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November 03, 2010 03:32 PM UTC

Wednesday Open Thread

  • 193 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”

–Leo Tolstoy

Comments

193 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread

  1. The only seats to change hands in the state legislature were all Dem seats going to GOP. If current numbers hold, Dems have a 1 seat majority in both houses.

    Losses in the Senate:

    SD6 (Whitehead)

    SD16 (Gibbs, but open)

    SD5 is still not called, but Gail Schwartz has pulled ahead in latest figures and should squeak by. If she looses, control goes to GOP.

    (potential) Losses in House:

    HD17 (Apuan)

    HD27 (Gagliardi)

    HD29 (Benefield)

    HD33 (Primavera)

    HD38 (Rice) – only 14% reprting so far, Conti has about 900 vote lead.

      1. The district is almost entirely in Arapahoe County; there’s just one precinct for the district in Jeffco.

        But Rice looks like a goner this afternoon. Those numbers from Arapahoe is close to the total vote, not 14 percent of it.

        As of the last update at 12:14 p.m., Conti had 13,387, Rice had 12,426. It’s listed as 100 percent of the vote.

        Jeffco reported 66 for Conti and 70 for Rice, also with all votes counted.

        I know there is some counting of provisionals in Arapahoe but I doubt that it’s enough to change the results.

        1. class act all the way.  At 9, about when the post was made, I was still holding out for him.  So were most of his “friends.”

          THANK YOU to my family, friends, and supporters. And even my political opponents! I am proud of our country, our state, and our democracy. Disappointed with the election results, of course, but that’s how it goes.

          Please support our new state representative, Kathleen Conti. Disagree on policy if necessary, our system depends on debate and discussion, but remember, we are all ultimately on the same side. Seek ways to work together where possible.

          From the Denver Post: ‘Rice received the endorsement of the state’s three top business groups, but still had a tough battle with Republican Kathleen Conti in House District 38. It’s the most Republican-leaning seat that Democrats currently hold, and the GOP hammered Rice for sponsoring the legislation that increased auto-registration fees, known as FASTER. [To repair Colorado’s 126 structurally deficient bridges and critical road safety projects. Important for safety and our economy]. “I knew what I was doing when I ran FASTER,” Rice said Tuesday night, noting that he was likely to lose. “It was the right thing, and most people agree with FASTER after a five-minute conversation. I tried to have as many five-minute conversations as I could, but apparently fell a few hundred short. “I wouldn’t change it, though. That’s why no one else did anything on transportation for 18 years. They knew what it would cost. So did I”.’

    1. And I have not been able to find results from there anywhere.

      If Korkowski wins that one (AND Rice looses), control of the House goes to GOP.

      If Curry wins, it becomes a 32-32 split with her one I vote determining the outcome.

      1. As of 10 a.m., he had 9,495 votes; Korkowski has 8,892 and Curry as 6,065, without the write-ins in Gunnison. that said, it is likely not mathematically possible for her to overtake Wilson. The total number of votes cast in Gunnison was around 6,239, and Wilson/Korkowski took more than 3,100. At best, Curry could gain another 3,100 votes and it wouldn’t be enough for her to pass Wilson.

        The good news for Curry: She won Hinsdale County and took second in Garfield, which is Wilson’s home county – and Korkowski won Garfield.

    2. Sucks for Debbie.

      I’m still holding out for Rice, just a moment longer.  The problem with the district is which precincts have been counted matter.  A lot.  OK, well I’m not dealing with it until the counting is done.  Whichever.

  2. Arapahoe County was an embarrassment. So was Boulder. And now we still have only 14% results from HD 38? And still tons of ballots to count in the Senate race?

    The candidates and the electorate deserve better than this.

    1. Which generated lots of provisional ballots. Those have not even started being counted yet and won’t be until after all regular ballot are counted. They have 14 days to get provisionals done.

            1. But rapidly tell myself no for two reasons:

              1) I’ve seen my mom in action and she is extraordinary. I can’t come close to that in terms of going to every event, talking to every person.

              2) My hearing is awful (because of my cancer treatment). I know many politicians don’t listen to constituents, but I physically would have trouble listening to many.

