BOTH WAYS BENNET: Junior Senator Tries To Have His Enviro Love & Energy Jobs Too

Published on March 28, 2013 by

Enviro protesters outside Bennet’s office (tweeted by Clean Water Action)

Junior U.S. Senator Michael Bennet is now backtracking off his pro-Keystone Pipeline vote cast last week that embarrassed his more senior Democratic Colorado counterpart in the Senate, Mark Udall.

After casting a vote that virtually everyone saw as an endorsement of the job-creating energy venture, which is opposed by most environmental organizations, Bennet is now trying to have it both ways — voting for jobs and not pissing off his environmental allies. 

Reports The Hill:

A trio of Senate Democrats are insisting that their vote for a Keystone XL pipeline amendment last week was not an endorsement of the project. 

Backers of the oil sands pipeline scored a major win Friday when 17 Democrats joined Republicans in a 62-37 vote in favor of Sen. John Hoeven’s (R-N.D.) amendment.

The amendment’s sponsors said it was a strong show of support for Keystone. But at least three senators who cast surprise “yes” votes — and angered environmentalists — have a different view of the amendment.

…Another Democratic backer of the amendment, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), joined Carper and Coons in declining to cast the vote as an outright endorsement of Keystone. 

“Senator Bennet believes the Keystone pipeline should go through the proper process and be judged on its merits,” said Bennet spokesman Adam Bozzi.

But sponsors and many backers of the amendment made very clear that they saw the amendment as an outright referendum on whether Keystone should be approved by the Obama administration.

Environmentalists certainly saw it that way, and are vowing to take action against the three senators.

“Our supporters in Delaware, Florida, Colorado and elsewhere will be bird-dogging their Senators or visiting their offices to make their disappointment known and encouraging them to change their position. These Senators have clearly underestimated how strongly their constituents feel about this issue,” said Jamie Henn of the climate advocacy group 350.org earlier this week. 

Activists protested outside Bennet’s Denver office on Tuesday.

Bennet’s vote was highly embarrassing to Udall, as it drove Udall’s image leftwards, with Bennet on the side of jobs and bipartisanship and Udall left out in the cold with the hardcore environmentalists.

Well, it turns out environmentalists didn’t much appreciate the cold shoulder and “bird-dog” Senator Bennet they did, protesting his office and attacking him on social media:

Which is it, Senator Bennet? Mark Udall and the enviros, or the 17 Democrats who joined Republicans in voting in favor of the Keystone Pipeline and the 20,000 jobs associated with it?

Votes have consequences, and even Allison Sherry picked up on this one.

 

“NOT AS BAD AS CALIFORNIA!” Report From Anti-Gun Group Promoted By Post’s Meyer Says Gun Grab In Colorado Not So Bad

Published on February 18, 2013 by

The Denver Post is in the tank for more gun control. Is anyone surprised? Earlier today the Post’s Lynn Bartels compared opponents of new gun control laws to legislators who blocked MLK Day like 50 years ago.

Real classy, Lynn.

Why not photoshop a white sheet over the face of Rep. Bob Gardner while you are at it?

Rep. Jovan Melton probably wasn’t amused by Bartels quip. If Bartels is the one doing all the race baiting, what is he supposed to do?

Bartels’ journalistically curious remark follows an equally fatuous story from Jeremy Meyer in the Post on Sunday which attempts to create the impression that Colorado’s proposed gun laws really aren’t that restrictive:

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REPUGNANT OBTUSENESS: Democrats Ask Manufacturers of High Capacity Magazines to Stay and Make Their “Baby-Killing” Products Here, Only Sell Them Somewhere Else

Published on February 15, 2013 by

2/19 UPDATE: Magpul responds regarding the Udall donation:

2/18 UPDATE 2: According to OpenSecrets.com, Magpul CEO Richard Fitzpatrick has made only one political donation to a Colorado politician: $500 to Senator Mark Udall in September 2012. Wonder if he’ll be seeking a refund?

2/18 UPDATE: Magpul recently posted to its Facebook page that their pull out threat is not a bluff. 

UPDATE: Alfred Manufacturing, based in Denver, announced if HB1224 passed it would be forced to leave Colorado. From the Post‘s Kurtis Lee:

“We are a third-generation Colorado company that has been committed to this state since my grandfather founded the company in 1948,” Greg Alfred, the company’s chief executive, writes in the letter. “However, if House Bill 1224 passes, we will plain and simply have no choice but to relocate part or all of our operations to another state.”

