As we've pointed out on these pages before, the Rollie Heath tax hike has been an unmitigated disaster, both in its tone deafness and in how it has been rolled out to the general public. Between kidnapping a 4th grade class for the kick-off photo op and now having a school principal investigated, the political squad behind this initiative have run this thing like rank amateurs.

Which lead us to wonder: who in the hell is on Rollie Heath's Tax Hike Team?

So we did some digging.

Based on reports filed so far with the Secretary of State's office for Initiative 25, as Heath's tax hike is known right now, there are two groups dedicated to the cause. The main vehicle is an issue committee called "Support Schools For A Bright Colorado," who have raised almost all of their money from one oil and gas company (more than 70%).

As Ed News Colorado (also indirectly funded by the same oil and gas company) reports:

"The campaign got a kick start with a $100,000 donation from Denver oilmen Sam Gary and Ron Williams, whose Gary-Williams Energy Corp. is the major funder of the Piton Foundation. (The foundation is one of the funders of EdNews.)

The secondary vehicle, and the group responsible for the illegal mailing of propaganda to school parents in Adams County, is Great Education Colorado Action. As of July 1 they had reported only $1,163 in non-monetary contributions (school resources?) with no detail, and list no expenditures. Their registered agent is Great Ed Colorado's Executive Director, Liane Morrison. 

Bright Colorado's registered agent is Carolyn Powell who is also the registered agent for such left wing staples as NARAL and Rollie Heath's personal campaign. But according to expenditure reports, Bright Colorado has spent virtually all of its money on one consultant, Samuel F Lopez Jr, who has been paid nearly $40,000 so far to botch manage the campaign to get on the ballot. 

Plucked from the bowels of the vast left wing conspiracy, Sam Lopez is used to being on top when the votes get counted. But with Colorado's conservative online media providing some fresh accountability for Mr. Lopez as part of his latest venture, getting Initiative 25 on the ballot, victory must seem like the other side of the world to Lopez these days.

From the Google we learn that Mr. Lopez worked at the left-wing America Votes, back in the group's early days of 2006, as a consultant. Self-described as a group "that provides coordination, data and targeting services to progressive organizations," it has a special emphasis on liberal ballot initiatives. America Votes is partially the brainchild of Senator Mark Udall's wife, Maggie Fox. Its funding comes from a stew of left wing groups like NARAL, Sierra Club, trial lawyers, Move-on.org and others. 

Where Sam Lopez has really made his mark is in making a pretty penny on the initiative circuit, pulling in $808,369 dollars working for the following initiatives:

• 2006 — America Votes For A Fair Minimum Wage ($6,452)
• 2008 — Committee For Fair Wages Benefits ($526,602)
• 2008 — Protect Colorado's Communities ($275,315)

The Committee for Fair Wages Benefits was created to oppose the Right-to-Work initiative, Amendment 47, in 2008. The unions famously blackmailed business interests into dropping their support for the initiative by agreeing to back off job-killing initiatives they had proposed. 

So Mr. Lopez comes from a political background of heavy infusions of cash and relative success in turning that cash into electoral victory.

No longer.

As he is pretty much the only individual making money off the Initiative 25 enterprise so far, the utterly failed roll out of the initiative can be at least partially laid at his feet. As we pointed out recently, about two weeks ago the Initiative 25 backers bragged they were halfway towards their signature goals — but forgot to mention they were way past half way in their allotted time period to collect signatures — we which took as a sign of failure. 

Bright Colorado has also tossed $4,000 to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, which houses the Liberal Loon Carol Hedges' Fiscal Policy Institute.

Added together and the picture that emerges is the liberal machine t'aint what it used to be. For a vaunted and well funded machine who has run roughshod over conservatives for years in Colorado, the failed and failing Initiative 25 is perhaps a sign that they are slipping.

We at Colorado Peak Politics will continue to report on the unbelievable forced errors and utter stupidity of trying to hike taxes in a recession. Thanks Sam Lopez for all the great material!

ColoradoPols had a very interesting piece up today about a Congressional candidate we were the first to report on in depth back in May: Perry "Massage Therapist Millionaire" Haney. His potential candidacy was first mentioned by Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to the Denver Post editorial board, and in Chuck Plunkett's write up on the meeting, it wasn't clear whether Haney intended on running in CD3 or CD6.

