The Wizard of Beck by David Brooks.
With the amazing government takeover of the automobile and financial industries, it is obvious that businesses in the dwindling private sector are nervous. Unfortunately, instead of fighting for their independence, many businesses are taking an "if you cannot beat them, join them" approach. Today has two examples of this mentality.
First, [...]
My boss sent this cartoon to me this morning. While it is over 50-years old, this cartoon, entitled "Make Mine Freedom", seems even more relevant in these times. Share and enjoy!
by Civil Sense
[...]The Independence Institute produced this great video about government mandates on coverage (hat tip to Ari Armstrong at FreeColorado.com).
I had higher deductible coverage in college, and so did my wife. Hopefully, government meddling will not ruin this option for those who can least afford it.
by Civil Sense
[...]The Colorado Republican Business Coalition had two interesting speakers for its monthly lunch meeting today.
First, Director Matt Arnold of Clear the Bench Colorado spoke about his organization. He spoke of three cases where he believed to be the Colorado Supreme Court’s most egregious: Bill Ritter’s illegal property tax freeze, the Telluride Land [...]
I believe in liberty, and that liberty requires limited government. Government, left unchecked, grows in scope and size due to its (mostly) well-intentioned public representatives and employees. Some people prefer to add regulations and restrictions (see the cell phone texting ban); others prefer to merely transfer wealth to political contributors (see Governor Bill Ritter’s “green” [...]
I have come to the realization that I can't both be the kind of candidate that I want to be and also write a quality blog.
When in human history has society respected or admired someone who set out to lose at whatever endeavor he got involved in?
Why would anyone respect or admire someone who admitted that he would prefer to be in the minority in the legislature?1. A van with a "respect life" license plate and an Obama sticker.
2. More vintage cars and trucks in garages being rebuilt than I can count.
3. A monoplane with folding wings sitting in someone's front yard. Worse for wear, almost certainly not airworthy.The Denver Post has an interesting article on Jim Daly, successor to James Dobson at Focus on the Family.
Nowhere does it mention politics. It does suggest that Daly will be more open to working with others than Dobson has been. [...]I picked up four volunteers yesterday. Three were fiscal conservatives and one a social conservative. None were registered Republican.
Two, a mother and daughter, were registered Democrat. It was obvious from listening to their comments as they read my flyer that they were conservative. Both were married to servicemen, with one [...]The Rockies' winning streak comes just after the firing of Clint Hurdle. Doubtless the Broncos and Avalanche hope for the same results.
Earlier this week, I was told that I was running a very unorthodox campaign. If I win, it will be because of a grass roots effort, not the amount of advertising I can buy.
I am sure that when the campaign finance reports come out, pundits will look at the numbers [...]
The people I meet as I walk who are least interested in having a Republican majority in the legislature or Congress are the ones who begin spouting back Hannity and Rush.
They are also the ones who have been deeply politicized by their churches.Most people don't know what proprietary information is, even some otherwise well educated people. While one doesn't see the term all that often in [...]
Those who are curious as to why one of the most liberal members of the Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Gisnberg, would issue a temporary stay that slows down the Obama administration's reallocation of private assets, visit my favorite site on Supreme Court issues.
[...]Go no farther than the Denver Post editorial by David Peterson. It includes the following sentence:
To paraphrase the old quote about General Motors, "What's good for grocery workers is good for America."
I liked last week's Denver Post editorial, Tone Down the Abortion Debate.
It appears that the El Paso County Republican Party is going to take steps to fix this, but one of the reasons that fiscal conservatives are under represented is that no one targets them for voter registration.
In 2005, The Gazette wrote:
A newly formed Republican cell in the Colorado General Assembly wants to purge GOP Statehouse ranks of those who aren’t true to the party’s “core values.”
The conservative-leaning Republican Study Committee of Colorado was recently started by Rep. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, and several [...]
At the end of one of the Denver Post's long series of editorials promoting more government spending, the Denver Post includes this sentence:
If we experience hyper-inflation because of increased federal spending, Colorado could go bust.
