http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/ Copyright 2008 John Orr Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:00:32 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss Radio UserLand v8.2.1 jworr@opermail.com jworr@opermail.com rssUpdates 23 0 22 3 1 21 14 12 60 http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/12.html#a12041 <p>We're retiring from coverage of the Denver November 2008 Election. Our coverage of Colorado water issues has become our main interest. Thank you to all of you that read our weblog.</p> <p>This is difficult since local politics put Coyote Gulch on the map. Back in 2003 we were pretty lonely covering the Denver Municipal Election. It's been fun.</p> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/12.html#a12041 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:33:46 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/08.html#a11994 <p><a href="http://politicswest.com/26723/right_work_supporters_raise_355_000_net_new_backer">From</a> <i>Politics West</i>: "Proponents of the right-to-work ballot initiative raised about $355,000 in funding during the latest reporting period, adding a major financial backer to the fold. The group, called A Better Colorado, received nearly $155,000 from Arlington, Va.-based Free Enterprise Alliance, according to records filed late Monday with the secretary of state's office. A Better Colorado spokesman Kelley Harp said the alliance is the issue advocacy arm of the Associated Builders and Contractors. Golden-based CoorsTek provided $195,000 in funding during the period from May 27 through Wednesday, raising the total the company has given to A Better Colorado to $395,000. The group had about $249,000 on hand as of Wednesday...The union-backed group fighting the initiative, called Protect Colorado's Future, raised about $177,000 during the latest reporting period. Much of that came from unions such as the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, the Teamsters union and other labor groups."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/08.html#a11994 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:54:14 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/07.html#a11984 <p><a href="http://judymontero9.com/">From</a> Councilwoman Judy Montero's weblog: "If you haven't registered yet to vote in the August 12 statewide primary elections, you still have a week to get registered - the deadline is next Monday, 5 p.m. July 14. You can register by mail using the Voter Registration Application Form (if you do, return the form to the Denver Elections Division, 3888 Mexico Ave., Denver CO 80210), or in person at the Elections Division, any Denver Motor Vehicle office, any Colorado Motor Vehicle office, or the Denver Department of Human Services."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/07.html#a11984 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:07:40 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/07.html#a11981 <p><a href="http://www.walterindenver.com/archives/001454.html">Walter in Denver:</a> "Gov. Ritter and others are supporting a ballot initiative to raise severance taxes on oil and gas extracted from Colorado. It's a $321 million tax hike, with most of the money going to higher education. It's a clever move to go after oil companies, which aren't the most popular businesses these days."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/07.html#a11981 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:03:48 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/07.html#a11975 <p><i>The Glenwood Springs Post-Independent</i> <a href="http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080707/VALLEYNEWS/242373414/1074">cornered</a> Mark Udall and Bob Schaffer in order to talk oil shale. From the article:</p> <blockquote>Udall and Schaffer spoke to the Glenwood Springs Post Independent late last month about oil shale and other energy-related issues affecting the Western Slope, including whether communities in the area should receive a larger share of revenues generated by energy development. Both men expect the issues surrounding oil shale to play a role in this year's U.S. Senate race, especially as gas prices continue to surge higher and higher. That's because the Bureau of Land Management estimates that the amount of oil locked up in federal shale reserves in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah has more than 50 times the country's proven conventional oil reserves and nearly five times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia. "I would ask the president not to play politics with oil shale, but listen to the people of western Colorado who have to live with the consequence of irresponsible oil shale development," Udall said. Schaffer said the demand nationally and internationally is growing, and Coloradans sit on top of a vast resource, and "that demand is going to drive lots of controversy."</blockquote> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/07.html#a11975 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:03:05 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/03.html#a11955 <p><a href="http://www.politicswest.com/26586/oil_companies_casinos_give_give_big_money_ballot_campaigns">Politics West:</a> "The group Coloradans for a Stable Economy, which is fighting a proposed initiative to effectively raise taxes on the oil and gas industry, reported receiving $3.6 million in just five donations. All of the money comes from energy companies, with heavyweights Chevron, EnCana and Williams each shelling out $1 million.</p> <p>"Meanwhile, the group Coloradans for Sensible Solutions, which is backing an initiative to raise the maximum bet at Colorado casinos to $100, reported raising about $3.1 million. Most of that comes from various casinos, with Black Hawk's Isle of Capri Casino contributing $1.5 million."