Coyote Gulch

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Poll on statewide races
Here's an article about a recent KUSA-TV poll from the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Democrats are ahead in three of four statewide races, holding a 19-point lead in the contest for governor, according to a poll released Friday. The poll shows Democrat Bill Ritter leading Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez 52 percent to 33 percent. It follows the news that the FBI would join an investigation of how the Beauprez-for-governor campaign obtained information from a confidential government database. The poll by Denver-based Ciruli and Associates of 501 likely voters has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points. It was done for KUSA-TV between Oct. 24-26...

"The poll by Floyd Ciruli, a Democrat, shows Democrats leading in races for every statewide office except attorney general. In that race, incumbent John Suthers leads political newcomer Fern O'Brien 42 percent to 38 percent. In the state treasurer's race, Democrat Cary Kennedy leads Republican Mark Hillman 40 percent to 37 percent, the poll said. For secretary of state, Democrat Ken Gordon has 43 percent to Republican Mike Coffman's 42 percent. Still, those races have large numbers of undecided voters."
"denver 2006"
8:59:34 AM

Get out the vote
The Rocky Mountain News is running a story about the Republican get out the vote strategy. From the article, "Democrats running with the wind at their backs may be headed for a wall when the GOP cranks up a get-out-the-vote machine perfected over the past five years. Operatives inside both parties predict that Republicans will close the gap in all close races during the crucial days before the election the GOP calls the 'Final Four.' Suburban Denver's 7th Congressional District, which has seemed to lean Democratic in recent weeks, was a testing ground in 2002 for what was then a new Republican secret weapon that relied more on technology and marketing than shoe leather. It gave Republican Bob Beauprez the 121 votes he needed to win. Republicans say they are ready for a national rollout of that effort, and Democrats in the know are worried."
"2008 pres"
8:56:40 AM

Amendment 44 - Legal Marijuana?

Supporters of Amendment 44 made their voices heard yesterday as Governor Owens and other officials were rallying to defeat the measure, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "The scene might've been something Gov. Bill Owens would envision in a bad dream - or in this case, maybe a bad drug trip. Protestors of all ages - most dressed in green, waving signs and chanting loud enough to drown out what he said - stood on the capitol steps Friday morning to support the legalization of marijuana while mocking Owens. The Republican governor lined up with Attorney General John Suthers and about a dozen law enforcement officials to explain why they thought the statewide ballot measure was a bad idea. He tried a soft opening, but the hostilities began before he even started. 'Lie louder, Bill,' a lone voice shouted. 'We can't hear you.'[...]

"The face for the anti-marijuana initiative for several debates slowly took the podium and waited a few seconds to see if the crowd would stop the anti-booze, pro-pot chant. 'Hey, ho - you say drink, we say no,' they continued. Seeing they weren't in a mind to quit, Attorney General John Suthers began talking. He cited his statistics about the level of THC in pot increasing dramatically in the past 17 years. 'Hey, ho - you say drink, we say no,' the crowd bellowed. Suthers plowed ahead with more statistics. At times, he couldn't be heard. After about four minutes, he asked Colorado voters not "to wave the white flag" in the drug war. He moved back to his place amongst the law enforcement officials, and the crowd crowed over its perceived victory. Owens seethed. 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is a sad day for Colorado,' Owens said to rising jeers. It got so loud, he had to repeat it. 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is a sad day for Colorado.' He said in his decade of political life in Colorado, he had never been shouted down like that before. Owens complained about the lack of civil debate on the matter. The crowd chanted: 'What do we want? A safer choice. When do we want it? Now.'[...]

"Later, Tvert held his own news conference and noted nobody was trying to shout him down or opposed the amendment. He brought the former Seattle Police Chief to explain why fighting pot with laws made no sense. He expressed indignation at the law enforcement officials and Owens for opposing the measure. 'Clearly they haven't done their jobs. They haven't educated people about drugs. They've simply pushed people from one drug they don't like to the other one they do. I think it's telling that Gov. Owens supported the largest drug dealer in the state of Colorado - and perhaps this country - for the Senate seat in this state,' he said, referring to unsuccessful 2004 Senate candidate Pete Coors. Tvert might be pushing pot, but wasn't passing the peace pipe."

Coyote Gulch remembers being in the crowd that shouted down former Governor George Wallace in 1968 when he was running for president. Mr. Wallace was in the same location as Governor Owens. As Wallace started to speak many in the crowd started chanting, "F*ck you Wallace, F*ck you!" The chant ended when the Mr. Wallace stopped talking. When he started speaking again the chant started again. We never got to hear his speech that day, but he did invite us all to lay down in front of his car, as protesters had done with Bobby Kennedy, earlier in the summer. I think he was hoping for some road kill.
"denver 2006"
8:48:00 AM

Amendment 40
Here's a story about funding for Amendment 40 from the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Ninety-eight percent of the money raised by the group that wants to limit state appellate judges to 10 years on the bench has come from a Golden-based nonprofit whose donors are a closely guarded secret. Of the $828,000 raised by Limit the Judges as of mid-October, $812,000 is from Colorado At Its Best, campaign finance reports show. Colorado At Its Best leader Dennis Polhill declined to say Friday who is funding the ballot initiative, Amendment 40. But at least some of the cash came from Libertarian Howie Rich, a wealthy New York real estate investor who has said he is sinking money into ballot initiatives across the country, including Colorado. The initiatives either curb state spending, impose term limits or inhibit land-use regulations. Opponents of judicial term limits say Limit the Judges and Colorado At Its Best should come clean about their donors, particularly if Rich is a major backer. Rich, 66, is chairman of Americans for Limited Government and founder of U.S. Term Limits. He serves on the board of the Cato Institute and the Club for Growth, both advocates of limited government and lower taxes."
"denver 2006"
8:38:51 AM

Interior west turning purple?
Economist: "Over the past few years other Democrats have also won prominent races in the heart of the interior West. They have taken over governors' mansions in four of the region's eight states (Arizona, New Mexico, Montana and Wyoming) since 2002. Bill Ritter in Colorado will soon become the fifth, if he hangs on to his strong lead in the race to succeed Bill Owens, a term-limited Republican. In 2004 Mr Salazar's younger brother, Ken, beat Pete Coors, a Republican beer magnate, to win one of Colorado's Senate seats. Another Senate seat could be forthcoming in Montana, where Jon Tester is leading against the three-term incumbent, Conrad Burns. And as the Democrats vie for control of the House this year, open seats in Arizona and Colorado are among their very best chances to make gains...

"The state to watch is Colorado, which has nine electoral votes. Over the past two decades the parties have tended to alternate in power at all levels: its two Senate seats are now split, and Democrats retook the state legislature in 2004. Voters' ideas have not changed much over that period: the parties just take turns letting them down. Republicans have done that recently by going to extremes on both social and tax issues. State legislators, for example, have been preoccupied with university professors' behaviour, cooling off periods for divorce and other sops to the right wing. The Christian right conducts increasingly vicious primary battles."
"2008 pres"
8:28:44 AM

Get out and vote

Here's a report about get out the vote efforts underway around the November 7th election from the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Limo rides, 7,500 lawyers and a Hickenlooper ad. They're all part of a mushrooming effort to get people to vote - and sooner, rather than on Nov. 7. With so many people voting early or absentee, the effort is already underway. Persuading people to vote is a non-partisan effort - while persuading party loyalists to vote is a critical part of any campaign. How important is it? The last race for an open seat for Colorado's governor saw Republican Bill Owens defeat Democrat Gail Schoettler in a late-night squeaker by a mere 8,297 votes."
"denver 2006"
8:18:18 AM

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