Sent to a few thousand friends in Rep. Salazar's district today:

The time is now to speak out for clean energy and environmental protection. A critical vote in Congress on the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) is set for Friday, and we need our own Rep. John Salazar to support this bill.

That's why I'm writing. Can you take two minutes right now to call Rep. Salazar's D.C. office, and let them know that you want him to vote for the Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454)?

Time is short: please call his office now at 202-225-4761.

This is one of the most important votes Rep. Salazar will ever cast. The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) sets practical, science-based limits on pollution linked to climate change, and puts the country on the path to building a national New Energy Economy. ACES offers our country the most important opportunity in generations to jump start our economy, create millions of new, good-paying jobs, and set the stage for America to compete and prosper in the 21st century.

Please call right away, and thank you for doing your part at this critical moment.

Sincerely,

Leslie Robinson
Garfield County resident

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and former Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis have threatened to sue a pro-Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) group over a posting on Twitter using their names.

Attorneys for Gingrich and Anuzis wrote a pro-EFCA group on Wednesday, asking them to disable a posting by the anonymously-owned “EFCANOW” handle, which asked followers to sign a petition supporting the labor legislation, and included Gingrich’s and Anuzis’s Twitter handles.

The suit marks a first for the political use of Twitter, which has taken off amongst lawmakers, political figures and interest groups since earlier in the year. The complaint gets to the heart of one of the most common practices of the site: directing a message toward another user -- even if the two don’t know each other -- by using an “@” sign.

“The posting falsely purports to have been written by Messrs. Gingrich and Anuzis and includes the Mark as well as the Twitter ‘handles’ of the foregoing individuals,” attorneys wrote in a letter. “The posting is deliberately designed to fraudulently induce readers into believing that…Messrs. Gingrich and Anuzis all support EFCA.”

The attorneys alleged that the posting, of which the authorship is unknown, violates the pair’s trademark and publicity rights, and invokes tresspassing and wire fraud laws, and maybe even so-called “RICO” laws, which are traditionally used to target organized crime groups...

A false story was planted this morning about my sueing [sp.--Pols] twitter. This is totally false and we have repudiated it with the media

We were all disappointed by news yesterday that House Bill 1274, the bill to repeal Colorado's death penalty and shift resulting savings to cold case criminal investigations, had been effectively gutted in a surprise move by a few Senators.

But contrary to what you may have read, there is one more chance to fix House Bill 1274 and repeal the death penalty: Wednesday morning there will be a conference between the House and Senate to reconcile their two respective versions of the bill. Remember, the House passed a death penalty repeal, not a diversionary substitute bill! The conference committee can revert the bill to the House version or something close, and send it back to both chambers for another vote.

It all comes down to tomorrow, the last day of the legislative session. Can you call key representatives and Senators--either right now or early tomorrow morning--and tell them you want House Bill 1274 passed in its original form?

Senator John Morse: 303-866-6364

Senator Brandon Shaffer: 303-866-5291

Senator Dan Gibbs: 303-866-4873

Representative Ed Vigil: 303-866-2916

Representative Karen Middleton: 303-866-3911

Representative Beth McCann: 303-866-2959

Representative Lois Court: 303-866-2967

Representative Sue Schafer: 303-866-5522 

Representative Ed Casso: 303-866-2964

You can call your own legislator or others, too--visit www.leg.state.co.us for a phone directory. 

Also please take a moment now or in the next few days to thank Rep. Don Marostica (R) for his vote for House Bill 1274 earlier this session. Call him at 303-866-2947.

With the legislative session required by law to end tomorrow, legislators are hard-pressed to get through all the remaining legislation on the calendar. Please be respectful of these hardworking representatives, and their staff if you reach one of them instead. Feel free to call this evening, right now if you like, they're working late tonight and are in early Wednesday morning. Leave a detailed message if no one can take your call.