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/07/03.html#a11955 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:27:41 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/28.html#a11903 <p><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/ci_9725078">From</a> <i>The Denver Post</i>: "One-third of Colorado registered voters are not affiliated with a political party. In New Mexico, Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 200,000, yet the state routinely votes for the GOP presidential candidate. Montana voters don't even register with a party. Brimming with individualistic, self-reliant, libertarian-leaning voters, the Rocky Mountain West will play a pivotal role this election season -- a year when independent voters are expected to make or break John McCain's and Barack Obama's presidential bids. Each candidate has his challenges in courting that independent streak. Voters here in recent elections have backed individual candidates regardless of political affiliation and have responded to messages emphasizing economic populism, fiscal discipline and the balance between individual rights and governmental protections...Because Democrats have lost most of the Southern states to the GOP and only a few battleground states remain, both campaigns are pouring resources into the region. Though short on electoral votes, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico would have given John Kerry the White House in 2004. Those three states plus, perhaps surprisingly, Montana could go for either candidate this year, political analysts say."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/2008presidentialelection/">2008 Presidential Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/28.html#a11903 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:29:15 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/26.html#a11889 <p><a href="http://www.politicswest.com/26346/video_pe_obamas_latino_strategy">Politics West:<a> "Federico Pe&ntilde;a, who leads Barack Obama's nationwide outreach to Latinos, told PoliticsWest that, 'You're going to see a lot of activity in the West, because we believe we can win the West. And it's going to be key in winning those 270 electoral votes.'"</p> <p>Click through for the video.</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/2008presidentialelection/">2008 Presidential Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/26.html#a11889 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:55:08 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/24.html#a11863 <p><a href="http://politicswest.com/26251/dems_delight_senate_poll">Politics West:</a> "Democrats in Washington released excerpts of an internal poll they say confirms earlier indications that the once even Senate race in Colorado has shifted in Mark Udall's favor, with the Boulder County Democrat now leading Republican Bob Schaffer by nine points...Schaffer hasn't helped with early blunders, including a biographical TV spot met to emphasize his connection to Colorado, but which mixed up Pikes Peak with Alaska's Mt. McKinley. He's also been dogged by questions over a trip he took while in Congress to the Mariana Islands that was partly arranged by jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff."</p> <p><a href="http://squarestate.net/diary/6042/first-udall-schaffer-debate-set-for-july-14th">SquareState.net:</a> "First Udall - Schaffer debate set for July 14th."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/24.html#a11863 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:31:59 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/19.html#a11819 <p><a href="http://squarestate.net/diary/6013/poll-udall-expands-lead">SquareState.net:</a> "From Rasmussen: Democrat Mark Udall continues to build his lead over Republican Bob Schaffer in Colorado's Senate race. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state found that the Democrat had a six six-point lead last month and has widened that lead to nine points today. It's Udall 49%, Schaffer 40%.'"</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/19.html#a11819 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:16:26 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/17.html#a11794 <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/images/science/shelloilshaleprocess2.jpg"><img src="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/images/science/shelloilshaleprocess2.jpg" width="64" height="109" border="0" align="right" hspace="5" vspace="0" alt="A picture named shelloilshaleprocess2.jpg"></a> <p><a href="http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9604954">From</a> <i>The Salt Lake Tribune</i>: "The development of oil shale deposits in eastern Utah, Wyoming and Colorado would be an expensive undertaking, risky for the environment, and a drain on dwindling water resources, with no quick return in additional oil supplies to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. Better short- and long-term answers are cutting consumption and developing biofuels and other renewable energy sources that do less damage to the environment. <b>Rep. Chris Cannon's claim that oil shale is the answer to higher gasoline prices is nothing more than political grandstanding</b>, [ed. Emphasis ours] designed to use the fears of Utahns to his advantage just two weeks before the Republican primary."</p> <p>More Coyote Gulch coverage <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hq=inurl%3A0101170&hl=en&suggon=0&sitesearch=radio.weblogs.com%2F&q=oil+shale&btnG=Search">here</a>.