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March 30, 2016 09:51 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (March 30)

  • 20 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

MoreSmarter-RainNo, you were not dreaming — it really did rain last night. It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols! If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example).

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► We all knew it couldn’t last. During a CNN “town hall” event on Tuesday the three remaining Republican Presidential candidates backed away from prior pledges that they would back the eventual GOP nominee no matter which candidate is selected. Frontrunner Donald Trump is feeling sad because he thinks the Republican National Committee doesn’t like him (well, he’s right on that):

Trump and his team have braced for the possibility of a contested convention in recent weeks, as opposing forces have set their sights on denying him the nomination by preventing him from crossing the necessary delegate threshold.

Trump said that he believes establishment Republicans and the RNC in particular have not treated him with respect.

“I’m the front-runner by a lot. I’m beating Ted Cruz by millions of votes,” he said. “This was not going to happen with the Republican Party. People who have never voted before, Democrats and independents are pouring in and voting for me.”

Trump is apparently convinced that everybody is voting for him already.

 

► The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may eventually be shut down, but its occupants won’t be headed for Colorado anytime soon. As John Frank reports for the Denver Post:

Gov. John Hickenlooper said Tuesday that he will stand “firmly against” the potential transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to Colorado because of local opposition, making his strongest statement on a  heated political issue.

The Democrat said he is hearing from residents in Fremont County — home to two prisons under consideration to house the detainees — that the community opposes the transfer.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Denver) has also publicly opposed the transfer of any detainees to Colorado prisons. Senator Cory Gardner (R-Yuma), meanwhile, would like to see the GITMO facility expanded rather than shuttered.

 

► Redistricting proposals in Colorado are multiplying like a Gremlin at a water park (if you’re younger than 30, you’re just going to have to trust us on that analogy).

 

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Senate President Bill Cadman and his fellow Republicans continue to oppose having a serious discussion about the Hospital Provider Fee, which could provide significant financial relief to the state, all because they don’t want Americans for Prosperity to get mad at them. Republican Sen. Larry Crowder is standing with Democrats on the issue, but perhaps only for election-related reasons.

 

► Some Colorado Republicans have gotten so excited over the prospect of “killing” bill after bill in the State Senate that they can sometimes get ahead of themselves. House Bill 16-1004 was quite surprised to read about its own death in the newspaper.

 

► Cleveland may yet see a contested Presidential convention. Officials from the RNC seem to be moving toward a direction that makes it easier for a potential convention challenge to Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.

 

► The Colorado Independent asks why Gov. John Hickenlooper is a strong supporter of Democrat Hillary Clinton for President even though Colorado Democrats might seem to prefer Bernie Sanders.

 

► Senator “Con Man” Cory Gardner is now saying that Republican voters should choose anybody but Donald Trump for President. As Charles Ashby writes for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel:

Though U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s main pick for the GOP nominee for president, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, has fallen by the wayside, the Colorado Republican’s opinions about the frontrunner in that race, Donald Trump, haven’t changed. [Pols emphasis]

Trump still isn’t a Republican and people shouldn’t vote for him, Gardner told The Daily Sentinel’s editorial board Tuesday.

Gardner, who was an outspoken supporter of Rubio before he left the race earlier this month, said Trump is nothing more than an opportunist.

Gardner has indeed previously promised to support the Republican nominee for President — even if his name is “Donald Trump” — but that was a different day, or something.

 

► The Associated Press has more on how an argument about the existence of climate change is playing out in the Colorado legislature.

 

► Legislation that would change how prosecutors deal with teen “sexting” cases is winding its way through the Colorado legislature. Although the bill has bipartisan support, not everyone is happy with the idea, writes Jesse Paul for the Denver Post:

Colorado prosecutors and police asked for new laws to address teen sexting after a high-profile scandal  that embroiled Cañon City late last year pushed the issue into the spotlight.

But now, as lawmakers work to heed those calls, a bill moving through the legislature is facing opposition from groups that worry a new measure being considered could do more harm than good…

…The bipartisan legislation —  House Bill 1058, which, if approved, would go into effect July 1 — would make Colorado one of about two dozen states with a juvenile sexting-specific misdemeanor or petty offense law.

 

► The State Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill that would allow homeless children to qualify for in-state tuition at Colorado colleges and universities.

 

► Democrat Wade Norris is running again in HD-27 (Arvada). Norris was handily defeated in 2014 by then-state Rep. Libby Szabo, who promptly resigned less than two months after winning re-election in order to fill a vacancy on the Board of County Commissioners in Jefferson County. Republican Rep. Lang Sias is the “incumbent.”

