Sen. Udall Raises Another Million Dollars

You’d be smiling, too, if you were outraising your opponents this much.

The campaign for Democratic Sen. Mark Udall won't officially file its fundraising report for another few weeks (end-of-year reports have longer deadlines than quarterly reports), but news about another strong quarter is already leaking out. Udall raised more than $1.1 million in Q4, ending the year with a hefty $4.7 million cash on hand. Udall finished 2013 by raising more than $1.1 million in every single quarter.

For comparison's sake, Republicans Ken Buck and Owen Hill didn't raise $500,000 combined in Q3, and both need to have had a much better Q4. Fundraising numbers from Q4 will also be the first look at the potential strength of state Rep. Amy Stephens, who entered the Senate race in October.

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Another Moderate Voice Departs Denver Post

A press release this morning from the Colorado Fiscal Institute spells more bad news for fans of objectivity at the state's newspaper of record, The Denver Post:

The Colorado Fiscal Institute is pleased to announce that Tim Hoover – most recently a member of The Denver Post editorial board – has been named Communications Director.

“Tim’s experience and insight will be invaluable in promoting our analytic work,” said Carol Hedges, Colorado Fiscal Institute Executive Director.  “We look forward to having Tim on board to help communicate the importance of widespread prosperity to the vitality of Colorado’s economy.”

He will develop communications strategy and implement the organization’s media, social media and community outreach plans to advance public policies that result in greater economic prosperity for all Coloradans.

“I am excited to be joining an organization with such expert knowledge of Colorado’s state budget and its multiple conflicts and challenges,” said Hoover.  “I’ve worked for many years analyzing and writing about state tax and fiscal policy, and this opportunity gives me the chance to work alongside top talent in the field.”

Hoover has 20 years of experience in the media industry, having researched and reported on public policy, government and politics for major newspapers including The Denver Post, The Kansas City Star and The Tulsa World.  A graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has won multiple awards for his reporting.

Back in May, the Denver Post's editorial board lost Curtis Hubbard, who left the paper to join local PR house OnSight Public Relations. The much more conservative Vincent Carroll succeeded Hubbard as head of the paper's editorial board, and since then we've witnessed a slow but steady shift to the right in the paper's editorial leanings. The departure of Tim Hoover, former political reporter and by all estimations a fair and moderate member of the editorial board, is very likely to accelerate that conservative slant.

Between increasingly slanted news coverage and an editorial board moving similarly rightward, we'd say the Post has finally found a market to sell newspapers to.

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What Colorado Needs Is Another GOP Gubernatorial Candidate

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Steve House, chairman of the Adams County Republican Party and the fifth Republican to file to run for governor of Colorado in 2014:

As reported today by Kurtis Lee of the Denver Post:

House is now among five Republicans vying to unseat Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2014. Sen. Greg Brophy of Wray, Secretary of State Scott Gessler, former state Sen. Mike Kopp and former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo have all announced their candidacies for governor.

As the least-known candidate to enter this race yet, we have no idea how Mr. House intends to differentiate himself in a race already distinguished by the degree to which contenders are tripping over themselves to lurch father right. "Someone by the name of Steve House" was mentioned back in March as a possible GOP candidate for governor by the Colorado Statesman, but up until today we hadn't heard anything to confirm that.

It occurs to us that a "clown car," by definition, contains more clowns than the standard passenger capacity of a car. With that in mind, it stands to reason that we were always going to need more than four clowns. So for that, if perhaps no other reason, Mr. House is the man of the hour–or at least the next fifteen minutes.

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Another Posh Junket For Cory Gardner?

Rep. Cory Gardner.

Roll Call's Kent Cooper reports:

The first two of possibly 31 members of Congress have returned and filed a travel report on a wonderful and free trip to Dublin, Ireland, for themselves and a guest. The gifts of free travel were estimated by the paying sponsors to cost between $6,875 and $11,903 for each person…

This type of free trip not only covers the members’ expenses but provides a rare opportunity for the sponsor to cover the costs of a spouse or family member. For members who are not home that much, the free trip is a great payback to the spouse. The spouse or family member has plenty of time for sightseeing and enjoying the foreign city.

The Ripon Society and the Franklin Center sponsored and paid for the Aug. 10-15 trip with an estimated budget of $450,000 to $750,000. The purpose of the trip was to meet with Irish officials and discuss political, economic and trade relations. With an average of only four hours of daily scheduled sessions (probably no attendance taken), the schedule also highlights visits to the Guinness Storehouse, Leinster House – The Irish Parliament, Dublin castle, Powerscourt Gardens, Newman House, Christ Church Cathedral, among others.

Sounds like a great trip, much like the junkets that lobbyist Jack Abramoff used to organize for favored lawmakers–with a small commitment to a "fact finding" or other nominally official duty, padded by ample time for sightseeing, wining, and dining–all paid for by the "foundation" that organized the trip. Longtime readers will recall former Rep. Bob Schaffer's Abramoff-arranged junket to the Marianas islands, where Schaffer "inspected" factories for labor abuses in between parasailing jaunts off the coast of Saipan.

The Colorado Independent follows up–guess which Colorado up-and-comer got invited? 

House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor made the list. So did Colorado Rep. Cory Gardner…

Gardner’s office didn’t return messages Friday afternoon seeking comment. So far two lawmakers have submitted their travel disclosure forms with the amounts the think tanks are to pay.

It will be interesting to hear if Rep. Cory Gardner, Colorado's most upwardly mobile GOP member of Congress, actually went on this junket. It wouldn't be the first such trip for Gardner of course, who brushed with controversy during his first term after being photographed at a cozy and posh meetup at a Florida resort between select Republican lawmakers and the big campaign donors who love them. There have probably been others, too.

Membership has its privileges, and Cory Gardner has earned his reputation for taking full advantage.

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