  3. Those whiny, self-indulgent assholes. If Bennet loses because of that 2% of Limousine Liberals, it’ll be like Ralph Nader in 2000 all over again.

    The true way to get meaningful change on the environment is to increase the Democratic vote, not to wander off into the political desert and destroy any POSSIBLE hope for meaningful environmental/climate reform in the process.

      1. But on EVERY issue that the Green Party cares about, Buck would have been an utter disaster compared to Bennet.

        In a razor-thin election that this was projected to, and turned out, to be, people need to carefully think what they’re doing and not end up harming what they profess to care about through blind adherence to inflexible ideology.

        Translation: They’re F*cking Idiots! (And I will try to use asterisks from now on.)

  4. As Colorado goes, so goes Colorado.

    For many years, Maine was regarded as the presidential bellweather — As Maine goes, so goes the nation.  In 1936, FDR swept 46 states and the mocking line became “As Maine goes, so goes Vermont.”  Now, Colorado gives the Ds a crushing victory for the gov., apparently keeps Michael Bennet and both houses of the lege D.  Though final counts and recounts might yet tinker with that.  So, as Colorado goes, so goes Colorado?  

    1. The 2010 GOP wave hit Colorado, but we had enough Dem buffer to weather the worst.

      But we did loose two congressmembers, the treasurer and the secretary of State. The legislature hangs by a possibly recounted thread, whihc means redistricting hangs in the balance too.

      1. There was no gigantic wave of Repub turnout – it ended up being basically the same as the last two elections.

        The GOP picked up two seats in the House in Colorado – one that always was a red seat, another that probably could be.

        The Senate race, which should’ve been a lock for a normal, sane, non-lying candidate is going to be bickered over for a month.

        The two seats that Repubs were hooting about picking up stayed Dem, and in one case the crazy Repub got pummmeled.

        No Teabagger wave here in Colorado, folks. Most of our Repubs are still (relatively) sane.

        1. No, not in the topline races, but bigtime down ballot. Let’s not sugarcoat it.

          True, Coloradans didn’t succumb to Tea Party blandishments, but I think Dan W has a clear-eyed view on yesterday’s broader outcome.

            1. I’m not as worried about Stapleton since his job is fairly defined and has sideboards on protecting Colorado from crazy investments.

              Gessler is the huge dissapointment. The guy is a tool. Colorado has returned to the dark days of Davidson/ Dennis/ Coffman!

              A big, big, big dissapointment.

      2. Kennedy losing was bad both because she was (is?) a future governor and because having a superb Treasurer replaced by a spoiled trust fund baby who has never accomplished anything in his life shows how gigantic the [R] after the name was.

        Same with losing people like Primivera & Rice – really good legislators who did well for their districts.

        Yes it could have been worse. But this was still bad. And we probably only won Governor because Dan Maes gave it to us.

        1. Hick would’ve trounced Maes or Tanc with or without the other in the race and all their gaffes.

          Cary is a real loss. She is the best of the rest. I look forward to great things still to come from her. And now we have to keep a watchful eye on our treasury because truly the fox is in the henhouse now.

        2. people didn’t buy his garbage line about Kennedy never spending a day out of government while he’s never been in. Since when is no experience a desirable qualification?

            1. Republican presidential nominee.

              That’s a ‘pub meme, you know. Obama never touted his lack of experience as a reason to vote for him, because that would have led to Hilary Clinton being the nominee.

              1. I think people are still confusing not a magic amount and none at all.

                Obama=didn’t meet the magical amount of experience (I guess that’s 26 years in the other place)

                Stapleton=never managed public money and is now in charge of all the public’s money

                Tiny difference.  But good for advertising!

                1. I think POTUS requires more experience than Obama had. I think he’s shown that by not being a very strong leader. However, that doesn’t really prove or disprove anything – Abraham Lincoln had only a little legislative experience himself.

                  Ultimately, I found Stapleton’s claims to be really nauseating because his family ties are the only reason anyone looked at him twice. As you say, his lack of experience is really an issue here.

                  Anyway, I’m just venting because the whole “politicians are bad because they’re politicians” meme pushes my buttons. Business (their big model for how to run government) would never promote someone to an important job without meeting at least minimal requirements, let alone the top job, but having no experience is suddenly a plus when we’re talking about government? No wonder we’re in trouble.

