Just One Thing: Jared Polis commutes Tina Peters' prison sentence
Trump ally Tina Peters' prison sentence cut in half by Colorado governor - The Colorado Sun
Tina Peters, Colorado Election Denier, Will Be Freed by Gov. Jared Polis - The New York Times
Official press release from governor: Governor Polis Announces Clemency Actions | Colorado Governor Jared Polis
Polis explaining himself on Facebook: (20+) During my time as Governor, prior to today,... - Governor Jared Polis | Facebook
My thoughts (as slightly edited from originally posting on X):
I'm somewhat torn about Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuting the sentence of Tina Peters. By which I mean I'm OK with commuting her sentence, but it's too soon.
I don't want the gullible folks and the grifters (like the guy trying to become chair of the Colorado GOP or Scott Bottoms who's running for governor) to think this means they're right that Peters didn't do anything wrong or that, as Bottoms ridiculously said on TV last week, that Joe Biden didn't win the 2020 election.
Peters committed a serious crime that cast doubt among many (inside and outside Colorado) on our state and federal elections, all based on lies from a sore loser (who ended up winning 4 years later) and, again, based on lies by people who were seeking clicks and donations based on the gullibility of the MAGA base.
That said, as an elderly non-violent first-time offender, a 9-year sentence was too much. AND, letting her out after roughly 20 months is not enough punishment or enough of a deterrent for future scoundrels and idiots (although idiots might not be dissuaded.)
I also note that an appeals court was going to resentence her and there was no need for Polis to jump in before that decision.
Given that it's exceptionally unlikely that the next governor, who will be a Democrat, would not have commuted her sentence, I would have preferred to see Gov Polis commute Peters' sentence at the very end of his term so she would have served over two years. (Three or four would have been closer to justice in my view, but not nine.)
Anyway, he's governor and I'm not so that's that.
Quite a few Dems, including some running for office, are mad. Partisan hack Jean Griswold who might well be our next attorney general, though I sure hope she's not, criticized the decision. Current AG (Aspiring Governor) Phil Weiser had this ready to go, apparently:
I will also note that this should prove once and for all that Jared is not running for president. Lots of folks have seemed convinced for years that he was running; I was always more skeptical. Almost zero chance someone who commutes Tina Peters' sentence could get the Democratic nomination, not that -- as Jared himself has said -- they're likely to nominate a gay Jewish guy anyway, especially with the disgusting and significant increase in antisemitism in the Democratic Party (and in at least the fringes of the Republican Party.) I mean, today's Democrats are much less likely to nominate a Jew than to nominate someone who supports the death of Jews (it'll be interesting to see what happens in the Democratic primary for Senate in Michigan), but I digress...
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Today's Guests
Sarah Isgur is the co-host of the Advisory Opinions podcast for The Dispatch and author of the new book about the Supreme Court entitled "Last Branch Standing." It's a wonderful combination of informative and entertaining, starting with a story about snails being charged train fare. I highly recommend Sarah's book to anyone who cares about not just our judiciary, but our government.
Hat tip to listener Eric who was on our recent listener trip to Europe for suggesting Sarah as a show guest.
Sarah Isgur, Author at The Dispatch
On X/Twitter: Sarah Isgur (@whignewtons) / X
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Michael Dougherty is the Boulder County DA and is seeking the Democratic nomination for Colorado Attorney General. He joins the show to discuss his displeasure with Gov Polis's commutation of Tina Peters' prison sentence.
Michael Dougherty for Attorney General
This is a letter co-authored by Dougherty to Gov Polis about a prior commutation: DAs pen letter to Polis with concerns on I-70 truck driver sentence commutation
By the way, like Victor Marx, Democratic candidate for AG (and current terrible Secretary of State) Jena Griswold skipped the Dem AG debate (which they call "forums") yesterday...the seventh in a row that she's missed.
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Other Stuff
It's a very political show today, but we'll get some other stuff in too...
We've heard this a few times over the past two months. I have no idea if or when Trump will order more attacks. If he does, I hope they're against true military targets, especially targets that are part of Iran's effective control of the Strait of Hormuz. The efficacy of military strikes has been proven to be limited. The efficacy of everything other than choking off the regime's income is limited. The only solution, and it may be impossible, is arming enough civilians to overturn the government. Hard to see it happening. At the moment, it does feel like the US is losing this war despite overwhelming military superiority.
