The Colorado Index

Leadership Program of the Rockies Breakfast

Please Join us for our Quarterly Breakfast Club     With Diggs Brown, LPR Grad, Member of the Fort Collins City Council, Green Beret, successful businessman and a Harley Rider.     His topic: "How to Win the War on Terror"     Tuesday, October 14th at 7am at Panera Bread, 1350 Grant Street, Denver (303) 830-7101 Diggs recently returned from Afghanistan and the Global War on Terrorism.  Major Brown, or CPT Diggs as he is referred to in his emails home, spent one year on active duty including seven months in Afghanistan.  His focus was training the new Afghan Army and conducting operations against the Taliban and Al Qeada terrorist organizations.  In his spare time MAJ Diggs, along with Chaplain Andy, taught English to Afghan students in a bombed out village near their compound.  As a result of Diggs' emails home describing the impoverished conditions of the school literally thousands of pounds of school supplies were sent to his location from everyday people back in America. The efforts of MAJ Diggs and Chaplain Andy were instrumental in the rebuilding and re-establishing of the school.  Not only were supplies furnished, but eventually the entire school was rebuilt.  MAJ Diggs would tell you this is "winning the hearts and minds;" this is how wars are won.

A Note from Bentley Rayburn

Friends,

Sorry for this being such short notice, but I was out of town for a while with serious computer problems that kept me from sending this earlier!  Still thought some of you might be interested, even on short notice, because we still have seats left!

There are a lot of wonderful charitable organizations around Colorado Springs , and if you’re involved with one or more of them, I sure appreciate your efforts to make life better for the less fortunate or those who have particular needs.  If, however, you're looking for a great organization to support, one which is helping our military troops and their families in very significant ways, may I suggest joining Debbi and me for the annual "For the Love of Our Troops" dinner to benefit military families through an organization called “The Home Front Cares.”  The dinner is this Thursday, the 2^nd of October, at the Antlers Hilton Hotel and features the past Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dick Myers, as our dinner speaker.  Tickets are $125.00 (most of which is tax deductible as a charitable contribution to THFC).  Dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. with a pre-dinner reception beginning at 5:00 p.m.  If you’re interested and would like to join us to hear and meet General Myers, just let me know.  You can respond to this e-mail or call me at (719) 488-8521 (h), or (719) 200-6206 (c), or (719) 689-2379.  Debbi and I would love to have you join us!

Very sincerely,

BENTLEY B. RAYBURN

Major General, USAF (Retired)

Obama's Experience Nobody is Talking About

When the meltdown of the financial markets came into sharper focus a few weeks ago, pundits were all over the airwaves talking about the great opportunity this presented for Obama.  As Rush has often instructed his listening audience, "Bad news for America is good news for Demcrats."  Sarah Palin successfully breathed life into the McCain campaign, and in doing so put a dent Obama's lead in virtually every poll.  The prospects of Republicans holding onto Congressional seats looked a little brighter.  A 'bad news for America"-type problem was needed to revitalize the Democrat lead, and one certainly came along.

I spent last week in the Land of Lincoln, mostly in Chicago.  Obama's adopted state is supporting him by a vast majority, yet in talking to several Democrats, many are "hoping" that Obama will "change" once he gets to the Oval Office.  Seems things aren't so hopeful within the Illinois state government, and while change is desired, it hasn't been happening.  On September 26, the TV and radio stations across the state were reporting Federal investigators believe they now have enough evidence to bring charges of fraud and conspiracy against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a long-time friend and political associate of Mr. Obama.  Yet, the same Feds that made this announcement quickly noted that it would be up to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and the U.S. Dept. of Justice to pursue prosecution.  Most folks in Illinois I spoke with don't support their governor, Democrat and Republican alike, but they also believe that if there is any effort to pursue this matter, it will only happen after the general election in November so as not to create any possible scandal for Obama. 

