Hickenlooper Solidly In Front Of Q4 Fundraising

Briefly noting for those of you keeping score, incumbent Gov. John Hickenlooper completely dominated fundraising in the 2014 gubernatorial race last quarter–as the Denver Post's Lynn Bartels reports:

Gov. John Hickenlooper reported raising more than $1 million last year for his re-election campaign — although his fundraising efforts in the third quarter were aimed at raising money for flood victims.

Former Congressman Tom Tancredo raised $409,200 last year, according to his campaign, which tops the list of contributions among the six Republicans vying to unseat Hickenlooper. He has $123,620 on hand. Secretary of State Scott Gessler comes in second with cash on hand with $114,196.

Tancredo raised $191,985 last quarter, and has $109,174 on hand. Gessler raised $123,000 in the last quarter, while state Sen. Greg Brophy raised $51,595 in the last quarter and has $45,746 on hand. Former Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, who only has been fundraising in the final quarter, raised $103,833 last quarter, and has $46,839 on hand.

FOX 31's Eli Stokols adds:

Former Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp raised $103,833 in the last fundraising quarter of 2013, according to financial reports filed Wednesday.

It was the first indication of Kopp’s fundraising ability after the candidate entered the race late enough in the third quarter that he wasn’t required to post a report…

A closer look at the candidate’s report shows that Kopp wouldn’t have hit that target if not for his own $8,217 personal check to his campaign.

With Hickenlooper at least doubling his closest GOP contender, it's a great performance–especially, as Bartels notes, much of the quarter was spent raising disaster relief funds, not campaign funds. Tom Tancredo's relatively good haul, and continued leadership of the GOP primary field in polling, helps explain why his opponents are increasingly singling him out for attacks. Meanwhile, another poor performance for Sen. Greg Brophy, who for all his recent hits on Tancredo only managed to raise $52,000 last quarter, moves him closer to the inevitable exit.

There's nothing about these numbers that should make Republicans feel good. It will take more than halving Hickenlooper's fundraising total to convince us optimistic GOP rhetoric in this race has any basis in reality.

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Tancredo says Republicans “will not beat Hickenlooper” on gun issues

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

On KNUS radio this morning, host Dan Caplis said it was "legitimate" for Sen. Greg Brophy to spotlight Tom Tancredo's post-Columbine vote for a House resolution limiting, among other things, the size of magazines to 10 rounds or fewer, the same limitation put on magazines by one of Colorado's new gun-safety laws.

In response, Tancredo, who's battling Brophy for the chance to take on Gov. John Hickenlooper in November, downplayed the importance of the gun-safety issues in the upcoming general election, saying, "We are not going to win an election on this."

Here's part of Tanc's response, as heard on KNUS:

Tancredo: "I'll tell you that if, indeed, anybody believes that the Republican nominee, whoever that might be, can win the general election on this [gun] issue, or a couple of others that are fairly focused, they're wrong. We will not beat Hickenlooper, I don't care who it is, we will not beat Hickenlooper on this issue… We are not going to win an election on this. …

The NRA has always supported me. These things are essentially frivolous attacks that do not help in the long run. And as I say, I do not agree with you that this is something that the other side will use. Do you really believe that Hickenlooper would be attacking me for being soft on guns?"

Caplis: I think it would come up. And I think you'd handle it well…. Here's how I would definitely see it coming up in the campaign. You're running against Hickenlooper. You're the nominee. You're bashing him…he tried to restrict Coloradans' gun rights. And then Hickenlooper turns around with their 527s… 'Wait a second. Tom agrees with Hickelooper on this.'