    2. That said, and not to take away from Hick’s impressive performance, I think it would have been a different outcome in the Guv race had Scottie not imploded.

      Way to go, Centennial State!

      (All of this assuming Bennet holds on, which I think is damned likely given the Boulder County slow-count….Liked your Caro analogy from last night, V! My favorite political biography of all time!)

      1. an utter collapse at the top of the ticket had to help Ds.   Kudos to hard work and discerning voters for holding lege (apparently) and Bennet (let us pray)  loss of two U.S. Reps. in reddish-leaning districts hurts but Markey was an exception in the 4th, which practically always breaks Democratic hearts.  

        As to Caro, his books are great.  His The Power Broker, about Robert Moses, is maybe 30 years old and I still regard it as a classic how-not-to-do-it of urban planning.

         But give Michael bennet credit too.  He ran a campaign with no major mistakes and benefitted from quite a number of buck gaffes.

         The worst losses are to the future of my newly adopted party )registered D in December after 33 years as an R.)  Cary Kennedy stood for our future, Bernie was a fine man and a strong voice for Western Colorado.  

        1. One of the greatest problems for Colorado will be with a Bush (I do remember Silverado) in charge of the money. He has stated somewhere that he will do exactly the same things that have brought other states to fiscal ruin.

          Cary kept the state’s money in safe condition while other states lost severely. Considering how precarious Colorado’s fiscal condition is due to TABOR and the great Bush Depression/Recession, having a Republican in charge is like inviting Wall Street over to hold the check book.

          I guess the Bush/Cheney Wall Street bankers are happy to have a future of no regulation to hamper the fleecing of America.

          1. but our deposits are probably safe.  State law requires them to be 100 percent collateralized and a D legislature and Hickenlooper ain’t about to change that on behalf of the Bush leaguer.   What hurts is the loss of leadership on fiscal issues Cary gave.    

          2. Stapleton, in a televised interview last night after being declared the winner, said some rather frightening things – sounds as if he wants to take a wrecking ball to the PERA pension system, and also sounds as if he thinks the Treasurer has the same or more powers than the legislature.  

            1. these are the same promises made by Mike Coffman when he was state treasurer, he had a Republican governor for the entire time he was in office and a Republican-dominated legislature for half of that time. And he wasn’t able to change PERA into a defined-contribution system, despite a strong desire to do so. Stapleton is going to have a tough time convincing the Senate Dems (who authored SB1) and the Democratic governor-elect to make those kinds of changes. The treasurer’s biggest job with regard to PERA is serving as a non-voting member on the board. He has NO say in anything that PERA does and no control over PERA’s money, or how it operates.

              1. and persuade them that those lazy gubmint workers don’t deserve a defined benefit pension.  It can threaten the strength and stability of the PERA system.

        2. Bernie IS a fine man …

          It sucks that he lost. We have absolutely no voice in Mesa County now … we have a pretty boy in SD7 and two startling adept back-benchers in HD54 & 55. And then we send Tipton to DC?

          I hope Cary Kennedy is appointed to some high profile position by Hickenlooper. She has a lot to offer Colorado and I want her working for me/us for a long long time.

          PS. Voy’r, when we met, it was Bernie who introduced us 4.5 years ago. I was/am imminently forgettable, so don’t go wracking your memory drives trying to recall when and who I am. I’m sure it was entirely my pleasure to have met you.

          1. PS. Voy’r, when we met…

            Over 100k votes, not even close.  Even more of a buttkicking considering how Dems came out for Hick/Bennett, etc.  Didn’t downticket for Bernie though, what does that tell you?  Stupid uninformed voters?  Ok, but the same ones who voted upticket, right?

            CP was all wet on this race from the beginning with their “line” (as in doing some).

            1. I’m touched that you would honor me with your 7th post ever, but where in my post did I say anything at all about the intelligence of any voters anywhere?

              Yes, Bernie lost. As did Cary Kennedy. I kind of acknowledged that in my post, didn’t I?

              I stand by my position …

              Bernie IS a fine man.

      2. I think Hick would still have won, but he wouldn’t have been able to stick to the high road to do it.

        I find it interesting that there were no 527’s advertising on his behalf. (At least, I didn’t see or hear any ads. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.) Could this be taken as a sign that there is coordination taking place? Undoubtedly someone must have put the word out that Hick didn’t want any negative ads.

