on events last week, Garcia said he doesn't.

"I certainly would not think that Dan would take advantage of this particular situation . . . where there was no convictions and no wrongdoing," Garcia said.

I can't imagine a more damaging statement for the Republican leadership to make than to tell the public that there was "no wrongdoing."

Greg, we suggest you put up a sign over Republican headquarters: "We don't think it is wrong for elected Republicans to drink and drive, as long as they are not convicted." 

That is a slogan that will win votes. 

You have already said as much.

Until the Republican leadership at all levels learns not to pretend that the public won't notice wrong doing by Republican office holders, we will remain in the minority, and deserve to remain in the minority.

Bad Judgement at the Denver Post

Ben DeGrow makes a point on Schaffer v Udall:

It seems Mark Udall is comfortable practicing his own deception, and not simply relying on his friends in the Big Blue Lie Machine. Udall's latest deception came with an assist from a Denver Post article.

The Denver Post editors have obviously decided that they will pick the next US Senator, and can do so by pushing the Northern Mariana Islands issue on its readers day after day:

Former Congressman Bob Schaffer's role in those efforts has been a campaign issue for weeks,

The only paper keeping this alive is the Denver Post.  If it has been a campaign issue, it is because the Post has gotten itself directly involved in the campaign, and for no other reason.  It doesn't go a single day without mentioning the issue in some way. 

[ Mark ] Udall's comments and even more harsh words from [ California Democrat George ] Miller virtually guarantee that the Mariana sweatshops will be a salient issue in what's expected to be a bitterly fought campaign...

Is George Miller a household name here in Colorado?  Where does a Post reporter come up with the idea that because George Miller chimed in, this will be an issue that moves voters in Colorado, and does so for months?

The Denver Post even admits that Udall hasn't mentioned this before:

Monday his Democratic opponent [ Mark Udall ] for the first time took him to task on the issue.

In an effort to make the truth look like a partisan response, it quoted Dick Wadhams:

"The first time Mark Udall ever talked about the issue was in 2008. He never went to a hearing, he never made a floor speech about the Mariana Islands and the alleged labor abuses," said Dick Wadhams, Schaffer's campaign manager.

"He was so concerned about the labor abuses that he was silent and totally uninvolved . . . until he thinks he can use it politically in a campaign."

The Denver Post doesn't exactly have a Stirling record at picking candidates and issues.  Even it will admit that Bill Ritter has turned out to be its gift to the people of Colorado that keeps on giving. 

It might be less likely to admit that Ref C has destroyed its credibility with voters like this author.  Ref C money didn't go where the Post said it would go.  It became more taxes that the politicians in Denver could spend while piously pleading for money to fix the problems that the Denver Post promised Ref C would fix.

The Denver Post is addicted to taxes, to the point that it calls for or supports a new tax every month.  It can't be surprising that it would oppose Bob Schaffer, who has a record of opposing higher taxes.  It is also no longer surprising that it uses a campaign of lies and half truths to do so.  The Denver Post chooses to be a large cog in Colorado's Big Blue Lie Machine and willingly damages Colorado in the process.

Note to Jeremy Pelzer: We Lift Our Glasses High

Not many weeks ago, Jeremy Pelzer, writing as Wally Edge in Mediocrity in Orange, err... Politicker, opined that we were unhappy because he gets paid, and we don't.

He is going to be much more unhappy when we gleefully tell him, in just a few months, that we have joined the geezer gang.  Since we get to pick which three Americans will support us in high style in our dotage, we pick him first. 

That's right, Jeremy.  Each month as you get that pittance, made smaller by your contribution to Social Security, know that we are drinking a nightly White Zinfandel toast to you, and you are paying.

If we keep writing stuff like this, AARP is going to take our card away.

Jeremy, Jeremy.  You know that if you didn't always try to serve up softballs to Democrats while playing hardball with Republicans, we wouldn't pick on you.

Take Politicking with Hal Bidlack.  Not very long ago, we wrote that Hal Bidlack had written in his blog that he agreed with Mark Udall on almost everything.  We opined that it had cost him the election in El Paso county.

After the Clinton folks, we drove down to Canon City to join the Fremont County Democrats at the annual FDR Dinner. I was honored to share the speaking duties with Rep. Mark Udall, the next Senator from Colorado. I’ve had the chance to spend some time with Mark, and I can’t tell you how much this gent has impressed me. I agree with him on just about every issue, and I think he will be a marvelous addition to the US Senate. He is being very kind to a rookie candidate, and I can’t thank him enough.

