Ritter strikes out on energy

(Denver Post, July 6) Where is “Far Side” cartoonist Gary Larson when we need him? Two prehistoric inventors stand before the tribal elders, beaming proudly. Og has discovered fire, and Zor has invented the wheel. But the ruling Democrats turn thumbs down. “Begone,” they order. “No good will come of those things.” I exaggerate, of course. The elders would decree taxes and regulation, not a ban. Dems aren’t cavemen, after all. Yet if you follow the logic of liberals like Bill Ritter, we’re headed for a future with less fire and fewer wheels. Their distaste for the obvious energy sources that keep America rolling and the lights on is that intense.

Following a sweaty commute on Gov. Ritter’s bike-to-work plan, you can spend the day in one of Mayor Hickenlooper’s minimally air-conditioned office buildings. After dining at ethanol-inflated food prices that evening, you can join our green leaders in one of their voluntary switchoffs, a darken-the-city display of pity for the planet.

That’s the sacrificial approach, the future as guilt trip. Barack Obama has warned: “We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times, and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.” As the loyal convention host for Obama, Ritter is in a sweat himself over those bad ol’ fossil fuels. Let’s count the ways:

With gas prices at $4 and climbing, the governor wants a huge tax increase on Colorado oil and gas production. That’s one. His Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is set to impose new rules that will make it even harder to get energy out of the ground. That’s two. And he’s saying no, in concert with Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar and Senate candidate Mark Udall, to developing our oil shale. That’s three, an energy policy strikeout.

Everyone knows the alternative-energy litany. “Wind, solar, biomass, hydro,” we chant. “Fuel cells, perpetual motion, Kryptonite,” we add in hope of an extra indulgence from the Gaia priests. I have nothing against all that stuff (though I’ve sometimes rooted for Lex Luthor against Superman). It’s simply a matter of cost-benefit and timelines. That stuff is tomorrow, whereas oil and gas – and nuclear, which Ritter sidestepped on "Meet the Press" last week – are today, if Colorado keeps its backbone.

Two short summers ago, Bill Ritter took the state by storm as a pro-business Democrat. Taxpayers and consumers soon learned otherwise. Part of his soul is owned by the unions and the rest by Earth First. How else explain his ballot proposal to more than double the severance tax on petroleum, a mainstay of our state’s economy both in employment and at the pump?

The tax hike takes a divide-and-conquer angle by targeting a single industry which many currently scapegoat, and proponents say it would boost business in general by boosting higher education.

But chambers of commerce have seen through the ruse and refused their support, while university presidents are lukewarm. Their need is operating funds, not the scholarships that Ritter is vaguely promising. Nor can state bureaucrats dispel his vagueness without violating campaign finance laws.

Bottom line: the severance tax petition looks doomed with a month to go; don’t waste your time signing. Take time instead to attend one of the commission hearings on those draft regs to impede oil and gas drilling with more red tape. Big turnouts so far indicate significant citizen pushback.

Perhaps Democratic tribal elders won’t get their way after all. The dread of environmental guru Amory Lovins that it would be “disastrous for us to discover the source of clean, cheap, abundant energy, because of what we might do with it,” may not prevail. Most of us, you see, really want to keep the fires burning and the wheels turning.

Are tax dollars pushing tax hike?

If Douglas Bruce authored a ballot initiative that simply said, "Taxes shall be reduced by $300 million a year" but couldn't explain which programs should be eliminated or scaled back, pundits would ridicule his half-baked scheme and scold him for wasting the public's time. That's the treatment Gov. Bill Ritter should be receiving for his hastily proposed $300 million oil and gas tax increase - money to be showered on various programs with few specific instructions.

Perhaps because he's the Governor, some editorialists have suggested that state bureaucrats should flesh out the details of his proposal, specifically his vainglorious "Colorado Promise" college scholarships.

There's just one problem: state law frowns on commandeering government workers at taxpayer expense to do homework for a ballot campaign that hasn't even qualified for the ballot, much less been approved by voters.

After the Governor changed his tune about how the scholarships would work and whom they would benefit, higher ed chief David Skaggs, the former Boulder congressman, rode to the rescue:

"[T]he Colorado Commission on Higher Education instructed staff . . . to prepare recommended policies to implement the provisions of the scholarship ballot measure and to have them ready for the commission to consider at its next meeting, July 10," Skaggs wrote in a letter to the editor.

Didn't these state staffers have any work to do before the Governor decided to play Santa Claus to college students by raising taxes on oil and gas? If not, then perhaps he could create a few scholarships simply by eliminating unnecessary bureaucrats in higher ed.

Both Denver dailies have correctly noted that Ritter's ballot initiative is in trouble without more specific detail, but it is not proper for state employees to develop those details for the campaign.

