RNC Announces Major Changes to Presidential Primary Process

Say that three times fast. As our friends from "The Fix" explain:

The Republican National Committee voted on Friday to drastically compress its presidential nomination process in hopes of avoiding a drawn-out and expensive fight that weakens the GOP's eventual standard-bearer in 2016.  The changes include protecting the rights of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada to early votes  in February and making it far more punitive for other states — Florida, we are looking at you — to move up their primaries. The party's national convention will also move from late summer/early fall to no later than the end of July.

The moves were the brainchild of RNC commitee Chair Reince Prieubus, but will it ultimately be a good thing for Republicans? As "The Fix" notes, the Primary changes could end up forcing a candidate upon the GOP that might not be their best option in a General Election (like that's new):

Whether or not that was the right move — a compressed calendar puts a premium on momentum and makes it hard to stop a candidate with momentum even if it's not the candidate the establishment wants — remains to be seen, but Priebus has now left a major mark on how the party will pick its next presidential nominee. It may wind up being his lasting legacy at the head of the party.

What say you, Polsters? Is this good or bad for Republican hopes of winning the White House in 2016?

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Jessie Danielson Announces in HD-24

Jessie Danielson (well, most of her head, anyway)

What we first noted last week is now official: Jessie Danielson has announced her candidacy in HD-24 (Wheat Ridge) for what will be an open seat with the retirement of Rep. Sue Schafer. Danielson, the Colorado State Director of America Votes, gets a quote from her boss at America Votes in her press release (full release after the jump):

"Jessie has the local roots, the broad public policy knowledge and the Colorado common sense that we need at the State Capitol," said Joan Fitz-Gerald, former Senate President.

The HD-24 that exists today is not too dissimilar from the HD-24 that was drawn before redistricting in 2010-11, a Wheat Ridge district that has been safely held by Democrats for decades. Republicans may try to make an effort to win the seat in November, only because it is an open seat, but most likely this race will be effectively decided in a Democratic Primary.

Wheat Ridge, CO-Long-time voter rights and women's advocate Jessie Danielson announced her candidacy for Colorado House District 24 today. The seat is now held by Rep. Sue Schafer, who decided not to run again in 2014.

Danielson, a Democrat, is the third generation of her family to live in Wheat Ridge, after growing up on her family's farm near Ault. She is the Colorado State Director of America Votes, and was part of the leadership coalition for Colorado's new election law that mails ballots to all registered voters, makes elections less expensive for counties, and modernizes the election system to help prevent voter fraud.

"Jessie has the local roots, the broad public policy knowledge and the Colorado common sense that we need at the State Capitol," said Joan Fitz-Gerald, former Senate President.

Danielson was appointed by Governor Hickenlooper to the Voter Access and Modernized Election Commission to oversee implementation of the election laws and is a long-time advocate for greater access for everyone in the political process. She also chairs the board of Emerge Colorado that encourages and trains Democratic women to run for office and serves on the boards of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado and ProgressNow Colorado. She is a former statewide political director for NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado.

"I'm excited to have an opportunity to help build a better Colorado. I've learned that you can't just sit at home and hope it happens – you have to work hard to make it happen. That's what my career has been about," said Danielson. "I want to make sure that District 24 has a strong voice at the Capitol. I will be a strong advocate for our small businesses, local job growth, great schools, and economic security for every working family."

Danielson holds a BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and studied abroad at the Universidad de Sevilla. Danielson's website is www.jessiedanielson.com.

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Udall Announces Bipartisan Domestic Spying Reform Bill

Sens. Mark Udall (D-CO) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Gannett's Raju Chebium reports in today's Fort Collins Coloradoan:

A proposal unveiled Wednesday by Colorado Democrat Mark Udall and three other senators would end sweeping surveillance operations like the ones revealed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Under legislation being pushed by Udall, Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky, the government could only access telephone and Internet records of those suspected of terrorism or espionage.

The bill also would require a civil-rights advocate to be present during secret proceedings of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to safeguard the constitutional rights of millions of unsuspecting Americans whose communications have been monitored by the NSA…

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).

More from Sen. Mark Udall's press release yesterday afternoon:

“There is growing, bipartisan sentiment in Colorado and across the country that the way the NSA and our intelligence agencies are balancing Americans’ privacy rights and our security is fundamentally out of whack. We need to end the NSA's collection of millions of innocent Americans' private phone records and focus on the real problem: terrorists and spies," Udall said. "These aren't vague or abstract threats to our liberty. These dragnet searches are happening right now. I am proud to lead this bipartisan push to protect Americans' privacy rights and ensure that our pursuit of security does not trample our constitutional liberties."

"The overbroad surveillance activities that have come to light over the last few months have shown how wide the gap between upholding the constitutional liberties of American citizens and protecting national security has become," [Sen. Ron] Wyden said. "The effect can be felt not only by the significant erosion of civil liberties domestically, but in the reduced credibility of the American government abroad and the significant impact on American economic interests. These reforms seek to close that gap and avoid the false choice of protecting security over the preservation of personal liberty."

"Reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act must restrict the executive's expansive powers to seize private records in secret and without probable cause," [Sen. Rand] Paul said. "I support reforms on the way to a full restoration of our Founders' idea embodied in the Fourth Amendment."

The controversy this year over continued large-scale domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency, which began under Republican President George W. Bush but has continued and even been expanded by President Barack Obama, has proven a morale boat-anchor for the Democratic base. Sen. Udall's early and vocal criticism on this issue, now validated in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks, should insulate him from the base's anger over domestic surveillance being continued by a President that was at one point trusted to reform these abuses. It's anybody's guess whether President Obama will support this legislation–we would recommend that–but even if Obama doesn't, Udall is doing the right thing ethically and politically by taking on this fight.

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