SquareState - Doug Bruce

Coloradans rejected anti-tax Radical Doug Bruce, why do our Reps. still support Grover Norquist?

Zappatero — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:57:56 GMT

To paraphrase Mike Rosen, can we call them Radicals?

Reps. Cory Gardner and Doug Lamborn stand by Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge. All four Republicans signed it again for the next Congress set to start in January.
Republican Cory Gardner:
"The pledge Congressman Gardner signed was to the people of Colorado's 4th Congressional District. He believes that tax rate increases are not the way to solve the problem."

Republican Doug Lamborn:
"I signed a pledge to my constituents that I would not raise their taxes and I take that pledge seriously. Raising taxes will not help the economy or help create more jobs."

The fact that Colorado Springs is only slightly better run than Tijuana hasn't made an impression on Lamborn. Of course, he probably never goes into town.

Doug "TABOR" Bruce to perform study on relation of tax revenue to prison food and accommodations

Zappatero — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:31:10 GMT

Proving he's always had the Colorado taxpayer at heart, Doug Bruce will be performing a first-person study into the effects of tax revenues on prison food, accommodations, and the societal effects of hypocrites in jail:

Small-government rabble-rouser and convicted tax evader Douglas Bruce received a sentence Monday of 180 days in jail followed by strict probation, and on the same day, prosecutors announced that the IRS requested copies of the evidence against him.
First Assistant Attorney General Robert Shapiro said he handed over the case file Monday but doesn't know whether federal authorities will launch their own investigation into Bruce and his now-defunct charity, Active Citizens Together (ACT).
Bruce's sentencing drew the curtain on a rare criminal tax-evasion case at the state level, and one Bruce could have potentially avoided had he cooperated with the Department of Revenue.
Denver District Judge Anne Mansfield commented on Bruce's "reprehensible" behavior during the trial and wondered aloud whether he could last six years on a strict form of probation that will lay bare for authorities every last detail of Bruce's finances.
"It was apparent during the trial itself, the defendant had absolutely no regard for the rule of law," Mansfield said. "His behavior is used to gauge his likelihood of success on probation. It requires abiding by strict rules. I have serious reservations Bruce can be successful."

Let's not forget Bruce is a hero among Coloradan who hate government and want to starve it of revenues. And Colorado Springs Republicans chose the lying, tax-evading, anti-social Doug Bruce as the best representative to replace another Republican a*hole in the House, Bill Cadman.

As they say among the civilized, "it couldn't happen to a nicer guy."

Memo to Hick: Even business has spoken against TABOR

Zappatero — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:40:08 GMT

So the latest talking point about Governor Hickenlooper's horrible budget proposal is that "he got the conversation going" and "even he knows TABOR is bad". Almost every other caller to Mario's show on the subject contains those points, yet none of those callers have picked up on the obvious point that Mario keeps making: the Governor has shown no leadership on the issue, is doing no heavy lifting and has done few of the things he could unilaterally do to help the situation.

The biggest problem in this is that Hick won't even address the virulence of TABOR, when "everyone" knows it's a problem. Well, everyone knows this but the Governor.

But guess what? Even Colorado businesses, whom Hick is trying to tepidly placate, know it's a problem:

Colorado Business and Community Leaders View TABOR as Deeply Flawed
A wide range of Coloradans -- business leaders, higher education officials, children's advocates, legislators of both parties, and Former Governor Bill Owens (R), among others -- recognize that TABOR has limited the state's ability to fund critical services:
"Coloradans were told in 1992 . . . that [TABOR] guaranteed them a right to vote on any and all tax increases. . . . What the public didn't realize was that it would contain the strictest tax and spending limitation of any state in the country, and long-term would hobble us economically." -- Tom Clark, Executive Vice President, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation

I can't find the link now, but Colorado businesses went so far as to write a letter in opposition to TABOR to a state that was considering its passage. (I think it was Maine.)

So: Everyone "knows" TABOR is bad. Everyone says Hickenlooper "knows" this. And everyone "knows" Hickenlooper just wanted to start a budget conversation by dumping on Colorado's schools and students.

So how come Hick doesn't know what business knows in Colorado: that we need to eliminate TABOR and start fairly* taxing the rich to put our entire house, not just business, in order for the next generation of Coloradans.

(* - so they can't call me a Commie.)