The Illinois public employee retirement accounts are unfunded right now to the tune of about $43 billion.  In talking with average, mainstream Illinois citizens--Democrat and Republican alike--could really attribute any effort to solve state economic woes to Sen. Obama, while in the state senate or once he went to Washington on their behalf.  Many did, however, talk about the fact that unemployment in many counties in Illinois is well above the national level, due in part to taxation of business and industry that left the state.  Citizens talked about how high state and city taxes are in the Chicago region and the poor state of their roads and bridges.  They also talk about the dramatic increase in murders and violent crime in Chicago in recent months, as well as housing projects that Sen. Obama helped obtain funding for that now stand in ruin.  Many commented that while violent crime is on the rise in the city he resides, Sen. Obama has been off campaigning as being the best choice to lead the entire nation, giving little attention to the current crises in his own state.  He is promising to change not only our country, but also the world, and the folks back home are hoping he'll do a better job than he did as their senator.

While visiting an upscale residential community adjacent to Chicago, there were rare Republicans here and there willing to reveal themselves.  They, of course, cited all the problems noted previously along with many others occurring within the state of Illinois, Cook County and the City of Chicago.  They'd love to see Obama's record as an Illinois senator be brought forth onto the national stage before the election, but they have no confidence it will happen.   

Illinois Democrats and Republicans will tell you that Sen. Obama has experience, all right, such as the pending disaster in the public employee retirement fund, among others.  Experienced, yes, but is it the experience we need?

Representative Democracy Not All It Cracked Up To Be

Some years ago, I was a precinct committee person at a time when Doug Dean was just starting his career.  He lived within three blocks of me.

One day, news of the first assault on the initiative process by the legislature hit the streets.  It was the infamous single subject rule.  That Referendum was designed to make it impossible for meaningful initiatives to get on the ballot at all.  Because the Republicans controlled the legislature and the Democrats controlled the Supreme Court, the single subject rule was interpreted very loosely for left wing proposals and rigidly for conservative proposals.

When I challenged Doug Dean in a letter as to why he had voted for this kind of Referendum, he went out of his way to call me.  His response floored me.  He said that "the Democrats in safe seats wanted this on the ballot."  What he didn't say was that the Republicans who were in full control at the time voted like sheep to put something on the ballot that empowered Democrats and would eventually erode their own power.

This week, I heard something similar from Amy Stephens.  'Well, I oppose Ref O but I voted for it to get it out of committee.'

I'm not picking on either Doug Dean or Amy Stephens, but common sense suggests that these two weren't using theirs.  Doug Dean's go along to get along vote meant that Doug Bruce couldn't get a two sentence issue on the ballot because it was supposedly multiple subjects but a 2500 word campaign finance initiative that handcuffed Republicans had no problem.

If our few Republicans in the legislature are so stupid that they will vote against their own interests on major items like limiting ballot access, they need to be replaced.  All of them.

It's About Power, Not About Democracy

It appears that a very interesting series outlining how the Democrats have taken power has started at Face the State.

If the first installment is any indication, the series features internal documents that will prove enlightening to the public and may be embarrassing to the people involved.

One wonders why the msm didn't report on this.

A Tale Of Two Cities

The two most famous partisan cities in Colorado are Colorado Springs and Boulder.  Colorado Springs is currently a Republican stronghold, and Boulder is a liberal Democrat stronghold.  However, Monday's Rocky contained an interesting article demonstrating that these polar opposite cities used to be philosophically closer than today.

The dirty little secret for liberals in Boulder is that their county voted twice for Richard Nixon and not once, but twice, for Ronald Reagan.

"That's a real shocker," said former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm.

Yes, it's true. Boulder used to be a Republican stronghold, just like most of the rest of Colorado.

Between 1920 and 1984, Boulder County voted for Democratic presidential candidates only twice - just like El Paso County. Voters in both areas strayed from the GOP only for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Boulder shifted dramatically after 1984. Since then, voters in Boulder consistently have voted for a Democrat for president while El Paso County voters reliably pick the Republican.

