September 19, 2024 12:02 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (Sept. 19)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Enjoy the last three days of “summer.” Let’s 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 an audio learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and the website formerly known as Twitter.

FIRST UP…

► We’re two weeks away from a potential government shutdown after House Speaker Mike Johnson’s idiotic attempt to tie a continuing resolution to a silly election “security” bill went down in flames on Wednesday.

► Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump says he will visit Aurora, Colorado and Springfield, Ohio in order to draw attention to fake stories about illegal immigrants. The Associated Press has more on Trump’s plans, or you can read our post on the subject.

Meanwhile, Quentin Young of Colorado Newsline has more on the nonsense in Aurora:

The swell of negative attention hurt the city and jeopardized residents. It has given cover to an out-of-state slumlord who’s responsible for unbearable conditions at the apartment buildings. And the worst part is that the city’s own elected leaders are to blame for so much of the fallout. They propagated bigoted falsehoods in reckless pursuit of partisan advantage and fame. They failed the most basic duty of any public servant — to protect the public.

It is true that about 40,000 migrants from Central and South America, including Venezuela, have arrived in the Denver area since December 2022. And it’s true that individuals associated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua have been identified in Aurora. But they number 10, and the only thing they have taken over in Aurora is the dark imagination of right-wing conspiracy theorists.

► The office of Gov. Jared Polis released its September economic forecast today. From a press release:

After several quarters of strong growth where Colorado outperformed the U.S. in wages and income, the forecast shows a return to more normalized levels in these areas as well as a tighter fiscal environment.

“Here in Colorado we continue working to save Coloradans money and drive economic growth, and we know that in the coming year we are facing a more typical, tighter budget environment as inflation comes down. I’m committed to continue delivering results for Coloradans and saving people money, while delivering a responsible, balanced budget that ensures a strong fiscal future for our state,” said Governor Jared Polis.

Inflation continues to cool in the U.S. and Colorado, with Colorado inflation falling faster than the U.S. Falling inflation, combined with the slowing labor market growth and slight increase in unemployment, has prompted the first Federal Reserve interest rate cut in four years, and they expect to make more in the coming months. This will save Coloradans money on things like purchasing a home and credit card bills, and will also increase investments in construction to create more homes Coloradans can afford.

► If you need another message to convince someone not to support Donald Trump in 2024, here’s a good one from The Washington Post:

The tobacco industry is banking on Trump’s chaotic approach to public health — and pliable views on policy — as it confronts a new challenge to its bottom line: efforts by regulators in the Biden administration to ban menthol cigarettes, which represent 36 percent of the cigarette market.

The top corporate donor to the main pro-Trump super PAC is a subsidiary of Reynolds American, the second-largest tobacco company in the United States and the maker of Newports, the No. 1 menthol brand in the country. The subsidiary, RAI Services Company, has given $8.5 million to the super PAC, called Make America Great Again Inc., federal records show. The company does not appear to have contributed money to groups backing Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

Big Tobacco’s bet on Trump shows how corporate interests believe the former president can be swayed by campaign donations — and brought into line even on issues where he has shown some independence from GOP orthodoxy, said former U.S. officials and industry lobbyists. The contributions represent a muscular move by the company into presidential politics. A Reynolds PAC funded by employee contributions donated just $25,000 to a Trump campaign committee in 2016, and the company contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration in 2017. These entities do not appear to have made contributions in the presidential race in 2020. A Reynolds representative did not respond to detailed questions about the company’s political giving or its interactions with Trump.

It’s simple, really: Figure out where Big Tobacco stands…and go stand somewhere else.

► As POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney reports, the battle for control of the Colorado Republican Party might never end:

Click below to keep learning things…

Check Out All This Other Stuff To Know…

► David O. Williams of RealVail.com interviews “Buena Vista” Dave Williams, and together they discuss State Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams. 

► As The Denver Post reports, RTD plans to boot Greyhound buses from Union Station in Denver when a contract expires next August.

► Westword looks at results from a new survey of Latino voters in Colorado:

A recent poll of 1,600 Latino voters found that inflation and the rising cost of living are two of the group’s biggest concerns. Latinos also report that they’re leaning further left than in the past.

Colorado is home to about 1.3 million Latinos, which is about a quarter of the state’s population; Latinos comprise the state’s second-largest ethnic group.

The poll was the fourth annual nonpartisan Colorado Latino Policy Agenda survey. It’s one of the country’s largest urban and rural polls, and the largest poll of Latinos in the state, according to BSP Research, the firm that conducted the poll in July and August. Voces Unidas published the results of the poll on Wednesday, September 18.

► The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is piling on about Republican Gabe-ish Evans and an anti-semitic staffer in CO-08.

► A bipartisan task force probing July’s assassination attempt against Donald Trump will expand its investigation to include this week’s potential attempt on Trump’s life in Florida. The task force includes Colorado Rep. Jason Crow (D-Aurora). 

► Donald Trump has endorsed fellow Republican Jeff Crank for Congress in CO-05 (Colorado Springs). Since this district is safe for Republicans, Trump’s endorsement is fairly pointless.

► Lindsey Toomer of Colorado Newsline digs into Colorado’s gold-standard election process:

Colorado has a variety of measures in place to ensure its elections are safe, accurate and secure.

Any voting system used in Colorado must be certified through the state. A voting system provider must apply through the secretary of state’s office, submit a test plan and run a test for the system, and meet all major requirements to be certified.