Listen to Tancredo on Caplis saying GOP won't beat Hick on Guns

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Hickenlooper Hints at Potentially Terrible Idea on Gun Safety Legislation

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper held an end-of-year press briefing at the State Capitol yesterday. He told reporters that he was aiming for a modest, quiet legislative agenda (more on that in a moment), but more importantly, he hinted at a potential strategy around gun safety legisation that would be absolutely disastrous for both he and his fellow Democrats. From the Associated Press:

Hickenlooper said he doesn’t want to see any gun-control laws repealed, including new expanded background checks and a 15-round ammunition magazine limit. But he told reporters he’d consider tweaks to some of the new gun laws, without specifying what changes he’d agree to. [Pols emphasis]

“If there’s a way to improve them some way, if you have some way that they work better or do a better job at what was their intention, then I think we should sit down and have that discussion,” Hickenlooper said.

Stop digging, Governor.

This may just be one of those classic "off-the-cuff" statements by Gov. Hickenlooper that make his staffers cringe but don't otherwise end up having any basis in truth behind them. But if Hickenlooper is so much as entertaining the idea of "tweaking" gun laws approved last spring, it would likely end up being the Governor's most bone-headed decision in his political career. You can argue whether or not you think the gun legislation passed by Democrats was a good idea, but there is absolutely no reason for Hickenlooper to support changing any of the new laws after only a few months.

"Tweaking" any of the legislation would immediately be spun as a victory by Republicans and groups like Dudley Brown's Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. Hickenlooper can use whatever word he wants to describe such a change, but to everyone watching it would appear as nothing less than a capitulation on an issue that Democrats fought long and hard to achieve. And to what end? Would right-wing voters who opposed the gun safety legislation decide to support Hickenlooper all of a sudden? Of course not!

Such a decision would just make Hickenlooper look weak — and "leadership" is really his biggest message problem — while helping Brown and friends raise money and attract more supporters. But perhaps most importantly, it would ignore the fact that Coloradans are actually supportive of gun safety measures; Democrats just lost the messaging battle this year. If you don't remember that Quinnipiac Poll from last August, here's a snippet from our post at the time:

The poll results also show that voters say they generally oppose Colorado's new "stricter gun control laws," though from the breakout of opinions on various gun safety measures, voters may not entirely understand them:

Colorado voters support 82 – 16 percent requiring background checks for all gun buyers. Support is strong among all groups.

Voters are divided 49 – 48 percent on a ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

The takeaway here is that voters don't like the phrase "stricter gun control laws," but actually seem to support gun safety measures when asked separately.

What Hickenlooper and his fellow Democrats really need to do is find a better way to talk about gun safety legislation — but any sort of "tweak" should be off the table in 2014. Hickenlooper said repeatedly during yesterday's press briefing that he anticipated a "quiet" legislative session, meaning that his office has no plans to do anything significant that will interest the average voter heading into next November. If that projection indeed holds true, then anything like "tweaking" gun legislation will receive more attention than usual given a lack of other interesting stories for reporters to cover. It's a perfect storm of a bad idea.

We've seen already that Hick is likely to base his re-election efforts around the theme of an improving economy, and if he doesn't plan on doing anything of note in the upcoming legislative session, then he's better off sticking with that message 100%. Showing strong leadership is Hick's most pressing problem, and you don't lead by going backwards.

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Hickenlooper Offers Glimpse at Re-Election Theme

Did Hick make the economy stronger? Well, he didn’t NOT make it stronger.

Taking a page out of former President Bill Clinton's playbook (or James Carville, if you'd rather), Gov. John Hickenlooper provided a glimpse at what is likely to be a central theme of his re-election campaign in a fundraising email to supporters this afternoon.

Given his rather tepid support of Democratic-backed legislation in recent years, you're not alone if you've been wondering what Hickenlooper would campaign around in 2014. You know he doesn't want to talk about guns or the death penalty, and the recent failure of Amendment 66 makes it difficult for him to talk about education, so…it's the economy (stupid):

I’m glad to be the one to break it to you: We’ve got more economic good news! Unemployment is down and most other economic indicators are up across the board. The national economy is back on track, and Colorado’s economy along with it. Check out Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s recent statement, which hits some of the highlights.