Colorado Revised Statues (1-45-117) allow government employees to "respond to questions" but they may not spend "more than fifty dollars of public moneys in the form of letters, telephone calls, or other activities incidental to expressing his or her opinion on any such issue."

No doubt, Gov. Ritter and Mr. Skaggs will contend they are simply asking state staffers to answer questions - not using them to garner support for the initiative. But these are not technical questions, like "Will the scholarships come in the form of a reimbursement or as a credit against tuition?" These are essential policy decisions, such as "How much will the scholarships be worth?" and "Who will be eligible?"

Without these specific details - which the Governor and other proponents failed to provide - the tax increase and the Governor's vanity scholarship program are dead in the water.

Still, the courts have ruled that the purpose of the aforementioned law "is to prohibit the state government and its officials from spending public funds to influence the outcome of campaigns for political office or ballot issues."

Another court case said that even an informational "brochure mailed by (a government entity) explaining proposed improvements violated the law because it did not present arguments for and against."

On June 18, I filed an open records request to find out exactly how much homework higher ed officials and the Governor's staff are providing for the ballot initiative. Mr. Skaggs responded that his staff could not produce this material within three working days "without substantially interfering with the staff's obligation to perform other public service responsibilities."

While I await his final response, I will contemplate how it is that his staff can develop, almost from scratch, a $130 million scholarship program without compromising "the staff's obligation to perform other public service responsibilities."

Andrews does a Tocqueville

When we French need insights into American society, we can profitably peruse French historian Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1835 classic, Democracy in America. If Coloradans, and all Americans for that matter, need to find out more about moral, economic, and sociological trends in Europe today before they make a choice in November’s American presidential and congressional elections, they can confidently expect guidance from former Colorado Senate President John Andrews’ discerning comments on the subject following his recent trip there. In his latest Denver Post column, John points out at least nine European idiosyncrasies which accurately encapsulate the Old Continent’s chronic deficiencies:

- Weariness - Restricted outlook - Fewer children - Secularism - Sluggish economies - Heavy taxes - Burdensome bureaucracies - Weak defenses - Diminished freedom and responsibility

These perversions have one thing in common: The kind of big-government welfarism that Barack Obama is ominously advocating for America as the Democrat Party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

America would ultimately be sinning against Providence if it were to follow Old Europe’s lead down the primrose path to the kind of despotism Tocqueville so perceptively warned democratic nations against a century and a half ago. As Mr. Andrews so lyrically and ringingly puts it in his column, “ A torn and tired world needs the sword of [American] vigilance and the flame of [American] idealism.”

Note: “Paoli” is the pen name, er, nom de plume, of our French correspondent. Monsieur is a close student of European and US politics, a onetime exchange student in Colorado and a well-wisher to us Americans. He informs us the original Pasquale Paoli, 1725-1807, was the George Washington of Corsica.

I'll be a steward of freedom

The people no longer know what Republicans stand for. Consequently, the people no longer stand with Republicans on Election Day. Editor: Such was the blunt diagnosis of Colorado GOP woes by a bold new voice in state party politics, Leondray Gholston of Aurora. He is a businessman, Navy veteran, Catholic layman, father of seven, and former chairman of the Colorado Black Republican Forum. As a late entry to the Republican National Committeeman race at the State Assembly on May 31, Leondray upset popular conservative state Sen. Dave Schultheis and scored a respectable second to former Treasurer Mark Hillman. The final numbers were 55% to 26% to 19%. His speech, which sounded even better in the hall than it reads here, left no doubt that more will be heard from this determined young man. Here it is:

Why I am running for national committeeman? Because freedom requires stewardship. Our Republican Party is the party of freedom.

We are a freedom-granting and liberty-loving people. From emancipation to the liberation of Kuwait, civil rights to the ouster of the Taliban, the party of Lincoln and Reagan has championed freedom.

At our core, the pillars of the Grand Old Party are to:

** Strengthen the free enterprise system,

** Optimize government to the lowest practical level,

** Advance fiscal responsibility, and

** Protect the rights of the individual.

Can there be any cause more noble or worthy of our efforts?

Each of these planks has a direct corollary in freedom. Keeping government out of our pockets, away from our opportunities, and from trampling our rights have always been the hallmarks of the GOP.

Of late and especially in Colorado, we have seen a dramatic reversal of fortune. Nearly everything we once were politically has been washed away. One has to question why this has happened.

I believe… it is because we have lost sight of our most sacred charge, trust, and charter, that being to defend and extend freedom we have allowed ourselves to become the “anti” party. The people no longer associate us with liberty. The people no longer know what Republicans stand for. Consequently, the people no longer stand with Republicans on Election Day. We must regain our true title and mission as the defenders and extenders of freedom

So what does this have to do with National Committeeman? Many consider this office to be largely honorary and at its best a fundraiser.