    1. The shills are pretty quiet. Nationally they have a lot to crow about, and even locally there’s reason for them to be happy, but they lost the biggest races, and things didn’t go their way on the initiatives either.

    2. …63 was voted down, yet we voted the point person of the health care law suit to another term.  Would Garnett have won if he would have emphasized that fact more?  

      1. CO voters against nearly every ballot issue; I think the health care amendment went down in that tide.

        Also, was/is Suthers really the “point person” for the lawsuit?  I thought he just added his name to the list, and sat back and watched others do the work.

        1. …but certainly here in Colorado.  I think Garnett would have been well served to hit on that issue–wasting state funds when we don’t have any to spare and the like.  

          1. I was surprised that he got INTO the race right after Suthers announced his plan to be part of the lawsuit… and then didn’t seem to make it an issue at all.

            1. Garnett entered the race because of the real and important issue of healthcare, and then his campaign pissed away itself on innuendo and half-truths (or less) regarding payday lenders and Scott Kimball.

              Not one word of positive messaging from the Garnett campaign.

    1. Lefty social issues are going to still be the dominant topics facing government for at least the next decade, just as righty fiscal and social issues dominated the 80s and 90s. This favors the Dems in the long term.

      The GOP is going to have to do something that works. If the Dems are smart (and that’s always questionable when it comes to campaigns and messages to the voters), they can play this back to their advantage. If they keep letting the GOP define the terms, however…

  5. I want to say publicly that I am profoundly grateful to have been so profoundly wrong in my prediction for the governor’s race.

    I also want to say thank you to Colorado voters for that decision.  

  6. “When Dems aren’t progressive enough, the voters throw them out.” Ooooookay, we weren’t left enough so the voters turned us farther right.

    I read this morning that the Blue Dog caucus was cut from 54 to 26 members, which says to me that voters will elect the real Republican over the Democrat who votes Republican.  That makes more sense to me.

    It’s going to be pure pleasure watching Boehner deal with his new teabagger members.  

        1. You may also disagree with those who say that the stimulus didn’t succeed as much as hoped because it was too small rather than too big.

          But calling Sirota an imbecile or claiming he doesn’t have a clue is just wrong.

      1. it would be fun to watch. Unfortunately, it would all happen in a caucus room, Boner would prevail and Bachman would be named chair of Appropriations or something like that.

    1. if he thinks he can herd those cats, I think he’s got another think coming…

      Those TeaBaggers really are RINOs. They’ll turn on the drop of a hat at the first perceived slight to their radical agenda. Then all hell breaks loose.

    2. didn’t know his own brother was unemployed

      He’s the guy that dished out tobacco PAC checks on the House floor while the Congress was in session & on CSPAN.

      He’s an over-cooked alcoholic w/ a liver as tan as his face.  His practice of skipping out of work is legendary.

      Name one piece of leg that Boehner has written & proposed … I’ll wait.  

  7. The plutocrats and corporatists have won.

    They set out forty years ago to wrest control from Democrats and liberal ideas and policies.  They have succeeded, convincing average middle class voters to vote for the self-funded pickpockets and against the very policies that made the middle class.

    “Get your government hands off of my Medicare,” is the shorthand version of the stupidity of the electorate.

    Patience, time, and let us not forget, LOTS of (plutocratic) money.

    Tolstoy was right.  

    1. Overall, with a few exceptions, we have a very naive electorate, easily manipulated by the corporate plutocrats.

      Dwight Eisenhower would be considered a Marxist, let alone a Socialist, today. So would Nixon.

  8. Bennet’s statewide lead has grown from 4,500 to 7,000 in the past 2 1/2 hours, as Boulder County continues its slow-roll.

    This race is in the bag albeit not by Nate Silver’s 3-4%.

  9. I know there are a lot of down ticket races, but looking at the US Senate, the tea party seems to have been smacked pretty hard.  They got a legitimate win with Rand Paul, but in Delaware, Nevada, and Colorado, the Tea Party turned likely Republican pickups into Democratic holds.  In Alaska, their candidate is losing to a write-in (a Republican incumbent write-in, but still a write in).  