The morning news isn’t always good, and around these parts we certainly know how it feels to wake up to tragedy in the headlines. But more often than not when we pull out the paper first thing its stories like this that get us revved up to keep at it.

We’re hard at work in Colorado, bringing in jobs in wind turbine manufacturing, construction, education, and making sure local governments have the resources to do their jobs. We’re making sure that Colorado is the kind of place people want to raise a family and start a business, and that’s a message that we are proud to spread far and wide.

Things are looking up. Naturally, we have our share of challenges to tackle, but that’s no excuse for believing that things aren’t going to get better.

They can. And they are. And we’re going to keep Colorado headed in the right direction.

You can argue over how much credit Hickenlooper should get for creating jobs in Colorado, but regardless of any particular cause-and-effect relationship, (and similar in some respects to Clinton's presidency) it is inarguable that an economic upswing did happen while Hickenlooper was Governor.

It's also a clever move to point to Scott Gessler's economic report as part of this message — it sends a bipartisan tone, and it also highlights one of Hickenlooper's preferred opponents in a general election.

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Gov. Hickenlooper Serves Up the Sage Grouse for Thanksgiving

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

It appears that Gov. John Hickenlooper will be serving-up the greater sage-grouse for Thanksgiving this year.

In comments during a visit to the Western Slope with local officials, he claimed that the science was unclear as to whether oil and gas drilling affected wildlife habitat for the bird that is in dangerous peril of being listed as an endangered species.

It’s hard to say that those activities are the cause of diminishing numbers of sage-grouse.

Gov. John Hickenlooper, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, 11/25/13.

Apparently, Gov. Hickenlooper doesn’t listen to wildlife biologists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and his own administration at Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which found that oil and gas drilling poses the single greatest threat to greater sage-grouse populations in Colorado—a threat that is “increasing exponentially”.

“In the eastern portion of GrSG [greater sage-grouse] range (Colorado’s population), oil and gas development was seen as being the highest threat to GrSG, followed by infrastructure as associated with energy development and urbanization.” [emphasis added]

- Colorado Parks and Wildlife, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, U.S.D.A. Natural Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Statewide Conservation Plan, January 2008

It’s unfortunate to see Gov. Hickenlooper use the bully pulpit for providing credibility to the junk science efforts of the Garfield County Commissioners, who are using thousands of taxpayer dollars to bring-in a Texas-based private consultant firm and industry-favorite wildlife biologist contrarian because they didn’t like the results of what the wildlife biologist staff at Colorado Parks and Wildlife were recommending.

The simple truth is that we need Gov. Hickenlooper’s leadership to drive a plan based on science that protects wildlife habitat and prevents an animal from becoming so rare that it is too expensive or impossible to save.

Unfortunately, Gov. Hickenlooper’s track record for conservation and protecting wildlife habitat is a little thin. This past summer, he joined four Republican governors on a letter opposing endangered species listing for another bird found in the West.

Protecting wildlife habitat for the greater sage-grouse isn’t just good for the bird, but it helps protect the greater landscape, hunting and fishing opportunities, and local economies throughout the Rockies. The animal shares the same wildlife habitat as big game such as mule deer or elk. Often times, these animals are face the same threats. In fact, mule deer populations saw huge drops due in part to oil and gas drilling.

Let’s do better by science and come up with a common sense plan that protects wildlife habitat and ensures oil and gas operators act responsibly on public lands.

"Our very way of life is under attack," Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway over-reacting to something.

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Hickenlooper Appoints New Supreme Court Judge

Fox 31's Eli Stokols is first to report the news:

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper plans to announce the appointment of William Hood to the state’s Supreme Court Friday afternoon, FOX31 Denver is first to report.

Hood, 50, will replace retiring Chief Justice Michael Bender. Justice Nancy E. Rice will take Bender’s place as Chief Justice, the court decided.

Hood is currently a District Court Judge in the Second Judicial District (City and County of Denver), a position he has held since being appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter in 2007.