</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/2008presidentialelection/">2008 Presidential Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/17.html#a11794 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:52:46 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/17.html#a11791 <p>Here's a look at <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/ci_9608067">energy and oil shale development</a> in the race for U.S. Senate between U.S Representative Mark Udall and former U.S. Representative Bob Schaffer, from <i>The Denver Post</i>. From the article:</p> <blockquote>Udall's campaign believes the timing couldn't be better for a man who has been talking about renewable energy for more than a decade. Between global warming, rising gas prices and Middle Eastern wars, "green energy" is the theme of the moment, and Udall is one of its top proponents in Congress.</p> <p>Before launching his Senate campaign, Bob Schaffer spent five years traveling the world as an executive for an energy company, and he won't concede the territory of energy policy lightly. He talks easily about the intricacies of seismic technology and global regulatory frameworks and uses that knowledge to recast an old debate in new terms: The country can get at more energy within its shores and do it without sacrificing the environment. In fact, our very national security depends on it.</p> <p>As much as this campaign will be about the economy or the war, it will also be about energy: How the U.S. should secure it; the West's role in producing it...</p> <p>Images of wind turbines and hybrid cars have already become mainstay campaign symbols for both men. Negative ads have tossed accusations of misplaced energy priorities like daggers. At the same time, this is one of those unique moments where a policy coalition that has lasted for decades is beginning to fracture. Congressional Republicans buy Priuses. Environmentalists embrace nuclear energy. If Democrats sense new potential for political success in the West, that's partly because they see the old Republican coalition in the region breaking apart, with ranchers, outfitters and rural entrepreneurs angry at the way the region's galloping energy economy is damaging resources on which their livelihoods depend. Add to that the fact that extraction of the state's vast natural gas reserves is already transforming local economies. And that the 800 billion barrels of shale-trapped oil -- if it can ever be efficiently extracted -- has the potential to secure a multigenerational revenue stream for the state that could lower voters' taxes while paying for roads, schools, and parks. Energy is "so important now to so many constituencies. You can bring in agriculture, you can bring in environmentalists. And, obviously, suburbanites with SUVs," said Floyd Ciruli, a Denver-based pollster...</p> <p>Among environmentalists, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the outer continental shelf off Florida are considered lines in the sand, places too precious to drill, and Schaffer advocates drilling in both. He lambastes Udall for proposing a bill that would allow U.S. companies to explore for oil off Cuba -- potentially propping up a Communist regime with royalties -- while the Democrat draws a line around potentially significant domestic reserves in Alaska...</p> <p>The one place where he and Udall come close to agreeing is their backing of Gov. Bill Ritter's go-slow approach to drilling on the Roan Plateau, although the plateau's natural gas would have little impact on petroleum supplies. Certainly Schaffer believes renewable energy is part of the key (he mentions it almost constantly now), but he also believes that quickly evolving technology like the kind that gives Aspect a competitive advantage also creates enormous opportunities to drill more with less environmental risk. "Seismic technology is better this year than last. The number of missed targets is dropping like a rock," Schaffer said. "Where their answer is 'no because we said so,' a better long-term answer for the country should be 'yes, if we achieve certain high standards.' "[...]</p> <p>If there is a technological bet to be made in securing the country's energy future, for Udall it's a very different one. Twelve years ago, in his first session as a state legislator, he introduced three bills. They all had to do with renewable energy -- and none passed. Undeterred, Udall has since made it the policy focus that has most dominated his career. He toured the state in a motorhome with Republican State House Speaker Lola Spradley in 2004 to stump for Amendment 37, a breakthrough measure which required 10 percent of the state's electricity to be generated by renewable sources by 2015. In Congress, he sponsored a federal version which passed last year in the House but lost by one vote in the Senate. "You wonder why I'm motivated to run for the Senate. If there is one thing that gets me going every day, it's that one vote," Udall said. But if the past decade has marked as much failure as success, it's also given Udall a wonkish command over the arcane details of energy policy and the hurdles involved. He spices his vocabulary with phrases like "transition fuels," "carbon-free electrons" and "smart utility grids" and often deploys the metaphor of addiction: Depending less on petroleum will hurt but it's the only way forward. Udall concedes that renewable energy has to be seen as part of a portfolio, one that also must include clean coal (it's too abundant to ignore) and nuclear power, which he is now giving a second look after years of opposition. And he's done a little political repositioning of his own. Udall's sponsorship of last year's Cuban drilling bill is hard to explain except as a move to show he's not broadly opposed to oil and gas drilling...