    1. Tea party showed it could win a primary , Paul, and elect in a super-red state.  In Alaska, it didn’t even do that.  Elsewhere, Tea Party primary upsets: Buck, witch lady, whack job angle, kick em in the crotch lady (mcmahon) and other goofballs lost.

         Next to John Hickenlooper, Harry Reid is the luckiest man in American politics because of the crappy quality of his opponents.  Even Sue Lowden would have killed him — the Chicken Lady.  And head to head, Norton would probably have taken Bennet by five points — it was women republicans scorning Buck that did him in.

      1. to explain. Take Jerry McNerney (CA House), for example. One of the most endangered seats and he held on for a 3rd straight win, by a 100 votes. Miraculous considering the district he’s in (Pombo’s old seat).

        Agree on Norton–women run against men with Unaffiliated voters better than men against men. She would have been very tough to beat.  

          1. But it wasn’t looking good in the district.

            Today, many of those new suburbs sit in a region with some of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. Since 2006, the district has lost more than 30,000 residents. And while unemployment statewide is more than 12 percent, the rate is more than twice that in several towns in the 11th.

            All of which is obvious to Mr. McNerney. “People are worried,” he said. “And they don’t know exactly who to blame.”

            The answer may be him. He is facing a strong challenge from David Harmer, a lawyer and businessman who is running on a platform of restoring freedom, cutting spending and promoting “American exceptionalism.”

      1. The tea partiers were able to shift that seat further to the right, but it was not a Republican pick up.  Time will tell if the otherwise purple state of Florida is happy with  a right wing Senator.

        1. He will end up being less like Sen. Demint and more like Sen. McConell. For the most part he has campaigned like an establishment Republican and less like a TeaPublican. He wasn’t out there spewing hate and ignorance on the level of Angle, Buck, O’Donnell or Miller.

          He’s definitely a fiscal conservative but I’ll reserve judgment about his Teabaggery until I see how he legislates in the Senate.

    1. …..but IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KEEP WORRYING, David…….Hinsdale County hasn’t yet reported!!!

      (Arapahoe County is all-in, despite the NYT showing them only 11% in.)

    2. So it’s done, based on my count of the #ballots outstanding from each county and the margins in those counties.

      The caveat is that there are lots of provisional ballots — but those will favor Dems, from what I saw yesterday (disproportionately lower-income Dem areas running out of provisionals).

  10. Nate Silver:

    Rasmussen Reports Polls Were Biased

    Rasmussen polls quite consistently turned out to overstate the standing of Republicans tonight. Of the roughly 100 polls released by Rasmussen or its subsidiary Pulse Opinion Research in the final 21 days of the campaign, roughly 70 to 75 percent overestimated the performance of Republican candidates, and on average they were biased against Democrats by 3 to 4 points.

    Every pollster is entitled to a bad cycle now and again – and Rasmussen has had some good cycles in the past. But their polling took a major downturn this year.

    In other news, the sun is bright, BJ is an A-hole, and Libertad is dum.

  11. One thing we should keep in mind, we were at a high water mark for us Democrats, both nationally and in Colorado. And we were going to be punished for not fixing the economy (put aside if that is fair, it was going to happen). So we absolutely were going to lose.

    We kept the Senate (barely) – that’s huge.

    We’re down I think 8 votes in the House – that’s a shift but not an overwhelming majority.

    In Colorado we kept the legislature (I think) and again that’s huge. And we kept the Governorship – that’s gigantic.

    We lost the other state executive positions – that hurts, but we’ve been there before and survivied.

    Every numbered ballot item went down. And aside from the HCR one, went down big-time. That’s a gigantic plus.

    So we’re bloodied but not bowed. The trick now is using the next 2 years to improve the economy so we can win back these seats.

    1. For all we hear about how Ritter killed Colorado and Obama is a Muslim baby kicker, or whatever.

      My hope is that this Tea Bagger not-quite-win shows that most of America is still not that extreme.  Moderates make a comeback?  Please, Nation?

      1. …however, I guess it’s not much different from picking up 40, as a functional matter…….or is it?  also do you think Pelosi will remain leader of her party?