Hickenlooper was under some natural pressure to appoint a Democrat to replace the liberal Bender with a similar-minded justice — particularly after his last appointment to fill a vacant seat; in 2011, Hickenlooper chose Jefferson County Republican Brian Boatright to replace the retiring Alex Martinez, a decision that did not sit well with Democrats. Martinez had been a liberal voice on the Colorado Supreme Court, and replacing him with the conservative Boatright may have ultimately been the difference in the Lobato education lawsuit.

Selecting Hood, a registered Democrat, keeps the court's political affiliations about the same: 3 liberals (Hood, Nancy Rice, Gregory Hobbs), 3 conservatives (Allison Eid, Nathan Coates,and Boatright), and 1 "Unaffiliated" (Monica Marquez).

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Hickenlooper Raises $221k; Warchest at $774k

The Q3 report for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is now available online, showing a three month fundraising effort netting $221,914 for a total cash-on-hand amount of $733,772.

Hickenlooper's Q3 fundraising is fairly modest, in part because of a busy summer schedule impacted by major natural disasters. Hickenlooper remains on a steady fundraising pace, however, and raising money has never been much of a problem for the Governor.

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Gov. Hickenlooper: Local Control Is Best, Except In Colorado?

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Just last week, Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado was questioned by a health care professional who asked the governor why he continued to be a party to a lawsuit against the town of Longmont even as they continue to pick up the pieces from devastating flooding.  He evaded any definitive answer but did say, “We didn’t do that because we wanted to, and “we will certainly address all the issues.” 

If you haven’t seen this video, take a look. It’s worth seeing the reaction from Gov. Hickenlooper.

It appears that Gov. Hickenlooper is willing to stump for the oil and gas industry and oppose water, air, and public health protections from oil and gas drilling at all levels of government.

This past August, the Western Governors Association (WGA) of which Gov. Hickenlooper is chair, sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell all but telling her to butt out of regulating fracking on federal lands, despite the fact that Jewell is responsible for managing these publicly owned national parks, forests, rivers, canyons and deserts.

Essentially, the governors argued in their letter that the Interior Department can ignore it's responsibility to manage these national parks and lands because Western states already have systems in place to effectively regulate oil and gas operations. Gov. Hickenlooper signed the letter.

So, Gov. Hickenlooper opposes the federal government creating well safety standards for oil and gas fracking operations on federal lands because local control is best, but at the same time has two lawsuits against the town of Longmont opposing local control.

Last year, Gov. Hickenlooper filed his first suit because Longmont passed strong public health and safety standards for oil and gas operations within town limits to protect their residents.

His second lawsuit came against Longmont this past July where he joined the state’s top oil and gas lobbying firm, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, in opposition to its citizens passing a ban on fracking operations within city limits.

Do industrial oil and gas operations belong within city limits? The Governor has admitted that fracking is "an industrial process that no one wants in their backyard", yet he seems to be going to bat for the oil and gas industry even at the expense of our public health, and safety.

Maybe Gov. Hickenlooper supports strong oversight at the state level of oil and gas operations? Not so fast.

Gov. Hickenlooper has a track record of opposing, weakening, or creating loopholes in public health protections such as opposing additional funding for oil and gas inspectors and creating loopholes in groundwater protection rules for companies such as Anadarko and Noble in northeastern Colorado. 

In fact, just a few weeks before the WGA letter, the Hickenlooper Administration awarded the state's biggest oil and gas polluter, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., with an "Outstanding Operator the Year Award" for 2012 despite their 70 spills – 38% of which caused water contamination.

If we're going to protect our way of life, small businesses, ranches, farms and our families, we need Gov. Hickenlooper to do better. If his administration is unwilling to protect Colorado residents, then he should expect and accept that local governments will step in.

