The Colorado Sun abruptly ended the political career of Democratic Senate Candidate Denise Burgess on Thursday.

The campaign was four days old.

The sudden death came just hours after reporter Jesse Paul submitted written questions about the candidate’s history of federal tax liens to the Burgess campaign.

Instead of responding to the 4 p.m. deadline, Burgess ended her campaign at 3 p.m. 

What appeared as a gusty move for Burgess to jump into the race, even as the Democratic establishment was pushing out the competition in order to crown John Hickenlooper as the chosen one, was instead just a flash in the pan. 

The Sun found at least four federal tax liens under Burgess’ name dating back to 1998 and totaling nearly $165,000, whose company managed part of the construction of the Westin and transportation plaza at Denver International Airport. That’s in addition to several liens filed against her construction management business, including for failure to pay employee payroll taxes.

At least one of those liens remains outstanding, her campaign acknowledged to The Sun on Wednesday. The most recent Internal Revenue Service lien leveled against her was for $67,957 in unpaid personal individual income taxes from the 2014 tax year, records show.

Did Burgess think that because she was a Democrat, the media wouldn’t bother to check out her background?

After all, Hickenlooper connived to skate around financial disclose this year for his campaign activities. And as governor, Hick only released summaries, not his full tax returns.

Here’s what Burgess had to say in ending her campaign:

“As of this afternoon, I decided to end my campaign for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate. But, make no mistake about it, I am going to keep working to make sure that Democrats win back the Senate seat and that Democrats all across the state are elected next November.”

Keep working, that’s the spirit, Burgess! Only this time, make sure you pay your taxes. 

California’s vehicle standard for winter mountain passes.

The Trump administration has decided California does not get to dictate vehicle emission standards to the rest of the country including Colorado, which comes as a sharp slap in the face to the Polis and former Hickenlooper administrations that worship every whack idea the leftist state produces.

Like the National Popular Vote Act giving California the power to elect future presidents, but we digress.

Hickenlooper first copied the California mandate in an executive order and Polis followed up with a stricter version telling vehicle manufacturers how many cars they must make under their standards to be sold here, which would come at higher prices for consumers.

This zero emission standards means less vehicles would be powered directly by fossil fuels. Instead, cars will run on electricity, which is powered by fossil fuels. 

See how that makes no sense whatsoever, while raising the cost of buying a car?

And neither does allowing states to individually try and set federal standards for auto manufacturers.

Hickenlooper is pissed his hyper regulatory action makes him look like an idiot, and tried to shift the spotlight onto his political foe, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, with a childish and elitist criticism the senator failed to “raise a pinky finger against Trump’s dangerous actions.”

Hickenlooper and the rest of his eco-nut friends will try to confuse this issue of state versus federal regulatory powers, as one of climate change belief.

If one doesn’t believe California or any state has the power to regulate the auto industry through emissions, or the toilet, showerhead and washing machine industry through stricter water conservation regs, then you’re a climate change denier.

This is Hick and Polis’s fight, not Gardner’s. So those two grown men should defend their own actions rather than stomp their feet because a political foe didn’t come to their rescue.

Colorado’s civil rights division is in worse shape than even the U.S. Supreme Court could imagine — it’s pretty much a broken and abused system, an audit demanded by state lawmakers reported Wednesday.

Investigations take almost a year to complete, and when the commission took any action at all, they did so in secret so there’s no record for lawmakers to determine if the system is working for Coloradans who file discrimination complaints.

“Because the Commission makes decisions in closed meetings, there is no opportunity for independent observation of the fairness and consistency of its operations,” the audit said. “The lack of documentary evidence of its decision making compounds the problem, resulting in a process that is opaque to Colorado citizens and policy makers. Even our audit is unable to provide assurance that the Commission is operating in a fair and accountable manner.”

That’s it in a nutshell, a commission dedicated to preventing discrimination based on race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation fails to operate in a fair manner.

The irony is sadly astounding. 

The U.S. Supreme Court sharply criticized the commission when it ruled they were “neither tolerant nor respectful” and acted with bias in the same-sex wedding cake fiasco of 2012. 

Lawmakers threatened to defund the commission last year, but in a last minute deal agreed to order this audit first to see if there were problems that could be fixed.

If commissioners insist on casting their votes in secret executive session as the audit discovered, then this is a problem that must be fixed. 

