February 23, 2015 12:30 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Monday (Feb. 23)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Snowy enough for 'ya? The Colorado Pols Quadruple Doppler (with cheese) predicted snowfall totals somewhere between 2 inches to 17 feet, so we were right on target. 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…

► The Colorado Legislature is out today due to inclement weather and poor road conditions. In Washington D.C., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will push for another budget vote in an attempt to avoid a partial government shutdown that could have broad impacts across the country. As Politico reports:

The Kentucky Republican could cave to Democrats’ demands and abandon the GOP’s attempt to tie the Department of Homeland Security’s funding to an attack on President Barack Obama’s immigration policies. But pushing through a short-term continuing resolution for DHS would bring howls from the right, postpone the immigration showdown for only a couple of weeks or months, and most likely fail in the House. McConnell would gain nothing even if he could pass such a CR, which is far from a sure thing.

Or, as some conservatives outside the Senate want, McConnell could employ the “nuclear option” to abolish the filibuster on legislation, allowing Republicans to pass the $39.7 billion DHS bill with a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than 60. But that would mean destroying the Senate traditions he’s vowed so loudly over the years to protect — and Obama would still veto the bill.

► State Governors are also in Washington D.C. today to blame their problems on President Obama. The Associated Press reports on the annual winter gathering of the National Governor's Association (NGA), where a showdown over the $40 billion Department of Homeland Security budget should be the main topic of discussion. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is the Chair of the NGA, and will try to steer conversations at the White House in a positve direction. Says Hickenlooper, "When we go to the president our goal is to try to be more constructive."

Get even more smarter after the jump…

SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Powdered alcohol, drones, and gun magazines will be on the agenda when the Colorado legislature returns to the State Capitol. Or, as Dudley Brown might call it, "Block Party!"

► Senate Republicans approved legislation on Friday that would punish communities for trying to exert local control over oil and gas drilling. The move comes ahead of an expected report this week from a Colorado oil and gas task force.

► Colorado may join Calfornia and New Jersey in enacting a statewide ban on so-called "gay to straight conversion therapy." Rep. Paul Rosenthal's HB-1175 is based on the idea that mental health is a scientific field, and should therefore be held to scientific standards (The American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973). The Iowa state legislature is currently debating similar legislation.

► As Eric Gorski of the Denver Post reports, Colorado Republicans are having trouble figuring out where to position themselves on education issues now that they have control of the State Senate:

Colorado Republicans are backtracking on their support for existing standards and state-mandated tests, fueled by more conservative lawmakers, the politicizing of the Common Core state standards and testing backlash that puts Republicans on the same side as teachers unions.

► Former Republican state Rep. Jared Wright, (you may remember him for leaving a loaded gun in a House committee room, among other things) is the new publisher of the Colorado Statesman.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► FOX News broadcaster Bill O'Reilly did not take home the award for Best Actor at the Academy Awards last night.

► Tomorrow is Election Day in Chicago, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to win re-election even as he loses supporters.

► President Obama's approval ratings are on the rise in Colorado.

ICYMI

► Republicans will vote for State Party Chair on March 14, with incumbent Ryan Call facing a tough challenge from former Adams County GOP Chair Steve House. Over at the Colorado Statesman, Ernest Luning looks at the endorsement list for each candidate. Freshman Congressman Ken Buck, who was elected to serve as the Freshman Class President in Congress, is showing his leadership skills by sitting on the fence.

► The next Mayor of Colorado Springs is likely to get a pay raise. Former Attorney General John Suthers is the frontrunner in that race.