You clearly weren't paying attention.  You let Hal Bidlack get away with claiming to be a moderate:

And I come into this, I think, as a fairly strong Democratic candidate. I mean, I was a professor in the Air Force, I worked at the White House. I was also a cop in the Air Force, so I've arrested felons. I'm a gun owner and believe in fiscal responsibility. It's kind of a Western moderate view which, depending on where I'm standing - if I'm standing in Berkeley, California, I'm a right-wing guy, and if I'm standing in the middle of Iowa, I'm a left-wing guy [ left of Tom Harkin ]. It just depends. That's my issue set.

Not once, but twice:

So I think there are more Republicans who are like Chuck Hagel, the [Republican] senator from Nebraska, or Barry Goldwater, who was a conservative - and I'm a moderate - but he was consistent.

Like a lot of politicians, Hal Bidlack wants to have it both ways:

Personally, I am pro-life...But, in terms of my politics, I believe so strongly in a right of privacy. And I believe if you can't control your own body, what privacy do you got? So I would say that I will vote primarily, I would think, pro-choice...

Jeremy, we might have let you off on this one, but you wrote another softball article about Mark Udall.  You might have started your research over at the Schaffer v Udall Mark Udall is not a moderate scoreboard (on the right margin).

Added note: Mark Udall called Boulder his "touchstone" and his staff claims "Boulder Liberal tag will not hurt"

Franklin Roosevelt designed Social Security so that we older folks wouldn't have to live in poverty.  We can assure you that it is working.  The next time you take a dig at a blogger who you think is jealous of your paycheck, make sure he doesn't have his hand in your pocket.  We lift our glasses high. 