I see this post as an opportunity to lead!

If we as a party are to return to our recent and rightful position of dominance at the ballot box, we must have leaders in and leadership from every position. The Colorado National Committeeman is no exception.

It is this leadership that must find a solution for funding every race. There are about 1.1 million registered Republicans in Colorado. If each of us were to write a check every 1st of January for a whopping $50, our coffers will burst to the tune of 110 million dollars per election cycle.

Imagine as a party being able to provide $12 million for US Senate races and $2.5 million per US House race. Now imagine $32 million for the election of Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney General.

Picture Colorado Republicans challenging every state senate and state house seat with $500,000 and $200,000 respectively. This scenario is within our capability. The price tag… $50 a year and a love of freedom.

We must choose today a new path, a path that ever points to liberty. There is and of right should be no other choice.

Now is the time for leadership. Now is the time for vision. Now is the time for the drive to make that vision, our reality.

Every position in our party must be filled by a leader. A leader that understands our ultimate objective, above raising money or even beating the democrats, is to extend freedom.

A free society requires a constitutional, just, and limited government, a strong defense, and an educated public. As your national committeeman I will be a steward of freedom. Armed with this message of freedom I will work to fill our coffers, increase republican registration, and shape the party of tomorrow.

I am Leondray Gholston, I ask for your vote and support. May God bless you, this assembly, and our beloved Republic.

Finally, a voice for prosperity

Here comes the cavalry at last, I told a press conference at the State Capitol today. Too few powerful voices speak up for productive Coloradans in a Colorado political scene currently dominated by advocates for redistribution, regulation, and anti-market schemes. Now at last a proven success model called Americans for Prosperity is riding over the ridge to help change that. I'm pleased to be on the group's advisory board. Here's their press release with full details. ================================

The national free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) today launched its Colorado state chapter, saying that its first goal would be to educate and mobilize grassroots taxpayers in support the removal of artificial, government-imposed barriers to energy development, which will help lower prices for cash-strapped citizens.

“From unnecessarily limiting the supply of energy to proposed cap-and-trade carbon taxes and regulatory schemes, many state and federal government policies are threatening to put a major dent in Coloradans’ quality of life,” said AFP President Tim Phillips. “Current and proposed energy policies largely amount to higher taxes, lost jobs and less freedom, and the Colorado chapter of Americans for Prosperity is going to educate and mobilize taxpayers on this and other issues, and we’re going to make sure their voices are heard loud and clear in Denver and in Washington.”

The group has named veteran Colorado grassroots leader Jim Pfaff as its state director. Pfaff formerly served as President and CEO of the Colorado Family Institute and Colorado Family Action and since 1998 has also served as President and CEO of IRDS, Inc., a public relations and political consulting company that specializes in grassroots mobilization, public policy consulting and polling.

“Americans for Prosperity has been fighting the good fight in other states and in the nation’s capital and getting results through taxpayer involvement,” said Pfaff. “With such an outstanding, effective organization looking out for citizens’ interests, we are going to have a major impact on Colorado.

“Colorado has a strong energy economy, but many politicians and special interests are putting Colorado families in peril because of environmental alarmism,” said Pfaff. “Recent calls for oil shale development are a good example here. We are sitting on one of the largest oil fields in the world, yet Mark Udall, Ken Salazar and Bill Ritter are fanning the flames of environmental fears. Instead of pushing for reasonable oil shale policy which can help reduce energy costs and gas prices in the long run, they are stirring up fears of environmental disaster which are just not true.”

Americans for Prosperity now has 21 state chapters around the country. In 2006, the group was active in fighting to reform Colorado’s costly Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA,) and will now work toward educating and training grassroots taxpayers in every corner of the Rocky Mountain State in support of increased responsible energy production and other pro-taxpayer issues, such as protecting the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, making government spending more transparent and ending forced unionism.

AFP has also become a national grassroots leader in the fight against pork-barrel earmarks and global warming alarmism. In 2006 the group traveled over 10,000 miles to 37 states and 50 pork-barrel earmarks on the Ending Earmarks Express road tour of federal earmarks. The group is currently in the midst of a nationwide Hot Air Tour, which is exposing the high economic costs of so-called “solutions” to global warming.

According to the American Council on Capital Formation, Colorado stands to lose between 20,000 and 31,000 jobs by 2020 if proposed cap-and-trade global warming tax hikes are approved by Congress. Moreover, the group estimates that the price of gasoline would skyrocket another 74 – 140 percent by 2030 and the cost of electricity would increase by 96% to 133%.