Since his office is located in Greenwood Village and he currently lives in Denver, we had assumed he would run in CD6. Turns out he's focused his sights on the 3rd CD and will likely challenge Sal "The Fist" Pace in a Democrat primary.

Pols mentions the fact that he sent a mailer to CD3 delegates with a Grand Junction return address. But Pols missed a couple tell-tale signs that Haney is committed to CD3.

On his campaign Facebook page Haney only mentions visits to locations in CD3 like Pueblo, Aspen and Grand Junction. A crystal clear verification of where he intends to run came in a blog post from Sunday, where Haney hits Scott Tipton by name. You don't do that if you're not sure of who you're going to (hope to) run against. 

Guess Sal Pace is going to have to expend some of that 100k he's raised already just to make it to the Big Dance against Tipton. If he's able to make it at all.

It appears Haney is a reader of the Peak as well, as he picks up a theme about his CD3 primary opponent Sal Pace that we mentioned when Pace first declared, hitting "career politicians."

This is not a good sign for Sal Pace. In a likely GOP-leaning district with Obama atop the ticket, Pace was going to need all the campaign cash he could muster to break through and find the voters who don't like Obama but might be willing to support him. 

It will especially hurt Pace's campaign coffers, as Haney is a wealthy man capable of self-funding and pulling in large checks from medical PACs. Considering Haney donated nearly $10,000 to medical PACs himself just last cycle, we wouldn't be surprised to watch that be returned in spades. This is no primary opponent Pace can ignore or not spend vital resources combating.

Worse still for Pace is the fact that Haney is likely to hammer him with one of the prime narratives that Republicans plan on hitting Pace with — namely that he has spent his entire life in politics and lacks a basic understanding of business. Having a successful surgeon and small business owner hitting Pace for months on end for his career partisan hackery will not help Pace control his own narrative. 

It all makes you wonder why Congressman Hoyer mentioned his name as a candidate to the Denver Post at all. If Haney has the ability to damage Pace in a close race, why promote his candidacy? The answer may lie in problems with Pace's candidacy. The rumor mill has been in overdrive recently with whisperings of previous personal issues Pace has had that could derail his candidacy. We're not sure if they're true or not, but the fact that Hoyer would promote someone who is not Sal Pace has to make you wonder what DC Democrats are up to in CD3.

Pace, if he emerges at all from the CD3 Democrat primary, will emerge battered, bruised, and quite possibly broke. That is if the “Massage Therapist Millionaire” doesn’t “rub” out his campaign before then.

An interesting article by Ernest Luning of the Colorado Statesman published this morning breaks the news that State GOP Chairman Ryan Call is considering moving the caucuses to early February to help boost the role of Colorado Republicans in choosing a Presidential nominee. Such a move would greatly improve the importance of Colorado to the primary contenders and help Republicans build a serious ground game well before the general election.

As Call told the Statesman:

“We’re waiting to see what Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada do,” Call said. “The law permits us to move up to the first Tuesday in February, and we might consider that if a number of other states depart and (Republican National Committee) rules permit us to do so.”  

Call said that state Republicans don’t intend to be marginalized when it comes to influencing the nomination of a candidate to take on President Barack Obama next year.  

“We want to make sure Colorado’s interests are being protected while balancing the needs for a thoughtful and effective nomination calendar,” he said.

During the legislative session this year, state Senator Greg Brophy (R-Wray) proposed to strengthen Colorado's role in the Presidential primary calendar by making the caucus straw poll results binding on national convention delegates, though his effort never materialized into law. 

While Call's move wouldn't make the caucus straw poll results binding, it would certainly make Colorado Republicans count a whole lot more in the primary nominating contest. Colorado is quickly shaping up to be one of the most important battleground states in the country in 2012. Primary candidates will need to start building strong organizations early on if they hope to win the general, and having an election early in the primary race ensures primary candidates will have to spend some significant time and resources in the state to win. 

While Romney swept the caucuses in 2008, after McCain's nomination was but a foregone conclusion, his win this time around is far from assured.

