April 05, 2017 01:09 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (April 5)

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Welcome back, Springtime. It’s time to 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 a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND…

► Senate Democrats are trying to conduct a filibuster over the Supreme Court nomination of Colorado Judge Neil Gorsuch, but as “The Fix” explains, there’s probably not much the minority party can do to stop this train:

Mostly while we slept Tuesday night, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) seized the Senate floor for roughly 15 hours in an attempt to launch an old-school filibuster to block Judge Neil Gorsuch from getting on the Supreme Court. He ended it around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

But his filibuster came too late to be able to derail or even delay Gorsuch’s confirmation. In fact, it probably wasn’t even technically be a filibuster. That’s because procedurally, there’s nothing he nor his colleagues can do to stop Gorsuch from getting a vote on Thursday to advance his nomination — and, ultimately, not much they can do stop him from getting on the court…

…there is one thing that can force a talking senator to yield the floor. And it’s the one thing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) set in place Tuesday: A vote to end debate on Gorsuch.

There aren’t many rules on how long a senator can talk, but there are tons of rules about how long senators have to wait to vote. For example, McConnell knew his colleagues in the minority were going to filibuster Gorsuch — either by actually talking, like Merkley is, or threatening to talk, like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has. So before anything began, McConnell filed a motion to vote to end that debate. That motion, called a cloture motion, has to wait two days before it is “ripened” and senators can actually vote on it.

► Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler is running for governor — for reals this time — and will seek to become the Republican nominee in 2018 through the convention/caucus process. Brauchler is one of many likely Republican candidates in 2018, including State Treasurer Walker Stapleton and former state Rep. Victor Mitchell. As Brauchler told the Colorado Statesman at his campaign launch today, he’s be a better governor than John Hickenlooper because…everything:

“For instance,” Brauchler said, “on transportation, I would have taken a much more hands-on approach to figuring out a way to resolve the transportation issue. We’re here on the precipice where we’re at because we really haven’t prioritized transportation. I would have taken a much stronger approach to education funding. I would have stood up to the federal government that sought to triple the size of Medicaid though Obamacare in our state. And I would have found a way to bring more liberty to more people in a way that would provide the opportunity for greater prosperity in this state.”

Yes, Brauchler would have just waved his magic wand to fund transportation and infrastructure upgrades.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► President Trump has removed advisor Steve Bannon from his role on the National Security Council. As CNN reports:

The removal of Bannon from the NSC comes in the wake of a series of other moves — most notably the arrival of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, in the West Wing — that suggest that the president is moving away (at least for the moment) from the more hard-line ideological bent of Bannon.

“I always believed Steve would be first senior adviser to leave the White House,” said one former Trump aide granted anonymity to speak candidly. “He’s an ideologue. Trump is not. He has to get frustrated.”

The Trump White House sought to spin the Bannon decision not as a demotion but rather a natural conclusion to his initial appointment to the principals committee. But, that doesn’t really check out.  If Bannon’s position on the NSC was always meant to be temporary why not say that from the outset?

► Congressional Republicans are still trying to figure out a way to repeal Obamacare…and still getting shut down by the conservative Freedom Caucus. As the Washington Post reports:

Conservatives outside of Congress said Wednesday that efforts to pass an overhaul of the nation’s health-care system in the House had foundered again, after a series of meetings on the Hill produced legislation that the hard-line House Freedom Caucus could not support.

“It was very close a couple of days ago, but it looks like things have gone in a bad direction,” said Heritage Action for America chief executive Michael Needham on a Wednesday morning call with reporters. Needham placed the blame squarely at the feet of moderates: “It’s kind of stunning that in 24 hours, instead of building support for good policy, they’ve kind of abandoned it.”

Needham’s remarks — as well as recent signals from the Club for Growth and other conservative activist groups — represent a new effort to shift blame away from the conservative hard-liners whom President Trump, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and many other Republicans had criticized for the failure last month of their long-promised health-care overhaul.

While Republicans and President Trump continue their efforts to shift blame for their failures to the Obama administration, polling suggests that the public isn’t buying it:

A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows why Trump’s strategy is flawed. The nonpartisan group conducts a respected monthly poll of public attitudes about health care. When asked which of two statements came closer to their view, 6 in 10 Americans endorsed the statement: “Trump and Republicans in Congress are now in control of the government and they are responsible for any problems with it moving forward.” Just over 3 in 10 chose the alternative statement: “President Obama and Democrats in Congress passed the law and they are responsible for any problems with it moving forward.”

► State House Republicans walked off the floor on Monday in some sort of weird protest of Equal Pay Day in Colorado.

► State Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are busy pushing legislation that they may not have even read first.

► Many Coloradans braved the snow on Monday to signal their disagreement over Sen. Michael Bennet’s decision to not support a filibuster over Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

► Fox News is slamming the Trump administration and EPA head Scott Pruitt over their fervent opposition to addressing the issue of Climate Change.

► Congress is apparently pro-Weather Forecasting.

► The Glenwood Springs Post-Independent outlines how Coloradans have benefitted from Obamacare.

► Colorado Senators Michael Bennet (D-Denver) and Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) are proposing arresting U.S. Senators for not being present during budget debates that could threaten a government shutdown later this Spring.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Supporters pushing for legislation that would allow for a 12-month supply of birth control medication are worried that state Senate Republicans will axe the measure.

► Construction defects legislation continues to face hurdles in the state legislature.

ICYMI

►  Donald Trump likes Bill O’Reilly. Of course he does.

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