Rumor has it CO Senator Brandon Shaffer, current candidate for CD4, will be deciding this week whether or not to jump into the CD6 race, abandoning his campaign in CD4. My guess is, he's waiting for CO Representative Joe Miklosi's numbers to come out from the last quarter. For those who have not been paying close attention, Colorado's CD4 became less easily winnable as a result of recent Congressional redistricting.
I respect and admire Brandon Shaffer; he is literally one of my political heroes. Not just that - I am indebted to him. I've even made calls for his race in CD4 very recently.
Loyal readers on Colorado Pols may remember Senator Shaffer's unwavering support of Michael Bennet in the 2010 Senate Race. Not only was Senator Shaffer one of just a few legislators who believed in Michael Bennet from the beginning (add State Representatives Karen Middleton and Daniel Kagan, as well as Congressman Jared Polis to that list), but he also took a lot of grief for Bennet at the Boulder Convention and Assembly. I stood by Senator Shaffer then, and always will.
[I put most of the text beneath the fold while promoting this diary - WD]
Last week, before Andrew Romanoff endorsed Joe Miklosi in CD6, there was a diary comment on Pols which stated "Romanoff's Senate campaign was a disaster". That comment got under my skin, so I will set the record straight, for the sake of the tens of thousands of his supporters, as well as for the 2012 elections in Colorado. That may sound incongruous coming from one of Senator Bennet's earliest and most ardent supporters -- please hear me out.
First, a fast review of what happened, for those living under a rock, or out-of-state, from 2009-2010. Romanoff's Senate campaign was a study in contrasts. There were epic mistakes made, but in many ways, it was wildly successful considering its tiny fraction of financial resources. The vast majority of activists and staffers who worked on it have every reason to be proud of what they accomplished.
Documentary film-maker Michael Moore visited Occupy Denver last evening, squeezing the stop into his "Here Comes Trouble" book tour. A crowd of nearly 1000 protesters were there to meet him.
Moore was scheduled to arrive at 4pm, but like all good progressives, is not a slave to the clock; he arrived at a fashionably late 5:15pm or so. While we waited, people greeted friends, waved to passing drivers, sang songs, talked politics, and shared laughs. Horns honked in support. Denver progressive activist John H. Kennedy stood on the streetcorner holding an enormous sign.
Moore arrived escorted by several bodyguards in suits with earpieces. As much as I love Michael Moore, it was funny to see a guy that looks like someone's Dad at a hockey game (wearing blue jeans, a casual zip-up jacket and a baseball hat) surrounded by people who look like they should be guarding the President of the United States. Michael was ushered into the middle of the assembled circle, surrounded by dozens of media photographers. When he started speaking, it was difficult to hear him, so I asked if he wanted to borrow my bullhorn (megaphone). Sheepishly, he asked the crowd if that was okay -- the etiquette at Occupy gatherings is to use the "mic check" system, which is essentially the human voice amplified by each phrase being repeated by the crowd. We assured Moore we'd be okay with him using the megaphone.
Probably because he had a microphone, he started his speech with, "I'm not a leader. There is no leader in this movement. That is why it is such a huge and growing movment. We are not doing things the old way anymore -- everybody is a leader." The crowd cheered, despite the fact we had all been asked to use hand signals for clapping rather than actual clapping, out of respect to others who were also using the park. Moore continued (loosely paraphrasing from memory):
I bring you 'best wishes' and appreciation from Occupy Wall Street in New York. People all over the country -- all over the world -- have been watching what you are doing in Denver, and we thank you for doing it. You've been out here day after day for weeks, through the cold and the snow, and the run-ins with the police, and with paid provacateurs who try to make you look bad. Keep on being peaceful, keep on surrounding instigators with love, and getting them to stop immediately if they show up to make trouble. Keep being the peaceful people you are."
Moore added:
It's amazing what this movement has accomplished in just six weeks. In just six weeks, it has spread to many countries around the globe, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people have joined it. People have come out of their houses to join other voices saying, "Enough is enough."