As we have pointed out before, there are a number of top tier primary campaigns with top-level Colorado operatives helping steer their effort. If Call goes through with his plan, it will no doubt be a dogfight for the caucuses.

With experienced hands guiding their campaigns, and the kind of personal outreach needed to win an activist-dominated caucus, candidates from Bachmann to Romney will give Colorado GOPers the attention they deserve and generate the kind of enthusiasm needed to build a ground game worthy of a general election nominee. 

While Obama already has a campaign office in Colorado, no Republican candidate has opened one in the Centennial State. If Ryan Call is able to move Colorado to early February, expect to see Bachmann, Pawlenty, Romney or Ron Paul open one sooner rather than later. 

Kudos to the Statesman for breaking the story. Kudos to Ryan Call for pushing the change. 

Last night the publicity surrounding Rollie Heath's tax hike buffoonery was raised to new heights. It's no longer only readers of this site or a variety of newspaper editorials that get a chance to understand how reckless Rollie and his Tax Hike Team have been in pushing their initiative. The wide world of evening newscast viewers now know how inappropriate and, in this case illegal, the Tax Hike Team's actions have been.

You can watch the entire interview by clicking here.

Channel 7 interviewed Stacy Petty, the mother who received the tax hike propaganda in her mailbox as part of the back-to-school packet for her children. It is another piece of great reporting by the team at Channel 7 who have come to be defined lately as one of the toughest teams in news in Colorado. 

The comparison between Petty's interview and the legal counsel from school district Brighton 27J couldn't be more clear. Petty simply explains she thought the packet was inappropriate and was not pleased to find education dollars being spent to push a political agenda. She makes it clear that's how the packet was intended, as voter registration forms in English and Spanish were included right behind the Rollie Heath tax hike propaganda. 

The lawyer, Janet Wyatt, on the other hand makes the district look even worse, saying to Channel 7:

"We would say that it may not have been the best decision that was made to include it and not include the opposing side," said Wyatt. "His wording did not encourage voters to vote a certain way."

This is some of the worst union hackery we've seen in a while. Does she think schools would be justified in sending propaganda as long as they sent both sides? Should they be writing their own blue books as well? 

Channel 7 makes clear the lawyer's statement that the propaganda didn't "encourage voters to vote a certain way" doesn't even pass the straight face test. You can read the full piece of propaganda at Complete Colorado by clicking here. It is pretty obvious what its intentions are.

This scandal merely marks "the scandal before the end." As we have been hearing from inside sources, this initiative is likely to fail before it even makes the ballot. The fact that it is getting high school principals investigated and Douglas County teachers reprimanded is notable.

When was the last time you remember this much bad publicity for a ballot initiative before it even made the ballot?

Rollie has done more than just damage this initiative. The botched roll out and overall buffoonery of the team leading this tax hike has muddied the image of tax hike proponents in general. We've heard Hickenlooper has been pondering throwing his considerable political weight behind a tax hike in 2012, but under the circumstances he may be forced to reconsider. 

New Denver Mayor Michael Hancock went on 850KOA this morning and announced his undying love for Fastracks. This is not a good sign for how Hancock intends on utilizing government to improve life for the citizens of Denver and its environs. It's a sign that, despite the glaring failure that is Fastracks, Hancock thinks government can fix all, if given enough time and tax dollars. 

Nothing defines the inefficiency and bone headedness of government more than Fastracks.

The program began in 2004 after voters approved a .4% sales tax hike. It was supposed to be completed between 2013 and 2106. After endless cost overruns, eminent domain lawsuits, and an overall bungled effort, a Regional Transportation District (RTD) spokeswoman recently told Channel 7 that it could be 2042 before the project is completed.

The project is so woefully underfunded and over budget that a $1 billion grant from the Federal Transit Authority recently received by RTD still leaves the project $2 billion shy of its cost. Originally projected to cost $4.7 billion, the current projections are $6.8 billion. With government in charge, don't be surprised to watch those costs continue to climb.

The only way RTD sees out of this fiscal calamity is…you guessed it…tax hike. To complete the project by 2020, the RTD spokeswoman told Channel 7 they would need another tax hike in 2012. 

