Colorado Pols

What you can do to fight back this week (August 10)

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 22:44:36 GMT

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It’s very simple. One side wants to help.

The other side thinks you’re getting “too much help.”

Americans have been waiting for months now for Senate Republicans to take action on another badly needed economic stimulus bill to keep the country going as the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Hundreds of thousands of Coloradans are hurting right now after extended unemployment benefits expired at the end of last month. Donald Trump’s executive order this past weekend restored only a fraction of those …

Forget Muslim Ban; Trump Considering American Ban

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 22:25:51 GMT

As The New York Times reports:

President Trump is considering new immigration regulations that would allow border officials to temporarily block American citizens and legal permanent residents from returning to the United States from abroad if authorities believe they may be infected with the coronavirus.

In recent months, Mr. Trump has imposed sweeping rules that ban entry by foreigners into the United States, citing the risk of allowing the virus to spread from hot spots abroad. But those rules have exempted two categories of people attempting to return: American citizens and non-citizens who have already established legal residence.

Now, …

Fort Collins Police Disown "Back The Blue” Thugs

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 17:31:23 GMT

Video of a violent assault against a group of Black Lives Matter counter-protesters who showed up at a large “Back The Blue” rally outside Fort Collins, Colorado police headquarters on Saturday is making national headlines today, with media outlets left and right rushing to impart their desired spin on what appears from a straight examination of the video evidence to be one-sided violence overwhelmingly perpetrated by the “Back The Blue” pro-police rallygoers. The New York Daily News:

In video of the incident, recorded on Saturday in Fort Collins, the protesters, who were vastly outnumbered by the pro-police group, …

Trump’s Executive Order/Memo "Band-Aid” Won’t Stick

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 16:06:03 GMT

UPDATE #2: Gov. Jared Polis says there’s no way Colorado can sustain the additional burden imposed by Trump’s unemployment executive order, which results in a one-third cut to the benefit even if we do:

On the president’s unemployment executive order, Gov. Jared Polis says, “The State would not be able to (provide the $100 match) for more than two or three weeks.”

“Our state is not allowed to deficit-spend,” Polis adds later. #copolitics

— Justin Wingerter (@JustinWingerter) August 10, 2020

—–

UPDATE: Former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill nails it:

With Republicans and Trump …

Monday Open Thread

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:46:29 GMT

“Violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence.”

–Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

"Back The Blue” Attacks Black Lives Matter In Fort Collins

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 15:25:13 GMT

Trigger warning: this video depicts another violent attack in Colorado on Black Lives Matter protesters.

UPDATE #2: The Denver Post’s Shelly Bradbury confirms three arrests and one citation issued by police:

A video livestreamed on the Facebook page for a far-right Colorado podcast shows members of the pro-law enforcement crowd walking toward counter protesters in a neighborhood a few blocks away from the main rally at the police station.

The man who livestreamed the video described the police supporters’ actions as “marching” the counter-protesters out of the area. The pro-police demonstrators outnumbered the counter-protesters…

In the video, Fort Collins …

Weekend Open Thread

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 05:17:19 GMT

“Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.”

–Albert Einstein

Ted Harvey’s "ScamPAC” Booted Off Facebook

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 19:17:08 GMT

CNN reports on a relatively rare act of accountability from social media megaplatform Facebook, after the site finally deleted a post from President Donald Trump containing misinformation (polite for “lies”) about the COVID-19 pandemic–the so-called “Committee to Defend the President,” run by former Colorado state Sen. Ted Harvey of Highlands Ranch, has had its paid advertising campaign shut down:

Facebook announced Thursday it was banning ads from The Committee to Defend the President, a pro-Trump super PAC. Facebook did not say how long the ban would last.

“As a result of the Committee to Defend the President’s repeated …

Senate Republicans Fail Americans (Again, and Again…)

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 18:04:48 GMT

For the third consecutive week, we have a Friday story with the same headline…because it’s the same story.

The U.S. Senate has left town — again — despite not coming anywhere close to figuring out a plausible path forward on a new coronavirus relief/stimulus bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday that the Senate would recess for the time being — though not for its previously-scheduled August recess — and told CNBC that he believed that there would be a deal “at some point in the near future.” McConnell said this despite the fact that …

Kanye Already Said The Quiet Part Out Loud

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 16:49:14 GMT

With rapper Kanye West now officially on the ballot in Colorado as an independent presidential candidate, Randall Lane at Forbes reports that despite what some people responsible for putting Kanye on the ballot are saying (more on that in a moment), at least in Colorado, West has already all but admitted that this really is just a cheap trick intended to peel some number of votes away from Democratic presumed nominee Joe Biden to benefit President Donald Trump:

When it was pointed out that he actually can’t win in 2020—that he won’t be on enough ballots to …

At Least They’re Not Your Elected Officials

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 16:33:48 GMT

Today we continue our long-running series, At Least They’re Not Your Legislator, with two tales of troubled elected officials around the country.

