Previous Democratic Pro Tems like Cheri Jahn (philosophically middle of the road) and Kathleen Curry (moderate and from the Western Slope) fit that bill. Ferrandino’s appointment of liberal Boulder Democrat Claire Levy offers no similar benefit to help moderate what is already a VERY liberal and metro Denver-centric Democratic leadership in the House.

Every member of the senior House Democratic leadership…Speaker, Leader, Assistant Leader, Whip, Caucus Chair and three of the four members of the Joint Budget Committee (JBC), is from Denver or Boulder. Levy serves on the JBC, so she’s already at the table. Ferrandino has only three leadership appointments, so it makes little sense for him to expend two of his three appointments on liberal Levy.

Cue what is quickly becoming the all-too-familiar tale of Feeble Ferrandino. Sources inside the Capitol report nothing less than a temper tantrum by Levy threatening something akin to holding her breath until she was picked for the post. Sources also report that Ferrandino wanted to appoint one of his young up-and-comers to the spot until he hit Levy’s resistance and caved. Another pick would have made sense given the extreme centralized power in Denver and Boulder.

Either way, Ferrandino’s inability to exercise leadership over his caucus on his OWN appointment is troubling and should be even more troubling for Guv Hick who is widely reported to be relying on Ferrandino to be his blockade against the onslaught of radically liberal bills.

Maybe Hick should order a couple more cases of antacid…

In fact, a recent article in the Denver Business Journal showed that property owners in Denver are facing an 18% property tax hike due to the passage of the referendums on the November ballot.  While CNNMoney.com attributes the jump to “construction of apartments [not keeping] up with demand”.  This out of whack (depending on who you ask, we suppose) supply and demand situation in Denver creates the perfect opportunity for landlords to pass property taxes onto renters.

And, really, why would landlords simply absorb the cost when they have their choice of renters?  There are far more renters looking for housing, and and the cost is passed on to the cornucopia of eager renters.  But, why so many renters?

The “Great Recession”, fueled by Clinton-era housing policies, produced many new renters.  Many homeowners found themselves significantly underwater when housing prices plummeted.  Some were able to ride out the storm, but some homeowners were unable to hang onto their houses, particularly if they lost their jobs.  Finally, some homeowners chose to walk away from underwater homes in what’s now called a “strategic default”.  For those whose homes went into foreclosure or for those who took advantage of the short sale process (strategic default or not), their ability to secure a new home loan has been greatly diminished, a condition that is helping to fuel the current supply/demand imbalance in the Denver apartment market.

Further, there are people for whom the rent vs. buy question is a no-brainer – they’d rather rent.  Studies have shown that the next generation of homeowners isn’t all that confident that buying a house is the best choice for them.  And, who could blame them, after seeing the chaos during the Great Recession?

Once again, like the TBD efforts to regulate and tax the “highest growth businesses”, Denver’s ability to hinder prosperity, particularly for the middle class, is almost unmatched nationwide.

While Romney was forced to turn thousands away from his raucous Red Rocks rally, Obama saw a shocking drop off in his Denver rally, pulling over 100,000 people in 2008, but only 16,000 yesterday in Denver — and probably significantly less as that number was provided by the Obama campaign and not independently verified.

It’s not just this little ‘ol conservative blog making this point, but ABC News’ Jake Tapper:

POTUS generally draws bigger crowds than Romney, but Obama’08 consistently drew bigger crowds than Obama’12. Denver today – 16k. 2008- 100k

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 24, 2012

Democrats were quick to complain that the 100,000 rally was on a Sunday, while the Denver rally was mid-week, but no amount of spin is going to be able to wash off a drop off of 85,000 people. Jake Tapper agrees:

yes, obvs the 2008 event was on a sunday and this is tuesday. larger point stands, and no one on Obama campaign disputes that.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 24, 2012

It’s not only the Denver rally where the lack of enthusiasm can be felt. At CSU, Obama saw his rally of 45,000 in 2008 fall to merely 13,000 this year.

Go figure, Allison Sherry — the Democrat blogger for The Denver Post — didn’t mention the shocking crowd juxtaposition in her write up today of the Obama event. While Sherry willfully ignored the bad optics for Team Obama, for everyone else it was an unavoidable comparison.

What the hell are airports doing in the prayer business anyway? Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance

Muslim prayer room at Denver Airport separate from Christians and Jews

Maybe Pelosi is beginning to get worried about Democratic Congressional candidates Sal Pace, Joe Miklosi and Ed Perlmutter. Could she have been fishing for Super PAC donations for her House Majority PAC?

——

Yesterday, we reported that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was spotted at the Brown Palace in Denver. Our tipster tells us the Wicked Witch of the West was discussing Obama polling data and the photographic evidence seems to suggest she was concerned by what she was hearing.

No wonder — the polling in Colorado is moving in the wrong direction for Team Hopenchange. 

Wonder why her presence was not announced? Could that have something to do with her starring role in Republican attack ads last cycle leading to the historically huge 63-seat loss Pelosi presided over as Speaker?

If so, it was probably best for Pelosi to keep her visit under wraps.

Thankfully for Peak readers, we have eyes and ears everywhere. There's no hiding from us, Madam Minority Leader. 

If you aren't among the 120,000 views the video has already racked up, check it out here:

The video blew up faster than a North Korean rocket, ending the whirlwind day with a prominent play on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor — the number one cable news show on television.

As Bill O'Reilly said of Bonham, a former legislative aide to Republican State Reps. J. Paul Brown and Brian DelGrosso this past session, "he's a pretty sharp guy." We agree (and so does Caleb):

Virtually every conservative site and some major news ones on the interwebs picked up the video and ran with it — earning an eye-popping 5,600 likes on The Blaze and prominent placement on Hotair, RealClearPolitics, Breitbart.com, Pajamas Media, National Review, and the list goes on. 

