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July 10, 2024 01:28 AM UTC

Wednesday Open Thread

  • 16 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“As soon as questions of will or decision or reason or choice of action arise, human science is at a loss.”

–Noam Chomsky

Comments

16 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread

  1. Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post highlights an example of good journalistic work (as opposed to the moral cowardice and journalistic malpractice typical of, for example, the New York Times).  I'd provide a free link, but this newsletter isn't shareable.

    Journalism 101

    The Associated Press constructed a near-perfect first paragraph: “Donald Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, a massive proposed overhaul of the federal government drafted by longtime allies and former officials in his administration, days after the head of the think tank responsible for the program suggested there would be a second American Revolution.” The report continues, “The 922-page plan outlines a dramatic expansion of presidential power and a plan to fire as many as 50,000 government workers to replace them with Trump loyalists.”

    The article communicates all the critical parts of the story: Trump’s deceit in trying to distance himself from the plan; his allies’ threats to those who might oppose it (“We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,” Heritage Foundation’s Kevin Roberts said); and the scope of the radical plan.

    Defenders of democracy and of sane, sensible governance should hope others follow the AP’s example.

  2. Over the long 4th of July weekend in Chicago over 100 people were shot. Apparently the strict gun control laws Chicago Democrats have put in place saying they would reduce gun violence are ineffective, so gotta come up with another explanation.

    In an ingenious but ludicrous adaption of “blame the dead pilot”,  Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blamed the ongoing violence on none other than Richard Nixon, who left office in 1974 and has been dead for 30 years. That’s right folks, it’s all Nixon’s fault.

    Here in Denver citizens were treated to the same rediculous blame shifting bullshit by Hizzoner Mike Johnston when 40,000 Biden illegals showed up with no place to live (in the midst of a homeless crisis) and necessitating drastic cutbacks in city services and the insolvency of Denver Health giving out that “free” healthcare to the Biden illegals.

    But just like the Chicago Mayor, Johnston invoked the “blame it on the dead pilot” strategy and blamed Trump and the GOP for the crisis confronting Denver as a direct result of the Biden/Democrat open border policy and Denver’s sanctuary city status. 

    Problems can only be solved by facing the truth, not fabricating excuses.

    1. Of course, your comment would be helpful if you had your facts right. The reason the local gun control ordinances don't work in Chicago is not because such laws were enacted. Chicago is right next to Indiana which has very loose gun laws. People drive to Indiana, purchase a weapon, and drive back to Chicago. Only a national gun control policy will work.

      Mayor Johnston has a good point. You need to remember that when U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) introduced a compromise bill in the U.S. Senate, which at least would have given the federal government new tools to control immigration, who ordered the Republicans in the House and Senate to oppose it? I believe his name is Donald Trump and he did it for the unethical reason that he wanted the problem to fester so he can use immigration as an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign. 

      Please get your facts straight next time.

    2. You must be very fit, because that was quite a leap.

      Nixon is no longer active in creating policy, but Trump's GOP is actively blocking any effort to improve our immigration policy. Blaming Nixon and blaming Trump's GOP is not the same.

    3. Focusing on a single weekend in a single region and saying the laws aren't effective is simplistic. Saying the fault lies in the laws that Democrats have put in place is another leap into the abyss.

      Despite the violence over the holiday weekend, shooting incidents in Chicago have been less frequent in 2024 than they have in years past, according to data from the Chicago Police Department. As of June 30, shootings were down 27% year-to-date in 2024 compared to three years ago, and down 20% year-to-date compared to four years ago.

      Problems cannot be solved by ignoring them.  They cannot be solved by blocking solutions that work, either.  

      There are examples all around the world of cities without major gun violence.  A major cluster of reasons why Chicago cannot be among them emerges from restrictions put into place by most Republicans in Congress, Republican Presidents, and the members of the Supreme Court nominated by Republicans and confirmed by the overwhelming majority of Republican Senators.

    4. Some facts to give your post some sense of balance? 
       

      LESS THAN HALF THE GUNS USED IN ILLINOIS CRIME COME FROM ILLINOIS, DATA ANALYSIS SHOWS

      ATF Trace data shows the top five states where guns recovered in Illinois were originally purchased from are Illinois (49.8%), Indiana (16.7%), Missouri (5.4%), Wisconsin (3.9%) and Kentucky (2.6%). Federal agents at the ATF identified the source state of 11,708 traced firearms in 2020.

      You see the problem, right?

    5. The availability of guns and the sheer number out there, thanks to your 2A dipshits and SCOTUS's insane constitutional jurisprudence, ensures that the U.S. will never be able to address gun violence appropriately.  It is the guns.  Period.  

      1. If gun regulation was anything like immigration regulation, Republicans would get it fixed quick.

        "You can buy a gun, but you have to register for a license. That license will take 3-5 years to process. During that time you can use your gun. If the process decides you can't own the gun, we won't take it from you but you'll be a criminal for possessing it and you'll have to file for a refund. The refund process will take another 2-4 years. Also before you get your license you won't be able to apply for most jobs or get health care, but at least you'll have a gun!"