Six weeks into the women's movement, or six weeks into the civil rights and anti-war movements, big things were happening, but not like this. This is amazing when you think about it. This is what happens when people join together to stand up to injustice -- to stand up to the banksters, and the greed, and multi-naional corporations -- when people stand up for the middle class.
Moore offered to thank those who organized the protests, which drew laughs and boos from the audience:
There are some people we should acknowledge for bringing all of us here together today. Their names are Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Bank of America, BP, General Electric and Fox News.
Michael Moore spoke for about twenty minutes, then left to resume his book tour.
The bigger story behind this story is that nearly 1000 people showed up to see and hear Michael Moore, or were already in the park as protesters, and the police presence was virtually non-existent. Three security guards wearing yellow and orange vests, looking much more like school crossing guards than the hundreds of heavily armed combat patrol officers in riot gear that showed up last Saturday, guided and directed the flow of human traffic. Everything was completely peaceful.
Was it the short notice of this event that failed to attract the Denver police, unafilliated anarchists, paid provacateurs, or national Fox News agitators? No one knows for sure. What we do know is that nearly one thousand Occupy Denver protesters assembled in song, in laughter, in fellowship and in unity to meet one of their favorite progressive celebrities. And everything was peaceful. Completely, totally, thoroughly peaceful.
Thank you Governor Hickenlooper and Mayor Hancock. Perhaps you're "getting it" now.
I was at the Democratic Women's Summit with a few hundred other women, a couple of blocks from the Capitol today. A newspaper reporter I know (I'll let him tell his own story) whispered to me there was trouble at Occupy Denver, and I jumped up, following Congressman Ed Perlmutter who was also on his way there. When I arrived, there were many hundreds of protesters and what looked like a couple hundred law enforement officers lined up combat-style in riot gear. The roads were blocked off near the Capitol, and there were dozens of police cars, ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
Congressman Ed Perlmutter made his way over to the State Patrol and started talking, shaking his head, nodding, looking very concerned. His animated but private conversation went on for some time. I glanced at twitter on my smart-phone, and read that some protesters had advanced to the State Capitol, prompting the police reaction. The crowd was indeed bi-sected by Broadway, with half being on the Capitol side of the street, and the other half in Civic Center Park.
Denver may have one of the most heated school board races in the nation. Faction fighters on both sides of the political debate at Denver Public Schools would have you believe their opponents do not care about children in Denver. Battle lines have been drawn pitting friend against friend, former ally against former ally, community leader against community leader. Accusations fly about outside interference in neighborhood matters, the relative power of teachers unions, and the hidden agenda of corporate America to take over our schools (to allegedly create more consumers and "bean counters" than critical thinkers and visionaries, some say).
Above all the din of the warring factions, one rational, knowledgeable voice continues to bring voters back to the reason the school board exists: doing what's best for the children and families of Denver. Emily Sirota, candidate in southeast Denver's District 1, is disinterested in the circus-like politics of the DPS Board.
"I don't belong to one camp or the other; I intend to make decisions based on research about how students learn best. I work collaboratively, bringing together all of the stakeholders. I am not running as a slate. I am an independent thinker", said the red-haired mother of ten month old, Isaac.
Colorado Sec. of State Scott Gessler has already embroiled himself in controversy when he tried to remain employed with his former partisan Republican elections law firm even as he was sworn in as Secretary of State.
Now, Gessler has decided to unilaterally overturn the state Constitution, specifically amendment 27, which stipulates any spending on elections over $200 must be reported to the Secretary of State. Now he has decided that a political committee for efforts like Personhood amendments or anti-labor laws can spend up to $5000 without reporting who they are or where they came from - somewhat copying on a smaller scale the Citizens United decision.
Fortunately, Colorado Ethics Watch and Common Cause are filing a lawsuit to stop this in it's tracks. I spoke to Luis Toro of Colorado Ethics Watch about this case.