Based on Rollie Heath's track record with his tax hike, we aren't sure tax hike initiatives are the most popular option right now. With unemployment ticking up to 9.2% nationally last month, and the country still mired in the Great Recession, voters are not interested in giving more of their hard earned money to the government, especially for the mess that is Fastracks. 

While Hancock has thrown his support behind this big boondoggle, he has shown some basic understanding of how not to do things, refusing to support the nine paid sick day requirement for businesses that is set to be on the ballot this November in Denver. But the fact that he still believes in the fallacy of Fastracks, like kids holding onto the idea of Never-Never Land, is an ominous warning to those who hoped Hancock would govern smartly. 

Just as the Big Dig in Boston was the bane of every major Massachusetts politician's existence, Fastracks has the ability to ensnare Centennial State politicians in a mess that will take down their careers. We hope Hancock looks to the Big Dig and sees the political albatross he is hanging around his neck with Fastracks, and reconsiders his support in light of the facts on the ground, not the fiction from lovers of big government projects. 

After vociferously defending a Congressional redistricting plan described by editorial boards across the state as "radical," a "cynical ploy," and "not good for Colorado" for its carving up of the Western Slope and Eastern Plains in favor of the Denver metro area, state Senator Morgan Carroll is now livid over a recently approved reapportionment map that makes significant changes to existing lines in Arapahoe County. 

A bipartisan reapportionment commission yesterday approved a Republican-supported map for state House lines and a Democrat-supported map for state Senate lines.

The plans that were tentatively approved affect regions six and seven, which incorporate the following counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Jefferson, Broomfield and Denver.

State Senator Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) was reportedly livid over the state House map because it would "radically change Arapahoe County."

That's the exact opposite tune of what she was singing during redistricting, where she claimed it was necessary to carve up the Western Slope and Eastern Plains in the name of "competitiveness."

It must be hard for Carroll to make these accusations with a straight face. 

It was probably not a smart idea to put the same Democrat on reapportionment as redistricting. After going to the mattresses for the right to redraw every Congressional line in redistricting, Democrats would have been better off choosing different people for reapportionment where the charge of hypocrisy wouldn't be so easy to level. 

Worse still for Carroll is the state House bill was passed with the support of the Unaffiliated Chairman of the Commission. Democrats got their preferred state Senate map, leading many observers to see the map changes as a fair deal. But that didn't stop Carroll from ranting and raving against what she herself had argued for on a much larger scale only a few weeks prior. 

Before Morgan Carroll throws out any more charges in reapportionment, she might want to go back and check the tapes from redistricting. She might find it illuminating. 

Since we began incorporating a New York Post like headline on our articles we've received some hilarious headline suggestions from tipsters, some of which have graced the title of a post or two. With the Shawn Mitchell vs Mike Littwin debt ceiling debate coming up on Wednesday evening (click here for details), we are asking our readers for suggestions on potential headlines. 

Many things can be said about these two men. They both tend to attract attention, and criticism, like bullets to Bin Laden's left eye. There are probably few match ups better suited to a headline contest.

In the spirit of Westword, we intend on taking this contest into the gutter and quickly.

Rules: Keep it brief. Be inappropriate. You can vote for one of the below options or include your own.

Email your suggestion or vote to tips@coloradopeakpolitics.com

Winner takes headline honors. 

From our brief review of sources (both R & D), including a few who possess wise ass dispositions, we've received the following suggestions already:

Blowhard vs. Puff, Puff, Pass

Coca Cola vs. Cheetos

Meathead vs. Pothead

Romney vs. Nader

Rocky Mountain News vs. Rocky Mountain News Denver Post

30k-A-Year Legislator vs. 30k-A-Year Columnist

Covered In Body-Hair vs. Waxes His Body-Hair

Revenge Of The Nerds vs. Revenge Of The Nerds

Ambulance Chaser vs. Dream Chaser

Mormon vs. Hippie

Send your ideas to tips@coloradopeakpolitics.com

You didn't see this in any Colorado newspaper this morning, but according to Politico, Colorado's normally lackluster junior Senator Michael Bennet is openly considering a plan that would radically overhaul Social Security and Medicare, whack discretionary spending, and (cringe now conservatives) close a number of corporate tax shelters for various corporations, including the ethanol tax credit.  