Trump warns Iran "clock is ticking" until US launches harder strikes
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Are you freakin' kidding me? Weld County GOP chair resigns following charge of soliciting a child prostitute, party says | 9news.com
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The parliamentarian may save Republicans from themselves on this moronic proposal to spend taxpayer money on "the ballroom" after President Trump promised repeatedly that it would be funded with private donations: Senate parliamentarian deals blow to $1B security proposal for White House | AP News
But the GOP isn't giving up.
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This is not even close to OK: Cherry Creek Schools spent $65,000 on Brazilian film crew for video
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And this is much worse...in fact this is the thing that concerns me most about our government (debt and deficit): 30-year US gov’t bond yield 5.12%, highest in almost 20 year (Axios)
How Would Higher Interest Rates Affect Interest Payments? -2022-02-10
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I have the same questions that Jon has: Questions for Mike and Phil | Jon Caldara - Colorado Springs Gazette
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Find the perpetrator and cut off his feet. Or a foot. Or at least a couple of toes for cryin' out loud: Statue stolen from Greeley park found, but case still unsolved
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This just stinks. Does anybody care?
Trump Bought Up to $5 Million of Nvidia Stock — Then OK’d AI Export Deals That Sent Shares Soaring
And then there's this: Trump Mobile says T1 phones will ship this week
From the original announcement of the phone: "While customers can easily switch using their current phone, Trump Mobile is also excited to announce it will release the 'T1 Phone' in August. It is a sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States for customers who expect the best from their mobile carrier."
Later they switched to this: "Meet the T1™ Phone - Premium American-Made Smartphone for Performance & Privacy" but the text of the page doesn't say American-made. It says "American-Proud Design. The T1 Phone isn’t just powerful; it’s shaped by American innovation. With American teams helping guide design and quality, we focus on delivering a device built with care and precision." Riiight...that apparently means they designed the American flag printed on the case...but it only has 11 stripes when the flag actually has 13, so that about does it for quality control. It's hard to know what phone this really is though it's very likely a Chinese phone that they put in a new housing in the US to claim "assembled in America."
Let me be clear about something: Most phones are made largely or entirely in China (and some elsewhere in Asia). None in the US that I know of and certainly none of the big brands. I don't object to that. I object to trying to sell to "patriotic" Americans as if they're buying something American. I also object to Trump's ongoing efforts to force American companies to make everything in America when it's not economically (or, for now, technologically) feasible, as his own family's latest grift have shown.)
Check out the community note about the Trump phone. To be clear, I don't know that it's that same Chinese phone mentioned in the note. Also the published specifications have changed including pictures showing, for example, three camera lenses in a triangular pattern and then three lenses oriented vertically. And finally, I note that as of the moment of this writing, the link for the phone at the Trump Mobile website is https://enroll.trumpmobile.com/device-detail/Ml8x. The MI8 is a model of phone from leading Chinese phone maker Xiaomi.
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Where's Waldo? I mean Tom...
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A good senator loses as Trump retains control over GOP primary voters: Letlow and Fleming advance to Louisiana Senate runoff, Cassidy loses | AP News
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It must be that teens are drinking less, having less sex, doing less of all the things that our parents were worried about kids doing when I was a kid. Yeah, that's good in a lot of ways but I suspect that much if it is due to young people spending so much less time with each other, and that's a tragedy.
Teens are drinking less. Their loneliness may play a role.
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Victor Marx responds to Michael Brown's request for Marx to back up some of his claims, and Marx uses Michael's questions as an excuse to dodge yet another debate. Victor Marx - Michael Brown, Let me be very clear. I am not... | Facebook
My response:
This whole thing is fascinating. Victor Marx is clearly dodging answers to relevant questions just has he's found an excuse to dodge every debate. AND the responses to Michael Brown from Victor and his supporters show something we've known about the GOP base for a while now: it's not just that facts don't matter; it's that they object to the questions. It's just a bunch of people who deeply desire to be part of a cult or a tribe to give meaning to their lives even if it means losing everything they claim to care about politically.
I get why Victor is an appealing candidate. I thought so too, initially. Former military, claims to have done some remarkable things to help others, and undoubtedly charismatic. Seems like a guy you'd love to have a beer with and listen to his stories (even while understanding that many of them seem embellished or false.) I'm sure that describes plenty of other people who shouldn't hold office either.
