Michael Fields for HD-37

Colorado State House District 37 in Centennial, where I've lived for 40 years, has been ably represented by Rep. Spencer Swalm since 2006. Now that he is term-limited, the safely Republican district faces a spirited primary between Jack Tate, an engineer in his 50s, and Michael Fields, a young lawyer and schoolteacher who's not yet 30.

They are two good men, and the voters can't go wrong. But when balloting begins for the June 24 primary, Fields will get my vote.

Michael's thoughtful, well-researched position papers on conservative approaches to education reform and other issues impress me. His time as a staffer in both the US Senate and the Colorado General Assembly gives him a lot more experience with the legislative process than Jack.

I like it that Fields is youthful and that he has lived the black experience, being the son of an African-American professor whose own father was a distinguished pastor. Talking with Michael about race issues, though, as I've done and as Rep. Swalm did before endorsing him a month ago, you find he's crystal clear that equal opportunity doesn't mean equal outcomes and that past injustices to blacks don't justify an endless victim narrative.

Like former Sen. Bill Armstrong, himself elected to the State House in his mid-twenties, and who has also endorsed Fields, Michael has the potential to begin serving with distinction from the day he takes office--and to become part of the new face of the Republican Party in years to come.

To win in the 21st century, conservatives must forge an optimistic, forward-looking, right-minded coalition of all colors and all ages. Michael Fields, well prepared and solidly grounded on America's freedom principles, embodies that. I hope you will join me in supporting him for House District 37.

To compare the candidates, go to www.fieldsforcolorado.com and www.jacktate.org. I think you will come to the same conclusion that I have.

Bill would enshrine abortion in Colo. law

My wife and I sent this urgent email to all 100 members of the Colorado General Assembly today. The bill has cleared Senate committee and now awaits floor action. Please join Donna and me in raising your voice against Senate Bill 175. Dear Legislator:

We are gravely concerned about SB-175, "Concerning Freedom from Government Interference in an Individual's Reproductive Health Care Decisions."

Please oppose this unwise, unnecessary, ill-considered, extreme, and inhumane bill.

Persons of goodwill can disagree about how widely and easily available abortion should be under law. But a great many Americans would agree with the general approach taken by Bill and Hillary Clinton years ago - that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare." SB-175 does not meet that standard.

With its simplistic, far-reaching legislative declaration and policy pronouncement, it ignores the millions of us who believe that two lives, not one, are in the balance when a woman is pregnant. It rules out any kind of reasonable regulation, restriction, or compromise seeking to make abortions safe and rare.

While it's true that one legislature cannot bind the next, and that a repeal or modification of SB-175 (were it to become law) is entirely possible a year from now, it's also true that the law is a teacher and that your vote on such a law is an index of character. To vote for this bill is to go on record for an extreme, intolerant, inhumane, and indeed brutal posture of government in our state. To vote against it is an act of courage and conscience.

Please vote no on SB-175.

John Carson for CU Regent

When the 6th Congressional District Republican Assembly convenes on April 5, there will be a contest for the nomination to University of Colorado Board of Regents. I am supporting John Carson. His education reform achievements as president of the Douglas County School Board have had national impact. His candidacy is distinguished by a strong determination to fight for intellectual diversity and true academic freedom in CU's halls of learning. Carson will carry on the visionary work begun on this issue by retiring 6th CD Regent Jim Geddes.

Please join me in doing everything you can to see John nominated and elected. Colorado needs Carson! You can learn more and get involved by going to www.CarsonforCURegent.com.

McConnell heads for tall grass

Bob McConnell, who twice in the past five months told Republicans in western Colorado he was their man for high office, today set some kind of record by quitting the party in righteous indignation less than 24 hours after receiving his second rebuff. McConnell lost the August primary for Congress to Scott Tipton (who went on to unseat Democrat John Salazar), then lost last night's state Senate vacancy race to Jean White, then let loose today with the following mass email announcing his exit from the GOP.

crv email edition feb2011

Notice the military boast with which he signs off: "Rangers Lead the Way." Would that be the way to the tall grass when the going gets tough, Bob?

