August 24, 2015 02:43 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Monday (Aug. 24)

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• by: Colorado Pols

If the kids aren’t starting school this week…have fun with that. 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 (here’s a good example).

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► Attorney General Cynthia Coffman is the chief law enforcement officer for the State of Colorado. With any luck, Coffman will eventually decide that it would be a good idea to, you know, learn the law. Here’s the money quote from the Colorado Independent on claims that Coffman tried to convince Durango elected officials to participate in a closed-door meeting about the Animas River mine water spill (such a meeting would violate Colorado’s “sunshine” laws):

“Talk about awkward – being asked by the attorney general herself to violate the law,” Mayor Dean Brookie told The Colorado Independent. “We were all pretty taken aback that she would have created that situation.” [Pols emphasis]

► Enjoy it while it’s happening before your very eyes, Polsters: The Coffmangate Scandal may very well be the most inexplicably ridiculous political scandal you are ever likely to witness. The group of Republicans who allegedly tried to blackmail State GOP Chair Steve House decided to throw a party for themselves on Friday — and, naturally, somebody thought it would be wise to take a bunch of pictures. Cynthia Coffman was either not invited, or was at least wise enough to not show up in the photos.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Will Vice President Joe Biden really seek the 2016 Democratic Presidential nomination? Our friends at “The Fix” take a shot at playing fortune teller. Colorado Pols dove into the subject on Sunday. On Monday, White House officials said that President Obama may yet offer a formal endorsement in the 2016 Democratic Primary.

► Governor John Hickenlooper remains not-dead 10 days after drinking water from the Animas River in the days after the Gold King Mine spill. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that the Animas is returning to pre-spill conditions.

► Political and business leaders in Colorado are taking another hard look at TABOR reform in 2016. As John Frank reports for the Denver Post:

Dubbed “Building a Better Colorado,” the bipartisan push will debut in September and feature a 40-stop statewide tour this fall to discuss topics ranging from term limits for lawmakers and the election system to the constitutional amendment process and the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

The project — developed behind the scenes for months and detailed in exclusive interviews and documents obtained by The Denver Post — is perhaps the most concerted effort in recent memory to address what organizers see as inherent conflicts in how the state is governed.

► Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler continues to misrepresent the jury decision to seek life in prison for Aurora Theater shooter James Holmes.

► Congressman Jared Polis (D-Boulderish) is promoting legislative changes to reduce regulations and restrictions on certain food items.

► Colorado continues to struggle with the problem of funding disparities among various school districts throughout the state.

► With so many roads and bridges in disrepair in Colorado, it’s perhaps no surprise that there is an erosion of opposition to raising the gas tax in order to fund infrastructure improvements.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is still seeking the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016…but Republicans don’t seem all that interesting in listening. At the rate things are going for Christie, he might be excited to be stuck at the “Junior Varsity table” for the next GOP candidate debate.

► The business model of companies such as H&R Block is based on the idea that taxes are confusing and hard and too complicated for anyone without wire-rimmed glasses. As Vox reports, the company is lobbying — hard — to convince the federal government and the IRS to make tax preparation forms infinitely more troublesome.

ICYMI

► Congressman Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) is still trying to figure out how to deal with Democratic challenger Morgan Carroll, who has come out swinging in the race for CD-6.

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