Author Archives: Colorado Pols

The Year of No Vetoes?

5
  by: Colorado Pols Wed June 5, 2013 at 4:41 PM MDT
It requires skill.

Don’t try this at home.

FOX 31's Eli Stokols reports an unusual fact of this year's legislative session just now becoming clear, following Gov. John Hickenlooper's signing today of dozens of remaining bills:

“Our goal was no vetoes,” Hickenlooper said. “There are a number of these bills where there were things we weren’t crazy about, but it didn’t come up to the level of a veto. Politically, it would have been better to have a few vetoes.”

Hickenlooper lauded his chief strategist, Alan Salazar, and legislative liaison, Christine Scanlan, for ironing out the issues with all of the legislation that got to his desk.

“They did too good a job, they mitigated too many of the problems,” Hickenlooper said.

We wrote during the session about Democratic hard feelings surrounding the failure of a bill to repeal the death penalty, and allegations from some lawmakers that Gov. Hickenlooper had put his thumb on the process to ensure the bill's failure. Hickenlooper was also closely involved with the killing of a number of oil and gas protection bills from Democrats just as the session ended.

On the other hand, he didn't have to veto them.

Setting those two significant exceptions aside, it is a remarkable feat to have had no legislation reach Hickenlooper's desk that he was compelled to veto–a dramatic contrast to what many pundits forecast would be a contentious struggle to 'rein in' majority Democrats, and showing considerable negotiating skill in getting controversial bills modified to his liking. Overall, Hickenlooper and his legislative outreach team did a better job "herding cats" this year than anyone we can remember, or would have predicted in January.


Full story: The Year of No Vetoes?

Hickenlooper Signs Renewable Energy Bill Today

34
  by: Colorado Pols Wed June 5, 2013 at 10:56 AM MDT

hickclimate

UPDATE #2: From Conservation Colorado's Pete Maysmith:

“We applaud Governor Hickenlooper for signing significant legislation into law which will expand clean renewable energy to more of Colorado,” said Pete Maysmith, Executive Director, Conservation Colorado. “The Governor’s signature today reaffirms that clean wind and solar energy are a critical part of the foundation of Colorado’s energy future. This law will help foster the development of homegrown energy and incentivize energy sources that benefit our fight against climate change.

“This is also a job creator the law will attract new investment that will boost our economy and create good paying jobs throughout Colorado. Finally, let’s not overlook the fact this once again highlights Colorado as a leader we innovate and move forward on clean energy while other states are fighting back well-funded dirty energy attacks to their renewable energy standards.”

And John Nielsen of Western Resource Advocates:

"This is an important step for Colorado's burgeoning renewable energy industry that will benefit families and economies across the state," said John Nielsen, Energy Program Director for Western Resource Advocates. "Along with the news that Xcel Energy is dramatically increasing its wind portfolio in Colorado, this is an exciting time from renewable energy in the state. Renewables are not only important for clean air and clean water, but more and more people are recognizing that wind, solar, and other resources are a strong economic investment as well."

—–

UPDATE: The Denver Post's Mark Jaffe reports:

The bill was one of the most hotly contested of the legislative session, pitting environmental groups and renewable-energy companies against rural cooperatives and Republican lawmakers.

There were marathon hearings and floor sessions that stretched into the night.

"Well, let me think about this a little more," Hickenlooper joked as he signed the bill. "Voila, it's the law."

—–

Fox 31's Eli Stokols has the story:

After nearly a month of deliberation, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is expected to take action Wednesday on a handful of controversial bills that remain unsigned.

FOX31 Denver has now confirmed that Hickenlooper will sign Senate Bill 252, which increases the amount of energy that rural electricity associations must draw from renewable sources. Backers of Senate Bill 252 had been cautiously optimistic Hickenlooper would sign it into law, but the governor’s office insists that a final decision wasn’t made until a meeting Wednesday morning.

A small signing ceremony and press conference at the Capitol is set for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

So far this month, Hickenlooper has signed nearly 100 bills into law, many of them at public events that have taken him to 22 Colorado counties.

But he has taken his time mulling over four final bills, including S.B. 252, which would require rural co-ops with more than 100,000 meters, and utilities that generate and supply electricity on behalf of member co-ops, to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the year 2020.

As we noted yesterday, it always seemed strange that Hickenlooper might not sign SB-252, which was carried by Senate President John Morse and House Speaker Mark Ferrandino. If he was going to (once again) poke environmental groups in the eye and anger Democratic leadership, it would have made sense for him to kill the legislation before it got to his desk. We're surprised signing this bill was such an internal debate given that reality.