        1. He’d have been my pick anyway.  But give Pelosi her due–health care was largely her creation.  The lady made a difference for America and not many politicians can say that.  

          1. I LIKE Pelosi although she’s well to the left of me politically.

            With the defeat I think of most(?) of the Blue Dogs, that would seem to point the remaining Dem caucus further to the left (not necessarily a good thing in my opinion). Which should be fertile Pelosi ground if she wants to stay on as Minority Leader.

        2. Way to mock.

          No, I think the House map is looking devastatingly red.  How much the individual seats matter, well, how would you know if the newly elected stick to their promise of “no” or work toward something?

          I think a +1 majority would’ve been just as big as a legislation killer, if that’s what you’re asking.  Small majorities with no support are going to be more desperate.

          Pelosi should be replaced; I don’t know who should have the job, but I think she’s too much a part of the majority Dems to be seen as compromising.  I don’t know a better way to put it at this caffeine free hour.

          1. because most red districts are rural.

            I was looking at the map and struck by how red Colorado looks. For a second I thought that they got it wrong, but then I remembered how small, geographically, CD-1 and CD-7 are.

            The map makes it look like Colorado’s a big ol’ red state but 3 Dems to 4 ‘pub is nearly half. It’s likely to apply to the rest of the country, too.

    2. we were at a high water mark for us Democrats, both nationally and in Colorado

      True enough: All markets regress toward the mean, be they financial or political markets.

      We’re down I think 8 votes in the House – that’s a shift but not an overwhelming majority.  

      The Dems lost 60+ seats in the House. With 12 House seats still to be decided, the R majority is already at 55. Compare that to the 39 seat Dem majority in the current House.  

      If it makes you feel better to call that a ‘shift’, feel free.

      I would call it nothing less than a serious ass-whupin’ repudiation of the Democratic Party from sea to shining sea.

      Call a spade a spade David: with something like 24 Dem Senate seats to defend in 2012 – not to mention the hopey-changey WH thing, let’s stop digging the hole deeper.

      1. What if unemployment were below 7%?

        I think Dems would still have a majority in the House. But I think we’d all agree that unless employment improves, there’s another ass-whoopin’ coming in 2012.

          1. And there needs to be lots of Dems pushing back!

            They just outright lie and are seldom called on it!

            The other day on Hardball, good ol’ Gov. Barbour claimed that the Obama Adm was responsible for so many trillions of dollars for 3 (count them three) budgets.  Since the Obama Administration’s 2nd budget is yet to be passed, there has actually, to date, been only one Obama budget.

            Chris Matthews didn’t challenge Barbour and that is now a GOP talking point that will be repeated over and over and over!

            We also need to be specific about the items that are included in the Obama budget that were off-budget for Bush!

          1. And, an absence of a Dem communication strategy.

            When only 10% of the voting public know that they have been getting a tax break since early 2009, there is a communication problem and a lying problem by the GOP.

            When the lies aren’t pushed back on, the public believes what they hear over and over and over until a lie becomes the truth, at least in the public’s eyes.

            And the GOP wins the election on false pretenses!

          2. 100% correlation between change in personal income and presidential election results, or something like that.

            But let’s examine your premise: it’s a repudiation of Democrats. That would mean the people in this country didn’t want to reform banking, reform health care, or do something to decrease unemployment.

            And people voted for Republicans because they oppose everything proposed by Democrats.

            I’m not buying it.

            1. Here are some basic flaws in the current logic being passed around.

              1. Colorado is not Mass. If this election was about repudiation of Democrats, why did Perlmutter win in a swing district? Why did Bennet win? Why did Hick win even if you add Tanc and Maes’ votes together?

              2. If this was about repudiation, why did the one ballot issue which could have sent the strongest message about repudiation (the so-called Health Care choice issue) lose 53-47?

              3. If this election was a mandate for the Rs and anyone who stands in their way is thwarting the will of the people (as McConnell asserted today), doesn’t that mean that the Rs have been actively thwarting the will of the people for the last two years?

          3. Republicans went from a big Congressional majority and the Presidency to near irrelevance in 4 years. Were they repudiated in 2006? In 2008? What does 2010 mean, if they explicitly promised to be the same as they’ve always been?

            This too will pass.