</p> <p>If Schaffer talks about Colorado's chance to play a key role in the nation's energy independence, Udall talks about preventing the state from becoming "a national sacrifice" to the country's voracious appetite for fossil fuel. Oil shale may offer this country a Holy Grail of fossil fuel reserves, but much of the latest technology is still experimental and may pose risks to the region's water supply. (The latest plan requires the improbable-sounding combination of an underground ice barrier and giant underground heaters.) With so much at stake, slow is better, Udall said. "We are placing too big a bet on a resource that is finite and increasingly expensive. I think the country is ready for leadership that isn't just oriented so strongly to oil and gas," Udall said...</p> <p>While $4-a-gallon gas may push many to run out and buy a hybrid, Republicans believe it is likely to convince many others that the more oil and gas we can find within our own borders now, the better. "All those cars out there in the parking lot are not running on ethanol or solar energy. They're running on gas. And they aren't all going to be traded in for hybrids tomorrow," said Sean Tonner, a Republican strategist who ran Pete Coors Senate campaign in 2004. "If Schaffer can push Udall into defending $4-a-gallon gas, I wouldn't want to be Udall out there saying it's for the polar bears," he said.</blockquote> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/17.html#a11791 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:40:36 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/13.html#a11745 <p><a href="http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/13/top-gop-fundraiser-signals-fight-for-seats/">From</a> <i>The Washington Times</i>: "The Senate Republicans' top fundraiser Thursday said he is telling colleagues this is a bad year for members of his party to be up for election. "I'm telling them if you have an 'R' in front of your name, you better run scared," said Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). Nine out of 10 competitive Senate races this November are for seats now held by Republicans, he told members of the Washington press corps at a Christian Science Monitor luncheon at the St. Regis Hotel.</p> <p>More from the article:</p> <blockquote>Mr. Ensign said he would consider it a "great night" if, after the polls closed on Nov. 4, Republican losses had been held to three or four seats. Democrats now enjoy a slim 51-49 majority, though two members of their caucus are actually independents - Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernard Sanders of Vermont. Mr. Ensign dismissed reports that contributions to the Republicans by disgruntled small donors are down this year. He maintained the party's contributor base is intact. The Republican Party long has boasted that it is the party of small donors while the Democratic Party has had to rely far more on wealthy contributors to finance election campaigns. He said the Republican Party never suffered a loss in small donors, only a shrinkage in the net amount of money raised - a decline that he said was not the result of small donors being disgusted with excessive Republican spending in Congress but of the party having been mailing "bad" lists that had driven up fundraising costs. That problem has been eliminated, he said. Senate Republicans must defend 23 seats this year compared to 12 for Democrats...</p> <p>Mr. Ensign said the 10 most competitive Senate races are in Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia - all but Louisiana now being Republican seats. He hinted that the NRSC will not spend large amounts of money in Virginia and New Mexico, which are widely expected to switch Democratic in November and may be written off as lost causes.</blockquote> <p>Coyote Gulch reminds everyone that the only poll that matters is in November (and also the August 12th primary in some cases) and that statements about the voters attitudes are best left for analysis after the fact. Get your ground troops out -- now.</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/13.html#a11745 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:40:42 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/12.html#a11744 <p><a href="http://www.squarestate.net/diary/5966/chamber-to-fight-against-amendment-">SquareState.net:</a> "Chamber to Fight Against Amendment 47: The walls are starting to close in on the extremists who are backing the Right-to-Work measure."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/12.html#a11744 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:53:37 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/11.html#a11731 <p><a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/06/09/daily32.html?ana=from_rss">Denver Business Journal:</a> "The United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 said Wednesday it is removing two of its four potential ballot questions, including one that would increase commercial property tax by 5 percent and another that would require employers to provide annual cost-of-living increases. The measures were filed in response to Amendment 47, a so-called right-to-work ballot initiative that would bar unions from collecting mandatory dues in workplaces that engage in collective bargaining. UFCW President Ernest Duran said he agreed to remove the two counter measures after the Public Affairs Committee of the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce voted to oppose the union-supported measures as well as Amendment 47."