Shortly thereafter, House Democrats passed HB1224 on a voice vote. Because….jobs.

———-

During the debate over HB1224, which would ban magazines that hold over 15 rounds, State Rep. Joe Salazar (D-Thornton) pushed an amendment too clever by half. An amendment which in effect said “we think that these magazines are immoral baby killers, but hey, feel free to sell your baby killing devices to other states.”

It was targeted at high capacity magazine manufacturer Magpul, which has threatened to leave Colorado if HB1224 passes, taking with it nearly 1000 jobs.

Reports The Denver Post‘s Kurtis Lee:

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SMART CHOICE: Colorado Springs City Council Picks Jobs Over Enviro Jokers In Fracking Fight

Published on November 28, 2012 by

Credit: Colorado Springs No Fracking FB page

The fracking fight came to Colorado Springs yesterday, and energy development won out over a radical environmentalist “mob” of about 20 people. In a 6-3 vote to allow exploratory drilling on private land in the Springs, the city council decided to not make the same mistake Longmont Councilman Brian Bagley and the Longmont City Council made by getting in bed with radical environmental wackjobs.

Reports the Colorado Springs Gazette‘s Ned Hunter:

Dave Gardner wore a green gas mask in front of City Hall Tuesday, hoping to encourage City Council members to vote against an ordinance that allows drilling for oil and natural gas within the city.

Gardner was among more than 30 people who showed up to present their views on the ordinance. More than half of the attendees spoke against it, but their efforts failed.

After more than six hours, council members voted 6-3 to approve a set of rules that would allow Ultra Resources, Hilcorp Energy Co. and other energy companies to drill exploratory and other wells within city limits. Council members Tim Leigh, Angela Dougan, Merv Bennett, Brandy Williams, Lisa Czelatdko, and Bernie Herpin voted in favor of the ordinance. Council members Jan Martin, Val Snider and Scott Hente voted against it. The ordinance must be voted on again at the council’s Dec. 11 meeting.

While the Gazette‘s reporter romanticizes the environmentalist protesters in his write up, giving short shrift to the majority supporters, the key takeaway is that the council ignored the radical environmental hysteria.

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WAS MAX TYLER HIGH? Lakewood Democrat Votes Against Making Driving While High Illegal

Published on September 14, 2012 by

Today was a tough day for Democratic state Rep. Max “Children Are Like Maggots“ Tyler. We all remember how he degraded school kids who have trouble learning, so his newest debacle isn’t going to come as a surprise to Capitol observers, but Tyler has presented voters with two more reasons to wonder why Max Tyler holds elected office…anywhere.

Normally this time of year at the state legislature is the ho-hum of recommending bi-partisan bills and going home to walk precincts, but Max decided to make it interesting…and for that, we thank him.

Tyler opened his morning at the Legislature’s interim Transportation Committee by killing a jobs bill that would have directed new state revenues to road projects without raising taxes or fees. With every middle class family focused on jobs and good paying jobs, Max decided to give middle class families the proverbial bird and cast his vote to kill a bill that would have helped put construction workers and road crews back to work.

To make it even more fun, our good buddy Max Tyler came back this afternoon and voted against a bill that would have made it illegal to put lives at risk by driving a car while high. Now, follow this. Tyler voted for a bill in 2011 that would have made driving while high illegal.

During the 2012 Hickenlooper special session, Tyler was one of a very small number of Reps who voted against making DUI pot illegal. Today, when given the chance to correct his Max-flop, he decided to double down to support DUI.

Yes. You read that right. Max Tyler voted against making driving while high out of your mind illegal.

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DISAPPOINTMENT: Jobs Report Misses Mark…Again

Published on July 6, 2012 by

The Obama Economy strikes again! The Bureau of Labor Statistics today released its June unemployment numbers, disappointing economists and analysts.  The report showed that U.S. payrolls expanded by just 80,000 (net) in June, stalling the unemployment rate at 8.2%.

Prior to the release of the numbers, Bloomberg polling of economists showed that they expected a gain of 100,000 positions in June.

The report comes on the heels of Bloomberg’s Consumer Confidence Index, which was down again this week.  It showed women feeling less confident about buying power and the overall economy.  It looks like women’s intuition called it correctly.

