Saturday, December 31, 2016
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
WHO CONTROLS THE COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY (2016 EDITION)
Before
I reveal my final electoral college prediction, I cannot stress enough how
important downballot races are. What happens in your state capitol matters;
probably more than what happens in our nation’s capital.
Again,
to quote Omar Navarez, “Obama’s going to give me (a gay Latino) my equality.
But he ain’t going to fix the roads in Dallas.”
How
did Colorado, Oregon, and Washington institute a mail-in ballot system. It
was magic. Because they had legislators who believed in making it easier
for people to vote. Oregon has automatic voter registration which I am hoping
we can bring to Colorado.
On the
opposite side, look at the list of bad legislation that is coming from certain
states and look at which political party controls that state’s legislature and
governorship. Voter ID, limits to polling locations, right to work laws,
anti-abortion laws, anti-LGBT legislation, and so many others.
Monday, November 7, 2016
OUR SENATOR(S)
2016
was going to be a tough year for Republicans defending the gains made the last
time these seats were up six years earlier. In 2010, Republicans won senate
seats in Florida, Indiana, Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin as well as re-election of incumbents in Arizona, Iowa, Missouri, and
North Carolina. Democrats were successful in holding seats in Colorado and
Nevada.
Why
are these states mentioned?
With
the exception of Arizona, Indiana, Missouri, and North Carolina, Obama won the
remaining 7 states twice in his presidential runs. While Indiana and North
Carolina were Obama states in 2008, both states were in the Republican column
in 2012 though North Carolina is trending more towards battleground while
Indiana has reverted back to a reliably red state.
Here
are my picks for some key senate races to keep an eye on while watching the
election coverage on Tuesday night. For
the purposes of full disclosure, here is a list of senators I donated money to
this cycle.
FLIP THE HOUSE (2016 EDITION)
It
is not going to happen.
Well…
it could, but based on what I have seen it will not happen.
CHOOSE WISELY
I might
have been a TAD abrasive in my critiques of third parties, but the truth is
that one of these two people will be elected president tommorrow.
To
the undecided voters that remain and especially those that live in competitive
states, ask yourself this: you have two candidates for a job. One group, A, thoroughly
vetted their two major choices and one person emerged. The other group, B,
vetted 17 people and one person emerged out of that group.
Group
A’s candidate was as an administrator, played an active role in community
service, is well versed in international relationships, and knows the inner
workings of how the company work. The candidate has detailed knowledge about
the makeup of the company’s employees, their issues, and is constantly studying
on ways to improve their lives. Group A’s candidate has an issue with record
keeping but has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
While
Group B’s candidate despite a business background has a well-documented history
of sexual harassment, discrimination, prejudice, promoting a hostile work
environment, and has not disclosed any financial records that have been
requested. Group B’s candidate also has looming unresolved legal issues.
The
company will pick one of these two candidates. A third option is not viable.
Selecting a third option means that your choice will be noted, but will likely
result in a candidate you despise running this complex company and its
employees for the next four years.
Obviously,
Group A’s candidate is highly qualified but has flaws. There is no such thing
as a perfect candidate. B’s candidate could potentially damage the reputation
of the company that would take years to recover from, and the morale of the
employees would drop.
The
time for choosing is upon us.
Choose
wisely
THIRD-PARTIES
In
reviewing my posts from the 2012 election cycle, I noticed that there was
barely any mention of third and minor party candidates.
And
here is why.
AND HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER
Incumbent-Senator
Mark Kirk faced challenger Representative Tammy Duckworth in the Illinois
Senate debate on back in October.
There
were two statements that stood out.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
FAVORITE SIMPSONS POLITICAL QUOTES (2016 EDITION)
It
is the Sunday before the election and a biannual tradition here at Michael's
Rant where I display my favorite Simpsons political moments and quotes.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Thursday, November 3, 2016
2016 NFL SEASON: WEEK 9
Election
Day is 8 November, this coming Tuesday.
VOTE
|
|
Me
|
Monica
|
|
WEEK
8
|
70-48-2
|
75-43-2
|
|
TOTAL
|
7-5-1
|
8-4-1
|
Saturday, October 29, 2016
I’M (STILL) WITH HER
Don’t
act so surprised
I endorsed Hillary
Clinton prior to caucusing for her in March, and I am returning my ballot for
her at a drop off location.
KEEP IT LOW KEY
When
he was appointed to fill the seat in January 2009, Michael Bennett was a
relative nobody in the political word. He was the Denver School Superintendent
when then-Governor Bill Ritter picked him to fill the seat vacated due to Obama
picking Ken Salazar to be the Secretary of the Interior.
CLEARING THE SMOKE (COLORADO AMENDMENT 72)
Political
ads on television are commonplace at this time every two years in Colorado.
One
ad I have noticed talks with ranchers about this constitutional amendment that
would create these new taxes, and they are not fans of it.
I
also noticed a “No on 72” sign on the door of a gas station’s Kwik-e-Mart one
day.
So I
pulled out my phone to see what Amendment 72 is exactly.
IN GOOD CONSCIENCE (COLORADO AMENDMENT 106)
I
recently had a discussion with my mother about Amendment
106, the Access to Medical Aid in Dying proposal called the Colorado
End-of-Life Options Act. It is modeled after Oregon’s law that was passed in
the 1997.
Friday, October 28, 2016
TWO-FOR-ONE (COLORADO AMENDMENTS 107 & 108)
Here
is a special endorsement; a two-for-one deal involving both Amendments 107 AND
108.
Both
amendments deal with how the political parties deal with choosing their
nominees for offices; 107 deals with the presidential primary while 108 would
open the primaries for all non-presidential elections.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
ON RAISING THE BAR (COLORADO AMENDMENT 71)
Here
is why I support changing the signature threshold requirements for ballot
initiatives.
It
is because of personhood.
DOWN BALLOTS MATTER (2016 EDITION)
I
received my ballot in the mail last week.
While
there is the top of the ticket, there are also several downballots that deserve
just as much attention.
I am
equally concerned about who occupies 200 East Colfax Ave ZIP Code 80206 as much
as who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and who controls Capitol Hill.
Many
require a deeper analysis and I will announce my findings about those issues in
several upcoming posts.
For
now, these are some of elections that are on the ballot specifically in Denver
that I am endorsing.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
CLINTON-TRUMP III (SNL)
Kate
McKinnon and Stephen Baldwin faced off for the final SNL 2016 debate parody.
CLINTON-TRUMP III RECAP
The
final general election between the major party candidates is in the books.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
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