August 23, 2018 10:47 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (August 23)

• 4 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

If you live east of the mountains, try not to breathe so much. It’s time to Get More Smarter. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND TODAY… 

► Republican gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton responded to questions about President Trump’s rising Russia problem with a very Stumbleton-esque quote: “That’s a Washington issue.” Stapleton’s answer is a stark difference from the statement given by former Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Mitchell on Wednesday.

Stapleton apparently didn’t get the memo from Republican leaders indicating that it was okay to crap on Trump. As the New York Times reports:

Senior Republican Party leaders began urging their most imperiled incumbents on Wednesday to speak out about the wrongdoing surrounding President Trump, with Representative Tom Cole, a former House Republican campaign chairman, warning, “Where there’s smoke, and there’s a lot of smoke, there may well be fire.”…

…One day after Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former lawyer, implicated Mr. Trump in payoffs to two women before the 2016 election, and the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of eight felonies, Republicans were concerned that the worst may be to come. By urging some candidates to speak out or at least stay silent, Republican leaders who gravely fear losing control of the House risked opening the first significant rift between the Trump White House and the Republican-controlled Capitol.

“Anybody who says this is not disturbing is not being honest,” said Mr. Cole, an Oklahoman and the former head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, adding, “so my advice to any candidate would be: Keep your powder dry and don’t rush to attack or defend anybody because you just don’t know enough to have a reaction that you can still defend three months from now.” [Pols emphasis]

That sounds like it would have been good advice…about 18 months ago. Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) also appears to have not received this advice. Blair Miller of Denver7 has more on Gardner’s cozy relationship with Trump.

In a related story, a new poll — commissioned by Fox News, no less — shows that the Trump administration’s attacks on special investigator Robert Mueller are losing their effectiveness.

► President Trump sat down for a batshit crazy interview on the Fox News show “Fox and Friends.” Among other things, Trump discussed his performance as President and said he should get an “A+” on his report card.

► One person can’t be everywhere at once, unless that person’s name is Mike Coffman. The Aurora Congressman has again reversed himself on immigration policy questions, a move that also caught the eye of the Denver Post. As the Washington Post reports, that might be because Coffman is listening to advice from GOP leaders:

President Trump and Republican leaders are eagerly embracing hard-line immigration policies as a centerpiece of their strategy for the November midterms, believing the issue will bolster GOP turnout and help detract from the worsening legal scandals enveloping Trump.

Republican candidates are joining the White House’s campaign to offer public support for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), warn of the dangers of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang and highlight sensational crimes involving undocumented immigrants.

The aim is to draw a sharp contrast with Democrats over enforcement of border control laws. Republican strategists view immigration as a deeply emotional issue that motivates the conservative base, and they have delighted as liberals push Democrats to the left as a reaction to Trump’s presidency.

Yes, the President is probably a crook, but BROWN PEOPLE!

More realistic Republican consultants, meanwhile, are much less enthusiastic about trying to ignore Trump’s Russia problems.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► The “Fact Checkers” over at the Washington Post aren’t pulling any punches on their analysis of President Trump’s response to allegations of hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign:

► Politico examines how President Trump is dealing with the fact that everyone associated with him is headed to prison:

“He is terrified,” Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio told me early Wednesday morning. “This is 40 years of deceit coming home to torment him.”

Former former Organization executive vice president Barbara Res was even more succinct, telling Politico, “He is unraveling.”

► There’s still no word on whether or not President Trump will come to Colorado to campaign for GOP gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton, but another orange Republican is coming to town. Former House Speaker John Boehner is in Denver tonight for a fundraiser to benefit Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Cortez).

► Colorado’s gubernatorial candidates spoke at the Colorado Oil and Gas Association’s annual “energy summit” on Wednesday.

► As 9News reports, the November ballot will feature at least one measure on transportation funding:

On Wednesday, the Secretary of State’s Office determined that “Fix Our Damn Roads” collected enough signatures to get the road funding issue qualified for the November ballot. The proposal would allow the state to bond — essentially take out a loan for — $3.5 billion. The proposal that voters will see on their ballot also spells out 66 highway projects that would be required to be funded. However, those projects total $5.6 billion.

“That only allows for about $3.5 billion worth of funding, so naturally one of the things that we’ll have to do is take that list and we’ll have to pare it down a little bit,” said Amy Ford, the spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Transportation. “We know, and it’s been established with everyone, that that $5.6 billion list on there currently is not something that can be funded with the $3.5 billion.”

CDOT is not taking a position on this ballot issue, nor are they taking a position on a second road funding proposal that has not yet been certified for the November ballot. The Secretary of State’s Office is still counting signatures for that second proposal, which would raise the state’s sales tax from 2.9 percent to 3.52 percent, and would fund more than $6 billion in road projects, including highways and local roads.

► Dang. It’s been 10 years since the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

► Service workers at Denver International Airport are pushing for a wage increase.

► President Trump is apparently very concerned about white people in South Africa. This Tweet sums up the story perfectly:

The critics who say President Trump only cares about white Americans are wrong. This is a defense of white South Africans. https://t.co/F0r4ncbLyK

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) August 23, 2018

► Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to make his fourth trip to North Korea.

► President Trump’s trade war is killing SPAM. Write your own joke.

► Colorado Republicans are excited that they are finally able to afford to commission a portrait of President Trump to hang in the State Capitol.