The article claims that the presence of CU in Boulder made its politics more liberal over time, and the presence of the military in Colorado Springs made it more conservative. While this may be true, land use and land planning seem to be major factors in today's politics.

Boulder purchased its mountain parks in the 1930's and purchased a green belt around the city. Boulder should be commended for not using eminent domain for its parks (unlike Telluride).  However, both the City of Boulder and Boulder County have some of the most restrictive development laws on the books, thus driving up property values exorbitantly high.  This means a lack of affordable housing and many workers having to commute up US 36 from Denver and its northern suburbs.

Contrast this to Colorado Springs.  While it owns the Garden of the Gods on the west, its development laws are much less strict  The city itself is huge in area, with residential developments sprawling far outside of the downtown area.  The city thrives due to annexation and increasing area.  Thus, property values are much more affordable.

The demographic differences listed in the article are also interesting.  El Paso County's average age is 34 years old, to 36 years old in Boulder.  El Paso County is also more ethnically diverse.  Both Boulder and El Paso Counties have 13 percent Hispanic populations.  However, El Paso County has a 6 percent black population compared to less than 1 percent in Boulder County (statewide, the average black population is 2 percent).  Likely, the El Paso County military presence contributes to the greater diversity than gentrified Boulder.

by Civil Sense

Goodbye and Good Riddance

The verbiage below the line was written several days ago and held from publication.  Today, the Denver Post has a long story about the failure of Bob Schaffer to reach out to Hispanics and how it might cost him the election.  It was a decision Bob Schaffer made.  It was, quite frankly, a stupid decision given the damage that Bob Schaffer had to know that Tom Tancredo had inflicted on the party.

Early in April, a group of high-power Republican Latinos sat down with GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer and pressed him to reach out to the state's Latino voters. They advised him to hire Latino staffers, offered to introduce him to community leaders and reminded him of the importance of attending the community's political events, such as the annual Bernie Valdez luncheon.

Schaffer "had a little bit of a problem" with it, said Gil Cisneros, who attended the meeting and is now helping John McCain coordinate a Latino outreach in Colorado.

"He said, 'Well, I've never campaigned like that. I consider myself to be an American first,' " Cisneros said in an interview the day after the parley, suggesting Schaffer didn't like to think about voters based on their racial or ethnic group.

-------------------------------

Mike Saccone in Grand Junction is one of my favorite political writers.  He notes in his blog that Hispanic voters are going for Mark Udall at a rate of 64 to 21 per cent.  While the poll he cites may be a bit flaky, a trend like that is likely to have some accuracy.

As we noted above, Udall’s lead is most marked among Hispanic and female voters: Among women he leads Schaffer 53 percent to 34 percent. Among Hispanic voters, Udall leads Schaffer 64 percent to 21 percent.

In a year when Hispanic voters in the West are more important than ever, that second statistics cannot be welcome news to the GOP camp.

Those numbers don't speak to Mark Udall's competence as a candidate.  Mark Udall is a disaster as a candidate.  Mark Udall's incompetence and long far left record is a gift to the Republicans.

They also don't speak to any weakness on Bob Schaffer's part.

Those numbers speak to the level of Latino animosity against the Republican party that Tom Tancredo managed to build up over his career.  It is a wound that it will take a generation, and perhaps two, to heal.

There is a parallel.  I think back to the mindless attacks against soldiers conducted by Democrats (like Mark Udall and Bill Clinton) thirty years ago.  Soldiers of my generation will remember that treatment for the rest of their lives.  Ask John Kerry if it can impact the outcome of an election.

Latinos can be expected to carry the same kind of grudge unless they can acknowledge that Tom Tancredo was not representative of rank and file Repbulicans.  If he were representative, he would have racked up more than one or two percent of the primary vote.

Tom Tancredo is about to leave the political scene but his legacy will live on.  I'm not sorry to see him go.