This is not good news for President Obama heading into a contentious election year.  Even worse – Hispanic and Latino unemployment remained essentially unchanged at 11.0 percent, and more black people were unemployed, raising their unemployment rate to 14.4 percent.

The May Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report by state showed Colorado at 8.1%.  The June report will come out on August 1, 2012. 

Several other key states in the 2012 election are lagging in job creation with unemployment higher than the national average, including Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, and North Carolina.

Below is a chart showing the unemployment in these key states. 

 


 

MORE PAIN: CO Manufacturing Shrinks Under Obama Economy

Published on July 5, 2012 by

Recent reports of the US manufacturing sector shrinking for the first time in three years suggest that the policies of Obama and his Colorado cronies, Rep. Ed Perlmutter, Dean Diana DeGette, and Rep. Jared Polis, have halted resuscitation of our sickly economy. No, friends, it’s not Bush’s fault this time.

Since President Obama took office, the Bureau of Labor statistics showed that CO lost nearly 15,000 manufacturing jobs. And these results are with a President who has made a PR show out of “breathing new life” into this ailing sector. 

Associated Press quoted analyst Dan Greenhaus, who seemed to be mentally wringing his hands, as he said, “This is not good…it is still a terribly weak number.”

Manufacturing in Colorado employs 5.6% of the state’s workforce, and the pay ain’t bad either: manufacturing compensation is 58% higher than other employers in the state, according to the National Association of Manufacturing.

According to the Denver Post, this news couldn’t have come at a worse time as “Colorado [is] among the laggards, ranking 46th among U.S. states [in job growth] with a 0.1 percent decline in jobs from January to June.”


 

CELEBRITY STATUS, FAILED POLICIES: Compass Colorado Brackets Obama Visit With Radio Ads

Published on May 23, 2012 by

Conservative advocacy group Compass Colorado welcomed President Obama to Colorado today with a hilarious new radio ad, knocking Obama from a college age perspective for his failed policies. The ad buy is scheduled to run on 95.7 and 107.5 — not the usual spots for political ads.



“Everyone has suffered in the Obama economy but recent college graduates are worse off than most,” said Tyler Q. Houlton, president of Compass Colorado. “Obama has disappointed hard-working graduates with his broken promises, failed policies, and reckless spending.”

As Compass points out in their press release, a recent study found that 53.6% of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed. That depressing economic reality led to another study that found a whopping 85% of recent grads plan on moving back in with Mom and Dad after graduation.

Coolness doesn’t pay the bills or help you move out of Mom and Dad’s place, and that’s probably exactly why young voters just aren’t as jazzed about Obama this time around.

“Obama may still be a celebrity, but he is certainly not a leader,” said Houlton.

So far the Compass ad has drawn a great deal of media coverage, with write ups in Politico, The Hill, The Denver Post and The Colorado Observer.



You can find the full script after the jump:

Male College Graduate: Hey, let’s go to the Obama rally on campus.

Female College Graduate: No way! I’m not going again. Not after his broken promises.

Male: Oh come on, he’s cool! He’s the President!

Female: Whatever, we don’t have jobs and I have a hundred thousand dollars in student loans.

Male: It’s totally fine, babe. It’s President Obama!

Female: You live with your parents, there’s nothing ‘fine’ about that.

Male: I think you’re overreacting.

Female: Overreacting? Obama let us down.

Announcer: Barack Obama. Celebrity Status. Failed Policies. Paid for by Compass Colorado.

 

OBAMABUCKS MISERABLE at Creating Jobs

Published on May 18, 2012 by

Denver's stimulus spending created 1.2 jobs for every million dollars spent.

Denver's Auditor reported on the city's stimulus spending. Through the end of 2011, Denver had “received over $82 million in grant allocations….” Auditor Gallagher carefully says the Democrat-supported ARRA law was supposed “to stimulate the U.S. Economy.” Most Americans thought it was supposed to create jobs.

The Denver Post headlines the “tangible, positive, long-term impact” of this $82 Million.

Here's some information that wasn't part of the headline. The report has comparative, detailed data on $48.2 Million of their $82 Million total; see the table below (from page 30 ff). The jobs creation numbers are based on money actually spent and don't include cash still unspent. A cautionary note: Beyond the “direct” jobs listed, there may be additional jobs through other factors.