In the end, this is a decision that will please conservationists who have been much aggrieved during Hickenlooper's first term. It certainly won't put an end to tensions over energy policy in Colorado between the Hickenlooper and many in his own party, but it was a very useful political move. We suspect Hickenlooper knew this all along.


Full story: Hickenlooper Signs Renewable Energy Bill Today

At Least He’s Not Your U.S. Senator

8
  by: Colorado Pols Wed June 5, 2013 at 8:13 AM MDT
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA).

CNN reports, the Todd Akin classy is back in the form of U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia:

Representatives from both political parties on Tuesday slammed U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss after he said that hormones may be partly responsible for sexual assaults in the military.

His controversial comments came during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the subject.

Addressing top military officials, Chambliss, R-Georgia, said: "The young folks that are coming into each of your services are anywhere from 17 to 22-23. Gee whiz — the hormone level created by nature sets in place the possibility for these types of things to occur."

It gets even better, reports David Edwards of Raw Story:

The Georgia Republican recalled that “several years ago when we had the first females go out on an aircraft carrier, when they returned to port, a significant percentage of those females were pregnant.”

“Was any investigation made by the Navy following that incident to determine whether or not all of those pregnancies occurred as a result of consensual acts?” he asked Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert.

Gee whiz, folks! As you can imagine, Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver is not impressed.

(more…)


Full story: At Least He’s Not Your U.S. Senator

Hickenlooper Still Pondering Handful of Decisions from Session

7
  by: Colorado Pols Tue June 4, 2013 at 2:00 PM MDT

As Eli Stokols at Fox 31 reports, Governor John Hickenlooper is still mulling over whether he will sign or veto several bills still awaiting their fate after passing through the legislature:

After nearly a month of deliberation, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is expected to take action Wednesday on a handful of controversial bills that remain unsigned, including a measure to increase the amount of energy that rural electricity associations must draw from renewable sources.

Backers of Senate Bill 252 are optimistic Hickenlooper will sign it into law, but the governor’s office insists that a final decision won’t be made until Wednesday morning…

…So far this month, Hickenlooper has signed nearly 100 bills into law, many of them at public events that have taken him to 22 Colorado counties.

But he has taken his time mulling over four final bills, including S.B. 252, which would require rural co-ops with more than 100,000 meters, and utilities that generate and supply electricity on behalf of member co-ops, to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the year 2020.

Under Colorado law, a bill automatically becomes law with or without the Governor's signature after 30 days, which gives him until Friday to make any final decisions…or perhaps Thursday…or Wednesday…

But Hickenlooper is headed to Park City, Utah on Friday to address a political summit convened by GOP presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, leaving Wednesday or possibly Thursday as his final opportunity to take action on outstanding legislation.

Of all the remaining pieces of legislation on his desk, SB-252 is indeed the one being watched most closely. A veto would not only irritate the environmental community, but would also likely cause some consternation among legislative Democrats; SB-252 was sponsored by both Senate President John Morse and House Speaker Mark Ferrandino.


Full story: Hickenlooper Still Pondering Handful of Decisions from Session

Who Is “I Am Created Equal?”

43
  by: Colorado Pols Tue June 4, 2013 at 12:03 PM MDT

I-am-created-equal-logo

As the Denver Post's Kurtis Lee reports today, newly filed spending disclosures reveal over $55,000 from a "Colorado Springs-based" (as characterized in most media reports) 501(c)(4) organization called I Am Created Equal to fund a paid petition drive to place a recall of Senate President John Morse on the ballot sometime later this year:

The organization, I Am Created Equal, bankrolled the organizers of an effort to recall Morse, a Democrat, with about $42,500 in May. That’s up from the $14,000 the organization supplied The El Paso Freedom Defense Committee — the group spearheading the Morse recall for his support of stricter Colorado gun laws — in April.

Much of this money has gone toward paying petitioners to gather 7,178 signatures ahead of Monday’s deadline. The group submitted more than double that figure Monday and is confident the secretary of state’s office in the next week will verify the signatures and in turn spark a recall election that could come as soon as September.