We recognize the importance of oil and gas in our economy and we also know that development can be done with reasonable safeguards for our water, air and land. Our small businesses, families, communities and long-term economic prosperity depend on those precautions

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Hickenlooper: Caldara’s “Gypsy Vote” Unlawful

UPDATE: Dr. Seth Masket of the University of Denver writes for Pacific Standard:

In one sense, this is an interesting case of civil disobedience: A citizen knowingly and publicly committed a crime to draw attention to a problematic law. In another, this is a pretty astounding case of a crime being manufactured to demonstrate the need to fight crime. While not quite on the level of manufacturing a galactic civil war to justify the creation of a Clone Army, this is still pretty striking, given the history of this particular issue…

Efforts to crack down on voter fraud, of course, have important consequences on subsequent elections, even if they do nothing to prevent actual fraud. Requirements for voters to bring photo identification to the polls, or efforts to limit who receives a mail-in ballot, tend to have a disparate impact on racial minorities and poorer voters. These voters tend to be strongly Democratic when they actually vote, so it’s hardly shocking that the parties have polarized on the issue of voter fraud.

But the specific case of voter fraud committed Saturday in Colorado is a pretty special one. Here’s an activist concerned about a loophole in a law that would allow people to vote outside their districts. Rather than point to the (so far nearly non-existent) illegal voters, he’s just voting illegally himself. If the statistics don’t support your case, be the statistic.

—–

Jon Caldara.

?A sternly worded press release from Gov. John Hickenlooper's office this morning:

“We are hearing disturbing reports that some people are being encouraged to go to the polls, not to legitimately vote, but to disrupt the process. That would be unlawful and makes a mockery of the democratic process. [Pols emphasis]

“We urge the county clerks in Pueblo and El Paso counties to make clear that people engaged in attempting to disrupt the elections are open to criminal prosecution. We’ve also reached out to the Attorney General to help us ensure fair elections take place this week.”

The Denver Post's Lynn Bartels was first to report Independence Institute director Jon Caldara's appearance at an El Paso County polling location Saturday morning, as well as his intentions to do so Friday. Reporting today in the aftermath of Caldara's alleged felony act:

The governor’s spokesman, Eric Brown, on Sunday talked about “political stunts.”

“We share growing concerns that some people would rather pursue political stunts than respect election law,” Brown said. “Voting integrity and respect for law should be paramount in these recall elections. Coloradans deserve at least that much.”

El Paso County Clerk Wayne Williams said he’s excited Hickenlooper is now paying attention.

“It’s too bad he didn’t pay attention before he signed the fatally flawed law that compromised the integrity of the election system. Perhaps Gov. Hickenlooper should have listened to the testimony about the problems with HB13-1303 before signing it,” Williams said in a statement. “The ‘disturbing reports’ he cites are a direct result of his ignoring the concerns of citizens and signing fatally flawed legislation.”

Again, as we've been repeatedly assured, by numerous competent authorities we trust far more than El Paso County Clerk Wayne Williams, the above statement is false. The "problem" here is not with any flaw in the legislation passed this year. The only "flaw" at work is the reasoning of the Independence Institute's director, and his willingness to commit a crime in order to make a false point. If Williams does not refer this patently obvious case of vote fraud to the district attorney, and higher authorities are forced to step in to enforce the laws he will not, that's going to look very bad–for Williams, DA Dan May, everybody. 

It's worth remembering that Clerk Williams was one of very few county clerks to oppose the election modernization bill in question which passed this year, House Bill 1303, and was written in large part by fellow county clerks from both parties. If you accept the opinion of most clerks that the bill is in fact well written, and the opinion of the Governor and many others that there is no "loophole" which allows for the fraud Caldara committed, the next logical question is why this particular county clerk is smugly refusing to enforce election law.

If you haven't noticed, open contempt for the law from certain public officials charged with enforcing it, from sheriffs and the state's gun laws to Clerk Williams and state's election laws, is starting to become a serious issue.

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Hickenlooper Swings Into Action For Morse, Giron

Gov. John Hickenlooper, taking a position and everything.

