U.S. Senate See Full Big Line

(D) J. Hickenlooper*

(R) Somebody

80%

20%

Governor See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse

(D) Phil Weiser

(D) Jena Griswold

60%

60%

40%↓

Att. General See Full Big Line

(D) M. Dougherty

(D) Alexis King

(D) Brian Mason

40%

40%

30%

Sec. of State See Full Big Line

(D) George Stern

(D) A. Gonzalez

(R) Sheri Davis

40%

40%

30%

State Treasurer See Full Big Line

(D) Brianna Titone

(R) Kevin Grantham

(D) Jerry DiTullio

60%

30%

20%

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

(R) Somebody

90%

2%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

(R) Somebody

90%

2%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Hurd*

(D) Somebody

80%

40%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert*

(D) Somebody

90%

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Crank*

(D) Somebody

80%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

(R) Somebody

90%

10%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) B. Pettersen*

(R) Somebody

90%

10%

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(R) Gabe Evans*

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(D) Joe Salazar

50%

40%

40%

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

5%

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
August 10, 2005 08:00 AM UTC

Wednesday Open Thread

  • 73 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Play nice.

Tweet
Share

Comments

73 thoughts on “Wednesday Open Thread”

  1. The DP is calling on Holtzman to switch positions and back C and D or at least explain how to cut the budget the initiatives don’t pass. 

    That’s something I’ve noticed the “No” people aren’t doing a lot of.  They’re not doing a lot of explaining.  It is a lot easier to call it a “forever tax increase” and play misleading soundbites than to explain where the 208 million dollars in cuts will come from out of next year’s budget if C and D fail.

  2. It is time for you dead Governor’s to update your line after Holtzman’s follies last week.  When is it going to happen?  I’m getting anxious to see the next odds.

  6. I found a good budget overview at FreeColorado covering the FY 2005 budget.  The short answer isn’t that short, but assuming we cover all the bases that the author wants to convey at the end of the article, the total budget is about $13.8 billion, with perhaps $5 billion in the General Fund.  (Those are funds that the Legislature can control to some extent, and the ones directly affected by both Ref. C&D and TABOR.)

    Without passage of Ref. C&D, we will have to cut about 5% of that General Fund budget next year – $315 million according to the Vote Yes on C-D folks (more by some estimates, less if we can find some more major loopholes in TABOR or savings…).  The following years will have even greater impacts as the “ratchet” prevents the budget from recovering from the effects of the recession.

  8. “Those ‘wascally democwats’ won’t know what hit them.”

    Terry Kunkel as quoted in a recent newsletter

    So what plan does she actually have and by this statement, it clearly shows that the El Paso County GOP leadership is really “Looney.”

  10. Just how efficient has the state’s contracting been in recent years? Well, that’s hard to say, since Owens muzzled all of his department heads, prohibiting them from testifying before an interim committee that might bring some more accountability to state govt.

    Groff gets in some good shots. Dan Hopkins tries, quite unpersuasively, to spin. This won’t play well for the Guv.

    http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3991149,00.html

  12. Denise – Did you know that the Ds put 4 unelected members on the committe?  Did you know that 3 out of the 4 are directly tied to unions?  Did you know that all 4 have the right to vote on legislation that the General Assembly will consider?!?!?

    That committee is a sham created soley to try to gin up more support for Hanna’s outsourcing bill and to placate the unions.

    Good for the Gov for not playing along!

  14. Unelected–

    First of all, having experts on the panel is a good thing, as Groff points out in the article. But more important is the fact that the Governor apparently doesn’t think the public has a right to know how their taxpayer dollars are being spent, how much waste is in the system, how state contracting could be improved, etc. After the CBMS problems, I think everyone should be able to agree that the efficiency of state govt. could be improved, don’t you? That shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but apparently it is. After so much talk about “fiscal conservatism” from Republicans, the people walking the walk are Democrats.

  18. Denise – Those are the talking points but they are way off base.  Do you really think Steve Adams is an expert in procurement???  Of the policy director of the Front Economic Strategy Center (a union organization)??  Neither one of those guys knows the first thing about completing or bidding on a contract with the state.  Those are just 2 of the supposed experts.