      1. the illegals lied about supporting Tancredo (to keep from being discovered), but when they got to the polls, they voted in droves for “sanctuary.”  At least, I’m pretty sure what Boyles will say.

        BTW, does this mean that Beck won’t be moving to Colorado?

  12. Reposted from Late Night Thread:

    Does anyone have an explanation for the strange results in the SoS race?

    50% Gressler, 43% Beuscher, and the SEVEN percent for the AC candidate? How does that make sense?

    1. And in it’s way, it might be pretty great.

      Looking at the numbers you immediately think half and half-votes to minor party, right?

      Add it instead and you end up with the Treasurer totals.  Last I saw anyway.  57-43.

      Why is that good?  Midterms are always hard for the President’s party.  So let’s say three points taken from all of them.  Now let’s add a now major party to take even 3-7 points.

      Now pretend that’s this year and recount the CO House.  How’s it look?

      Thanks, Tanc!

    1. I kept getting 505 error messages every time I tried to look at an individual race.

      Meanwhile, channels 7, 9 and even Fox 31 were all doing great!

  13. Re the argument that Democrats got creamed in the House because they weren’t progressive enough, from TPM:

    The Democrats’ freshman class included five progressives — Alan Grayson, Tom Perriello, Carol Shea-Porter, Mary Jo Kilroy, and John Hall — from competitive districts who didn’t dart to the center at the first sign of danger. Their candidacies were litmus tests for whether conviction politics could help Democrats survive an anti-Democratic election. All of them lost.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo

    Bank of America admits it has found “mistakes” in its foreclosure documents, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39…  One of its former robo-signers speaks out:

    It only took him a second to sign each foreclosure document.

    That’s how good Tam Doan got at his job in Bank of America’s pre-sale foreclosure department in Southern California.

    Of course, he didn’t have time to actually read the paperwork he was signing, he said, and in some cases, he didn’t even know what documents he was putting his pen to.

    “I had no idea what I was signing,” said Doan.

    The paperwork he robo-signed most often were the notices to delinquent borrowers that the servicer was proceeding to foreclosure. By signing that document, he was affirming that the bank had reviewed the loan and it didn’t qualify for a modification. But, he said, the reality was he had no idea whether Bank of America had really tried to save the borrower’s home.

    “We had no knowledge of whether the foreclosure could proceed or couldn’t, but regardless, we signed the documents to get these foreclosures out of the way,” he said, noting that he assumed another department had checked that the review was done.

    http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/2

    House Republicans plan to investigate and possibly impeach Obama on four issues: New Black Panther Party, Joe Sestak job offer, Obama’s ties to ACORN, and the administration’s response to the BP oil spill.  http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpoi

    And George Bush says he was “a dissenting voice” on the decision to go to war in Iraq. I’m not sure how the Commander in Chief could be a dissenting voice on a decision to start a war, but there you have it.  http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpoi

    And while we’re on the subject of W, he thought about dropping Cheney from the ticket in 2004, but decided to keep him because Cheney helped him do the job as President.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/

    And this is for Arvadonian and other friends in the GLBT community:  3 justices of the Iowa Supreme Court were voted out because they voted to legalize gay marriage.  http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpoi…  I implore you all not to sit out races in future elections!  Your opponents are rabid, well-organized, and well-financed.  You skated on the Colorado Senate race this year, but may not be as lucky in 2012.  Get out there starting now and recruit candidates who will help you!

    1. If the GOP wants to ensure a second term for Obama and possible handing the House back to the Dems, then PLEASE, tie up Congress with your witch hunts. And make sure to deny unemployment and other relief to the people. We’ll REALLY love you in 2012.

    2. People vote their pocketbooks and in the moment. IMHO, the “wave” was less about Republicans and more about change. Voters don’t want one partisan side or the other partisan side – they want solutions to the problems they face daily.

      The way to fix problems is to govern from the middle – like it or not.

      If the Republicans are smart, they’ll start passing laws they can hang their hats on. If the Dems are smart, they’ll do the same.

      Heh – we’ll see…

    3. You said:

      House Republicans plan to investigate and possibly impeach Obama on four issues: New Black Panther Party, Joe Sestak job offer, Obama’s ties to ACORN, and the administration’s response to the BP oil spill.  http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpoi

      I hope they go there. The public will get totally disgusted with them, just like they were disgusted with the efforts to impeach Clinton.