As a "501(c)(4)" organization under the tax code, I Am Created Equal is not required to disclose its donors. We had always suspected that the total amount required for this petition drive would be much higher than the $14,000 already reported, but we are perhaps a little surprised that the donations weren't spread out among a few organizations–or something to make this one nonprofit group, I Am Created Equal, less than solely responsible for getting this recall successfully to the ballot as they apparently have.

Because based on publicly available records, I Am Created Equal is anything but "grassroots." 

(more…)


Full story: Who Is “I Am Created Equal?”

Xcel Going Big on Colorado Wind Energy

14
  by: Colorado Pols Tue June 4, 2013 at 11:02 AM MDT

We didn't want to miss this story from late last week about Xcel Energy and Colorado growing Wind Energy industry. From the Denver Business Journal:

Xcel Energy Inc. is asking state regulators to add 550 megawatts worth of wind-generated power to its Colorado grid ­— boosting its amount of wind power by 25 percent.

If state regulators approve the request, Xcel (NYSE: XEL) will have more than 2,700 megawatts of wind power in Colorado, it said Thursday…

…“Xcel Energy set out earlier this year to determine if we could add wind capacity in an economically beneficial way, and the results of this RFP [request for proposals] show that we can,” said David Eves, president and CEO of Public Service Co. of Colorado, Xcel's local subsidiary.

“The price for this additional wind generation is as low as any wind power currently operating on our Colorado system,” he said.

The amount of wind Xcel requested, 550 megawatts, is enough to support the demands of about 137,500 homes, figuring that 1 megawatt worth of wind power can meet the demands of 250 homes.

This news from Xcel came at the same time that Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway announced that it would purchase NV Energy, Nevada's primary energy provider, for $5.6 billion. Berkshire's acquisition of NV Energy is particularly interesting given the strategy involved: Buffet has been clear that the move is about taking advantage of Nevada's vast potential for renewable energy:

Warren Buffett is investing $5.6 billion dollars in the renewable energy industry in Nevada. NV Energies, the company that supplies electricity to much of Nevada, was acquired by MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway owned by Buffett.

The casinos in Las Vegas purchase almost all of their power from NV Nevada, as do 90 percent of the state's residents. This makes it the largest utility company in the state. MidAmerican's purchase includes one gigawatt (GW) of power production in the form of renewable energy assets. These include solar, geothermal and and wind-powered energy production facilities.

The common thread here is that both Xcel and Buffet are focusing on the financial benefits of renewable energy, which the the kind of market change that could really drive growth away from traditional fossil fuel development.


Full story: Xcel Going Big on Colorado Wind Energy

Morse Paid Petition Recall Campaign Turns In 16,000+ Signatures

37
  by: Colorado Pols Mon June 3, 2013 at 2:39 PM MDT

FOX 31's Eli Stokols reports, as expected, the paid recall petition drive against Colorado Senate President John Morse in retaliation for gun safety bills passed this year in the Colorado General Assembly appears successful:

The group working to recall Colorado Senate President John Morse over the passage of Democratic gun control legislation earlier this year turned in more than 16,000 signatures at the Secretary of State’s office Monday morning.

That’s more than double the number of valid signatures — 7,178, a percentage of voter turnout in 2010 when Morse was elected — that will be needed to force a recall election in El Paso County later this year…

[T]he push to oust Morse has drawn most of the attention from pro-Second Amendment activists within the state, not to mention a lot of financial help from undisclosed groups that have funneled money, through a non-profit called “I Am Created Equal”, to Kennedy Enterprises, which has paid petition gatherers to collect signatures.

16,000 signatures is enough to overcome even a very low "validity rate" for gathered signatures, which is expected as collecting signatures in a state senate district with poorly-known boundaries can be difficult. It's worth noting that for-profit petition company Kennedy Enterprises has never failed to get something on the ballot via petition drive.

Lynn Bartels of the Denver Post follows up today with more reports of deception from petition gatherers, in addition to video of similar false statements from a Morse petition gatherer that surfaced last week. There is some recourse for individuals who realize they have been deceived by a petition gatherer, allowing them to have their names removed–we'll be watching to see if anything develops with that possibility. 9NEWS:

Morse has several options available to challenge the signatures, including court action. Deadlines for the various challenges are spelled out in state law.

"Thousands of those signatures were obtained inappropriately," Morse said. "Now, will we be able to prove that? We'll have 15 days to figure that out. That's going to be tricky."

As of now, it does appear the first-ever recall of a sitting Colorado legislator is headed for the ballot.