  • Entity                  Award             Spent          Jobs  Jobs/ $Million
  • Airport Projects    $7,000,000     $7,000,000        0     0.0
  • Airport Projects    $4,489,921     $4,380,898        0     0.0
  • Justice Assist       $2,789,418     $1,103,382     8.58   7.8
  • CDBG                  $2,462,903     $2,244,532     0.44    0.2
  • Energy Eff Grant    $6,079,500    $3,769,265     8.24    2.2
  • Head Start           $487,662        $487,662         0      0.0
  • Head Start           $1,224,000     $778,830      10.48   13.5
  • Homeless             $3,769,259     $3,488,887     2.98    0.9
  • Clean Diesel         $700,000        $700,000          0      0.0
  • Natl Endow Arts    $250,000       $250,000         0.18    0.7
  • Neighborhd Stabil  $18,994,444   $10,440,843   11.22    1.1
  • SUM                    $48,247,107  $34,644,299    42.12    1.2

Perhaps some of these programs have merit … although it's hard to gin up enthusiasm for the National Endowment for the Arts or to think that DIA required federal cash for truly needed fix-ups.

Did we really need to use stimulus bucks to buy about 300 computers (page 14 of the report) or buy light bulbs (page 14)? Neighborhood Stabilization involved buying foreclosed properties; were there no private sector buyers out there (page 15)?

“Green certification training” sounds swell (page 16) until you learn this was really a $3.6 Million grant to Obama's labor union contributors and they trained 139 people. The report admits that “lasting effects have yet to be measured and documented.” A smart admission since Xcel's plan to “cut financial incentives” is “absolutely devastating” to solar jobs according to the executive director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association.

What we see in this report is the triumph of the world view that government is the best job creator. Did it work for Denver?

From April 2007 to April 2012 Denver lost 2.7% of its jobs (down 8,259 according to the state Labor Department's LMI data). Over the same time period, all of Colorado lost 1.4% of its jobs (down 33,200). So Denver's stimulus cash gave them no advantage.

Break the state numbers down, and you see who really benefited from all the flurry of government spending. At all levels statewide, government jobs increased by 21,700 while private sector jobs dropped 54,900.

The Obama plan, supported by every Colorado Democrat in Congress, really worked: government grew while private business suffered – and private sector jobs vanished.


 

COLORADO UNEMPLOYMENT RISES: 4,000 Workers Leave Labor Force, Rate Ticks Up To 7.9%

Published on May 18, 2012 by

The economy continues to sputter in Colorado. New numbers released by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment show the unemployment rate rising at the same time 4,000 people stopped looking for work.

Reports the Denver Business Journal:

Colorado in April saw its smallest monthly gain in payroll jobs since last December, and the state's unemployment rate ticked up a 10th of a point, to 7.9 percent, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported Friday.

…And 1,100 of the 1,200 payroll jobs added last month were in government, with just a net gain of 100 jobs in private business. Colorado payroll jobs totaled 2.292 million in April, CDLE reported.

…The state's civilian labor force — people employed plus unemployed people actively seeking work — fell by 4,000 last month, to 2.731 million, and the number of unemployed grew by 2,200, to 216,000, not counting people not actively seeking a job, the household survey indicated.

These numbers paint a strikingly bad picture of the economy in Colorado. Normally when large numbers of people stop looking for work that helps decrease the unemployment rate since those people aren't counted in the rate. In this case, it was an economic double whammy with people leaving the work force and those still in it increasingly out of a job.  

To make matters worse, of the jobs that were created only 8.33%, or 100 of the 1,200 jobs, were in the private sector. The rest were government jobs. 

The RNC weighed in this morning via press release saying:

"It’s becoming increasingly clear that the Obama Administration’s spending and borrowing spree isn’t giving any hope to the thousands of workers in Colorado who can’t pay their bills and have stopped looking for work altogether. Despite this, President Obama is committed to doubling down on these same failed economic policies in Washington that have already given American families the worst long-term unemployment situation in decades.”

If the economy continues along this disastrous path, Barack Obama can kiss Colorado's nine electoral votes goodbye.

And since the press loves to gush on Hickenlooper, maybe someone could ask the Good Governor for a comment on the Colorado economy that is retreating on his watch.

No?

Won’t do that? Might ruin your “Hickenlooper is Amazing” storyline?

Ok, sorry, Colorado press. Nevermind.

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 
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