Friends, whether we ultimately win or lose in this particular fight, I want to tell you that I am enormously proud of the thousands of phone calls and emails our members have sent in support of repealing the death penalty in Colorado this year. It has been a privilege just to watch you all take action. You're a credit not just to our great state, but to the progressive wisdom that's slowly changing our country. Thank you.

The winners and losers of the 2009 Colorado legislative session

As the 2009 Colorado legislative session draws to a close this week, the state's largest progressive advocacy organization, ProgressNow Colorado, released their annual list of winners and losers:

The #1 Biggest Winner for 2009. Colorado's Uninsured--Despite a budget crisis that might have doomed progress on health care, Governor Bill Ritter and legislative Democrats passed one of the most significant pieces of health care legislation in four decades. The Health Care Affordability Act stands to cover 100,000 uninsured Coloradans at a time when the health care and unemployment are combining to squeeze families more than ever. The act was a product of skilled negotiations, good policy and innovative leadership.

2. Sen. John Morse--Morse demonstrated that fighting the good fight can also be good politics. By taking the reins on reforming Colorado's budget gridlock, Morse helped push an economic recovery agenda in the face of what has become typical partisan teeth gnashing from the Senate Republicans. In the process, Morse has been elevated to Senate Majority Leader after just two years in office.

3. Gov. Bill Ritter--Ritter proved how a crisis is also an opportunity. Facing what is likely the worst budget outlook in the modern history of Colorado, Ritter played a key role in budget negotiations, saving higher education and preserving some of his biggest priorities, while negotiating with hospitals to secure passage of the Health Care Affordability Act. Ritter also signed the FASTER Jobs bill creating jobs and addressing our roads. In addition he successfully negotiated a budget reform bill that will significantly increase Colorado's Rainy Day Fund--something the Republicans failed to do when they were in charge. Finally, Ritter also launched a website tracking how money from the federal recovery package is being spent in Colorado: www.colorado.gov/recovery.

4. Sen. Gail Schwartz--Schwartz chaired the Joint Committee on Job Creation and Economic Growth, providing leadership and lending her name to legislation supporting new energy job growth--not a bad position in a down economy. Schwartz continued to bring rural representation to the Democratic caucus, sponsoring bills encouraging rural broadband and bringing health care to underserved areas of the state.

5. Rep. Joe Rice--Since returning from his third tour in Iraq last year, Rep. Joe Rice has been busy. This year, he was the chief House sponsor of two of the biggest bills of the session: the FASTER Jobs bill, which is expected to create 5,000-8,000 new jobs on much needed investment in roads and bridges as well as the Colorado jobs creation tax credit.

6. Rep. Dennis Apuan--In a year where community-organizers-turned-politicians are all the rage, Dennis Apuan's freshman session was impressive. Apuan sponsored bills providing care to seniors andsupporting Colorado veterans, and he is fast becoming a fixture on the 5 and 30 local news with his town hall events. With his Obama-like resume and his McCain-style outreach, it's no wonder El Paso County Republicans are beside themselves.

7. Treasurer Cary Kennedy--Kennedy followed her collaboration last year with then-Speaker Andrew Romanoff on the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) bill to work with new Speaker Terrance Carroll on HB09-1346, which uses federal stimulus dollars to build schools and renewable energy infrastructure. This work, along with some shrewd management of the state's assets before the financial crisis, has made Kennedy a welcome leader at the Colorado Treasury.

8. Rep. Don Marostica--No one could have summed up the modern state of the Colorado GOP better than Marostica. Looking beyond the fireworks of Marostica's comments (e.g. Dick Wadhams is a "has-been" and a "loser"; Josh Penry can "jump in a lake"; the Senate Republicans are "lemmings"), Marostica understood that the challenges facing Colorado actually require solutions. Such notions are apparently heresy in today's GOP, which is why there continue to be calls to boot Marostica from the Joint Budget Committee.

9. Rep. Ed Vigil--For casting the deciding vote to repeal the death penalty in the House after agonizing over the longest minute of the session.