The audit reviewed more than 200 cases handled during 2017 and 2018 by the commission, which is appointed by the governor. 

For those keeping score at home, John Hickenlooper was governor during that period.

The RTD marked a new low this week by voting to keep a vacant lot at Broadway and Colfax as a useless gravel pit rather than lease the land for the National Medal of Honor Museum.

Adding insult to injury were the ignorant excuses by Director Kate Williams for this irrational decision.

Williams also said the idea of a museum for Medal of Honor recipients did not impress her.

“I don’t know how many national Medal of Honor winners there are that they need a museum,” she said.

It’s true the president of the United States doesn’t hand out the medals like candy, they must be earned by extraordinary acts of valor in combat. 

And to answer William’s question, there are 3,500 men and women who’ve been honored with this symbol of courage, patriotism, sacrifice, integrity, and humility.

But wait, there more.

Williams went on to complain the green space entrance design for the museum resembled just another park to attract “one more group of homeless people on it.”

Which group would that be? Homeless veterans?

The vote to accept the museum lease failed on a 7-7 vote. Members think they can get more money out of it than the $123,000 a year museum lease, for something better like food trucks, electric scooter storage, a community garden or “affordable” housing.

Denver and Arlington, Texas were the two location finalists to house this national museum, but now it looks like the RTD Board insulted us right out of the running. 

If you saw this alarming headline on Colorado Public Radio’s website, there’s no need to panic because it’s not completely accurate —  grouse numbers are not decreasing due to a lack of protection from grazing or energy development.

Sage Grouse Numbers In West Continue To Decline After Federal Protection Rejection

In Montana, the drop in numbers is blamed on an extreme drought in 2017.  

Grouse numbers also continued to drop in 2019 in Oregon, Idaho , Nevada and Wyoming. Weather can affect populations from year to year, and wildlife officials say those short-term cycles are most directly responsible for the recent declines.

How did the headline go so wrong?

It’s an Associated Press story, and this was original headline they wrote, which was carried by most publications: 

Sage grouse numbers stumble in Montana, across US West

Colorado Public Radio should have stuck with the original headline. They do a disservice to their readers by suggesting the decline could have been prevented if only the grouse had been designated as endangered.

That designation, by the way, was rejected during the Obama administration.

Just thought that was worth mentioning.

It looks like the departure of three candidates from the Senate Democratic primary means more room in the pool for new candidates to take their place, and Denver businesswoman Denise Burgess didn’t waste any time.

She announced her candidacy Monday as former candidates Mike Johnston, John Walsh and Don Baer were still gathering up their millions in donations and going home. 

Burgess comes with an impressive resume, and could present a strong challenge to John Hickenlooper’s hope that he’s the only moderate running on their side of the aisle.

Burgess is the owner of Burgess Construction and Engineering Services, sits on the board of trustees at the Colorado School of Mines and is a former chair of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

She was inducted into the Colorado Black Hall of Fame last year, and has won numerous awards for her public service including the 2002 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., humanitarian award. 

We’ll break it down for PeakNation in words, rather than just a photo gallery like Colorado Politics — there’s only two white males still in the primary race — old, white dude Hickenlooper and younger, white dude Andrew Romanoff.

The other eight candidates are all women — black, white, and hispanic women. 

Burgess joins two African American women already campaigning for the nomination — Stephany Spaulding and State Sen. Angela Williams.

Lorena Garcia is the only hispanic in the race. And there are four white women — Michelle Warren, Diana Bray, Alice Madden, and Tirsh Zornio.

The question now is, will this be the year of the woman for Colorado Democrats? Or, will they simply divide and dilute their constituency?

One thing’s for sure, while the men are buckling to the demands of establishment Washington to drop out of the race and hand the nomination to Hick, the women have all stood their ground, and at least one more has joined in the fight.

Some Democratic lawmakers think we need tougher rules for the state’s recall process to make it harder for voters to hold them accountable.

Never mind the process worked just fine — tough requirements and the large number of signatures required kept several efforts from reaching the ballot.

We knew it was a long shot to recall Gov. Polis, although the effort sent a clear message to Democrats that voters were furious over the anti-energy and anti-gun laws as well as the so-called Popular Vote Act.

The stand-alone recall for the voting act that strips Coloradans of their presidential voting power was a wildly successful effort and made the ballot.