LPR Newsletter

May 2008    You are invited to a Leadership Celebration With guest speaker Dennis Prager Syndicated Radio Talk Show Host Dennis Prager is one of America's most respected radio talk show hosts. He has been broadcasting on radio in Los Angeles since 1982. His popular show became nationally syndicated in 1999 and airs live, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to Noon (Pacific Time) from his home station, KRLA. Dennis can be heard on 710KNUS from 11-1 weekdays or online at Townhall.com.  Widely sought after by television shows for his opinions, he's appeared on Larry King Live, Hardball, Hannity & Colmes, CBS Evening News, The Today Show and many others.  Dennis writes a syndicated column (Creators Syndicate) that is published in newspapers across the country and on the Internet. His writings have also appeared in major national and international publications including, Commentary, The Weekly Standard and The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Prager was a Fellow at Columbia University's School of International Affairs, where he did graduate work at the Middle East and Russian Institutes. He has taught Russian and Jewish history at Brooklyn College; and was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Delegation to the Vienna Review Conference on the Helsinki Accords. He holds an honorary doctorate of laws from Pepperdine University. When: Friday, June 13, 2008 Where: The Wildlife Experience 10035 South Peoria, Parker Time: 6:00pm   $50 per person $500 per table* *includes 8 tickets with preferential placement and sponsor recognition Leaders of Colorado Members will receive a $10 discount Light Hors D’oeuvres and Cash Bar Please RSVP by Tuesday, June 10 purchase tickets online at http://www.leadershipprogram.org/ or call 303-488-0018 or email jenn@leadershipprogram.org Dear  , The past few months have been very busy for the LPR.  After completing a very successful Retreat we had a Legislative Shadowing Day, where LPR alumni and class members shadowed Legislators at the State Capitol for the day.  One of our current class members, Brian Schwartz even got an opportunity to testify in front of the health care committee.  We hope all of you will join us for the next big LPR event, our Leadership Celebration event on Friday, June 13th, featuring Dennis Prager.  Best, Shari Williams, President APPLY NOW for the LPR Class of 2008-2009.  Visit our website to pull down a PDF or apply directly on line.  Applications are due by Friday, August 29, 2008. Board of Directors The Hon. Bob Schaffer-Chairman Alex Cranberg Helen Krieble Ed McVaney Mark Hillman The Hon. Jeannie Reeser Shari Williams-President Skin in the Game Bob Schaffer, Chairman Candidates for public office often struggle to explain how your interests would be served by giving them your vote.  How many make you want to volunteer your time or make a financial investment?    The common disconnection isn’t limited to politics.  Managers often assume subordinates understand the relationship between a task and themselves.  Taking the time to explain it can be the difference between organizational success and failure.   Attention to self interest must be built into strategies for policy change or product development, too.  It’s important to appeal to the virtuous concept of self interest which is different than the ignoble one of selfishness.   The late economist Milton Friedman brilliantly summarized the role of self interest in achieving economic efficiency.  He noted:   When I spend my money on you, I care about the cost but not so much the quality.  When I spend your money on me, I care about the quality but not so much the cost.    The worst of all worlds is when I spend your money on you because I care neither about the quality nor the cost.  Naturally, the best scenario is when I spend my money on me.  That’s when my concern for the cost and quality is greatest.    Whether in education policy, health care, in the workplace, on a sales call or on the campaign trail, giving others skin in the game is the quickest path to efficiency.     At LPR, we treat freedom as more than an ethereal construct.  We rely on real strategies that make the noble cause of American freedom a personal responsibility – the cost and quality of which are better appreciated by all.  Recent LPR Class Speakers March 2008 Dr. Rulon Stacey- President, Poudre Valley Health Systems   Dr. Vernard Gant- Directory, Urban School Services ACSI   The Honorable Victor Mitchell- Colorado State Legislator   Mike Rosen- KOA Radio Talk Show Host   April 2008 Fred Smith- President, Competitive Enterprise Institute   William Perry Pendley- President, Mountain States Legal Foundation   Scott Moore- Vice President of Gas Marketing, Anadarko Energy   Steve Moore- Wall Street Journal     Special Thanks to Anadarko Energy for sponsoring our April class and to Colorado Christian College for graciously providing our April location. Each month LPR’s current leadership class explores a different series of current issues relative to both National and State policy.  Future leaders are encouraged to continually and practically apply the fundamental principles set forth in the U.S. Constitution and subsequently develop the ability to critically examine, defend and discuss the aforementioned virtues with knowledge, understanding and wisdom.  The following expose is a synopsis from the annual Broadmoor retreat weekend seminars in February.     The Letter C Raines Guinn, LPR Class Member 2008   A look back on our recent class retreat reveals a Common theme.  Terrific Company and Conversation to be sure, but a repeatable pattern resembled the sights and sounds of Common sense.    “Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, but the former to the world. Our great title is Americans…” Thomas Paine   Citizenship.  Our collective willingness to be aware of the realities that define the current state of our world, to understand our issues and shepherd the cause of freedom, is a responsibility that the members of LPR accept and practice. And during our retreat, we were certainly made aware.   Churchill. A fine beginning to an important weekend; Dr. James Humes entertained us with his impersonations of the great man and taught us that the ear is 100th of the eye.  He reminded us that although we might learn to sound like Churchill, no one is likely to listen unless we exhibit the courage to live our values and stand like Lincoln.   Climate.  What many of us suspected, Dr. Pat Michaels confirmed. The global warming chatter promoted by Al Gore and a coven of opportunistic scientists can't hold a bucket of hot water. What we learned from his comments and by reading his book, Meltdown, will prepare us to argue in favor of the truth.   Conspirators. As we viewed the trailer of the new documentary produced by Steve Emerson, a chill filled the room. The post 9/11 political climate has slipped toward appeasement rather than action and our homeland is at risk.  An appropriate vigilance is found in gaining a further understanding of the facts by reading his latest work, Jihad Incorporated, and building this essential information into our daily platform.   Capitalism.  Jonathan Hoenig reinforced our appreciation of and dedication to the ideals of economic freedom. By defending and promoting free market principles we will continue to maintain the promise of prosperity that is the trademark of our country.   And there was more. Local issues were identified and explained by Linda Gorman, Cory Gardner, Frank McNulty, and Dick Wadhams.  Mike Rosen delivered the clear message that while we maintain our conservative values we must also be willing to adapt to a changing landscape where inclusion of varied views outweighs exclusion of past interpretations.   We adjourned the session with the wisdom of John Fund who, amid ObamaMania, rallied the troops with valuable perceptions and helpful insights that we will use to stay the course through November.   The remarkable weekend was filled with making new contacts, enjoying the company of good-natured companions, and reinforcing our conservative principles against the backdrop of an uncertain election year. And the location of our event, the majestic Broadmoor Hotel, staffed with top professionals that delivered five star service…..well, that was just plain cool.   Perhaps the message that underscored each session is best illustrated by another quote of Thomas Paine.  George Washington thought highly enough of these words to have them read to his troops on the eve the Battle of Trenton. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” Upcoming Events Friday, June 6-  LPR QUARTERLY BREAKFAST MEETING, Featuring David Harsanyi, Panera Bread at 13th and Grant at 7am, RSVP to jenn@leadershipprogram.org   Friday, June 13 -  Final LPR Session and Graduation, Wildlife Experience, Parker, CO   Friday, June 13 -  Leadership Celebration featuring Dennis Prager, Wildlife Experience, Parker, CO, 6:00pm, RSVP online at http://www.leadershipprogram.org/ or call 303-488-0018 or email jenn@leadershipprogram.org   Friday, August 29-  LPR Application Due for 2008-2009 LPR Class.      Are you an alumni of LPR or RLP? Have you joined the LPR Face Book?  If not, please visit our website at www.leadershipprogram.org to join and reconnect with alumni. For more information please contact Jenn Hamann at 303-488-0018 or