10. Colorado's New Energy Economy--One of the few bright spots in all the economic news is Colorado's continued leadership in new energy. Just last month, Gov. Ritter was cutting the ribbon at the new Abound Solarand GE Energy Control Solutions factories in Longmont. The legislature also tackled a slate of new energy jobs bills, including SB09-171 and HB09-1345, providing green-collar jobs training and laying the groundwork for a green energy grid, along with HB09-1312, a bill to help schools use renewable energy to save on utility costs. In addition House Bill 1346, the Investment Recovery Act, sponsored by Shaffer and Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll, would maximize the opportunity to leverage federal support for clean energy projects in Colorado that create homegrown jobs.

10. Right-wing spin--Going into session, we were told that oil and gas rules were killing jobs, conservatives supported transportation, Republicans wanted to put an end to the "permanent campaign," and the GOP was poised for... wait for it... a comeback. What we got was a hyper-partisan "party of no" strategy that continued to shill for the oil and gas lobby (Brophy in GJS 1/27/2009), flip-flop on the budget(Spence flip-flop on Homestead Exemption), and whine as Gov. Bill Ritter reasserted his leadership during the economic crisis(Penry in DP, 4/4/2009). Meanwhile, the headlines from the "resurgent" GOP were dominated yet again by Michelle Malkin, swastika guy and right-wing venom.

9&8. Sens. Scott Renfroe and Dave Schultheis--the two-headed monster--Either Colorado Republicans can't silence their extreme right wing or maybe have no real objection to it. Either way, these two made national news by going to the Senate floor and suggesting that gays should be put to death and that HIV-infected babies served as a warning to promiscuous mothers. Go back and read the comments. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/feb/25/words-and-controversy-senate-republicans/ They're still shocking.

7. Pinnacol Assurance--Even though they held on to $500 million in surplus cash that could have gone to higher education, Pinnacol execs did not weather the publicity well. When even your defenders are comparing you to AIG, as Sen. Greg Brophy (R-Wray) did in the Senate on April 9, you know you've got problems.

6. Rep. David Balmer--Anyone taking bets on whether Balmer tries to run for leadership again after this year's ethics scandal? Still, Balmer's storied resume won't stop his colleagues from accepting his checks.

5. Mesa County--The Colorado House of Representatives made history this year by electing Terrance Carroll the first African-American Speaker of the House... but not before presumptive speaker Bernie Buescher of Grand Junction was defeated by Republican Laura Bradford. Who's Laura Bradford? Exactly. The Mesa County Commissioners were also party to the mill levy freeze lawsuit that was defeated in the Colorado Supreme Court. Now this same bunch is considering "re-Brucing" in their continuing legal crusade to deny funding for Mesa schools.

4. Oil and gas lobby--One of the few industries willing to bankroll the Republicans anymore, the oil and gas lobby is at least batting 1.000 for trafficking falsehoods about oil and gas rules, all in an effort to fight protections for air, water, and wildlife.  Last summer, the rules were supposedly to blame for high gas prices.  Now we're constantly reminded how rules are closing drill rigs in Colorado, even as the global energy bust has shut down production in other states at comparable rates. For more on Big Oil making up falsehoods see:  http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/16/salzman-drilling-rules-exonerated/  For more on Josh Penry shilling for big oil see: http://www.gjsentinel.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2009/03/23/032409_6A_grant_column.html

3. Rep. Cory Gardner--Widely rumored to be entering the GOP primary to carry on Marilyn Musgrave's legacy in CD4, Gardner puts political self-interest in front of his constituents by voting to take out transportation dollars out of our state's budget and then claiming he wasn't trying to "hurt" transportation.  ("Road funding dumped from bill" DBJ, April 27, 2009) Gardner did little to distinguish himself--unless you count nearly weeping Glenn-Beck-style on cable over the oil and gas rule review bill. 

2. Denver Democrats--The legislature lost three veteran lawmakers this year from Denver: Sen. Jennifer Veiga, Rep. Anne McGihon, and even Senate President Peter Groff. Their experience will be missed.