Master of the man on the street interview, Caleb has quickly become a force to watch on the web.  

And so has Revealing Politics. Only last week the Colorado-based blog made it on Fox News again for a video of a Congressman Ed Perlmutter townhall where Perlmutter invokes the tragedy in Aurora to justify his support of Obamacare, earning a rebuke from Sarah Palin who called the statement “absolutely disgusting.”

Check that Fox News clip out here.

And don’t forget to swing by RevealingPolitics.com too while you’re at it.  

This is a far cry from the $61 million the 2008 host committee, which included recent Coffman defector Steve Farber, was able to raise. According to a 2008 article from the Denver Business Journal, the $61 million was far above the host committee’s original agreement to raise $40 million.

The Denver Business Journal article cited an Federal Election Commission report that showed the committee paid $14.1 million for construction costs, including stage and lighting, at the Pepsi Center and $5.3 million at Invesco Field. The Obama campaign came under fire for its over-the-top convention set, which included “…spectacular columns, concert lighting, JumboTrons and rising royal blue circular stairs”, dubbed Barackopolis for its soaring Greek columns.    

CNN’s Candy Crowley defended the gaudy display, writing, “Obama wanted the night to have an Everyman feel.”  

Well, Ms. Crowley, it looks like Obama finally got his wish for an Everyman feel. With a shortage of cash for the Democratic Convention, now he knows how we all feel in Obama’s economy.

(Photo Credit: CNN)

From their press release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – American Conservative Union (ACU) Chairman Al Cardenas today announced that the legendary Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is going back on the road this fall, hosting the second in a series of 2012 regional CPACs in Denver, Colorado. Scheduled for Thursday, October 4, 2012, at the Crowne Plaza Denver International Airport, CPAC Colorado will energize and mobilize Mountain West conservatives, giving them the tools needed to defeat the liberal agenda in 2012, while also highlighting rising conservative stars and issues in the region. Online registration is now available at conservative.org.

“CPAC Colorado takes the fight for the future of America directly to a critical battleground state, the site of innumerable broken promises made to the American people in Denver the night President Obama accepted his party’s nomination in 2008. Denver will also host the first Presidential debate, where—the night before CPAC Colorado—President Obama’s failed record will be on full display,” said ACU Chairman Al Cardenas. “At a time when the future of America is hanging in the balance, it is critical to unite and mobilize conservatives for the fight of 2012 and beyond.”  

The ACU has hosted national CPAC since 1973, and it now stands as the largest annual gathering of conservatives in the nation. For CPAC Colorado, ACU will bring national and regional leaders together with local grassroots activists for a day of blockbuster speeches, policy discussions and networking opportunities—all celebrating the shared principles of smaller government, a strong national defense and traditional values.  

CPAC Colorado’s invited speakers include: U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, U.S. Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ), U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), U.S. Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA), U.S. Representative Raúl Labrador (R-ID), U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn (R-CO), New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT), Former Governor Mitt Romney, and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval.

This will come at a pivotal time in the race, firing up the conservative grassroots just as the campaign hits its final push.

It is also likely to draw large quantities of conservatives from across the nation and region to Denver just in time to rally outside the first debate, surely welcome news to Romney campaign organizers. 

“FreeWave Technologies is yet another example of a Boulder area company successfully attracting capital,” said Rep. Jared Polis. “As FreeWave Technologies demonstrates, private equity investments in Colorado companies have strengthened local businesses and brought good jobs to the region by providing needed investments for growth and to help companies succeed in the global economy,” Rep. Polis concluded. [Peak emphasis]

——

Democrat Congressmen Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis loyally fulfilled their duty as political lackeys at Obama's big dollar fundraiser in Denver yesterday, trashing Bain Capital for how they made their money. The problem with their attacks is Perlmutter's third largest donor is a foreclosure company and three of the top five donors to Polis are venture capital companies.

First, what Perlmutter and Polis had to say about Bain Capital, the Post's Sara Burnett:

U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter described Bain as "a different kind of (private equity) company" — one that would "buy a company, pick it clean and wipe it out."

"I don't call that entrepreneurship," Perlmutter, D-Colo., said. "That's taking advantage."

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo. — a millionaire who made his fortune through Internet businesses — agreed.

"In private equity, there are companies that invest in companies and grow them," Polis said. "That was not the business model of Bain Capital. It was to look at turnaround … and frequently involved outsourcing."

Those are an interesting choice of words, Congressman Perlmutter, considering your third largest donor specializes in throwing people out of their family homes. 

According to OpenSecrets.org, the law firm of Castle, Meinhold & Stawiarski has been Perlmutter's third largest donor over his Congressional career. You might remember that law firm, it's the same one as the Denver Democrat Chairwoman. It's also a firm that "dominates the foreclosure business in Colorado," surely not a popular place to be in this economy. 

Per The Denver Post:

Castle Stawiarski files the most foreclosure cases each year in many large counties, according to figures provided by the trustees. In Arapahoe County, which had 5,500 foreclosures filed in 2010 – the most statewide – Castle accounted for 52 percent. In Denver it was 49 percent. In smaller Park County, Castle accounted for 90 percent of the caseload.

Jared Polis is an even bigger hypocrite. Of the top five companies that have donated to him over his Congressional career, the top two are companies he owns or co-founded and the next three are venture capital firms. 

The top donor to Polis is Jovian P4, which runs JaredPolis.com. The number two donor, SPS Studios, is a company Polis helped co-found. The next three are venture capital firms, firms that we're sure have been involved in more than a few layoffs over their careers.

Before Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis go dutifully after Mitt Romney's financial background, they might want to check their own donor lists first.