Crank Press Releases

Here is the latest batch of Jeff Crank Press Releases

Joshua Sharf Press Release

Because this is the only press release we got from Joshua this week, he gets a full page:

Dear Supporters and Friends, Before we get to the news, I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to the volunteers who have worked so diligently to gather signatures. Thank you. I simply could not do this without you all. And there's a DSW Shoes that you all have single-handedly kept in business over the last two months. Now that we are nearly past the urban warfare of the signature battle (although there's still some work to do on that front), I'd like to meet you! If I am going to be your Representative, I'd like to answer your questions and hear your concerns. If you would like to host a coffee event, or help make calls to voters in your neighborhood, let us know by contacting Tom Bearden at 303.813.0800. On Wednesday, May 14, I will be the guest on the Mike Rosen Show on from 10:00-11:00AM Mountain Time. Any Republican would leap at the chance to be on the show and discuss the issues that are so important to Coloradoans today. Listen at KOA 850 AM or online at 850KOA.com. Later that day on May 14, I will be attending the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) Legislative Update, focusing on the uses (and mostly misuses) of Referendum C money. "Where has all the money gone? Long time passing..." On Thursday, May 15, I will be at the monthly meeting of the Jewish Republicans of Colorado, where Bob Schaffer, candidate for the U.S. Senate (and endorser of my campaign) will be the guest speaker. I've been told that my mind is like a loaded blunderbuss - it can go off in any direction. So the Colorado Gun Collectors Association's 43rd Annual Collector's Show is the perfect place for me to visit. It'll be at the Denver Merchandise Mart this weekend, and should be a lot of fun, as local gun enthusiasts show off their collections. I'll be there on Sunday, May 18. Team Sharf is on fire! Here's how you can be part of the effort: Collecting signatures - We are in the home stretch, but we still need your help. If you can help collect signatures, please contact Tom@SharfColorado.com. Signing a petition - If you are a registered Republican residing in Colorado House District 6, please click here for locations and times that petitions and volunteers will be at local supermarkets. Financial support - We are fighting the good fight and that takes money. Please click here if you would like to make your gift securely online, or mail your check to Citizens for Joshua Sharf, c/o Treasurer, Mark Makowitz, P.O. Box 24926, Denver, CO 80224. Keep the faith and let's continue riding the train to victory. Sincerely, The Republican Choice for House District 6
Powered by integrity and backbone Paid for by Citizens for Joshua Sharf PO Box 24926 Denver, CO 80224 info@SharfColorado.com 303.520.7503

Case-in-Point: Why TABOR Should Remain in the Constitution

Another day, another Denver Post editorial lamenting the existence of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

To free-spending legislators, TABOR is the bogeyman under the bed. TABOR prevents the government from raising taxes without a vote of the people. It constitutionally limits the growth of government. It so frightens our legislature and governor that they will not spend political capital in an attempt to modify the TABOR restrictions. This is not a bad thing.

 From the editorial…

 Many political, business and community leaders agree the budget gridlock enshrined in the state constitution needs fixing, but as the continued unraveling of a plan to relax TABOR shows, now may not be the time.

