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(D) B. Pettersen

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(D) Yadira Caraveo

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How NOT to Oppose the Colorado Option

If the debate about a legislative health care reform plan called the “Colorado Option” comes down to a battle over messaging, then Democrats should feel pretty good about where they stand at the moment. The arguments about House Bill 1232 began last Friday in the House Health & Insurance Committee. Discussions on a potential compromise […]

Research & Rhetoric: How Republicans Manufactured a Political Attack on John Hickenlooper

(Read this – Promoted by Colorado Pols) Even in its purest form, political opposition research is by its nature a fishing expedition. Researchers scour public records for evidence of lawbreaking or wrongdoing by their target. Any evidence found can then be used for legal action, media pitches or paid advertising. When a political goal is […]

Colorado progressive talk radio hits bottom with cancellation of Gloria Neal show

There’s endless speculation about why progressive talk shows repeatedly fail on commercial radio, and the latest to go down is Gloria Neal’s morning show on KKZN AM-760, Colorado’s Progressive Talk. Greg Foster, vice president/programming for Clear Channel, which owns the station, told The Denver Post’s Joanne Ostrow yesterday: “I can confirm that Gloria Neal’s show […]

Today In BS: How It Gets Spread (Even If You’re Dead)

THURSDAY UPDATE #2: Media Matters weighs in with gusto: Kopel is not a reputable source of information in the gun policy debate. [Pols emphasis] During a December 2012 appearance on CNN to discuss a high-profile shooting involving an NFL player, Kopel falsely claimed that there is no link between gun availability and homicide rates, even though […]

How Republicans Lost a Gun Debate They Could Have Won

As of yesterday afternoon, the two most important gun safety bills to survive the agonizing debate in the Colorado General Assembly are on the way to Gov. John Hickenlooper's desk: House Bill 1229, closing the so-called "background check loophole" and requiring a standard CBI background check for most sales of guns, House Bill 1228 reinstating […]

American Muslims to GOP: Change or Lose Our Votes, Permanently

“Do I really need to spell this out for you?” is traditionally a rhetorical question.

But, when the subject at hand is American Muslims’ votes, the GOP consistently answers, “Yes.” Whether Republicans are inviting internationally infamous Islamophobes to speak at the Western Conservative Summit, or turning a deaf ear when voters reject Islamophobic GOP incumbents, they simply don’t seem to see any reason to mend fences or bury hatchets. In 2012, 85% of Muslim votes went to President Obama, a statistic Republican commentators prefer to use in their attacks on the President, rather than as the wake-up call it should be to their party.

A coalition of American Muslim organizations has formed to send a message directly to the GOP, starting with a full-page ad in the conservative Washington Times, spelling it out for Republicans.

According to the Council on American Islamic Relations (in a press release received by email):

That open letter to the GOP states in part:

“We are writing to offer an open invitation to reassess your party’s current relationship with American Muslims. As with other demographics, American Muslim support for Republicans has dropped precipitously in recent years. This shift away from the GOP is not set in stone, but its future direction is dependent on choices your party makes.”

In other words: Put Islamophobes in the corner, or face a future where Muslims are permanently stationed outside your “big tent,” voting consistently for Democrats.

Cheap Tricks In Denver Schools Bond Issue Race

UPDATE: A reverse IP lookup proves that “MarySeawell.com” is indeed the handiwork of Guerin Lee Green, close associate of DPS board member Andrea Merida and publisher of the obscure website The Cherry Creek News:

We’d say Green should have covered his tracks a lot better than this.

—–

Taking a brief moment to cover Ed News Colorado’s report yesterday:

Denver school board President Mary Seawell is investigating her legal options after an opponent of the district’s proposed $466 million bond issue sent emails to thousands of DPS staff members criticizing the proposal – and linking the criticism to Seawell.

On Tuesday, DPS employees and some community members received a lengthy email purporting to be sent from “dpsboardpresident@maryseawell.com” and stating district claims about its financial health are false.

It also echoes statements made by various critics of the bond, such as “53 percent of bond funds, or almost $250 million, will go to charter schools, while just 21 percent of DPS students attend these schools.” The organized opposition to the bond, No on 3B Denver, strongly denies any involvement…

Denver’s Question 3B is a $466 million bond issue being run together with a smaller mill levy override, Question 3A. Question 3B is supported by pretty much everybody–from the Denver Classroom Teachers’ Association and Great Education Colorado to the conservative-leaning group Stand for Children. As for the opposition…well, it’s complicated.

Actually, it’s not that complicated. It’s Andrea Merida and a crew of usual suspects.