      Actually, I’m expecting them to hold hearings on Obama’s birth certificate, and subpoenaing the original certificate and the (Republican) Hawaii officials who have already vouched for the original’s authenticity. What a bunch of morons.

      1. I hope hope hope that the R House goes the impeachment route.  (Except that I know a lot of people who need jobs, so maybe it would be better for them to go that direction.) (Like THAT’ll happen.)

        1. Like everyone who thought Tancredo was going to do everything he blathered on about during his campaign… for apparently every office.

          Think it’ll be great?  Vo… t… But couldn’t even say it!  Sometimes fun to watch something burn, but never when you realize it’s your own uninsured house.

  14. for someone that knows how to set up a poll in a diary:

    1) Amongst the losers last night, who has the brightest future:

    Kennedy – Very well respected, but can you bounce back from a statewide loss as an incumbent?

    Salazar – Name still carries weight, but was his heart ever really in it?

    Buck – Can’t come any closer to winning without winning, and may be the best off the bench to take on Udall.

    2) Amongst the winners, who is the most likely disaster waiting to happen?

    Stapleton – Incompetent, but may not be able to do much damage.

    Gessler – Much hated partisan, but may have a conscience after all.

    Hickenlooper – Is this really a job anybody would want under the circumstances.  I am sure the captain of the Titanic was a real nice guy too.

    1. IMHO, three months and two yet-to-be discovered serious scandals away from another Bush-family black eye?  Does anyone believe that just because this guy hasn’t done anything his entire life, that he hasn’t done anything?

  15. to Promote No2Reasons election-day braggocio about the impending blow-out victory of Ken Buck, leader of the new American Renassisance to the Front Page.  It would be a form of gloating.\

    And gloating is wrong.

    Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.

    Robert F. Kennedy.

    1. We even had ads for Sharon Angle.  But do the math:

       Election: need 50 pct plus 1 (in two-person race.)

        Fund-raising, selling stuff: if you get one in 100 readers, you are rich.  There are a lot of TPers who hang around this blog and it makes it a great place for any political ad.

      I bet Angle’s ad reaised her a lot of bux.

      So Tea Party, keep your money coming to Colorado’s leading source of political news and commentary!

      1. results in – but is using the exact same vote totals as the one on the BC registrar’s website. BC is done counting, other than 2,000+ provisionals.

        Makes me think the “85%” being reported on the NYT website for Arapahoe County is also just a placeholder #.

        I don’t see any other large tranches of unrecorded votes anywhere in Colorado, do you?  

        Think it’s time for the fat lady named Ken Buck to sing – in high heels – don’t you??

  16. Has anyone found a good link to get County election results? The Paper that shall not be named has links that throw 505 errors on all of the local races.

    The News Channels don’t do any better.

    I am interested in Elbert and Chaffee County

    Any help is appreciated.

  17. Where are you today? Don’t you have ANYTHING to say about the election results?

    Aren’t you at least going to make the case for Walker Stapleton being Governor after Hickenlooper is impeached?

    1. The  very best thing about last night’s results?  Pols has been BJWilson free now for over twenty-four hours.

      Hopefully that disease has passed (and never returns again).

  18. It’s ironic, interesting and satisfying that Reid won 58% of the hispanic vote in Arizaona last night….probably the difference in that election.

    Joe Barton (R), an architect of the Bush/Cheney energy policy, stands to inherit the Energy and Commerce Committee Chair. Are we going to get bipartisanship from this “leader”?

    I LOVED this line from the blogging over the last couple days….was it SSG who said, “The Republicans have has the House for the last 8 hourse, Why hasn’t the unemployment comedown?” Let’s see how this plays out.

    I’d like to have a conversation that would take the 30,000 ft. view. What is happening? Where are the most dangerous data points relative to Health, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness failing? One person cannot trust their own perspective.

    There is a city in CO, that has a wonderful weekly meeting of progressives who come together to learn, grow and discuss. This is community. Every community needs to have these conversations. I’m sure they do, in many ways….I’m just saying, in the words of a popular chef….”Kick it up a notch!”

    Always ennaresting.

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