Free Republic

As many times as I've explained how party trumps person in the real world of politics, some people misunderstand my meaning. It doesn't mean party trumps principle, although broad-based political coalitions may compromise conflicting principles. And it doesn't mean that individuals can't make a difference in politics and public policy. But like it or not, we have a two-party system, and that's not going to change anytime soon. Minor parties and their candidates can be spoilers, but rarely do they win elections. Either Republicans or Democrats will be the majority party in legislative bodies, and with that majority status goes...

Coloradans are overloaded with 18 individual state ballot questions this year, more than at any time since 1912. Simplistic, misleading and inflammatory radio and TV ads - on all sides - generate more heat than light. While I've discussed many of these at length on my radio show, there's only room here for a brief summary and my recommendations.

Chris Romer is a freshman Colorado Senator. He's a bright fellow with a degree from Stanford in economics and more than 20 years of experience in the private sector as a public finance investment banker, specializing in municipal and state budgets. The son of former Gov. Roy Romer, he has a good political pedigree. He describes himself as a "lifelong Democrat," but I don't necessarily hold that against him. After all, Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat. Romer was awarded a seat on the Education Committee. Since Colorado governments - at all levels, combined - spend more money on education...

He's baaack! Sen. Ken Gordon is at it again. After failing to undermine the Electoral College in the last session of the state legislature, he's hoping to have better luck this year with a Democratic majority in both houses and a Democrat as governor. Senate Bill 46 would include Colorado in a compact of other states that pledge to cast all their electoral votes for whichever presidential candidate gets the most popular votes, nationally, regardless of who gets the most votes in our state. In other words, Coloradans would sacrifice their own choice for president to a scheme designed to...

Rosen: Populists equalize poverty January 19, 2007 With the Democrats back in power in Congress and with the 2008 election campaign already upon us, you'll be hearing much more about "income inequality." This is a major issue for "progressives" (when you hear that word, think "socialists") like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Populism is back in fashion. By populism, I mean the exploitation of the uninformed, angry impulses and unfiltered passions of the masses. That anger and resentment has historically been directed at the usual villains and cardboard stereotypes: bankers, insurance companies, "big pharma" (that means drug companies), agri-business,...

Dear Mr. McManus: I don't have to tell you that things have changed a lot since the glory days of CBS News when it sat atop the ratings and Walter Cronkite was "the most trusted man in America." Back then there were only a handful of over-the-air broadcast channels and the Big Three networks presided over something of a shared monopoly in early evening news. TV was in its adolescence and viewers were less sophisticated about the medium. Although there were fewer gadgets (not even videotape), newscasts had more substance. Today, the mix of news and entertainment leans increasingly toward...

'Not left or right; right or wrong!" That's the current marketing slogan of a local talk radio station (not mine). It's a clever turn of a phrase and an interesting approach to establishing product differentiation from competing talk stations that promote the conventional split between liberals and conservatives. This imaging strategy is designed to convey the impression that the programmers, personalities and producers on that station somehow rise above the limitations of ideology and the pettiness of partisan politics. The station and radio show (Caplis & Silverman) that Mike is talking about - http://www.khow.com/pages/shows-caplis_silverman.htmlIn theory, this might attract listeners that...

(snip)A recent article in 5280 Magazine extolled the fine efforts of Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to turn around this underperforming district. As a demonstration of the difficulty of his task, we saw a paper submitted by a 10th grader at a DPS high school who was assigned to "write down five things the U.S. government is currently doing that might be unconstitutional." The student offered two: "1. Bushe cold have help the Katrina people whin it hapin. 2. Bushe should't be tipin in to people's phone."(bold added)

Mike Fumento was a guest on the Mike Rosen show on 850am KOA here in Denver Wednesday (Nov. 23rd) to talk about his recent October 2006 trip to Ramadi, Iraq. Mike talks about the REAL story from the one of the most dangerous places in the country. Rosen Replay 11/22/06 10-11AM (about 45 minutes, MP3) Guest: Mike Fumento, journalist for "The Weekly Standard" talks about his latest article, "Return to Ramadi."Click here for part one of the interview Rosen Replay 11/22/06 11-11:45AM (about 30 minutes, MP3) Mike Fumento continued. Click here for part two of the interview --- Mike Fumento's...

Elton John - make that Sir Elton John - recently declared in a magazine interview that "religion should be banned completely." At least he didn't say it should be banned selectively; that might smack of favoritism and discrimination. It seems his animus toward religion is driven largely by his status as a homosexual. He resents religiously based disapproval of his lifestyle and says that religion directs "hatred towards gay people." His ironic remedy is that religious intolerance, as he sees it, shouldn't be tolerated. He's also critical of religious leaders for not coming together to end war. Now, Elton John...