We’ll start in Leelanau County, Michigan, where Road Commissioner Tom Eckerle is absolutely not apologizing for being a racist kook. As Interlochen Public Radio reports:

Eckerle is facing backlash after saying the racial epithet in what he thought was a private conversation before the regular road commission meeting began on Tuesday.

The commissioners met in person at the county government building, while the public listened to the meeting remotely over the phone.

In a call with …

Friday Open Thread

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 12:49:19 GMT

“No man should advocate a course in private that he’s ashamed to admit in public.”

–George McGovern

Everything To Everyone: Gardner Even Makes Socialists Happy

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 20:07:52 GMT

Last week, we took note of Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado’s comments on a local conservative podcast, in defense of the HEALS Act proposal from Senate Republicans which would have slashed the extended unemployment benefits 330,000 Coloradans are currently receiving by two thirds, from $600 to $200 per week. Recapping what Gardner told local Republican waterboy Jimmy Sengenberger so there’s no confusion:

GARDNER: Yeah, I think both Republicans and Democrats alike want to make sure that we’re helping people in need, uh, but not creating an unfair competition between the government and the private sector… [Pols emphasis] …

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Who is Biden Picking for a Running Mate?

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 19:01:38 GMT

We thought we would know who Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden would choose as a running mate by now, but the process has continued longer than expected. The Democratic National Convention — or whatever takes its place — is 11 days away, so it will probably be before then (probably). Some reports have indicated that an announcement could come next week.

Readers of Colorado Pols have consistently picked California Sen. Kamala Harris as the frontrunner in our …
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Teller County MAGA Attack: Is Colorado Okay With This?

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 18:33:16 GMT

We wrote just over two weeks ago about a video clip we were forwarded (above) of an apparent attack by right-wing “counter-protesters” in Teller County on a “car caravan” protest against the county’s controversial agreement with federal immigration authorities to house immigration detainees in their relatively remote county jail. The video you can see above clearly shows numerous individuals charging down the hillside and assaulting the passengers of a minivan stopped at an intersection. And this is where it gets troubling: the right-wing protesters were apparently tipped off to the incoming protest caravan by Teller County Sheriff …
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Get More Smarter on Thursday (August 6)

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 16:57:09 GMT

Happy Independence Day to our friends in Bolivia and Jamaica, respectively. Please celebrate responsibly. Let’s 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 an audio learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.

BECAUSE CORONAVIRUS…

*Colorado Coronavirus info:
CDPHE …
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Thanks To A Few Republicans, Kanye Makes CO Ballot

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 15:54:38 GMT

That’s the update this morning from Ernest Luning of the Colorado Springs Gazette to yesterday’s big story in Colorado politics–after a $1,000 check to the state and the timely assistance of Rachel George, former comms director for Sen. Cory Gardner and longtime local Republican operative, rapper Kanye West will appear as an independent presidential candidate on the Colorado ballot:

Among the nine Coloradans who signed up to represent unaffiliated candidate Kanye West as presidential electors are a former state director for the Republican National Committee and a one-time GOP legislative candidate and county party officer, according to documents …
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The GMS Podcast: Future Taiwanese Lobbyist Cory Gardner

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 15:49:45 GMT

This week on The Get More Smarter Podcast, we’re celebrating Episode #50!

Senate Republicans keep shouting “O’Doyle Rules!” as their car flies off the coronavirus cliff; we find our second favorite U.S. Senator boning up on his mandarin in preparation for his next job; QAnon makes it to the White House; we weigh the relative merits of a little spray paint against all of the horrible things visited upon this nation since 2016; and we interview yet another Jason …
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Thursday Open Thread

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:47:31 GMT

“I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours.”

–Hunter S. Thompson

Ken Buck Phones It In As Career Twilights

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 22:12:09 GMT

As the Denver Post’s Justin Wingerter reported last weekend and we wanted to be sure got a mention in this space, Rep. Ken Buck, who also serves as the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, is having a sad:

In an upcoming HBO documentary, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck paints a bleak picture not only of Congress but also of his own political party and the conservative movement in this era of President Donald Trump, before suggesting he will retire soon…

The movie, which debuts 7 p.m. Tuesday, follows three Republican congressmen — Buck, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Thomas …
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