In a nationwide appeal sent moments ago via the Democratic National Committee, Gov. John Hickenlooper throws down hard against the upcoming recall elections of Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron:

We have shown in Colorado that after great tragedy we can come together and make our schools, streets, and homes safer.

After Columbine, we closed a loophole that allowed dangerous people to purchase weapons at gun shows.

After the senseless shootings in Aurora last year, we studied the facts and talked to a wide range of people — including Second Amendment advocates — about how we could prevent gun violence. We passed legislation improving mental health services, modest restrictions on future sales of high capacity gun magazines, and universal background checks.

We were only able to pass the law because Democratic legislators had the courage to stand up to outside special interests — but now those groups are trying to make an example of two of them by forcing them into a recall election…

Opponents of these laws told us that expanding background checks wouldn't keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. The facts show otherwise. Last year alone, more than 5,000 people failed background checks because of arrests or convictions for serious crimes, including 38 people for homicide, 133 for sexual assault, 420 with restraining orders, 618 for burglary, and 1,380 for felony assault.

Expanding background checks to cover all gun sales prevents violent criminals from acquiring guns. That means safer communities while also respecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Coloradans.

These recall elections cost a small fortune and do nothing to improve democracy or representative government. They are intended to intimidate and punish a select number of Democratic legislators for daring to vote their conscience — for daring to do the right thing to make their communities safer.

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Hickenlooper: Bring Back The “Smoke-Filled Room?”

THURSDAY UPDATE: Gov. John Hickenlooper walks back clarifies his remarks in today's Denver Post:

"At no point did I suggest that we should embrace back rooms," he said, adding that he was telling the reporter about the ideas proffered by columnist Fareed Zakaria.

"If we're all bemoaning why there is this lockdown and inability to get bills passed or to have government function in Washington, this is a part of it," he said. "I'm not saying we go backwards, … but keep in mind there should be some other way to counterbalance this. I am not saying you go back into secrecy. I'm just pointing out this transparency creates problems. It's hard to argue that's not the case."

Tuesday's Time story that started the hubbub now updated as well:

Updated Wed. Aug. 7, 2013: ”The governor doesn’t support [bringing] back earmarks,” said Hickenlooper Communications Director Eric Brown.

—–

Gov. John Hickenlooper.

A fascinating tidbit from Time's Zeke Miller yesterday, reporting from the National Governor's Association conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Depending on your point of view, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's most memorable quote coming out of this conference is either heroic Hickenlooper frankness or his biggest gaffe since "you can drink fracking fluid." We'll let you decide:

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a potential 2016 democratic candidate for president, has a creative — and controversial — idea for ending Washington, D.C.’s partisan gridlock: start legislating from behind closed doors and bring back the earmark.

After decades of fights for transparency in government, Hickenlooper told TIME that those well-intended initiatives are making government and lawmakers less effective. “We elect these people to make these difficult decisions, but now they are in the full light of video every time they make a decision,” Hickenlooper said at the National Governors Association meeting in Milwaukee, Wis. on Friday.  “We elected these people, let them go back into a room like they always did.” [Pols emphasis]

One Republican governor in attendance endorsed the idea on the condition he not be named. This seemingly counterintuitive opinion — that outcomes would improve if the process is obscured — is catching on in Washington among political elites of both parties as a way of making a dysfunctional Congress work again…

As the theory goes, earmarks and traditional pork-barrel negotiations gave ideological legislators a reason to stay invested in the process of crafting legislation. As anyone following American politics knows, that's a process that has almost totally broken down in recent years, especially the years since 2010 of a GOP-controlled House pitted against a Democratic Senate and White House. Miler of Time makes clear that restoring so-called "earmarks," which were banned by Speaker John Boehner after the GOP retook the House, is not on the agenda anytime soon. But it's a good question: did the "bad old days" of doing business in Washington actually get more done?

Go ahead and debate that while we peel our open government advocate friends off the ceiling.

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