  21. YoungRep-

    I follow the goings on the Sec. of State’s office pretty closely and have not heard a preferred name mentioned yet. There are political forces trying to jockey this into an incumbent situation for the GOP in 2006, but the problem they have is that their declared candidate is busy fighting in Iraq at the moment.

    I personally have recommended elevating the Deputy SoS, Bill Hobbs, to fill the vacancy until the 2006 election. He does not need training and we are coming up on an election that the outcome will have major ramifications for this state. I would like to see an experienced hand at the wheel thru the 2005 election. Also, Hobbs has not experessed any interest in running for the seat, so him being there will keep it safe for Mike Coffman to run for when he gets backi from Iraq

  22. Great news for the U.S. Treasury Department.  Fox News has a story on how the Treasury Department just reported revenue collections have jumped to an all time high and the government is on track to “significantly lower the budget deficit this year.”

    Here is the link:

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,165328,00.html

    I want to know what the Democrats have to say that criticized the Bush Administration for lowering taxes and causing a big deficit.  Greenspan urged the cuts knowing it would spur the economy to grow and now it is growing like wildfire, with unemploymeny at 5%, an all time low. 

    I hope that this mease that Congress will make the tax cuts permenant.  I am surethe Dems wil want to spin this, but they cannot spin the facts.

  23. The story seems to be about “collections” not necessary what people are currently paying. One of the reasons colloections has increased because new laws have gone into effect to allow the IRS to be more agressive about collecting back taxes. For example, more garnishments are now happening. There is a surge at the moment because of the collection of back taxes. What happens when they are collected and the current tax bas is lower than before the surge of collection began?

    Plus the story does not begin to touch the on the huge deficit numbers being cause by the war in Iraq, nor does it begin to pay back the IOU that Congress has looming in he Social Security Fund.

  24. Hey “Economics” this is what “Democrats have to say”

    1) the story is from Fox News! Not exactly a bastion of unbiased reporting.  Wake up.

    2) The statement that “the government is on track to “significantly lower the budget deficit this year.” is a forecast, not a hard fact. 

    3) Try spelling words like P-E-R-M-A-N-E-N-T-L-Y correct, people will take you more seriously.

  26. Economics, typical of Republican lies and misrepresentations.  The 5% unemployment rate is an all time low???  Really total BS.  Just because you say it, it ain’t so.  And usually when Republicans say it, it really isn’t so.  Look up your facts.  For much of the Clinton Administration, yes that’s right, the Clinton administration, the rate was under 5% and indeed it hovered at 4% for some time.  Where are the Democrats on this site to correct this BS??  You can’t let these guys get away with this.

  28. And furthermore, millions are not included on the current labor rolls because their unemployment has expired or they are no longer seeking jobs.  Our economy is recovering, but it’s not nearly what Bush wants to portray it as.  Good unemployment numbers are around 4%; this indicates a “fully-employed” economy, and anything higher is less than a full recovery.  Wages are just starting to rebound as well, as people start getting jobs in their own fields again.

    Saying everything is going great in this economy is like saying the Iraqi resistance is on its last legs – a bit premature at best.

  30. So if their unemployment expired and they are no longer seeking employment either,

    A) they bilked the unemployment benefits and were really not seeking a job like the hundreds of job applications that I used to receive. Or
    B) they no longer want a job.

    I have a 3 year old at home that “no longer is seeking emplyment”. Maybe he should be added to the labor rolls as unemployed. Maybe that would satisfy people like Phoenix and Peter.

  33. So you’re only counted as unemployed as long as you are on unemployment benefits? Wow, talk about a socialist service that needs to go away. I have personally met scores of of people who would rather get a hand out than get a job for less than they “were worth.” Personally, I will scrub toilets before filing unemployment. Wait, I have.

  34. Steve Adams and other Union reps are “experts”?

    Give me a break.

    I’m so sick and tired of us pandering to labor’s every whim.

      “Hey we need to be on that committee, Joan.” 

    “After all, none of us has a college education, but we did all successfully strong arm our members to vote for us through various means of manipulation, etc?.