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is showing off his decision-making skills by endorsing Ted Cruz for President yet declining to say anything bad about Donald Trump. Walker may try to run for a third term in 2018 before potentially taking another shot at President (for real this time) in 2020.

 

► Is there an “incumbent curse” in HD-17 (Colorado Springs)? The Colorado Springs Independent tries to understand why voters keep dumping their incumbent state representative year after year.

 

ICYMI

► Senate Republicans will likely kill legislation intended to hold oil and gas companies accountable for damages caused by drilling operations. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the central U.S. is now facing earthquake risks similar to California after years of drilling for oil and gas in the region.

 

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20 thoughts on “Get More Smarter on Wednesday (March 30)”

  1. Not impressed with Hick on Gitmo. Seriously, these guys are not X-Men villains.  They don't have superpowers. Most of them are basically POWs who aren't particularly bad people compared to the folks in SuperMax who are actually the worst of the worst. Most of them have been cleared for release as soon as the Yemeni civil war ends so that there is someone they can be turned over to.

    2. Frankly, Ohwilleke, that's a good argument for keeping them at Gitmo.  Supermax is solitary confinement 23 hours a day with an hour out for exercise, again with only guards for company.  Gitmo isn't a country club but it is more humane than Supermax.

       

  5. Tiny shiny boots wants to stay a player!

    He's notifying GOP state parties that he intends to hold onto his 170 or so delegates on first ballot. He can't be nominated under current rules which require nominees to have won 8 states. IIRC he won 3, two of which aren't even states. Guess he's just hoping to be part of Block Drumpf and get a cabinet seat in the Romney administration

    1. They can change that 8 state rule. They change rules at the last minute all the time.  Maybe the Dem party prefers supers and the GOP prefers rule changes?

  6. Your last item is bull shit.  We are not facing earthquake risks similar to California.  Maybe or maybe not in numbers, but certainly not nearly the destructive magnitude.  I grew up in Aurora where they were pumping lots worse stuff into the ground at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.  We had earthquakes all the time.  They caused no damage and sometimes weren't even felt.  So quit with this crap.  This is a specious issue.  If you want to argue the rest of it, be my guest, though I don't believe it either.

    1. Don't blame ColPols. Tell it to the US Gelogical Survey. Perhaps you should read their report first since you seem to think ColPols made the comparison to California up? 

      1. I was sitting in Toledo, OH when a fracking induced earthquake hit. Not a good feeling. 

        Many of these places are not regulated (omg, Republicans hate it when a wall is reinforced by zoning ordinace!) and couldn't withstand a new geological normal under their aged infrastructure (which, of course, we don't need to upgrade ever anywhere). 

    2. As BlueCat said, read the article. They are talking about smaller quakes in many areas, including Colorado, but major quakes in some areas such as Oklahoma. Seems to be science, not bullshit..

  7. I see Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have joined the "Coward Caucus."  No surprise on either of them.  Hickenlooper is essentially a pro-choice Republican and Bennet isn't that far behind.

    2. It's politcal cowardice. They're afraid of public opinion and unwilling to stand up and point out that we already house plenty of dangerous terrorists in Colorado and it's never been a problem.

      I haven't been a big fan of term limits because of the history of  some great legislators doing a great job over long careers in the same office. But maybe with term limits we could get the same solid WTF final years out of some of our other elected officials, not just our President.  At least out of those not aspiring to be President someday or to swap Governor for Senator or something.  If they just want cabinet positions they still should able to quit worrying too much about the scaredy cat voters.

      It might give some of our US Senators and House Reps the guts to do the right thing instead of the politically cautious thing every once in a while near the end of their limited terms. Not to mention mitigating the need to spend most of their time raising funds for the next race.

      As far as Hick and Bennet, you nailed it. They're traditional mid century moderate Republicans except for the social stuff where they're more liberal. Keeping the DLC fame alive even while HRC tries to get some seperation from it. 

      But then HRC's only previous foray into elected office was in NY, not a purple western state where even the supposed progressive champion in the last CD6 election thought he needed to come out of the gate with a balanced budget ad and Dems never mention things like the failure of conserative economic dogma. Kansas is right next door after all and they never mention it. They just promise to be as "responsible" as conservatives (seriously? Have they seen conservative economics in action?) and let you keep the right to choose. 

      Not that those turned out to be such great ideas in 2014 for winning highly winnable races as a D but that's still the Colorado Dem mentality outside of the safest districts. Here in Colorado the outmoded philosophy of the DLC still permeates the party and the generals are still fighting some now long ago war. 

      1. OTOH term limits pretty much gave us the booby-house that is the 2016 Colorado legislature …

        … hardly a shining round table of political courage!

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