The #1. Biggest Loser for 2009:  Sen. Josh Penry--If Penry proved anything, it's that he was more afraid of offending his party's base than appealing to the moderate middle. Penry was caught fudging the numbers on the oil and gas rules and was more than happy to polarize the state Senate when Colorado needed action on transportation and the economy. The coup de grace came with the state budget, after a bipartisan compromise passed the House by 51-13, broke along party lines in the Senate. This kind of weak discipline and immaturity was a lesson in being Penry-wise and pound foolish. And to top it off: Penry supporters began attacking primary rival Scott McInnis before the legislative session even ended. (See "McInnis' voice mail posted at site run by supporters of possible rival", GJS, 5/1/2009)

ProgressNow Calls On Pinnacol To Stop Stonewalling Colorado
State's largest progressive organization calls on public entity Pinnacol to stop grandstanding on the backs of Colorado students, public employees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 13, 2009
CONTACT: Michael Huttner, Founder at 303-931-4547

DENVER--ProgressNow Colorado, the state's largest progressive advocacy organization, released the following statement today on continued attempts by state-chartered entity Pinnacol Assurance to defy lawmakers seeking to balance next year's budget:

"It is plain wrong that Pinnacol Assurance, an entity chartered by the state, refuses to act in good faith to help lawmakers solve Colorado's budget crisis," said ProgressNow Colorado founder Michael Huttner. "Pinnacol, aided by high-powered lobbyists, is misrepresenting itself in order to hoard hundreds of millions of dollars in excess revenue it is essentially sitting on for no justifiable purpose."

"How can they possibly claim to be a 'private company' while enjoying all the benefits and tax exemptions of being a government agency? It's ridiculous," noted Huttner. "For example, Pinnacol does not pay the standard 7% taxes required of all insurance companies operating in the state, and is exempt from paying federal and state taxes."

"Pinnacol and its CEO Ken Ross seem determined to either force even more pay and service reductions on public employees, or force devastating cuts on Colorado college students," noted Huttner. "If Pinnacol will not join with other state government entities in good faith in this time of need, the public needs to hold Pinnacol and Ken Ross accountable."

Ken Ross, Pinnacol's CEO, is paid an annual salary of $500,000. (BDC, 4/19/2009)

###

Easter Sunday is a day to celebrate life and reconnect with our families. I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

If you have just a couple of extra minutes today, there is something important you can do to support the fight for better health care in Colorado--it could be just the thing to impress people with at the dinner table later, too.

A very important bill has been making its way through the state legislature and faces a critical vote right after Easter. I'm not sure if you knew this, but right now, doctors aren't required to be practicing or even licensed in Colorado when they deny insurance claims. That's just ridiculous.

Senate Bill 61 would change that.

Senate Bill 61 will ensure that doctors who review insurance claims or make decisions to approve or deny claims must be licensed to practice medicine in the state of Colorado, and they must also be qualified in the same or similar specialty as the treating physician they are reviewing. If this seems like a no-brainer to you, that's because it should be.

But the insurance industry is lobbying hard to prevent this bill from passing and key representatives (listed below) need to hear from you. Please take a minute right now--yes, right now!--and call or email: tell these legislators to vote YES on Senate Bill 61. We want people to leave voice messages and send emails, so it doesn't matter if it's Sunday! The vote is on Monday, that's tomorrow.

Rep. Jeanne Labuda
Phone: (303)866-2966
E-mail: jeanne.labuda.house@state.co.us

Rep. Beth McCann
Phone: (303)866-2959
Email: beth.mccann.house@state.co.us

Rep. Wes McKinley
Phone: (303)866-2398
E-mail: wes.mckinley.house@state.co.us

Rep. Joe Rice
Phone: (303)866-2953
E-mail: joe.rice.house@state.co.us

Rep. Jim Riesberg
Phone: (303)866-2929
E-mail: jim.riesberg.house@state.co.us

Rep. Sue Schafer
Phone: (303)866-5522
E-mail: sue.schafer.house@state.co.us

Thanks for taking a couple quick minutes out of your busy holiday to stand up for what's right. And tell everybody you visit with today what you did to protect their health care! Have a great Easter.