As some of our readers know–some a bit too well–DPS board member Merida heads up an insurgent wing of the Board, which has been decidedly critical of DPS superintendent Tom Boasberg and his predecessor, now-Sen. Michael Bennet. Merida helped organize a failed recall attempt against fellow DPS board member Nate Easley, and discussions of that recall attempt became particularly nasty and personal in the comment sections of this blog.

To be perfectly honest, it’s the small-minded perniciousness and bitterness in these intra-DPS spats that make them so interesting to outside observers like ourselves–which of course doesn’t make it credible, just interesting. The petty rage from the Merida insurgency on the DPS Board, and the various actors in support of her campaigns against the majority, makes her notorious even though we’re not aware of a single one of these that has actually succeeded.

Merida’s opposition doesn’t even speak for the teacher’s union, which is on board with 3B. Apparently, as you can read in the fake email that’s the subject of Ed News’ story, there’s a fear that charter schools will receive a disproportionate amount of funds, but supporters tell us that’s totally unfounded. A loss on these ballot questions would be a serious problem for DPS’ future plans, and by extension Boasberg and others among Merida’s long list of enemies. But Merida’s opposition, without the support of traditional allies in the DCTA and elsewhere, has had to resort to Republican-style tax and debt arguments that seem a bit out of place in Denver.

The only thing we have left to add here is the possible identity of the fake domain at the heart of the latest controversy–maryseawell.com (which now displays a broken page result). The other reference to this domain we were able to find comes from this October 2nd story on a low-traffic website called The Cherry Creek News, owned by longtime Merida ally Guerin Green. It’s referenced in such a way that it’s quite clear the website is, if you will, a team effort.

The aforementioned prior dealings with Mr. Green make us happy to bring this to your attention, as well as those investigating DPS Board President Mary Seawell’s legal options.

Originally posted at Colorado Pols.

Andrea Merida’s Political Posturing

Most elected officials will tell you that one of the most thankless, unforgiving positions in local politics is a seat on the school board. It’s logical, really, that it’s a hard job; unlike other offices, school board positions deal directly with the issues affecting the children of their constituents. Parents are understandably protective of their kids in the education realm; they’ll as vigorously attack a school board member as a bully on the playground in the defense of their child.

A school board seat isn’t exactly the type of position you can easily use as a stepping stone, either. Sure, you can make incredible connections, but it’s even easier to amass a sizable list of opponents. That’s why it takes a special kind of person to serve on school boards, especially in Denver Public Schools. They have to be the kind of person who’d actually want to serve on a school board; sometimes you get amazing advocates for public schools, and sometimes you get entry-level politicians a little too proud of their title.

Cue Andrea Merida, southwest Denver’s district two director. Merida is a controversial figure in all of Denver politics; she’s picked numerous high-profile fights, including a few with other board members. We’re not here to discuss whether or not Merida has been a positive or negative influence on the direction of Denver’s schools; that’s a debate best left to Denver’s parents and her constituents.

What we will say, however, is that we continue to be shocked by Merida’s lack of political instinct. From her very first second on the board, Merida has been a constant source of controversy due in large part to some incredibly poor political posturing.

Let’s start at the beginning, really. On the day of her swearing in, Merida secured a court order enabling her to take her seat on the board just hours before she would’ve been sworn in as scheduled. She did so to vote against iconic reforms at Lake Middle School, and though we’re sure she had her reasons, the move defined her as a member. In taking her seat early, Merida swiftly and dramatically ended the tenure of her predecessor, Michelle Moss, without giving Moss the opportunity to say farewell or reflect on her past eight years on the board. Alan Gotlieb, the usually mild-mannered editor of the renowned Education News Colorado, compared the move to “a four-year-old ripping open her Christmas presents on December 23.” In this space, we noted that “Andrea Merida couldn’t have been more inappropriate and disrespectful if she had showed up in a ‘Fuck Denver’ t-shirt.” The measure that Merida grabbed the headlines to vote against ended up passing, and thus began Merida’s rather unique habit of posturing for posturing’s sake.

Highlands Ranch Showdown-GOP Senate Candidates Support “Constitution”

The Colorado Statesman has an interesting article about a recent match up between four GOP U.S. Senate candidates at a South Metro Chamber group’s candidate forum. Clive Tidwell went for the Tea Party vote, while Jane Norton and Tom Wiens seemed to spar more for the business constituents.  Steve Barton was also present but Ken […]

How would Mark, Jared and Joan answer these health insurance questions?

Betsy McCaughey’s article in The New Republic took Hillary Clinton’s 1993 health insurance plan apart so decisively that it never recovered. Now, she’s published questions for Clinton and Obama about their health care plans. The questions probably won’t be asked at Thursday’s debate, but why not have Jared and Joan give their answers here? These […]

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