      ?Hey, I’ve got an idea, will you make your party look like complete asses and do really irrational things to help us so, even if it’s completely unreasonable? Yea?  You will? Will you help us ensure that we can automatically deduct dues from workers’ wages even if they have no interest in joining our union?  Yea?  You will? Will you wash my car for me too?  Yea?  You will?  That’s great!”

    ?Gee Whiz, the Democrats are great!?

  35. Quit being a jerk about it, Hugo.

    Unemployment lasts for about six months under normal circumstances.  These people aren’t “bilking the system” because they paid into the system before they became unemployed.  Benefits are based entirely upon your earnings for the prior year or so, so no-one can just “get a hand out”.

    I’ve tried to get retail and labor jobs while looking for better work; most places won’t consider people who are “over-skilled” for the work.  Retail stores won’t hire me because they think (rightly) that I’ll run off to an IT job when I can find one.

    Get off your high horse; many of us have worked jobs scrubbing floors or dishes, slinging burgers, or stocking shelves – I’ve done all three.  Unemployment is a vital stabilizing service in today’s highly-differentiated, highly-specialized economy.

  36. Phoenix,

    If you’re looking for one of those retail jobs while seeking the real job…which I think most of us have done, just dumb down the resume and interview in order to get hired.
    People who trully want to work do, whether it is in their field or not. Thats why the unemployment rate is only 1 point away from being great.

  37. Voting against C and D, is like getting an “F” in economics.  Either the community is interested in supporting the community, or they are not.  I certainly don’t see a bunch of wasteful spending. 

    I challenge the CONSERVATIVES to name where the funds from C and D will not be a benefit to the community.

  39. Keith –

    Sorry, but I agree with Phoenix on this issue. 

    AND, frankly, a lot of the unemployed are told from the Conservatives, to take the money and wait for that good job.  Unfortunately, that has lasted since Bush took office.

  41. OOn the Fox Story about Federal Receipts, I think we are all missing the bigger picture when Bush took office we had 4 consecutive budget surpluses, and last year we hard the largest single deficit in our nations history, not to mention the ever increasing national debt. I am an economist by trade, and a Democrat, and yes tax cuts do help spur the economy, but at the same time large budget deficits take money out of the market and weaken the economy. Bush has yet to veto a single spending bill, such as the pork filled transportation bill. So if he was a true fiscal conservative he would cut taxes as well as cut spending in order to keep the budget in balance. However, he has made no decisions on the budget and just lets Congress use across the board recessions that unfairly cut good programs, while not cutting inefficient programs enough.

  42. Keith- It is not as simple as you make it sound. I am in the same boat as Phoenix in that I have been doing whatever I can find to get by, but I have not made as much as I once did since 9/11. You can only “dumb down” so much without leaving gaping holes in your resume.

    I have been ok at find temporary positions (thru agencies), but it has been hit and miss and I have not found anything permanent. And yes, I have been looking at the retails, etc jobs too, but they simply don’t pay enough or offer enough hours to cover my rent.

    People like me don’t show up in the unemployment stats because I have never collected unemployment. I am sure there are 1000’s of Coloradans like me who never collected unemployment but still have not found solid work either.

  44. Dan- I  have been in your spot. I to have never filed for unemployment. I know its tough from experience. I don’t have a fix for that other than don’t give up. Thats how I got through.

  45. The theory behind starving the beast pisses me off to no end.

    It would be like if a father was mad that his daughter went out and bought a car that he didn’t like.  What kind of father would decide instead of explaining to the daughter why he didn’t like the car that he would spend the entire family into bankruptcy so that the daughter would be forced to get rid of the car?

    That is what Republicans are doing to America.  A person that did that would be a bad father just as Republicans are bad leaders.

  47. Bush is spending money hand over fist.  He is trying despriately to stimulate the economy.  However, the country still revolves around a “depressed” feel.  The reason is because Bush has not followed good fiscal policy that has been the mainstay of the Republican agenda.  Bush is attempting to follow a theme from President Reagan after he took office from Carter.  The only problem IS, that the country knows who put us into this mess and we don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.  As we get closer to 2008 and the end of President Bush running (ruining) the country, the nation will then perk up.

  48. Pork spending is no more Republican than Democrat. Is Colorado still a donor state? If it is we all get together to fix that.
    It would be cool if everybody on this blog got together on one issue.