(video)
(Crossposted at Huffington Post and Square State)
Thank you for your assistance in bringing together workers from every walk of life: teachers, firefighters, police officers, government employees, nurses, union members, people of faith, civil rights activists, environmentalists and many others. Thank you for giving us a reason, and a renewed commitment, to publicly declare that we stand together in solidarity to protect the middle class, and to ensure justice for workers. Thank you for helping us find our voice for democracy, and our passion for equal opportunity to the American Dream.
I am very glad that the political backbone has stiffened up in opposition to Republican led efforts to strip bargaining rights or introduce draconian budget cuts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.
But I am troubled with what i am seeing in Colorado. Here our 'Democratic' Leadership in the office of the Governor, Senators and even some of the Mayoral candidates are taking a page from the Republicans and doing the same kind of things.
Our Governor, Former Mayor John Hickenlooper has introduced a budget that is as bad as some of these Republican Governors.
The only difference instead of saying "I'm the boss so shove it" he says
"Aw shucks, the budgets in trouble, we have to do tough things" like pass a budget that will lay off 3,600 teachers and public employees after campaigning on creating jobs. Sound familiar?
Our Democratic Governor says the budget is in trouble and this is the way it has to be. But that's not so, to quote Michael Moore,
COLORADO IS NOT BROKE there is just a problem with who is getting the tax breaks and who is getting the paying dearly with these budget cuts.
Colorado SB11-079, sponsored by Colorado Republicans Senator Nancy Spence and Rep. Tom Massey, unabashedly uses Colorado's budget crisis as a reason to privatize education. Their next step on capitalizing on fear and desperation is plain to see. Funny how these Republicans' past votes have acted only to exacerbate the desperation, huh?
22-44-402. Legislative declaration. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEREBY FINDS AND DECLARES THAT, AS FINANCIAL RESOURCES ARE IMPACTED BY THE ECONOMY, MAKING MONEYS AVAILABLE FOR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION BECOMES INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT YET VITALLY IMPORTANT. SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REVIEW THEIR BUDGETS AND SEEK COMPETITIVE BIDS FOR NONINSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES, SUCH AS CUSTODIAL, TRANSPORTATION, AND FOOD SERVICES TO DETERMINE IF COST SAVINGS CAN BE ACHIEVED BY OUTSOURCING THOSE SERVICES TO INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS.
But obviously such a bill would cost the cash-poor districts some money to implement and sustain this unfortunately prevalent brand of conservative-hypocritical bureaucracy. Could it pay off in the long-run? Well, they don't know.
From the .pdf fiscal note from the Legislative Council Staff :
Governor-elect Scott Walker of Wisconsin doesn't want to build the high-speed rail line from Madison to Milwaukee that the federal government has granted his state $810 million for. Governor-elect John Kasich of Ohio doesn't want to spend the $400 million in federal grants his state is slated for a high-speed line connecting Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Governor-elect Rick Scott of Florida doesn't want to spend the $2.05 billion the feds have granted his state for high-speed rail between Tampa and Orlando. Add in the $3 billion in federal dollars for the Hudson River Tunnel that Gov. Chris Christie rejected and you've got a substantial pile of dough.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed third-party American Constitution Party (I'm sure glad they specified "American"!) gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo this afternoon. In what appears to be a recorded message for get-out-the-vote phone calls, Palin says Tancredo is the "right man for the job."
If he somehow wins, one can only hope he has the awesome staying power of Sister Sarah:
The Alaska governor's disastrous star turn as John McCain's running mate, followed by her lurching, controversial encore on the national scene, had already sealed her fate - except, perhaps, with the GOP's most far-right wing.
Still, the experts were unanimously stunned to hear her walk off the job with 16 months left in her term - shrinking her résumé even more and surrendering the best platform she has beyond her double-edged celebrity status.
The infamous Koch Brothers are finally getting the attention they deserve. Both worth $21+ Billion in mostly energy profits, their actions indicate the billions aren't quite enough and the Peons must not be allowed under any circumstances to share in the wealth of our nation.
