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Gov. John Hickenlooper called Thursday for a focus on bipartisanship in the 2014 legislative session, but Republicans can be forgiven for greeting his proposal with a certain skepticism. The 2013 legislative session, often described as the most liberal in state history, may have also been the most partisan. Democrats pushed through major legislation with no Republican votes on a half-dozen fronts, including election reform, gun control, education funding, and the rural renewable-energy standard. “It would be lovely if he behaved in a bipartisan manner, but that’s not what we saw last year,” said state Sen. Greg Brophy (R-Wray... ... This...

UPDATE: Noting that Alan Salazar, Hick’s strategery chief, retweeted the bizarre proclamation, Colorado’s gubernatorial candidates weighed in via The Colorado Observer.  Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo said that the tweet “seem[ed] to claim that ‘there is no Second Amendment’ and called on the governor to explain the message”, observing: “The tweet implies that the governor looks at gun rights in the same way as [Potter] does, and unless the governor says something to the contrary, that’s what we have to conclude.” Fellow gubernatorial candidate and state senator, Greg Brophy, said, “It’s an indication of how deeply their animosity toward gun rights...

when it comes to the possibility of repealing the measures outright, as some Republican lawmakers have suggested, Hickenlooper doesn’t believe “we're going to repeal anything."

CENTENNIAL—Democrats have long insisted the state’s new gun laws were passed to help stop mass shootings, but Gov. John Hickenlooper said Sunday that the measures did nothing to prevent a teen gunman from storming Arapahoe High School. In an interview on CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation,” the Democratic governor was asked why the laws failed to avert Friday’s shooting at the suburban high school. “You actually passed some pretty tough gun laws out there in Colorado after those other incidents happened, and yet they continue to happen,” said moderator Bob Schieffer. Hickenlooper responded that Coloradans “care deeply” about two things: protecting...

Gun-rights advocates are having trouble digesting a social-media post from a senior advisor to Gov. John Hickenlooper that compares the right to bear arms with the right to bear a ham sandwich. “’Constitutional rights,’” yes. But #gunrights? Isn’t that like #hamsandwichrights or #lightbulbrights or #bombrights or #humanrights…wait,” says the message from Max Potter, the governor’s senior media adviser, on Twitter. Former Rep. Tom Tancredo, who’s running for the Republican nomination for governor, said the tweet seems to claim that “there is no Second Amendment,” and called on the governor to explain the message. “The tweet implies that the governor looks...

An example of the tension between Western Democrats and the Obama administration surfaced Monday when Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper told a rural audience that Washington bureaucrats are pushing a “slanted version” of the sage-grouse issue to political decision-makers. Mr. Hickenlooper, a Democrat who’s running for re-election in 2014, said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is receiving one-sided advice from staff at the Fish and Wildlife Service over the issue of whether to place the Gunnison sage grouse on the endangered-species list. “She has an open mind, right, she’s not well-versed in this issue, and she recognizes that,” said Mr. Hickenlooper in...

Even though Gov. John Hickenlooper did most of the talking during Monday’s “lean in and listen” stop in Craig, the locals made it clear they’re tired of having their concerns brushed aside by lawmakers in Denver and Washington, D.C. Chief among the issues raised at the public forum were the federal crackdown on coal, the looming sage-grouse listing, and the state legislature’s doubling of the renewable-energy mandate and limiting access to firearms and ammunition. Brandy Meek, chair of the Moffat County Republican Party, drew loud applause when she said, “I would urge you, this next legislative session, please represent all...

DENVER — The state Independent Ethics Commission has voted to proceed with an ethics complaint filed against Gov. John Hickenlooper.

The rules are significantly stricter than some draft rules floated earlier. Wolk called those rules a "straw man proposal" but conceded that public reaction to those rules wasn't enthusiastic. "We felt that we needed to get stronger," Wolk said. Earlier this month, a group of concerned moms showed up at Hickenlooper's office with dolls they called "gas patch kids" to represent children living in areas impacted by the surge of oil and gas drilling in the state.

I received this in my inbox (email) and I don't know if it is possible to actually recall this governor, or if this is just campaign solicitation BUT if possible surely you all can try to recall your horrible Gov? (Disclaimer: I don't live in Colorado, but have family there)!~

The office of the Colorado Governor’s office, headed by Democrat John Hickenlooper, may be on the brink of a major scandal involving attempts to release a Saudi prisoner. Homaidan al-Turki was convicted in 2006 for keeping a sex slave locked up in his residence. He repeatedly molested her over a period of years. You might remember that earlier this year, the Executive Director for Colorado’s prisons, Tom Clements, denied a request to release al-Turki and have him sent back to Saudi Arabia. Eight days later, Clements was shot dead shortly after opening his front door on March 19, 2013. ......