  49. Hey Budget Hawk,
    Didn’t we have similar budget surpluses in state government until our boy Owens took over and decided it would be fun to have Microsoft and Qwest as personal friends.  Whatever happened to the Microsoft college that was to be built in Colorado to solidify our never earned reputation as The Technology State?

  52. Holtzman brought over 60 new high tech companies to Colorado.  He also led Colorado into having the highest technology jobs per capita in the country.  Might want to re-check your facts before bashing him.

  53. Hey Phoenix,
    Thought we did until around 2001 – when the gov started using state money to get in good with Qwest, M$, and countless other firms that barely exist in CO anymore but sure would’ve helped a presidential campaign.

  54. Alright, I’m changing my name because despite its truth it’s starting to feel a little offensive.

    EP,
    The deal was Owens sold CO’s soul to MS and couldn’t make it work.  He ended up agreeing to Bill Gates’ idea for a tech high school (which is supposed to open in a couple of weeks, only a year behind schedule).  David Greenberg was hired to be chief executive of the school; Holtzman was Owens’ and Greenberg’s secretary of technology at the time.  Holtzman was responsible for creating the board of directors.

  56. CW – thanks for that update; the B&M Gates Foundation probably funded some of that tech school.  Of course, they usually put a stipulation for Micro$oft-only solutions into the clause which makes it a bit self-serving, but they do put up the cash…

    As I stated previously, the State can’t keep a large cash reserve due to TABOR (and that’s limited…), so I doubt Owens spent a surplus.  He might have spent a portion of the General Fund on the tech school, though.

  58. They should demote this guy to an airman!

    Air Force Colonel Accused of Defacing Cars Wed Aug 10, 7:05 AM ET

    DENVER – An Air Force Reserve colonel could face criminal charges for allegedly vandalizing cars at Denver International Airport bearing pro-Bush bumper stickers.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Lt. Col. Alexis Fecteau, director of operations for reserve forces at the National Security Space Institute in Colorado Springs, is believed responsible for defacing at least 10 parked vehicles between December and June, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Tuesday.

    A bait car left by a police detective was also defaced and the detective tracked down Fecteau, who turned himself in Friday. He was released on bond.

    A message left for a man of the same name in Colorado Springs wasn’t immediately returned.

    Jackson said Fecteau is suspected of blacking out the Bush bumper stickers and then spray painting an expletive and the president’s name on the vehicles.

    Fecteau supervises 11 full-time and 30 part-time reservists at the institute, which is part of the Space Warfare Center at Schriever Air Force Base, said base spokesman Staff Sgt. Donald Branum.

    The bait vehicle was equipped with a camera that captured an image of the suspect and his car. Then a detective was able to find footage from a camera monitoring cars leaving the parking lot and traced Fecteau using the car’s license plate, Jackson said.

    Police have referred the case to prosecutors, who are considering filing criminal charges, he said.

  59. Hey BB, I am asking you to prove any part of this statement:

    “Holtzman brought over 60 new high tech companies to Colorado. He also led Colorado into having the highest technology jobs per capita in the country”

    It’s total bullshit.

  60. Shamus-
    I heard both of those figures from Marc in a speech, then found them again (the jobs one anyways) in MH’s Q&A here on Colorado Pols. 

    I also heard the governor use the same statistics when he was trying to appoint Marc to the CSU post several years ago. 

    If you can proove that to be wrong, then I stand corrected. 

    But I doubt you know something about the state of the technology industry in CO that MH doesn’t.

  63. Yes, BB, one more “cute” comment.  Nothing from the link above proves that Marc Holtzman brought over 60 high tech companies to Colorado. Nothing.  That is what I am asking you to prove, because that is what you are claiming.

  64. I claimed two things, one I prooved, one the only proof I can offer is that Marc said he did.  I take him at his word.  I can’t find substantiated proof of it, other than him saying he did it, I consider the former secretary of technology to be a pretty credible source on what he did or did not do.

Leave a Comment

Recent Comments


Posts about

Donald Trump
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Lauren Boebert
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Yadira Caraveo
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado House
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado Senate
SEE MORE

177 readers online now

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!