Still, it is more than a little newsworthy that Bennet would so openly flirt with such massive cuts to Medicare and Social Security.  

Here's how Politico described the plan, authored by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn:

In Coburn’s report, entitled “Back in Black,” the second-term senator proposes vastly deeper cuts across virtually every federal agency, including more than $2.6 trillion out of Medicare and Medicaid and about $1 trillion in new revenue from overhauling the tax code.  

…On Social Security, he suggests that starting in 2022, the retirement age should be increased by one month every other year. By changing the benefits formula, especially for higher earners, and overhauling disability insurance, Coburn says he can put the program on a solvent path for the next 75 years.

And Bennet's position on the Coburn plan?

No other senators have seen the proposal, other than Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), who had previously expressed an interest to Coburn when he caught wind of the senator’s efforts.

But the Democratic senator isn’t yet ready to commit to Coburn.

“He’s going to take a look,” said Adam Bozzi, Bennet’s spokesman. “He wants to look at all options on the table.”

For those of you trained in Washington speak, that is an open door from Senator Michael Bennet to $8 trillion in spending cuts and $1 trillion in new tax revenue.  

How deep are the entitlement cuts in the "Back in Black" proposal that Bennet has left an open door to? Real, real deep. Just listen to the New York Times:  

The plan's Medicaid component is close to that proposed by Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, which would turn that program, for low-income Americans, over to the states to  manage through a fixed set of funds.

Paul Ryan-light anyone? That Michael Bennet would even leave a crack in the door to a plan that includes Paul Ryan-sized Medicaid reform is an IKEA-sized political shocker.  

This would be the moment at which liberals come unhinged.  

As for us, we aren't sold on the Coburn plan, but if Bennet were to show some guts and step out on this plank, it would totally remake the image of Senator Milquetoast. Who knows, some people might even call him a leader.  

Surgeon General's Warning: don't hold your breath, but we still thought we would report what no other Colorado newspaper has.  

To make your mark in a competitive race, the first best thing you can do is put a big fundraising number up as soon as you get in the race. It's a sign to future donors, opinion makers, and your political bosses that you are a serious candidate who will run a serious race. The Q2 fundraising report of $100k raised from CD3 candidate Sal "The Fist" Pace most certainly did not cross the threshold into big.

For a candidate like Sal "The Fist" Pace, who has been in politics his entire career and looked to former boss Congressman John Salazar as a mentor, the first fundraising number should be extra large. That is because in spending his entire life in politics he has become acquainted with the Party's top donors and knows all the special interest PAC staffers who can cut him a check for $5,000. The fact that in calling in all those chits, he only raised $100k, is a mark that maybe Pace isn't as strong as some liberal backers would like. 

While Tipton's second quarter haul of about $150k is far from impressive, for a total of $338k for the cycle, it still means Tipton outraised Pace. Tipton is also an incredibly wealthy man, meaning that he could self-fund if needed, making his fundraising haul virtually meaningless in the context of having enough resources to run a good race. 

Incumbency being incumbency, and 2012 being 2012, Pace is going to have to beat Tipton. Meaning, he'll have to out fundraise, out hustle, and out message Tipton for the next 15 1/2 months.

In mathematical terms, Pace is going to need a lot of people who vote against Obama to vote for him. After all, even in a great year, Obama lost to McCain in the 3rd CD. It is only reasonable to expect that Obama will lose again in a year that promises to be great for the GOP.  

The Obama influence on the ticket cannot be overstated. With Colorado a must-win for Obama, you can be sure the airwaves will be blanketed with ads for most of the cycle, leaving little room for Pace to punch through with his message of why he is not Obama and not Tipton. 

Thus, Mr. Pace, who carries the Obama cross, lacks name ID, and is a generally unattractive candidate, is going to have to do something to win this race.

While Tipton's performance has been lackluster to date, Pace shows no evidence of being able to clear that hurdle. In fact, this quarters' fundraising totals, where Tipton outraised Pace, proves exactly the reverse.