I've never been prouder to have given up my Republican Party membership years ago (and have never been a Democrat.) The party is weak and confused nationally but the situation in Colorado is much much worse. Liars and grifters ran the party apparatus for years. Brita Horn was not in that category but was not up to the job, whether because of mismatched skills and a temperament not suited to the position, or because the Williams-Oltmann wing of the party used every tool they had to try to maintain their grip on the party no matter how much they lose elections.
I expect that unaffiliated voters who participate in the GOP gubernatorial primary will prefer Barb Kirkmeyer to Victor Marx (as I do) but if the base of the GOP votes in large numbers for Marx despite all the red flags about him, saner voters may not be able to overcome them. This is more likely than usual because it's an open seat and unaffiliated voters may choose to participate in the Democratic primary instead.
There is upside and downside if Victor Marx were to win the primary: The upside is that Victor Marx may well lose in the biggest landslide in (at least recent) Colorado history. The biggest margin of victory in the past 50 years was Dick Lamm beating John Fuhr by 34 points in 1982. (Second biggest was Bill Owens over Rollie Heath by 29 points in 2002.) I don't know if Victor will lose by as much as Heath or Fuhr did, but it's certainly possible and I'd be shocked if he lost by less than 20 points. The downside is that he'll drag down other Republicans who might have had a chance to win legislative or local elections. (If Victor Marx is the nominee I would consider voting for a Dem for a major office for the first time in my life but most likely I would either do my homework on the Libertarian candidate or simply not vote in that race.)
One other thing to watch is the eventual Colorado GOP vote for a new party chairman. If they elect Joe Oltmann, a man with too many flaws to enumerate here, you'll know that there is no saving the state party. Time to burn it all down (metaphorically...don't go lighting a fire anywhere, please) and see what can emerge, if any sane people want to spend their time trying to rebuild what will certainly be a minority party in this state for some years to come.
Nominating Victor Marx will at least hurry that process along and since I'm someone whose son's middle name is Rand, you'll understand that I think that in politics, often things need to get much much worse before they can get better. As bad as the CO GOP has been for these last years under the thumb of people like Dave Williams and his grifter friends, Marx and Oltmann are much much worse and for that, in a strange way, I'm grateful.
I should add...there is a path for Kirkmeyer even with moderate participation by unaffiliated voters: if the MAGA/devout-Christian GOP base split between Marx and Bottoms.
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What's up between Trump and Lauren? What's always up with Trump: he demands loyalty and offers precisely none.
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Some places always will have higher median prices than the state's overall median price. It's a normal thing. But it is a worthwhile goal in a place as large as Douglas County for people who work there to be able to afford to live there: High home prices narrow pool of buyers in Douglas County
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I’d be very interested to know whether this was a guy who just didn’t care or whether the cost of hay or feed drove his decision to allow this mistreatment. (The latter would not excuse it, to be clear.) Nearly 100 bison seized in northwest Colorado neglect case
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More beer being made in Colorado but not more beer being consumed in Colorado. Colorado craft beer production is on the rise, but in-state consumption is still declining
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Today's Video
I don't normally do this, but today's video is a speech by the Majority Leader of the South Carolina State Senate, Shane Massey (R). Much of the stuff at the beginning of his speech is specific to his state but then he gets into a discussion of political principles that everyone should hear. I encourage you to start where I have it queued up below and listen for about 5 minutes...and then share with your friends and anyone who supports hyperpartisan redistricting, by which I mean efforts to nearly eliminate congressional seats of a particular party as is currently the case against Republicans in all of New England and against Democrats in much of the South. For example, quite a few Republicans in SC (but not Massey) want to eliminate the one (out of 7) House of Representatives districts held by a Democrat, in a state in which the Democratic candidate for president has gotten at least 40% of the vote in every election since 1992. (Well, 1992 was 39.9% but I'm counting that.)
I had this on the blog the other day but didn't get to it on the show: Well he sure caved in fast, one day after I praised the SC GOP for leaving the ONE Dem seat in the state alone. This is soooo bad for the country. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster calls for redistricting special session
Hat tip to guest Sarah Isgur for mentioning this remarkable speech in the most recent edition of the Advisory Opinions podcast: SCOTUS Clears Way for Alabama to Use Congressional Map - The Dispatch (may require subscription) or maybe try this link: SCOTUS Clears Way for Alabama … - Advisory Opinions - Apple Podcasts