Do you think that he Republican Party would be much better off if the politician most associated with and responsible for the Hispanic anti-Republican backlash of the last election were not calling Judge Sotomayor a racist?
I fear that many Hispanics think that Tancredo is, himself, a racist, and look on [...]
My sympathies are with his family.
I also extend my sympathies to the many well meaning social conservatives who recognize that their cause is always hurt and never helped by these kinds of acts of violence. Ben DeGrow and John Andrews are good examples who spoke out immediately.
[...]One office holder at the Beach Party told me he was reading this blog with interest. He noted that I was free to do some things that others aren't.
i find it hard to be both a participant at an event and a reporter about that event. When you are standing in line to give a speech, you are thinking about the things you will say, not so much about what others are saying.
My speech, which received mild applause, [...]I keep coming up with new insights as I walk.
Over the past very few years the Republican registration advantage in Colorado has evaporated. The obvious question is who left the Party, and why?
At least once a day I have to email the voter registration URL to former Republicans now registered [...]After the third day of my starting to walk precincts, I told my wife that I thought I would win.
Words that are music to a politician's ear. I heard them twice yesterday and I only spoke to three voters. It was the quietest day I have had. I had to quit before people started getting home from work.
Those of you who have followed my writings know that I honor the initiative process if not always the outcome.
There will be an effort to clear the bench of four of the six justices who used circular reasoning to arrive at the conclusion that a tax freeze need not be sent to the voters under TABOR.
There was a time when company or troop sized Army posts (forts) were scattered around the west. Most were shut down in 1890 when the land and buildings were sold off. The buildings were usually dismantled for the lumber, leaving only the rocks at each corner of each building that [...]
After three weeks of walking precincts, I am getting an education of the kind that isn't available elsewhere.
There is a very interesting Statesman article about the bill signing ceremony in southern Colorado Springs this week.
I hand an interesting email conversation with a social conservative who shall remain nameless, though you might recognize the name.
If one thinks back to the auto industry in the 1950-1970 period, one remembers the whipsaw tactics that the UAW used to jack up wages and benefits.
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Last Week to RSVP!!! The El Paso County Republicans' Beach Party/Chili Cookoff is a summer kickoff event you don't want to miss! Join our elected officials and other members of the El Paso County community to listen, dance, and laugh to the 60's sounds of the Kahuna Beach Party Band (http://kahunabeachparty.com). [...]
Daniel Cole, who often writes for The Gazette, has tried for the second time to deflect legitimate criticism of a Gazette article or opinion piece by attacking me on my own blog.
I've been at it for two weeks, now.
Sunday's Gazette had another head in the sand opinion piece about the courts. It is completely divorced from reality. All one need to do is look at the latest TABOR opinion to see the knots that the court tied itself into to find that TABOR, a part of the constitution, [...]
The campaign site is now up. It still needs some work, but it will do.
My opponent is a small tent Republican who doesn't understand that fiscal conservatism thrives when Republicans are in the majority and fails when Republicans are in the [...]
Newsletter May 12, 2009
This district actually runneth over with good candidates, because Tom Lucero, familiar to the listeners of the Hugh Hewitt Show, is also considering a run. He's an elected volunteer University of Colorado Board of Regents member who built some name [...]
In 2006 I volunteered for Bob Beauprez. In the course of doing that I learned a lot.
Not long ago a commenter used the current catch-phrase being used to get rid of Republican moderates:
"We lost because we talked the talk but didn't walk the walk."
What is a fiscal conservative who is not also a social conservative?
Yesterday I spoke to the most amazing voter, a church pastor.
Interesting quotes from the Schultheis, Lambert, Stephens town hall meeting:
It is traditional at town hall meetings to introduce any candidates who are present. There were three present at the Dave Schultheis, Kent Lambert, Amy Stephens town hall, but none were introduced. Office holders were introduced, as is customary. Care to bet that the candidate tradition was overlooked because I [...]
Yesterday, our three local legislators, Amy Stephens, Kent Lambert, and Dave Schultheis had an end of legislative session town hall meeting.
One of the difficulties of writing a blog and being a candidate at the same time is the need to keep secret those things that must be kept secret in order not to give the other side an advantage.