A changed political climate has left Republicans — who are needed to sell the proposal to voters — maneuvering to take back the legislative majority and unlikely to rile their conservative base.

The Democratic governor has been conspicuously hesitant to back the plan as he rolls out his own, top-priority ballot initiative that's likely to suck up available campaign funding.

Plus, the success of 2005's Referendum C, a five-year timeout from constitutional revenue limits, took the economic hammer from over the heads of voters, who no longer face closing junior colleges and other doomsday scenarios. [Emphasis added]

The doomsday scenario is the last refuge of the profligate-spending politician. In order to plead governmental poverty, the politicians allocate the revenue to items of various degrees of importance. Typically, they will choose politically expedient projects (a.k.a. pork). When the budgeted money is gone, the politicians then plead poverty because they cannot fund essential service X. If the taxpayer provides extra money to the government, the taxpayer has just provided extra de facto funding for nonessential projects in order to fund what should have been funded in the first place. This is a classic example of a bait-and-switch.

This method is as old but often used trick. When growing up in Ohio, the local school boards always projected dire straits if the voters would not pass a levy. They never threatened to cut nonessential personnel or try to curtail waste. Instead, they would threaten sports and the arts. The fact that sports and music at these schools were already mostly self-supporting did not matter. Threatening the highest profile expenditures would, in most instances, get public support on their side. (Obligatory note: I am not against funding schools, just the scare tactics used to achieve support for the tax levies.)

Linda Gorman at the Independence Institute (Hat tip to Patient Power by Brian Schwartz) highlights the misallocations of funds away from transportation to extra government regulation. The money quote is where the article speaks to the costs of HB 1389—the health care price control bill.

From FY2008-2009 to FY 2009-2010, HB 1389 will increase state government costs by $620,652. The fiscal note says that it will be funded by reducing “the annual diversion to the Highway Users Tax Fund” by $419,583 in FY 2008-2009.

In other words, roads will not be repaired so that the Department of Insurance can spend $419,583 to increase health insurance premiums for Colorado health insurance buyers.

Read the whole thing, and remember that TABOR, while not perfect, prevents government costs from being even more intrusive in the daily lives of each Coloradan.

by Civil Sense

 

Why Windfall Profits Taxes Are Bad News

It shouldn't be much of a surprise that the Democrats like Mark Udall are in love with Oil Windfall Profits taxes.  They will do almost anything to minimize the production of oil and drive up the price of gasoline.

Just for the sake of argument, assume that you were lucky enough to own an oil well. 

Before you start spending those big bucks, lets assume that your oil well only produces one tenth of a barrel a day, but it does produce that much.  That is about 35 barrels a year.  At $120 a barrel, you will make $4,200 a year.  It isn't a kings ransom, but it will buy you and your spouse a nice dinner once a week.

Well, maybe it won't.  Small scale oil production has large scale costs.  Let's assume that this well costs $3,500 a year to run.  We can use any figures we want to because the principles are the same.  This well won't have come into production until the price of oil exceeds $100/barrel.

Democrats like Mark Udall are quite content to keep marginal wells out of production because it helps them increase the cost of gasoline.  How can they best do that?  Simple, they can impose a $20 a barrel windfall profits tax.  It sounds like they are doing a good thing, but the impact is that this well will go back out of production and the price of gasoline will incrementally increase.   

Welcome Co-Blogger Civil Sense

First, a tip o the hat to BNN.

That done, we wish to welcome our new co-author, who uses the screen name "Civil Sense."  For those who are curious, here are most of the rules we laid out for him:

Your essays and political points need not agree with mine or other writers as long as the disagreement remained civil.  I'm a big tent Republican and I can tolerate big tent ideas.  A good, civil, disagreement actually builds readership.  Just know that I will always make the best argument that I can and I hope you will do the same.

I won't edit or delete anything you write unless I get concerned that you are creating a legal liability.

I've shied away from writing on religion and when we restart the sweep I don't want to include any religious stuff from other blogs.  Deep down, and sometimes not so deep down, every religion thinks that practitioners of every other religion are going to hell and sometimes people are incautious enough to write that.  This is a political blog, and not a religious blog.

You need to decide if you want to be anon or not.  I don't care.  I am not really anon as I have gone out of my way to make my identity known from the beginning.  Politics and business so seldom mix that you might want to consider being anon.  Believe me, you can write what you think is the most neutral sentence imaginable and someone will be offended.

