On this day in 1985, Super Mario Bros. was first released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan. Let’s GetMore 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 an audio learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.
FIRST UP…
► Utah Senator Mitt Romney announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024. As The Washington Post reports:
Sen. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee in 2012 and the only member of his party to twice vote to convict former president Donald Trump in politically charged impeachment trials, announced Wednesday that he will not seek a second term in the Senate representing Utah, saying in an interview that it is time for a new generation to “step up” and “shape the world they’re going to live in.”
Romney, 76, said his decision not to run again was heavily influenced by his belief that a second term, which would take him into his 80s, probably would be less productive and less satisfying than the current term has been. He blamed that both on the disarray he sees among House Republicans and on his own lack of confidence in the leadership of President Biden and Trump.
Romney is one of the few rational Republican voices left in Congress. While it is a surprise that he is not seeking re-election, it’s hard to blame him; trying to work with this current generation of MAGA Republicans would be a nightmare.
Coincidentally, this news is all coming out on the same day that POLITICO published an in-depth story from “reporter” Olivia Beavers about how Boebert is trying to turn over a new leaf, or something. It’s possible that she smoked that new leaf at the Buell Theater in Denver on Sunday.
► House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has given Republicans the go-ahead to pursue impeachment investigations into President Biden…as soon as they figure out what to investigate. Colorado Public Radio tracked down some of Colorado’s notable elected officials for comment:
Rep. Lauren Boebert said the Oversight Committee has already produced evidence of impeachable conduct.
Still, none of the documents or transcripts released thus far have shown evidence of any concrete instances of corruption by Biden. [Pols emphasis]
That’s what many Colorado Democrats focused on in response to McCarthy’s announcement.
“There is no concrete evidence of any wrongdoing by President Biden. Even Congressional Republicans are questioning the merits of this nakedly partisan investigation,” said Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette…
…Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, who was an impeachment manager for Trump’s first impeachment, also criticized the move, especially the choice to open an inquiry without first allowing the House to vote on it.
“Democrats held a vote on both impeachment inquiries into President Trump because they were based on facts and evidence. House Republicans know their inquiry is a scam, so they won’t even hold a vote on it,” he said via X, formerly known as Twitter. “What a disgrace. Americans deserve better.” [Pols emphasis]
► While “impeachment” grabbed headlines early in the week, the bigger story in Congress is a looming government shutdown at the end of the month. A shutdown seems likely given the rhetoric from right-wing Republicans intent on proving some sort of point that would ignore the historical reality of the political consequences of such a move. As Colorado Newsline explains:
The most conservative Republicans in the U.S. House announced Tuesday they won’t support the short-term spending bill that’s needed to stop a partial government shutdown from beginning on Oct. 1.
Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, said the group is not interested in a stopgap spending bill that “continues the policies and the spending of the Biden-Schumer-Pelosi era and we’re not going to vote for it.”…
…The GOP-controlled House passed one of its dozen annual government funding bills before going on a six-week break throughout August. The Senate began debate on a three-bill package Tuesday.
The House is scheduled to take up a second spending bill, the Defense funding measure, later this week, though Perry indicated the group may not support its passage.
POLITICO reports on how a “conservative mutiny” is now threatening critical funding for the annual defense spending bill.
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►President Biden and the White House are understandably concerned about a looming auto workers strike. As The Washington Post explains:
The White House has been monitoring closely as Detroit’s big automakers and the United Auto Workers engage in acrimonious negotiations, with the laborers threatening to strike if an agreement is not reached before their current contract expires at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday…
…With the deadline approaching, UAW’s fiery new president Shawn Fain has not echoed Biden’s optimism, saying the union’s roughly 150,000 automotive members are ready to walk off the job if their demands are not met in the next two days. Among other things, the workers have called for a 36 percent pay hike over four years and the restoration of defined-benefit pension plans.
Even a partial strike could destabilize an industry that contributes about 3 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product and deliver a blow to the economies of states in the Midwest and beyond.
►Seth Masket of the University of Denver is out with the latest numbers from his informal survey of Republican county party chairs regarding the 2024 Republican race for President. Via POLITICO:
The most recent survey, conducted throughout August — with responses coming in both before and after the first GOP debate — show a slight softening of Trump’s support, but still with a substantial lead. As in June, roughly twice as many county party chairs are now committed to Trump (27 percent) than DeSantis (13 percent), and no other candidates had the support of more than 4 percent of chairs.
As Dena Gooch, chair of the Union County, Georgia GOP, told me, “Donald Trump demonstrated his ability to govern without influence from the Deep State. He needs to do it again!”
Yet roughly half (47 percent) of local Republican leaders, even those who expect Trump to become their nominee, remain uncommitted. Though Trump has been ahead by massive margins in some polls of GOP voters, this survey suggests a key group of grassroots leaders has yet to fully embrace the former president.
TL;DR: There’s room for a non-Trump candidate to win the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024…but it’s not gonna happen.
► Congressman Joe Neguse (D-Boulderish) is working to find a way to increase pay for federal wildland firefighters before a deadline at the end of the month that could ignite a 50% pay cut for the firefighters.
► Senator John Hickenlooper is chairing hearings about the dangers of artificial intelligence. From Denver7:
“We must also confront that AI can be misused by bad actors. AI can be used to make scams, fraud and cyberattacks,” Hickenlooper said during the hearing. “Companies developing and deploying AI have a role to build a safe, secure and reliable system that, overtime, will win the trust of the public.”