WHY I AM NO LONGER A REPUBLICAN January 4, 2011

To those of you who listened when I asked you to trust the Republican Party, I apologize. The GOP has failed us at the national, state, and local level. I am no longer a Republican because the GOP no longer represents me or what I believe. When I stepped into the fray a year and a half ago I thought the evil I was fighting was the progressive movement. I was only half right. We must defeat Barack Obama and his agenda. The GOP is not up to the task. It is time to face the reality that conservatives are being shut out of the Party. Conservative values, not a "go along to get along, what will keep me in office" mentality will defeat Obama in 2012.

As I drove back from the vacancy committee meeting in Craig last night, I heard that the RNC is $4 million in debt. And these are the people who will lead us to fiscal responsibility? Small wonder contributions are evaporating after we learned last summer that more than two-thirds of all contributions go to keeping the national machine in first class when they travel to gala dinners, and the occasional massage parlor visit. GOP "leadership" in the US Senate and House is an oxymoron - a true contradiction in terms. Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are poster boys for the GOP "paid their dues" mentality. They are the same two who with Pelosi and Reid, "led" us through the Bush 43 and Obama era financial debacle. Last month they caved on critical conservative issues during the lame-duck, and I sense that was just the beginning. Refusing to allow Michelle Bachmann a leadership position was a slap in the face to the Tea Party energy that put a new group of Republicans in office. Soon Congress will vote on whether to keep the government open by funding it with money we don't have. How will Republicans vote? And before May, Congress must vote whether or not to raise the debt ceiling AGAIN, further financially strapping our grandchildren. How will Republicans vote - based on the promises they made while campaigning or based on what they're told by the poster boys?

At the state level, the GOP looked like the Keystone Cops during the last election - funny if not so pathetic in result. Last night the SD 8 Vacancy Committee appointed Al White's wife to finish his term - liberal bloggers say the fix on that has been in for weeks. I am sure liberals celebrated with champagne when they heard the result. When a selection as important as the SD 8 seat is made by secret ballot, we, the people, suffer.

I am now registered as Unaffiliated. It was easy to disengage; just go to a website , and then start paying attention to patriots who pledge allegiance to the flag, not a party.

We need a vehicle other than the GOP to defeat Obama, because the GOP is not up to the task. It is a waste of time to try and change it from within; they have made it clear we are not welcome. The only way to get their attention is to leave. Not necessarily to form another party, but to stand together outside the Boy's Club as independent voters. We can field candidates who have no party allegiance or affiliation. We can choose people who have integrity and want to serve us, not just more mediocre life-long politicians who have paid their dues. Let's get their attention.

I have always urged you to "keep the faith." That never meant faith in the Republican Party, or any political machine. I ask you to have faith in yourselves, in ourselves as conservatives, to overcome the most serious crisis the Republic has faced in a hundred years. We must not repeat 1912 in 2012 and the GOP is well on the way to doing just that.

Rangers Lead the Way!

Bob McConnell

beawatchman@aol.com

970-846-4907

What's Jay say? Woods, cells, pets

Jay Says One: Gov. Bill Ritter signed a law that expands civil protection orders to include threats or acts of violence against pets. Pets? This is the same governor who has supported the killing of unborn babies in the womb. Why would an individual or a society want to protect animals, but not human beings? Jay Says Two: The Food and Drug Administration is putting the pinch on adult stem cell therapy that uses the patient's own stem cells. This procedure has been very effective. However, embryonic stem cell research, which requires the killing of of a baby in its earliest form, has been approved. The irony is that there has been private sector funding of embryonic stem-cell research, but it has failed to produce results. Why is our government so intent on killing babies?

Jay Says Three: After Brit Hume's son committed suicide, Brit recognized his need and yielded his life to Jesus Christ. He encouraged Tiger Woods to consider "the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith." Then, there was a firestorm of criticism. On the live coverage of the Masters, Tiger was so upset with his play that he cursed using the name of Jesus Christ on national television. Will there be the same sort of outburst against Tiger Woods for using the name of God the Son in vain?