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/11.html#a11731 Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:06:25 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/11.html#a11724 <p><a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/11/udall-proposes-at-least-eight-debates-with/">From</a> <i>The Rocky Mountain News</i>: "Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall, accused of "blowing off" debates with Republican challenger Bob Schaffer, on Tuesday proposed holding at least eight debates statewide between July and November. The proposal came several hours after Schaffer's campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, asked why Udall's campaign was dragging its feet on scheduling debates...The Udall campaign on Tuesday afternoon did confirm two debates, one in July with the Southeast Business Partnership and one in August sponsored by Channel 12. West said the debates have to be scheduled around Udall's congressional duties."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/11.html#a11724 Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:46:04 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/10.html#a11716 <p><a href="http://www.squarestate.net/diary/5949/those-damn-activist-churches">SquareState.net:</a> "Today's Denver Post has the announcement that a religious organization opposes Californian Ward Connerly's Amendment 46 that would do away with affirmative action programs."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/10.html#a11716 Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:21:25 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/10.html#a11714 <p><a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/06/obama-on-the-ju.html">Andrew Sullivan:</a> "Obama On The Judiciary: He's not quite the knee-jerk liberal base-pleaser some want us to believe. Here's a <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/30/102745/165">blog post</a> by Obama three years ago defending Feingold's and Leahy's vote for John Roberts. In some ways, it's a very good summary of why Paul Krugman is right not to like him, and why more conservatives than you might think are drawn to him."</p> <p><a href="http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/obama_looks_to_solidify_west/C559/L559/">New West:</a> "Will Amendment 48, the pro-life ballot measure that will be voted on in the November election, cost Barack Obama Colorado? That's one possibility raised in recent days by local politicos eyeing the fall presidential race. , At the same time we are witnessing what the Grand Junction Sentinel calls "a fundamental realignment of the formerly reliably Republican Rocky Mountain West." Brought to the ballot by abortion foes centered in Colorado Springs, Amendment 48 would revise the state constitution to define life as starting at conception. The measure could "bring out conservatives in droves, possibly spoiling the electorate's recent Democratic tendencies."</p> <p>Here's a <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/9/9418/79016">roundup</a> of conservatives that are not that charged up by the McCain candidacy from <i>The Daily Kos</i>.</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/2008presidentialelection/">2008 Presidential Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/10.html#a11714 Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:00:59 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/10.html#a11713 <p><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/10/democrats-gaining-hold-in-the-west/">Washington Times:</a> "The last three Coloradans to hold this year's open Senate seat could be described as variations on a Republican theme: the exceedingly conservative Bill Armstrong, the rather conservative Hank Brown and the dependably conservative Wayne Allard.</p> <p>"It's hard to imagine putting any modifier in front of 'conservative' to describe Mark Udall, unless it's 'not.' Yet the Democratic congressman has staked a claim as the early front-runner in the race to succeed those bastions of Colorado Republicanism.</p> <p>"At a Democratic volunteer rally Saturday, Mr. Udall, wearing the traditional Western campaign ensemble of jeans, cowboy boots and a hefty silver belt buckle, fired up the party's ground troops by telling them that 'as Colorado goes, so goes the nation.'</p> <p>"'Traditional conservative values are reflected more by Democrats now in the West than Republicans,' Mr. Udall said later. 'There's a new kind of conservatism, particularly the 'live and let live' approach to people's personal lives.'"</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/10.html#a11713 Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:15:45 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/09.html#a11696 <p>Here's a look at Colorado and the western U.S. and how things are shaping up for the <a href="http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/06/08/060908_1a_Mountain_states.html">presidential election</a>, from <i>The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel</i>. From the article:</p> <blockquote>The recent Democratic surge in Colorado and other Western states has left presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama wondering whether the region will swing their way come November. Colorado and several of its neighbors are part of what could be a fundamental realignment of the formerly reliably Republican Rocky Mountain West. With Democrats ascendant in states across the region -- from Montana to Arizona -- Obama's campaign team already has made painting the West blue part of his campaign strategy. "We want to send a message now that we are going to go after them, and I expect to win them," Obama told a New Mexico crowd on Memorial Day. McCain, too, has made the West a priority, citing his experience on western issues during a recent Associated Press interview: "I believe as a Western senator I understand the issues, the challenges of the future for these ... states, whether it be land, water, Native American issues, preservation, environmental issues."