Tuesday’s hearing was one of three taking place this week.
The subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security heard from witnesses about AI transparency and what consumers would need to build trust in AI.
There are real concerns about data privacy, the ability to identify AI-generated content and how to work with law enforcement to prosecute crimes that use the technology. Hickenlooper said the federal government, academia and private companies need to work together to create those regulations now before we get left behind.
Somebody go unplug Skynet already.
► As The Associated Press reports, the Biden administration is pushing for significant changes to old mining regulations in the United States. The Department of Interior is leading a process that would include, for the first time, a requirement that mining companies pay royalties on minerals extracted from public lands.
►New data shows that inflation rose in August largely because of an increase in gas prices.
► Colorado Senator Michael Bennet spoke at a press conference on Wednesday about the need to take another run at restarting his signature Child Tax Credit program. Census Bureau data released this week shows that child poverty rates have doubled since the expanded Child Tax Credit expired at the end of 2021.
Sen. Michael Bennet says it’s a bittersweet moment. They were able to show the policy worked the way they thought it would. “30 million children benefited from this, we cut childhood poverty in the United States of America in half.” pic.twitter.com/7hnjR1K64G
► Denver Mayor Mike Johnston outlined the cost of his homelessness plan. As 9News reports, it’s gonna be expensive:
Johnston spoke Tuesday about where roughly $48.6 million in funding in the 2023 budget for the city’s initiative to house 1,000 people experiencing homelessness will come from and how the money will be spent.
Johnston said the funding is expected to cover the cost of purchasing hotels, creating micro-communities, rapid rehousing and accompanying wraparound services he said are necessary for a successful outcome for the initiative…
…The majority of the funding comes from the city’s existing budget for homelessness resolution, as well as additional funding from the federal government.
►RIP Bea Romer. The former First Lady of Colorado died at the age of 93.
Say What, Now?
Democratic Rep. Jason Crow didn’t need words in responding to news about #Beetlebert:
Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
► A Democrat running for a key state house seat in Virginia has come under scrutiny for a very good reason, as The Washington Post reports:
A Democrat running for a crucial seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates performed sex acts with her husband for a live online audience and encouraged viewers to pay them with “tips” for specific requests, according to online videos viewed by The Washington Post.
Susanna Gibson, a nurse practitioner and mother of two young children running in a highly competitive suburban Richmond district, streamed sex acts on Chaturbate, a platform that says it takes its name from “the act of masturbating while chatting online.”
Chaturbate videos are streamed live on that site and are often archived on other publicly available sites. More than a dozen videos of the couple captured from the Chaturbate stream were archived on one of those sites — Recurbate — in September 2022, after she entered the race. The most recent were two videos archived on Sept. 30, 2022. It is unclear when the live stream occurred.
Gah!
► Florida Congressman Matt Gaetzwent on CNN to talk about impeachment investigations into President Biden and was shut down — twice — regarding his complete lack of factual evidence.
ICYMI
► As Colorado Newsline explains, crime isn’t nearly the problem in Colorado that the NextDoor app would have you believe:
Though little notice has been taken by leading political figures and the media, Colorado’s reported crime rates appear to have peaked in 2022, and are now trending downward again.
Through the first six months of 2023, Colorado was on pace to record its lowest number of homicides since 2019, according to a Newsline analysis of CBI data. Rates of violent crime and property crime, two key aggregate metrics reported by Colorado law enforcement to state and federal databases, saw year-over-year declines during the same period. More recent data published by police departments in Colorado’s three largest cities — Denver, Colorado Springs and Aurora — show those trends continuing through July and August.
Mirroring national trends, reported crime levels in Colorado remain elevated above the near-historic lows recorded in the 2010s. But as in most states around the country, crime rates in its largest cities have entered a slow but steady decline after the increase that began in 2020 — a wave that criminologists attribute in large part to the unprecedented social and economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
► Colorado Senate Democrats elected new leadership on Friday. Senator Robert Rodriguez will serve as Senate Majority Leader after defeating Sen. Rachel Zenzinger. Rodriguez replaces Dominick Moreno, who resigned from the Senate to take a job with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. Senator Faith Winter was elected to serve as assistant majority leader.
► Check out the latest episode of the Get More Smarter Podcast, featuring an interview with Juan Marcano, a candidate for Aurora Mayor who has some new information about incumbent Mayor Mike Coffman’s boneheaded “strong mayor” proposal:
Don’t forget to give Colorado Pols a thumbs up on Facebook and Twitter. Check out The Get More Smarter Podcast at GetMoreSmarter.com.
3 thoughts on “Get More Smarter on Wednesday (Sept. 13)”
I never thought that I would be saddened to see old Willard M. Romney retire but that time has come. Strange as it may sound, I will miss him.
Born an invertebrate, he grew a spine when he became a septuagenarian. Even his old nemesis, John McCain, would have appreciate Romney's standing up to Trump.
September 13, 2023 12:32 PM UTC
3 Comments
I never thought that I would be saddened to see old Willard M. Romney retire but that time has come. Strange as it may sound, I will miss him.
Born an invertebrate, he grew a spine when he became a septuagenarian. Even his old nemesis, John McCain, would have appreciate Romney's standing up to Trump.
Time does strange things to our perspectives. This applies both outsiders like ourselves and for people like Mitt Romney.
Hehe. I see what you did there