It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I only have room for about 700 here so let me be more concise. Just the other day, an editorial cartoon, set in the 1600s, depicted a rowboat full of Pilgrims coming ashore in the New World and encountering a group of Indians constructing a log wall to keep them out. Standing next to a boulder marked "Plymouth Rock" (in case you didn't get it) on the shoreline, one of the Indians, with his arms folded in an unwelcoming position and a disapproving frown on his face, blocked their way....

Rocky Mountain News   To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23972_5132213,00.html Rosen: Democrats at the gatesNovember 10, 2006Election 2006 is behind us; the consequences await us. Republicans appear to have lost 29 House seats and six Senate seats. The GOP loss is significant but less than the "six-year itch" historical average of 31 House seats and six Senate seats in midyear elections during a president's second term. So it was bad for Republicans but not quite a disaster. Democrats will have a narrow House majority and a two-vote majority in the Senate. With...

With fully 14 statewide proposals on your Colorado ballot this election, it's no wonder I've been showered with requests to offer my recommendations. I'm flattered that conservatives are looking for guidance from a trusted source. Liberals, I suspect, want to know my choices so they can vote the opposite way. First, a disclosure: I've grown increasingly disaffected with the ballot initiative process in our state. It's better in theory than in practice. The presumption is that it enables well-informed voters to circumvent unresponsive legislators and take direct democratic action. Although there have been a handful of worthy ballot initiatives, the...

Based on this most recent poll here at FR a pathetic 4.7% of FReepers are planning to stay home during this election. You cut'n'run conservatives (intentionally undermining the outstanding men and women of the USA military with your no-show) are in desperate need of this review, a column written by Mike Rosen every few years during the election season: "Why Party Trumps Person". (from 2004) With just 80 days to go before the election, it's time for my quadrennial column on party vs. person. I've been offering and updating this polemic for more than 20 years. For veteran voters, this...

Earlier this morning there was a debate on two ballot initiatives here in Colorado, the 'Domestic Partnerships', Referendum I and the 'Marriage Amendment', Amendment 43. Mike Rosen of 850am KOA radio here in Denver was host and moderator. Mike Rosen is FOR 'Amendment 43' and UNDECIDED on 'Referendum I'. Mike is not a social conservative. He is a fiscal conservative and pro-military. --- Before the debate I thought "Ref I" was going to allow same sex couples visitation rights at hospitals, ability to will death benefits and a few other "rights". It is WAY WAY beyond just that. It will...

Most conservatives who have taken a look at what is being taught about American history and values in our high schools and colleges are well aware of the horrendous brainwashing that is going on to teach our kids to hate America. I first encountered this as a college professor myself, amazingly at a Catholic college you would think would be espousing traditional American values. This was not the fault of that particular college, however, it was just that the professors they hired were products of Vietnam era education where something went so terribly wrong in our entire educational system, and...

Liberals fly their colors, by Mike Rosen It was two years ago that North High School was the center of controversy over a foreign flag. A Mexican flag was given equal prominence with an American flag in a permanent wall display in the school lobby and in a social studies classroom. The teacher who hung the Mexican flag in his classroom said he wanted his students to feel welcome. This was a nice sentiment, but a direct violation of Colorado law. Although North High is almost 85 percent Hispanic, this is still an American school in the United States, funded...

Perhaps you've heard those mean-spirited, hyper attack ads on Denver radio slandering Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. They're sponsored by Clear Peak Colorado, one of those free-wheeling 527 groups that sprang up to get around campaign finance reform laws like McCain- Feingold. This one is bankrolled by Pat Stryker and Tim Gill, a pair of liberal Democrat fat cats who lavishly support a cornucopia of partisan and left-wing causes. According to Clear Peak's most recent IRS filing, through June of this year Stryker and Gill have poured in just under $180,000 to the cause. Former Colorado Democratic Party Chairman...

Rosen Replay Tuesday 8/22/06 10-11AM Guest: Dr. Larry Schweikart, author of, "America's Victories."http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/DENVER-CO/KOA-AM/Rosen8-22-10AM.mp3 (mp3, 45 minutes) Book Description From the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror, the American military has consistently beaten the odds. It's not luck. America's armed services are under attack. From college campuses to the floor of the Senate, the Iraq war is portrayed as a quagmire, the Army is described as "broken," and our men and women in uniform are maligned as torturers. Hollywood keeps producing anti-war films, and the media celebrates liberal anti-military activists such as Cindy Sheehan. These critics fail to understand the...

Albany LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES into the opening ceremony of the National Organization for Women's 40th Anniversary Con ference here, New York state NOW president Marcia Pappas announces that we are present at a "herstoric event." They really do talk like that. NOW, of course, is the nation's largest feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it reached the apex of its visibility and influence in the late 1970s and early '80s, when it went all out for the Equal Rights Amendment--and lost to Phyllis Schlafly's conservative legions. Today, weakened and marginalized, it staggers on, attempting to recapture the old fire. But...