Mike Coffman Press Release

Coffman for Congress Update Friends - It's hard to believe but Election Day is sneaking up on us and absentee ballots will be mailed out in less than two weeks! Colorado has become a national target for both parties and all eyes will be on us come November. Since the primary ended we have been busy calling unaffiliated voters to identify those who plan to vote Republican. As you're probably aware, this voter identification is critical to a successful turnout plan. The phone banks take place from our office, and several offices throughout the Sixth District, everyday from 9:00am to 9:00pm and we need your help. If you have any free time that you can spare in the coming weeks and would like to get involved please contact Jeff Small at jeff@coffmanforcongress.com or call our campaign headquarters at 303.791.6453. We need volunteers to make phone calls, walk precincts and get out yard signs (if you don't already have your Coffman for Congress yard sign email chris@coffmanforcongress.com and we'll be sure to get you one). Also, another way you can help is by forwarding this email onto your friends and neighbors who may be interested in getting involved and let them know how important their help will be. On campaigns you can never have too much help, and with the national importance of Colorado we now, more than ever, need all hands on deck. As always thank you for your support, Mike is enormously grateful for all that you do. Sincerely, Dustin Zvonek Campaign Manager Action Center Contribute Volunteer Meet Mike JeffCo Chili Supper Saturday, October 4th 4:30PM Jefferson County Fairgrounds Castle Pines North Candidate Forum Tuesday, October 7th 7:00PM Castle Pines North Community Center Heather Gardens Community Association Candidate Forum Friday, October 10th 1:00PM Blossoms at Heather Gardens Paid for by Coffman for Congress, Inc. 9249 South Broadway Blvd. # 200-501 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 Phone: 303-791-6453 Fax: 303.791.6451  info@coffmanforcongress.com

How Young is too Young To Be A Legislator?

Yesterday's presentation by the three local legislators brought up a subject that I hadn't thought about. 

They didn't agree with each other that 21 year olds should be eligible to run for the legislature.  Senator Dave Schultheis thought they lacked the life experience to be legislators.  The other two did support Ref L which would lower the age of eligibility form 25 to 21.

That made me think about the issue over night.

I have written several times that Senator Dave Schultheis is directly responsible for my becoming active in politics, and eventually, the establishment of this blog.  I had written a letter that identified many problems with the legal system.  He had answered it, as though he had read it and was acting on it, when he hadn't read it.  About three weeks later, I spoke to him about it.  It was immediately obvious that he had no idea what I was talking about.

He made himself obnoxious by putting his finger in my chest and telling me that he had no time for my issue.  He was too busy working on immigration and pro life issues to care whether the legal system worked or not.

That makes me wonder if there should be an upper end age limit for service in the legislature.  I could turn the argument that Dave Schultheis made against allowing those between 21 and 24 to serve and say that old guys like him should be disqualified because they become so set in their ways that they are not open to any ideas but their own.

I will continue to support Ref L, not because Senator Schultheis doesn't have a good argument against it, but because it seems unlikely that many young folks will be elected.  Those few who are won't do much damage.

Morning Meeting

I attended a meeting today concerning the items on the ballot.  It was held by three local legislators.

Their recommendations didn't differ significantly from mine.  Two of three endorsed personhood.  The third supported, but did not personhood, the exact same position that Focus is taking.  When the Focus rep was asked the difference, he said that there was a similar South Dakota initiative that had a better chance of passing judicial muster. 

Representative Stephens is concerned about the unintended consequences, especially regarding in vitro fertilization.

They strongly supported 52 where I only mildly support it.

One opposes Ref L because young people don't have the life experience to be legislators at 21 in his opinion.  I support L.

All three oppose O.

With those exceptions, my recommendations match theirs.

Doug Bruce was present.  I've decided I am never speaking to the guy again.  He is so focused on doing things his way that he claimed I was "a bad citizen" because I put my effort to this blog and don't have time to stand in a grocery store for four hours.  At least I wasn't kicked.