This past weekend ex-Congressman Scott McInnis, now a lawyer-lobbyist, announced at a Republican party meeting that he plans to run for Governor in 2010. ("McInnis tells pals: "I'm in" governor race," Denver Post, 3/22/2009)

The last time McInnis was in the papers this much was in November, 2004 when he was still in Congress and under investigation by the Federal Election Commission. The FEC was investigating McInnis for using his campaign committee to pay his wife a salary of more than $40,000, plus an additional $1,150 per month, plus additional funds for a car and cell phone. (Denver Post, 11/12/2004).

The big problem with that arrangement was that McInnis didn't actually have a campaign at that point. He already had announced in the summer of 2003 that he would not seek another term, but still kept his wife on the "campaign" payroll for over a year after his decision not to run. (Washington Post, 11/10/2004)

It gets worse.

On June 2, 2004, McInnis stated that much of the $1.3 million leftover in his campaign war chest--what he wasn't giving to his wife--would be used to "seed a new foundation" on breast cancer research, education and conservation. (Rocky Mountain News, 6/2/2004)

But on September 29, 2004, just before McInnis left office, his first reported "charity" was a $5,000 contribution to the DeLay Legal Expense Trust, the legal defense fund for ex-Majority Leader Tom DeLay.  (Center for Responsive Politics) Two months after that donation, and following DeLay's indictment, McInnis voted to weaken the ethics rules and allow his boss DeLay to remain majority leader. (RMN, 11/21/20004)

Paying for DeLay's legal expenses out of his campaign war chest is a far cry from McInnis' pledge to use the money for breast cancer research, education and conservation.

Click on the following link to join our call for McInnis to stick to his pledge to use the money left-over from his previous campaigns for "breast cancer research, education and conservation" instead of bankrolling his wife or Tom DeLay's legal expenses:

http://www.ProgressNowColorado.org/KeepYourPledge

Thank you, in advance, for your help in holding McInnis accountable.

ProgressNow Applauds Sweeping Colorado Support For Employee Free Choice
Representatives from across the state agree to co-sponsor Employee Free Choice Act introduced today 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
CONTACT: Michael Huttner, Executive Director at 303-931-4547 

DENVER--ProgressNow, Colorado's largest progressive advocacy organization, today applauded introduction in Congress of the Employee Free Choice Act and thanked Colorado congressional representatives who signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation. 

"In this time of economic crisis, America is turning its focus back to the people who matter most to American prosperity: our working families," said Michael Huttner, executive director of ProgressNow Colorado. "Employee Free Choice is central to President Obama's economic recovery plan, leveling a playing field that has been tilted against working families and toward corrupt CEOs for far too long." 

Congressional representatives from across Colorado, representing diverse constituencies and backgrounds, have come together to co-sponsor Employee Free Choice. Rep. John Salazar represents Pueblo steelworkers, major energy producing areas of the state, and important tourist destinations. Rep. Jared Polis is a successful businessman with a long history in startup enterprises and finance. Similarly, Rep. Ed Perlmutter is an seasoned corporate attorney who understands what American business needs to be competitive. Rep. Betsy Markey, another successful businessperson, represents areas of Northern and Eastern Colorado that have been hard-hit by the economic crisis that began during the Bush administration. 

"All of these diverse representatives have joined in unified support for Employee Free Choice," said Huttner. "They understand the importance of giving American workers a stake in their future, and they know this bill will make America stronger and more competitive in the global economy. We want them to know that the people of Colorado are behind them, and won't be fooled by dishonest attacks from corrupt CEOs and their mouthpieces on the right." 

