February 12, 2015 12:09 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (Feb. 12)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Abraham Lincoln would have celebrated his 206th birthday today, which would have made him the oldest living President by a wide margin. 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.

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► Republicans gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to the "Let Parents Do Anything They Want with their Children" "Parent's Bill of Rights." Senator Tim Neville and Senate President Bill Cadman seem intent on making sure Republicans have every opportunity to say something embarrassing before the House inevitably spikes the legislation.

► President Obama called for Congressional support to increase military action against ISIL (or "ISIS," or whatever acronym your prefer). In response, Republicans in Colorado's Congressional delegation declared that they are absolutely, definitely, going to sit on their hands for awhile. Sen. Cory Gardner bravely put all of the responsibility on the White House in a statement, as did Rep. Scott Tipton. As the Pueblo Chieftain writes, "Tipton wouldn’t say what action the U.S. should take against ISIS. Like Gardner, he said that’s Obama’s job." Nothing says leadership and decisionmaking like responding, "Go ask your dad."

Get even more smarter after the jump…

SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a likely candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016, won't say whether or not he believes in evolution. "I'm going to punt on that one," said Walker after a speech in London. This should work out well.

► The Aurora Sentinel takes a look at candidates for the November municipal election. Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan is currently running unopposed, but 5 of the 10 City Council seats are up in 2015.

► Freshman Congressman Ken Buck says he is still undecided in who he will support for State Republican Party Chair. Incumbent Chair Ryan Call has the support of Sen. Cory Gardner, while challenger Steve House has newly-elected Attorney General Cynthia Coffman in his corner.

► In every session of Congress since 2010, Democratic Rep. Jared Polis has introduced a "Student Non-Discrimination Act" intended to protect LGBT public school students from harassment based on gender or sexual identity. In every session of Congress since 2010, Republican lawmakers have killed the idea. Guess what happened yesterday?

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Philadephia will host the 2016 Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled to kick off on July 25, 2016. New York and Columbus, Ohio, were the other two finalists. Philadelphia was home to the 2000 Republican National Convention, when George W. Bush accepted the GOP nomination for President.

► Republicans killed legislation in the State Senate that would have required licenses for Colorado home inspectors.

► Researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado want to see what residents think of oil and gas production near their communities. We're going to take a wild guess here, but we'd bet that surveys of Ft. Collins and Greeley residents do not end up showing positive feelings about fracking and the like.

ICYMI

► Republican Sen. Laura Waters Woods says she does not discriminate, so we should just go ahead and repeal the Colorado Civil Rights Enforcement Act…except for the part that protects employees over the age of 70. Does that mean that Sen. Woods does discriminate against the elderly?

► Senate Republicans wisely decided not to hijack sexual abuse legislation yesterday by including a repeal of sex education. Instead, "Erin's Law" (SB-020) was moved along to the Senate Judiciary Committee.