Full story: Morse Paid Petition Recall Campaign Turns In 16,000+ Signatures

“Smaller Government, Lower Taxes” Mantra Hurts GOP with Young Voters

46
  by: Colorado Pols Mon June 3, 2013 at 1:03 PM MDT

Politico reports on the findings from extensive polling and focus groups made public by the College Republican National Committee, which sought to understand how the GOP has lost "young voters." The full story, and the report, are worth reading because it brings to light new concerns with several longtime Republican talking points. For example, it's no surprise that Republicans are losing young voters because of their opposition to gay rights — but far more interesting is that the old "smaller government, lower taxes" approach is increasingly perceived as a negative as well:

Turning to a key talking point during the election, the report found that while Republicans during the 2012 cycle invoked jobs and the economy at every turn, the younger age group was put off by the way the GOP presented those issues.

“Policies that lower taxes and regulations on small businesses are quite popular. Yet our focus on taxation and business issues has left many young voters thinking they will only reap the benefits of Republican policies if they become wealthy or rise to the top of a big business,” the report says. “We’ve become the party that will pat you on your back when you make it but won’t offer you a hand to help you get there.” [Pols emphasis]

Younger voters — especially those in the Hispanic focus groups the CRNC conducted — are deeply familiar with the challenges posed by a less-than-robust economy, the report said, citing struggles with student loans and people who are delaying marriage because of financial issues. But the study said the party must explain how its policies translate into chances for economic advancement and should seek to do so in a more “caring” tone.

“If we don’t believe that Republicans are the ‘fend for yourself’ party, then it’s time for us to explain why — and to show our work,” the report said. “This will go a long way overall, but particularly with Latino voters, who tend to think the GOP couldn’t care less about them.”

The college Republicans warned that the party’s primary message of cutting taxes and reducing the size of government failed to resonate. In fact, one of the CRNC’s polls found that 54 percent of young voters said “taxes should go up on the wealthy” while only 3 percent said “taxes should be cut for the wealthy.” Bashing Big Government also didn’t play well and was even damaging, according to some of the focus groups, the study found. [Pols emphasis]

It's one thing to advocate for a smaller government and reduced spending when the economy is humming, but eventually people start wondering how roads and schools are going to get funded — particularly as the economy slows down. As it turns out, it doesn't take voters very long to figure out the disconnect.


Full story: “Smaller Government, Lower Taxes” Mantra Hurts GOP with Young Voters

We Never Knew Ye, Clint Webster (Yeah, Right Edition)

17
  by: Colorado Pols Mon June 3, 2013 at 12:23 PM MDT
Clint Webster at the Independence Institute press conference, May 17th 2013.

Clint Webster at the Independence Institute press conference, May 17th 2013.

On May 17th, a press conference was held at the offices of the right-wing Independence Institute, featuring attorney Dave Kopel and most of the state's elected county sheriffs announcing their lawsuit against two gun safety bills passed this year's legislative session. Present at the press conference was, as we reported that afternoon, a 2010 GOP state legislative candidate named Clint Webster.

Webster lost his race in 2010 after revelations of a guilty plea in his background for felony assault and menacing. Webster fired shots at his ex-wife after she visited his home as she was driving away. Webster's presence at the Independence Institute's press conference was seized upon by Democrats for the obvious contradiction, leading to this Tweet from Colorado Senate Democrats:

sheriffs4criminals

Subsequent to that press conference, the above Tweet resulted in a great deal of flak for the Senate Democratic press staff–mostly from right-wing news sites like the Daily Caller, but eventually also Colorado Springs television news. The story spread without any reference to Webster, implying that there was no known justification for the assertion that Colorado sheriffs were "standing with criminals," when in fact there most certainly was.

Apparently somebody realized this was a problem, as the local conservative "news" site The Colorado Observer's Valerie Richardson suddenly reports today:

The Senate Majority Office issued a statement last week along with a photo of a man identified as Clint Webster, who can be seen standing in the crowd as Independence Institute research director David Kopel speaks from the podium at the packed May 17 press conference...

The photo, originally posted on the ColoradoPols website, shows that the sheriffs “are quite literally standing with a criminal, and not just any criminal, a domestic violence offender who fired two shots from a Colt semi-automatic handgun at his wife,” said the Senate Majority Office press release…

Independence Institute president Jon Caldara said that the event was open to the public and that he has never met Webster.

“I have no idea who he [Webster] is,” said Caldara. [Pols emphasis] “The room was packed. We knew the people who were speaking, but it was a press conference. Anyone can attend.”