DENVER — The ongoing legal battle over the extradition request of Homaidan al-Turki, a Saudi inmate imprisoned for keeping a maid as a sex slave, is, for now, in the hands of an Arapahoe County district court judge. But documents released in court last week and conversations with attorneys and law enforcement sources reveal the case to be a matter of national security, with al-Turki, who is asking to be transferred to serve the rest of his sentence in his native Saudi Arabia, believed by investigators to have connections to worldwide terrorist organizations. He is also still under investigation in...

Another Democrat in the Colorado Senate is facing recall for voting for new gun control laws. Two other Democrats faced recall earlier this year over those laws, and despite having Michael Bloomberg and his anti-gun allies pour millions of dollars into Colorado to defend them, they were both defeated and removed. This third recall would switch control of the state Senate from D to R. So Gov. John Hickenlooper is scared, and wants Bloomberg and his anti-gun nuts to just stay away. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper suggests national gun-control groups stay away from a looming recall battle that could switch...

"It's worth saying Colorado has maintained people's right to own a gun --- we've maintained the full respect for the Second Amendment," he insisted during a press conference on Wednesday. Hickenlooper repeatedly cited a poll showing that 80 percent of Colorado voters support universal background checks, calling the law "sound and sensible." He admitted, however, that he was never as "fired up" about limits on ammunition magazines. "That was a tough one," he said.

Questions are being raised whether outgoing billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is courting Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (D) to enact gun control measures in Virginia if he should win the statehouse in November. On Tuesday, voters in Colorado recalled two state senators--Angela Giron (D-Pueblo) and Senate President John Morse (D-Colorado Springs)--that supported Colorado Gov. John Hickenloooper's (D) sweeping gun control legislation, which he signed into law in March. As Breitbart News reported, Morse lost his recall election 51 to 49 percent, and Giron lost hers by a "whopping 56 to 44 percent." Bloomberg reportedly called Hickenlooper...

While most Americans will be chillin’ out, maxin’ and relaxin’ this Labor Day weekend, dedicated patriots in Colorado are hard at work preparing for a groundbreaking special election day with nationwide repercussions. George Washington would be proud. On September 10, Democratic legislator and state Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs faces a citizen recall for his sellout to New York anti-gun special interests, for his betrayal of transparency and accountability to constituents, and for his destructive economic policies that are driving thousands of jobs away. Also up for recall: Democratic legislator Angela Giron of Pueblo.

In a nationwide appeal sent moments ago via the Democratic National Committee, Gov. John Hickenlooper throws down hard against the upcoming recall elections of Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron. ... Expanding background checks to cover all gun sales prevents violent criminals from acquiring guns. That means safer communities while also respecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Coloradans. These recall elections cost a small fortune and do nothing to improve democracy or representative government. They are intended to intimidate and punish a select number of Democratic legislators for daring to vote their conscience — for daring to...

To someone living on the coasts, the fight in Colorado over gun control — often called by its repackaged name, "gun violence" — might be hard to understand. Restrictions on gun-magazine capacities and background checks for all gun transfers might sound benign. So how could it lead to the first recall elections in the state's history? Colorado has more guns than people. More than 100,000 men and women hold concealed-carry permits, so people here largely know how guns actually work. Consequently, we are less likely to be rattled from the emotional spin of anti-gun hysteria. We know guns that look...

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper officially filed paperwork with the Secretary of State Tuesday to seek a second term. ... His decision in late May to grant a temporary reprieve to Chuck E. Cheese killer Nathan Dunlap prompted the first wave of Republican opponents to enter the race, starting with Tom Tancredo, the former GOP congressman who challenged Hickenlooper in 2010 ... Former Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, who now heads up the Intermountain Rural Electric Association, which is still smarting over the passage this year of Senate Bill 252, which forces REAs to draw more energy from renewable sources,...

In nearly 140 years of Colorado history, it’s never happened before. This year it is happening twice: Two legislators, both Democratic members of the Colorado State Senate, will face recall elections after the Democrat-controlled legislature, bullied by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Vice President Joe Biden, and supported by Governor John “I’m a Moderate” Hickenlooper, passed heavy-handed and unpopular restrictions on gun rights in the Centennial State. The senators in question are Angela Giron (Pueblo) and John Morse (CO Springs), the latter being the... --snip-- The Secretary of State’s office has issued a notice that they intend to...