Voting systems are forbidden from being connected to the internet in Colorado. Background-checked secretary of state staff are responsible for installing voting software onto voting system computers throughout the state.

Counties with newly installed voting systems must run a test, going through all the normal steps of an election to ensure everything works properly. This includes loading an election onto the machine, using ballot marking devices, running ballots through tabulation scanners, and verifying that results match the actual count.

Hardware and diagnostic testing also occurs before an election to ensure all the equipment functions properly, and additional “logic and accuracy testing” is done to make sure votes are counted correctly.

There are a lot more steps involved in making sure Colorado voters can feel good about the safety of their ballots.

► Wildfire smoke could have a significant impact on youth mental health.

► An increasing number of evangelical leaders in the United States are voicing their support for Vice President Kamala Harris. From The Associated Press:

Donald Trump has maintained strong support among white evangelical voters. According to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of the electorate, about 8 in 10 white evangelical voters cast a ballot for him in 2020. But a small and diverse coalition of evangelicals is looking to pull their fellow believers away from the former president’s fold, offering not only an alternate candidate to support but an alternate vision for their faith altogether…

…The Rev. Dwight McKissic, a Baptist pastor from Texas who spoke on the Evangelicals for Harris call, said he saw no “moral superiority of one party over the other,” citing the GOP’s decision to “abandon a commitment to ban abortion with a constitutional amendment” and to soften its stance against same-sex marriage in its party platform.

Though he has historically voted Republican, McKissic said he would vote for Harris, whom he said has stronger character and qualifications.

“I certainly don’t agree with her on all matters of policy,” said Scott, who identifies as evangelical and is ordained in the mainline Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “I am pro-life. I am against abortion. But at the same time, she has a pro-family platform,” citing Harris’ education policies and promise to expand the child tax credit.

► On the subject of surprising endorsements, Scientific American has backed a candidate for President for only the second time in its history. As The Washington Post explains:

“The U.S. faces two futures. In one, the new president offers the country better prospects, relying on science, solid evidence and the willingness to learn from experience,” the endorsement begins. “In the other future, the new president endangers public health and safety and rejects evidence, preferring instead nonsensical conspiracy fantasies.” This is the magazine’s second endorsement in its 179-year history, following its endorsement of Joe Biden in 2020, which warned of the dangers of a Trump reelection.

The magazine reminds us that Harris recognizes the danger of climate change and supports “technology and clean energy” as well as “education, public health and reproductive rights. She treats the climate crisis as the emergency it is and seeks to mitigate its catastrophic storms, fires and droughts.” Meanwhile, the editors say, Trump “ignores the climate crisis in favor of more pollution. He requires that federal officials show personal loyalty to him rather than upholding U.S. laws.” Moreover, “He fills positions in federal science and other agencies with unqualified ideologues. He goads people into hate and division, and he inspires extremists at state and local levels to pass laws that disrupt education and make it harder to earn a living.”

► Flight attendants for Frontier Airlines have voted to authorize going on strike. We already went on strike as Frontier Airlines customers.

► Enough about tying Venezuelan gangs to every stupid video on TikTok. Seriously. 

► Supporters of Denver’s basic income project want to see more funding for the program.

► It feels like Fall. Here’s how and when to view the changing of the leaves:

If you’re planning on heading up to the mountains this weekend for some foliage viewing, be aware that you might also run into some snow.

Say What, Now?

Interim Congressman Greg Lopez (CO-04) went to Washington D.C. to hold up a tiny copy of the U.S Constitution. [Sigh]

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► Texas Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett lays the hammer to Donald Trump in a House Oversight Committee hearing. 

► What’s this? Oh, just a Republican candidate for Congress in Alaska (Nick Begich) comparing Social Security to a ponzi scheme.

ICYMI

► For the second time this year, Senate Republicans on Tuesday voted AGAINST legislation that would have created a right to access in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments and mandated that insurance plans cover the practice. As The Hill newspaper reports:

Senators voted against advancing the bill, 51-44, marking the second time Democrats have sought to put Republicans on the record on the contentious issue. Sixty votes were needed to open debate on the measure…

…GOP senators derided the Democratic legislation, authored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), as nothing more than a show vote, accusing Democrats of misrepresenting Republicans’ views on IVF.

Ahead of the vote, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tried to pass via voice vote a competing bill he and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) introduced earlier this year that would withhold Medicaid funding from states that ban IVF, but it was blocked by Democrats.

“Let’s be clear — there is not a single senator in this chamber on either side of the aisle who wants to ban IVF,” Cruz said on the floor ahead of the votes.

Senator Cruz then proceeded to vote NO on legislation to protect IVF treatments. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted with Democrats in support of the legislation. Following the vote, Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper was again critical of Republicans for pretending to support IVF but doing nothing to act on those claims.

► Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo is making more hay about a former top staffer for her Republican opponent in CO-08. Caraveo took the offensive yesterday against Gabe-ish Evans over the firing last week of Evans’ political director Jessica Spindle, a longtime Evans ally who was exposed by the Colorado Times-Recorder to have a lengthy history of overtly racist, pro-violence, and generally far-out conspiracist social media musings dating back many years. John Aguilar of The Denver Post has more on the story.

► Tired of reading? Then listen instead to the latest episode of the Get More Smarter Podcast, featuring an entertaining interview with Senator Michael Bennet (D-Denver):

Don’t forget to give Colorado Pols a thumbs up on Facebook and dumb Twitter. Check out The Get More Smarter Podcast at GetMoreSmarter.com.