  3. Thank you Senator Michael Bennet for speaking truth to power that Joe Biden is going to lose in a landslide and take down the Senate and House with him.  This is confirmed by the declining poll numbers causing Charlie Cook to downgrade six swing state projections.  

    We must beat Trump and the GOP.  There is still time for Biden to drop out and to pick another ticket that has a better chance of winning.  If not, the conversation will never change from Biden, when the conversation must be about Trump.  I  encourage all Polsters to write Bennet to thank him and to write Hickenlooper (is he still around?) to speak out now.

    1. Bennet … the name sounds familiar.  Isn't he the guy who thought Biden wasn't the answer in 2020?  Politico's TIM ALBERTA sat with Bennet to watch a October 2019 debate Bennet did not qualify for. 

      Former Vice President Joe Biden takes the opportunity to criticize the progressives flanking him, Sanders and Warren, singling out the latter for being “vague” about her plans. Bennet nods along in agreement. But he also winces during the remarks, as he has several times earlier in the night, an apparent reaction to Biden’s choppy and stilted speech pattern. It’s clear Bennet aligns himself with Biden on a great many issues. But it’s also clear Bennet, and at least a few others in the center-left space, wouldn’t be running if Biden were regarded as an imposing political force at 76 years old.

      1. Do I need to remind/inform you that Biden won the 2020 election by only 43,000 votes out of 12,000,000 votes cast in GA, WI and AZ?  Let me visualize that for you in a bar chart: If 43,000 is one inch, then 12,000,000 is 23 feet.

        That was then, this is now.  Biden has done great things but, for whaterver reasons, has not conveyed that to the American public. (One reason could be that he is totally inarticulate, stutter notwithstanding.)  74% believe he is too old to run again.  We have to change the topic back to Trump and the only way that is going to happen is to come up with a new ticket. 

        1. As i wrote in another comment,

          In 2020, an incumbent President was down 9% in the July polling and came back to make a close race.  Calculated by national popular vote, Biden won 51.3% to Trump's 46.86%, or about 4.5% — roughly half of the polling show in July of 2020. In our arcane system, the race was much, MUCH closer:  a shift from Biden to Trump by "little more than 81,139 votes in 4 states would have changed the winner of this election." 

          fivethirtyeight.com poll consolidation says Trump is now up 42.2% to 40.2%.  Could that change in the next 115 days? 

          The question then becomes, who polls better?  In a poll in the field July 7 & 8, Emerson College questioned support of a variety of Democrats against Trump.

          The latest Emerson College Polling survey finds former President Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden in a national matchup, 46% to 43%; 11% are undecided. When undecided voters are asked which candidate they lean toward, 50% support Trump and 50% support Biden. 

          A series of prominent Democrats were tested in a head-to-head ballot against Donald Trump:

          • Vice President Kamala Harris: 49% Trump, 43% Harris, 8% undecided
          • Senator Bernie Sanders: 48% Trump, 42% Sanders, 10% undecided
          • California Governor Gavin Newsom: 48% Trump, 40% Newsom, 12% undecided
          • Former Vice President Al Gore: 47% Trump, 42% Gore, 11% undecided
          • Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: 48% Trump, 41% Clinton, 11% undecided
          • Senator Elizabeth Warren: 49% Trump, 39% Warren, 13% undecided
          • Secretary of State Pete Buttigieg: 49% Trump, 39% Buttigieg, 12% undecided
          • Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro: 46% Trump, 38% Shapiro, 16% undecided
          • Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer: 48% Trump, 38% Whitmer, 15% undecided

          None of that sounds like good news to me.

  4. An attempt to put the split in support about Biden in perspective:

    The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is still over a month a way. If we didn't have a President running for re-election we'd have multiple candidates with different levels of support. If there was a good time to ask questions about our Presidential candidates… er… candidate, then this is the time! After the DNC we can then throw all our support behind the official DNC candidate.

    For now, let's question things. That's actually healthy. It's much better than the GOP who worships the golden toilet that Trump sits on.

    1. As you say, the convention is a month away and there is a process. Please pay Uncle Joe the respect he deserves and follow that process. He has done an outstanding job…he stepped in, won an election, and booted the Orange Destruction from the White House. His economy is cooking. Unemployment is down, pay is up (but not enough), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is poised to crack the mythical 40,000 point level. “Mythical” because many believed it would never happen. The US economy is the envy of the world.

      Thanks, old man.

      Uncle Joe is still Uncle Joe. He saved Democracy from the Heritage Foundation and I believe he will do it again. If Joe has trouble, Kamala is there.

       

  5. JVL in today's Triad, in The Bulwark (paraphrased): not only is Trump on the path to squeeze out a victory in the electoral college, Trump is on track to win the popular vote.

    Sad that Dr. Jill Biden and the most loyal Bidenistas aren't willing to see this. The longer they stall, the longer the media will refuse to focus on Trump's even worse mental shortcomings. 

     

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