</p> <p>Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico seem the most likely candidates to realign this year. All three of the states voted for President George W. Bush in 2004 by margins of 5 percentage points or fewer. All three of the states also elected Democratic state and federal leaders in recent elections, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, despite their histories as red states. Colorado has trended Democratic starting, most noticeably, in 2004, when Democratic state Rep. John Salazar captured former Republican Congressman Scott McInnis' seat, and Attorney General Ken Salazar took the state's open Senate seat. The trend continued in 2006 with former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter succeeding outgoing Republican Gov. Bill Owens and former state Rep. Ed Perlmutter taking outgoing Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez's seat. Other states in the region have seen similar trends, including the rise of Democratic governors in Wyoming, Montana and Arizona, although their roles as swing states are less sure...</p> <p>Obama's enthusiasm, particularly in Colorado, could be blunted by several factors, including a ballot measure concerning the polarizing issue of abortion. Expect Amendment 48, which would define life as starting at conception, to bring out conservatives in droves, possibly spoiling the electorate's recent Democratic tendencies. Also, a scandal on either side of Colorado's open Senate race between Republican Bob Schaffer and Democrat Mark Udall could sully the party's brand. The same could happen in state or federal races in Nevada and New Mexico.</blockquote> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/2008presidentialelection/">2008 Presidential Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/09.html#a11696 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:10:08 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/07.html#a11680 <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1829677"><img src="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/images/science/ldmtcollapse.jpg" width="88" height="64" border="0" align="right" hspace="5" vspace="0" alt="A picture named ldmtcollapse.jpg"></a> <p>Mark Udall was <a href="http://www.leadvilleherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=3724">hanging out</a> in Leadville this week, according to <i>The Leadville Chronicle</i>. From the article:</p> <blockquote>U.S. Congressman Mark Udall (D) made a quick trip to Lake County Friday to campaign for the U.S. Senate position up for election this November. He talked about the bill he co-sponsored with Congressman Doug Lamborn (R) to deal with the issues concerning the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel. There is not just a blocked tunnel, he said, but also a bureaucratic block that is almost worse than the block in the tunnel. The bill will force the Bureau of Reclamation to take responsibility for the tunnel and the water that is backed up behind the block, he said. This bill has made it past the first committee hearing and is moving into the big committee hearing.</blockquote> <p>More Coyote Gulch coverage <a href="http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=leadville+mining+district&btnG=Search&sitesearch=radio.weblogs.com%2F&hq=inurl%3A0101170">here</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hq=inurl%3A0101170&hl=en&suggon=0&sitesearch=radio.weblogs.com%2F&q=leadville+mine+drainage+tunnel&btnG=Search">here</a>.</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/coloradowater/">Colorado Water</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/07.html#a11680 Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:31:46 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/02.html#a11625 <p>From <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_9448030">Denver Post:</a> "CoorsTek has put up a measure that will be bad for Colorado. The Golden-based high-tech ceramics maker has brought us Amendment 47, a measure that would dash Colorado's Labor Peace Act. It's not like the Teamsters or the AFL-CIO has run amuck since the Labor Peace Act was enacted in 1943. Only 8 percent of the Colorado's workers are unionized, and by most measures, we remain a business- friendly state. Nevertheless, CoorsTek has initiated a destructive political battle over how the few labor unions that we have here in Colorado should be allowed to organize."</p> <p>More from the article:</p> <blockquote>The Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry and the National Association of Independent Businesses, meanwhile, stand right behind Jonathan Coors. It's unclear why CoorsTek cares so much about Colorado's unions. The company has been busy expanding and creating jobs ... in Asia. CoorsTek celebrated the grand opening of its new plant in Gumi City, South Korea, on May 15...</p> <p> Roughly one-third of CoorsTek's 2,700 employees are in Asia and Europe [~] presumably to be close to customers, including Samsung, LG Phillips LCD, Hynix and Magnachip Semiconductor. Globalization is increasingly what CoorsTek is about. Another backer of Amendment 47 is also winning the globalization game: American Furniture Warehouse. But don't be fooled by the name. It's practically a regional distribution network for Chinese manufacturers. Why the working man drinks Molson, Coors or Miller beer is going to be another one of those unfathomable socioeconomic mysteries next to why the shrinking middle class keeps shopping at Wal-Mart. Jonathan Coors has said his battle has nothing to do with the brewery, though his last name remains a major brand in beer. His uncle Pete Coors, vice chairman of Molson Coors, has indicated that he does not support the right-to-work amendment. But when he was running for U.S. Senate in 2004, he pledged to support right-to-work.