Added Kopel, “Some guy shows up and stands there at a large event–you can’t really help that.” He suggested that those filing the lawsuit may have been “victimized by a photo-bomber.”

First of all, Webster's identity and presence was 100% known on the day of the press conference, May 17th–it's absurd to suggest that nobody knew what Senate Democrats were talking about. Webster was intentionally omitted from early reports on conservative news sites for effect, and that's not the same thing.

Second, and more important, the Independence Institute's Jon Caldara is not telling the truth about Webster. 

(more…)


Full story: We Never Knew Ye, Clint Webster (Yeah, Right Edition)

DCCC Hits Mike Coffman (And Brian Watson)

6
  by: Colorado Pols Mon June 3, 2013 at 8:20 AM MDT

A press release from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) late last week brought a smile to Democratic veterans of the 2012 Colorado state legislative election cycle:

Showing that he’ll say or do almost anything to win an election, Congressman Mike Coffman is scheduled to host a fundraiser today with R. Brian Watson, who just lost a bruising election in November following reports that multiple tax liens had been filed against him and his businesses over unpaid taxes.

“Congressman Mike Coffman decided to raise money from someone who lost an election after it was revealed there were multiple tax liens filed against him for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes,” said Brandon Lorenz of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Congressman Coffman’s decision to raise money from Brian Watson shows he’ll say or do almost anything to keep his job in Washington.” [Pols emphasis]

 

(more…)


Full story: DCCC Hits Mike Coffman (And Brian Watson)

Public Pessimism Grows Over Immigration Reform

26
  by: Colorado Pols Sun June 2, 2013 at 9:36 AM MDT

NBC News reports on a new nationwide poll on immigration reform, an issue considered this year's biggest legislative priority–and possibility for actual success–in Washington:

A new poll from Quinnipiac University shows that seven in ten registered voters think that Republicans and Democrats in Congress will not be able to work together to pass an immigration bill this year.

Hispanics and Democrats are slightly more optimistic, with about a third of each group saying that the bill will get to the president’s desk. But only 24 percent of voters overall said they believe that Congress can pass the legislation…

A bipartisan bill passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month by a 13-5 vote and will be taken up on the Senate floor in June. But the fate of various immigration measures in the Republican-controlled House is still unclear.

Evidence is mounting everywhere of a hardening among House Republicans against the immigration reform effort that only a few weeks ago seemed to have real bipartisan momentum in the Senate. You can see this shift quite clearly in the "evolution" of GOP Rep. Cory Gardner of Colorado, who has switched from a perceived need to reach out to Hispanic voters after the 2012 election to rehashing the same conservative objections to the Senate's immigration reform bill you've been hearing for years from immigration hard-liners. Gardner's hard-line comments came only a few days after House Speaker John Boehner declared the Senate's immigration reform bill "DOA" in his House. Boehner, like Gardner, calls benchmarks for border security, or "triggers," too "weak."

The possibility of a bipartisan immigration reform measure passing this year has been held up as a sign of hope that Republicans are aware of the long-term demographic peril they are in, as their backward and increasingly anachronistic position on this issue is central to the party's unpopularity among the fastest-growing segment of voters in the United States–Hispanics. At the same time, Republican support for immigration reform risks a backlash from the party's right-wing "Tea Party" base, whose fervor is one of the only assets the GOP has left with which to win elections. The "Tea Party" has no interest in compromise on immigration as long as there are "scandals" to jawbone–or failing that, someone named Barack Obama in the White House.

This is how yet another chance–and demographically, really maybe one of the last chances–for Republicans to show they can be participants in a functioning government could slip away.


Full story: Public Pessimism Grows Over Immigration Reform

How To Waste Your Ad Budget

8
  by: Colorado Pols Sun June 2, 2013 at 8:36 AM MDT

Here's an ad spotted by several users atop our homepage in recent days:

traditionalmarriage

It's another opportunity for us to point out that these are Google ads, selected automatically (though contextually) by Google for display on our site–we have no control over the content of these ads, except we think we could get one removed laboriously if the ad rose to a sufficient level of offense. This is a frequent source of confusion.

Just for once, let's help this advertiser out: do you support "tradtional" marriage? What do you suppose a "tradtional" marriage looks like? We've never been in a "tradtional" marriage to know if we "support" that.

One thing we do "support," though, is proofreading.


Full story: How To Waste Your Ad Budget