Republican Doug Bruce: just another lying tax cheat

Zappatero — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:06:15 GMT

Doug Bruce's long anti-veteran, anti-government, anti-tax slumlord history is pretty well documented.

When the geniuses who run the El Paso County Republicans needed someone to fill an empty seat in the Colorado State House they chose Doug Bruce. Thank God for their congenital obtuseness.

So while Bruce loves being in the spotlight and loves having his name associated with laws and such, if there's one that's a little inconvenient for him to follow, like campaign finance and disclosure laws, he'll ignore them:

Douglas Bruce, a candidate for the Colorado Springs City Council, has spent more than 20 years in Colorado politics as an activist, a candidate and an office holder. He even founded a nonprofit charity in 2001 that has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on various campaigns.
But in at least three years that Bruce operated the charity, called Active Citizens Together, he did not report the group's political involvement and expenditures to the Internal Revenue Service, as charities are required to do. From 2005 to 2008, ACT spent money on at least eight political campaigns.
The Gazette reported in October that Bruce failed to report ACT's 2008 political expenditures to the IRS, checking a box on a tax form saying ACT didn't lobby that year, while ACT in 2008 fiercely campaigned against a pair of statewide ballot questions.

So Bruce calls himself a Republican. He does represent them well: any laws he doesn't care for he ignores, he doesn't want to pay taxes and will use legal and illegal means to evade them. And Colorado's Republicans can't seem to get enough of him no matter how low on the food chain he descends. They know he will always do their anti-tax dirty work.

And to that I say Hear ye hear ye! Long Live Doug Bruce - Republican role-model and tax cheat!

The Republican Plan for Recovery

Fong — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 06:39:07 GMT

Closely I watched the Colorado Senate this last session and instead of actually governing with solutions, the Republicans would cry and scream about how the reason the economy was bad, was because of government. The intention, of course, behind their meaningless slogans is to encourage voters to make the overemotional jump to think well, vote 'em out! thus falling prey to the Republican lie machine and forfeiting the Democratic majority that does its best to prevent the continued death-careen that the Republicans prefer. When pressed about their proposed solution for meeting fixing the economy, Rs could only say "cut state government workers income (jobs) by 25%" which, given the fact that the state government is the largest employer in the state, such an idea is utterly counterproductive to creating a vibrant economy but WHATEVER.

Morons.

Now, about these Conservative-backed (and illegally funded??) current ballot initiatives, one Repub meme is "no debt" which, again the vulnerable voter would equate with borrowing which is in part what the "Dr Evil Amendments" 60, 61, and 101 on the ballot this Nov seek to do.

The Denver Business Journal (yes, it has the word business in it, all hail business AUM) has a piece about how, if passed, these amendments would send Colorado into another recession. Who wants that?

Well, Republicans want that. Republicans want Obama and all Democrats to fail so they can get re-elected and continue their raping and pillaging of our nations resources.
Here's a link to the full article.

So what is the Republican plan for recovery? Is it in these amendments? I see their literature, their facebook pages, their twitter feeds but it's all slogans that speak loudly and say nothing.

I want to challenge everyone to ask Republicans about real solutions. Their arguments should not be convoluted, citing the philosophies of Medieval monks or Ayn Rand, for that matter. They should be able to adequately explain their plan to a concerned voter.

The next time you see a Republican gathering, after they extinguish the cross, ask them why they support 60, 61, and 101 and what they see as being the best strategy for prosperity.

Sen Morgan Carroll and Reps Middleton and Ryden in Aurora will be having a townhall about these ballot initiatives. Here are the deets:

AURORA TOWNHALL MEETING
Jointly sponsored by Sen. Morgan Carroll, Rep. Karen Middleton, and Rep. Su Ryden
Topic: The Sleeping Giant: Amendments 60, 61, Proposition 101
and What They Mean for You
Thursday, July 15 7:00 - 8:30 PM
Community College of Aurora (Rotunda Room)
16000 E Centretech Parkway, Aurora
Guest Panelists Include:
*Sheila MacDonald - Coloradans for Responsible Reform
*William Stuart - Aurora Public Schools Chief Academic Officer
*Mark Newman-Lee - Colorado Center on Law and Policy
*Henry Sobanet - President, Colorado Strategies, LLC
Topics to be address include all aspects of these ballot measures, including their likely impact on Colorado business, schools, and government services.
ALL are welcome. There will be an opportunity for Q&A. Bring your questions, your friends, your family and co-workers!