Meanwhile, the recall effort against state Senate President Leroy Garcia continues in Pueblo with an Oct. 18 deadline for petitions.

This hardly constitutes as an abuse of the system, but some Democrats are taking voter anger very personally. 

“Recalling someone because you don’t like the way a person voted on a couple of issues disrespects the electorate and undermines the democratic process,” said Sen. Pete Lee of Colorado Springs.

Not surprising Colorado Democratic Party chair Morgan Carroll told the Denver Post the recall process is being abused as a “frivolous political game” and should be toughened.

Democrats think they should only face recalls if they are busted breaking a law, not for stripping us of a constitutional right or giving away our presidential vote.

Democrats think we should just take that on the chin.

Hell froze over this week when U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette endorsed President Trump’s call to take flavored e-cigarettes off the market.

I don’t often agree with the Trump admin, but on this I do. These flavored nicotine products are causing real harm to the health of our children. That’s why I filed legislation months ago to ban them in the U.S. We have to do more to protect our kids. https://t.co/swQKt3iLkg

— Rep. Diana DeGette (@RepDianaDeGette) September 11, 2019

(Trump’s) announcement comes amid a mysterious outbreak of illnesses associated with people using vape pens and e-cigarettes for marijuana and nicotine. In recent weeks, more than 450 people have been hospitalized for lung diseases, often accompanied by shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, fatigue, vomiting and fevers.

DeGette was hot on the “ban everything” wagon this week, and successfully pushed through her measure in the House Judiciary Committee to ban high-capacity magazines nationwide. 

We have no idea what her legislation would actually do.

Has anyone bothered to inform her that magazines are not actually bullets, as she once famously, and incorrectly, explained?

Meanwhile, DeGette is still complaining about the BLM move to Grand Junction, and managed to insult the Western Slope workforce this week while she was at it.

Democrats are dragging their feet on support, claiming unfilled staff vacancies in D.C. would get even worse if they relocated to Colorado, where they assume no one is familiar or experienced in such pesky land issues. 

DeGette demanded the Trump administration present her with a plan for staffing after the move

“Do you think simply moving the office will solve the staffing problems? What is your longer-term plan?” DeGette asked.

The proposal would shift 74 positions that currently focus on national issues to state functions, which DeGette said is still not enough to deal with current vacancies.

How about this for plan, Ms. DeGette — hire Coloradans.

Democrats are dropping like flies in the Senate primary race to make way for the anointed one, John Hickenlooper.

This time it’s Dan Baer, a former Obama administration ambassador and the only openly gay man in the race.

Three candidates have dropped out in the three weeks since Hick abandoned his failed presidential bid, and their concession statements are starting to sound like scripts issued by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Hickenlooper, all the former candidates say, is the only viable candidate to take on U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner.

Andrew Romanoff is the only Democrat openly defying orders from Washington to make way for Hick, and says he’s being blackballed for daring to run without their permission. 

Romanoff and Hick are the only men left in the race, the other seven candidates are all women.

Hickenlooper may have name recognition, but he’s not a candidate that motivates voters and it’s unlikely he could ever beat Gardner by himself.

Hick will have to ride the coattails of the Democrat’s eventual presidential nominee when the November election rolls around.

Hick also enters the Senate race with a bare bank account, compared to the nearly $3.4 million that Mike Johnston raised before he dropped out of the race.

John Walsh raked in nearly $775,000, and Baer leaves the race after raising more than $1.3 million.

Any of those men were just as capable of riding presidential coattails as Hick.

What they lack, is the permission from party elders to hold elected office.

Voters be damned.

Colorado Democratic Chairwoman Morgan Carroll should be ashamed of herself for allowing Washington to control the state party.

Michael Bennet finally opened a national headquarters for his flailing presidential campaign this week in his home state of Colorado.

It might have boosted his Colorado polling a nudge from 1%, had the candidate bothered to even show up for the Lakewood event.

But the Colorado senator couldn’t make time for us, or his national office opening.

He sent his wife instead, with a plate of cookies.

Bennet also blew off interview requests from the Denver Post.

But who can honestly blame him?

It no longer matters whether Democratic office holders here bother with us at all or do the job for which they were elected.

All that matters is that they’re establishment Democrats with statewide name recognition.