Scanning the invitation (.PDF!) for their next planning session in January I thought I'd see Jon Caldara's name in the game. Alas, he's just a small-time, though useful, chump in their universe.
Jeff Crank though - loser to Doug Lamborn (and that musta hurt) in the 5th CD race - is a Colorado helper in their atroturf group Americans for Prosperity. Crank spoke on how to frame the debate on government spending at the last meeting. Though I'm sure the two wars and trillions in budget-busting tax cuts that George W. Bush inflicted on us were not issues worthy of his attention.
There were more Coloradans at the Aspen meeting, and I'm sure many plan to be at the next one: Obama has 2 more years in his term, after all.
Some names are expected, others surprising, all disappoint:
Colorado has a decision to make this year for the State Treasurer's race.
Do we stay with the current Treasurer, Cary Kennedy,
OR
do we elect political newcomer Walker Stapleton?
Let's take a look at the two candidates.
Cary Kennedy has a track record of helping the State of Colorado navigate Colorado through the difficult budget crises and working with across the aisle to solve problems with our budget.
She helped author parts of Referendum C in 2005 - which was supported by Republican Governor Bill Owens as a way to keep the state budget solvent.
Since becoming Treasurer in 2007, she has made the sound investments that have kept Colorado's Budget growing at a moderate 3% annually, at a time when other states are defaulting on their loans.
What kind of leadership does Walker Stapleton have to offer?
The Denver Post recently ran criminal background checks on the major-party nominees for state legislature, and they found a “slew” of mostly Republican candidates with pretty impressive rap sheets - including several with violent incidents in their past.
Selling something you don’t own in the first place (say, an iconic bridge in Brooklyn) is a form of fraud, but that’s not stopping GOP state House challenger Bob Boswell from selling Colorado’s 50th District seat to highest bidder more than seven weeks before Election Day.
In a letter to Colorado lobbyists dated September 13th, Boswell opened with “Well, we’re getting down to the nut-cutting,” and went on to declare “I am going to win this race. The opportunity for you to align yourselves and your clients with the next Representative of House District 50 is now.”
This diary is serving to host a chain of emails specifially between School Board Member Jeanne Kaplan,Michael Bennet, Tom Boasberg, Theresa Pena and the rest of the school board. This is to expose the notion that the calls for an audit of the 2008 DPS banking derivative investment are being driven by 'politically motivated board members' - which the email chain below will prove to be factually wrong. In fact it appears Tom Boasberg's and Theresa Pena's opposition to providing an audit is politically motivated to protect themselves and Michael Bennet.
I have redacted the names and emails of everyone except former Superintendent Michael Bennet, current Superintendent Tom Boasberg, school board President Theresa Pena, and Jeanne Kaplan - however the names of the other board members are in the public record.
Everyone reading this diary on other sites will be redirected here to see the full list of emails.
The purpose of the emails is to get information on details of the finances pertaining to the Bank Derivative investment by the board in April of 2008.
The time line of these emails begins a full 15 months before there was even a primary and more astoundingly, 7 months before Michael Bennet was appointed to the Senate.
The last few days have been interesting to say the least in the Democratic senate race. Starting with the New York Times Financial writer Gretchen Morgenson's article, it only got more heated.
Bennet campaign spokesman Trevor Kincaid showed his Rahm Emmanuel ties by launching into a rather blunt response.
Fox News spoke with Bennet's press person, Trevor Kincaid. When asked if Bennet was going to issue a statement or hold a presser about the Times article, Kincaid said, "First of all the New York Times article is b******t." Kincaid went on to say the NYT reporter (Gretchen Morgenson) had obviously never attended a Denver Public Schools board meeting. As of this writing, the Bennet campaign has not issued an official response on the information contained in the article.
Somehow I'm guessing Mr. Kincaid has never been to a DPS school board meeting either, but it made for a headline grabbing fact-free response.
