April 20, 2016 10:13 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (April 20)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Good news: Colorado Pols is now 93% gluten-free! 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…

► Yes, we know today is 4/20. No, we’re not going to make any obvious weed jokes…well, maybe a few.

► The New York Primary is in the books, and it was a good night for Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, both of whom cruised to easy victories on Tuesday.  Next up is the “Acela Primary,” as the Washington Post reports:

Emboldened by dominant victories in New York, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump plunged swiftly Wednesday into the next batch of primaries in five states along the Northeast Corridor, where they hope to bury or break their challengers for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations.

Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island will vote next Tuesday in what many are dubbing the “Acela primary,” putting Clinton and Trump on terrain well-tailored to their campaigns.

For Clinton, it’s a chance to effectively end Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s long-shot hopes in the Democratic race. For Trump, the contests are an opportunity to further pad his delegate lead over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and send him tumbling into the final six weeks of the campaign. That crucial period will determine whether the mogul will clinch the GOP nomination outright or if the race will head to a contested convention.

► A bipartisan group of Colorado legislators are preparing a bill that would end the confusing precinct caucus system for selecting Presidential candidates in favor of a good old fashioned Primary election.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► The Internet damn near exploded on Tuesday thanks to “The Maury Povich Show,” which somehow unearthed the long-lost twin of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. This link is totally safe for work, but beware: You can not unsee these pictures.

On second thought, maybe you should just take a look now before that pot brownie really kicks in:

I just saw Ted Cruz on Maury pic.twitter.com/V27vcE4aYF

— ️joe (@TheWhiteEmoji) April 19, 2016

► Got a problem with Jon Keyser’s tire fire of a U.S. Senate campaign? Get in line. You can add Dudley Brown of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO) to the rapidly growing list of Republicans who are not particularly pleased with Keyser’s one-note message.

Meanwhile, some Colorado Republicans are beginning to question whether or not it makes sense to expend significant resources in trying to defeat incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Denver), given the general weakness of the GOP Senate field.

► The Denver Post will host a debate for the Republican Senate candidates on May 17. The five remaining GOP candidates are all invited, though it’s possible that one or more from this group won’t still be Senate candidates next month; Jack Graham, Robert Blaha, Jon Keyser, and Ryan Frazier are still waiting to hear from the Secretary of State’s office in regards to the validity of petition signatures submitted for ballot access.

► The Douglas County School Board spent $12,300 on 10 assault rifles that will be locked up in a central administration building. Please let us know if you stumble upon the alternate universe in which this is not completely insane.

► Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan says he will not be a potential choice for President in a “brokered convention” scenario in Cleveland, but it couldn’t be any worse than being Speaker of the House. From Politico:

Paul Ryan has had a tough couple of months.

The House GOP’s response to Puerto Rico’s debt crisis is stuck, with a big May 1 deadline looming. The leadership’s 2017 budget plan is stalled. And legislation to overhaul the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t left the runway.

With all the attention showered on Ryan’s non-interest in running for president, it’s easy to overlook the new speaker’s troubles running the House these days. Almost six months into the job, Ryan and his top lieutenants face questions about whether the Wisconsin Republican’s tenure atop the House is any more effective than that of his predecessor, former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Ryan has flattered the House Freedom Caucus and pursued promises to empower rank-and-file Republicans with reforms to how the House operates — yet it’s yielded little in the way of actual results.

► Senate Republicans are still saying that they will refuse to even consider President Obama’s choice to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, but the decision continues to backfire. As our friends at “The Fix” report, Democrats are absolutely crushing Republicans in the narrative battle over Merrick Garland:

Initially, public opinion was deeply divided — largely along partisan lines, with Democrats on the side of a confirmation vote held before the end of the year and Republicans content with leaving the seat open until a new president took office.  In March, opinion was moving toward the “vote this year” option.  In the poll released Monday night, a majority now believe the Senate should hold a confirmation vote on Garland this year.

► State Sen. Morgan Carroll says Congressman Mike Coffman’s (R-Aurora) immigration positions seek only to “tear families apart.”

► The Colorado Secretary of State’s office announced that two more candidates seeking to petition onto their respective Primary ballots have been cleared to go ahead and do their thing.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is calling for a “major course correction” in conservation efforts in the United States. Jewell says natural areas in the West are disappearing at a rate equivalent to one football field every two-and-a-half minutes.

► Colorado Loan Sharks are pleased that legislation to allow them to increase interest rates has made it through a State Senate committee. We’re keeping a close eye on this nonsense.

ICYMI

► Uh, oh, Republicans: Donald Trump has updated his internal hardware.

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