###

It's hard to believe. But it really happened.

Yesterday, State Senator Dave Schultheis (R-Colorado Springs) voted against a bill requiring that HIV testing be available for pregnant mothers, arguing that he thinks mothers should suffer the consequences of the actions leading them to acquire HIV. Given the opportunity to clarify his position, Schultheis actually said the following to the Rocky Mountain News:

"What I'm hoping is that, yes, that person may have AIDS, have it seriously as a baby and when they grow up, but the mother will begin to feel guilt as a result of that. The family will see the negative consequences of that promiscuity and it may make a number of people over the coming years begin to realize that there are negative consequences and maybe they should adjust their behavior."

That's not a misprint. Senator Schultheis actually said he hopes babies get AIDS as punishment for their mothers.

Senator Schultheis has the right to say whatever he wishes. And we have the First Amendment right to respond to him: 

http://www.ProgressNowColorado.org/RespondToSchultheis

http://www.ProgressNowColorado.org/RespondToSchultheis

Please also forward this email and invite your friends and neighbors to comment as well. We'll deliver your comments directly to Senator Schultheis, Minority Leader Penry, and the media.

ProgressNow Saddened By Closure of the Rocky Mountain News
Storied media outlet will be missed, says Colorado's largest progressive organization 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, February 26, 2009
CONTACT: Michael Huttner, Executive Director at 303-931-4547 

DENVER-In response to reports that the Rocky Mountain News will close after tomorrow's edition, ProgressNow Colorado executive director Michael Huttner offered the following statement on behalf of hundreds of thousands of network members: 

"The Rocky Mountain News has been a Colorado institution for longer than Colorado has been a state, and it is a truly sad moment to learn it will close after tomorrow's edition. As the Rocky consistently offered some of the most thorough and insightful coverage of local and regional political issues of any Colorado news source, today's announcement represents a loss to the right of all the state's citizens to stay informed on the issues closest to their daily lives. 

"We are pleased to hear that many excellent journalists from the Rocky Mountain News, including Lynn Bartels, Gargi Chakrabarty, and columnists Mike Littwin, Tina Griego and Bill Johnson will continue their important work at the Denver Post. We are also happy that Vince Carroll is moving to the Post, though we frequently disagree he is an honest and credible conservative voice. We look forward to continuing to work with these irreplaceable reporters and opinionmakers on the issues of the day, and wish everyone at the Rocky the best of luck in their future endeavors." 

###

"The comments make me sad," President Pro Tem Sen. Betty Boyd (D-Lakewood) said. "They were very hurtful to a lot of people, particularly when you talk about a woman who might be infected with HIV to give birth to a child who would have AIDS when they were born. That was, I thought, appalling."

The Schultheis firestorm came just two days after Sen. Scott Renfroe (R-Greeley) made a comment that some have interpreted as comparing homosexuality to murder during a debate over a bill to extend state health care benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian state employees.

On Monday, Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, created a stir by quoting Bible verses that condemned homosexuality. He made his comments during a debate over extending health insurance benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian state workers, a measure sponsored by Veiga.

Penry said many Coloradans support the traditional view of marriage and defended the right of lawmakers to express their strongly held views.

Debate on the health benefits bill also rankled some Republicans. They objected to Senate Majority Leader Brandon Shaffer's comments suggesting that supporting the bill was the more "enlightened" stance.

We're in tough economic times. And many Coloradans are having to make hard choices about what they can and can't afford.  Healthcare shouldn't be one of them. But it is.

There are no easy solutions. But there are some critical bills pending right now in the state legislature that would expand access to healthcare, hold big pharmaceutical companies accountable, and provide much needed sick days to employees when they need it most.

In an effort to keep you up to date on what's happening, we've launched the Healthcare Now Hub where you can learn about the different healthcare bills and hold your elected officials accountable.

http://www.progressnowcolorado.org/healthcarenow

Please take a minute and check it out. And then take action. The only way we can change things is by getting involved.