The advantage to NOT being truly anon is that you will sometimes get invited to meetings that the public doesn't know occur.  To some small degree you will become a political insider.

Effective writing for a blog is completely different than effective writing for an English class.  I've written this many times because I believe it.  The size of the audience doesn't matter.  What matters is who the audience is.  Expect me to give you some guidelines and pointers to make what ever you write as effective as it can be.

We had lunch together yesterday to discuss effective blogging.  He would likely tell you that other rules and principles that we laid down were the very same things we have been writing about for a long time.

While the above note mentions re-starting the sweep, that may or may not happen.  For the time being, we are leaning against doing it.  It takes about two hours a day, six days a week to do it.   That is 600 hours a year.  In terms of value to us, it doesn't appear to increase our readership.  We spent about three hours looking around the blogosphere last week.  There isn't much visible evidence that others appreciated our effort and a lot of evidence that they didn't.   Mark Hillman is the notable exception.

In any event, we do want to welcome our new co-blogger, Civil Sense.

Time Sensitive Crank Press Release

For Immediate Release:                                                                                             Media Contact: Amber Glus May 12, 2008                                                                                                                                        (720) 219-2023                                                                                                                                             Media Advisory Jeff Crank Gives Free Gas Cards and Corn Crank says federal policy in part to blame for competition between food and fuel COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Jeff Crank, Republican candidate for Congress in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District, tomorrow will give out free $10 gas cards and an ear of corn to the first 30 people who arrive at a public press event.   “Americans are increasingly getting squeezed by higher prices for gas and food,” said Crank. “Federal government policy is making this competition between food and fuel worse than it needs to be.  Tomorrow I will propose a simple plan to lessen this unnecessary food versus fuel tension.  We need to lessen the burden on the American people.”   The Crank Campaign will host the press conference at the corner of Montebello and Academy, just one block north or Austin Bluffs and Academy near the Diamond Shamrock gas station. The event will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m.     --30--  Jeff Crank for Congress | 4360 W. Montebello St., Ste. 900 | Colorado Springs, CO 80918 719-264-6306 | www.jeffcrank.com

Two Cases of Potential Government Waste

Hello, everybody. To begin, I would like to thank “A Watcher” for providing the opportunity to be a co-author on this blog. My political preferences tend to involve free market, small government solutions. I will be a watchdog on transportation, construction, and education issues. However, I reserve the right to opine on other issues as they arise.

Two news stories struck me this past week as places where government agencies may be wasting money.

The first story is that of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in the Denver metro area paying $15,000,000 for land in Weld County that the district does not plan to use! Apparently, for RTD to acquire some Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) land for its FasTracks light rail project, it needed to relocate a UPRR rail yard. To keep the project “on schedule,” this land in Weld County was acquired by UPRR before the engineering cost for the relocation was determined. Once the cost estimate came in at $700 million dollars, RTD could no longer afford the relocation.

The more disturbing part of the story was that RTD is paying $28,000 to $83,000 per acre for land that is worth $10,000 to $15,000 per acre. While RTD will attempt to sell the land, how are they going to recoup their costs?

The second story involved the Adams 50 School District construction program. As I have acquaintances in this district, I was aware that they were building a new school and remodeling two schools. However, since they hired an architect from Chicago, the school paid over $60,000 in extra reimbursable expenses on a $1.8 million dollar project. The district is not even reviewing the receipts.

Was this architect selected in a competitive bidding process? If so, are these expenses part of the bid contract? If the answer is yes to both questions, then everything is fine, the school selected the low bidder and they planned to spend this money.

However, based upon the normal consultant contracts, I believe that the reimbursable expenses are above and beyond the original contract price.  If the bids were selected without taking into account the anticipated reimbursable expenses, the school did not truly select the lowest bidder.

It seems difficult to believe that an out-of-state firm would produce a lower bid than an in state firm. Why was this out-of-state company chosen?

“A school district spokesperson says the Illinois company was brought in because District Superintendent Dr. Roberta Selleck was comfortable with them having used the company on other projects when she was an educator in Illinois.”

When I lived in Ohio, I knew many construction companies with which I was comfortable. I’ve never called them to perform a private job in Colorado because the travel expenses would place a project woefully over budget. Whenever public money is involved, cost considerations seem to be second to political connections.

by Civil Sense

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