</blockquote> <p>Thanks to <a href="http://coloradopols.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=DF346332AC3CA5108BA3EEFB2FFE6B46?diaryId=6301">Colorado Pols</a> for the link. More Coyote Gulch coverage <a href="http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=amendment+47+right+to+work&btnG=Search&sitesearch=radio.weblogs.com%2F&hq=inurl%3A0101170">here</a>.</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/02.html#a11625 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:23:03 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/01.html#a11614 <p>Here's a <a href="http://chieftain.com/articles/2008/06/01/news/local/doc48423dda1c0c7902478754.txt">recap</a> of yesterday's state Republican Convention from <i>The Pueblo Chieftain</i>. From the article:</p> <blockquote> Touting change not only for the state but his own Republican Party, Bob Schaffer became the party's nominee for U.S. Senate at its state convention Saturday. Schaffer will face Democrat Mark Udall in the November general election. The former congressman said Colorado has become a little too blue (leaning to the Democratic Party) in recent years, and the Republican Party needs to retain control of the seat that is being vacated by Republican Sen. Wayne Allard, who is retiring after two terms.</p> <p>Schaffer, the State Board of Education commissioner, hinted that his own party needs watching, too. "We believe that principle matters, and I believe it is important to take on leaders of our own party," Schaffer told an estimated 6,000 fellow Republicans at the Broomfield Event Center. "I will stand up to some members of my own party when they, too, try to pick up earmarks in Washington, D.C. A bad idea is a bad idea no matter which party suggests it."</blockquote> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/06/01.html#a11614 Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:07:27 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/05/31.html#a11604 <p>Here's a <a href="http://www.fortcollinsnow.com/article/20080530/NEWS/154286172">background piece</a> on U.S. Representative Mark Udall from <i>Fort Collins Now</i>. They write:</p> <blockquote>U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, 57, is a member of one of the country's most prominent political families. But maybe more importantly, he's a man of the West. And that will figure greatly in his campaign to replace retiring Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Loveland, this fall. Udall is at the crossroads of Democratic changes in the region, which boasts five Democratic governors, potential presidential battleground states and which will play host to the party's national convention later this summer. Calling himself a "pragmatic Western Democrat," Udall said he believes he's ready to work across the aisle in the stuffier environs of the Senate. His self-definition could be seen as a departure from his liberal record, which detractors say will hinder him in his effort to beat former U.S. Rep. Bob Schaffer, R-Fort Collins, for the Senate seat. "People in this part of the world are pragmatic, they want to see results. They want people to work together. Without casting aspersions on the Republican Party here and in the West, I think there were some shortfalls particularly with some of the focus on social issues," Udall said. "And I think at some point here in the last couple election cycles the people of Colorado said, 'We've been having those fights for a while, how about we go back to ... live and let live,'" he said.</p> <p>Democrats have been there, he said, as people have sharpened their focus on higher education, transportation and especially harvesting energy from the wind and the sun. "I think that's really resonated with people in Colorado," he said. "These landscapes that we are so fortunate to inhabit are so unique. They are not just important for our economic opportunities, but they are part of who we are. Hunters, fishers, outdoorsmen, economic development promoters, the ski industry[sigma] they all realize we have to do more to protect our open lands and clean air and clean water. Democrats have stood tall on that for a long time, and I am associated with that. People have turned to us to protect our way of life."</p> <p>He noted that the states up and down the Continental Divide all have Democratic governors now. "I think that's because people in the West vote for the person, they vote for the way in which you work with others, they vote for people who produce results," he said.</blockquote> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/05/31.html#a11604 Sat, 31 May 2008 15:17:42 GMT http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/05/29.html#a11589 <p><a href="http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/05/26/daily35.html?jst=b_ln_hl">Denver Business Journal:</a> "Colorado's National Federation of Independent Business has endorsed Amendment 47, the so-called right-to-work ballot initiative that would prohibit unions from collecting mandatory dues in workplaces that engage in collective bargaining. As a national organization, NFIB supports the right-to-work concept, said Tony Gagliardi, director of Colorado NFIB. He said 59 percent of the local chapter supported Amendment 47, which the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry also backs. Other right-to-work supporters include the Western Colorado Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, and the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs."</p> Category: <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/">Denver November 2008 Election</a> http://radio.weblogs.com/0101170/categories/denverNovember2008Election/2008/05/29.html#a11589 Thu, 29 May 2008 23:57:54 GMT