Opinion & Commentary

American Crossroads, a new conservative PAC getting a big push from Karl Rove, just spent more than $400,000 on a negative TV ad designed to wipe Michael Bennet’s campaign off the map. But then, Rove knows all about that…

Update below: As big-name Republicans begin to rally ’round gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes — former senators Hank Brown and Wayne Allard signed on yesterday — any GOP hopes of Maes stepping aside evaporates. So while today is the deadline for Maes’s lieutenant governor pick, there’s another date that’s even more…

Dan Maes is about to make his first big move as the official Republican Party candidate for governor — and no, it’s not getting out of the race, as all those official Republican Party officials are still hoping, or complaining to the Denver Post about unfair coverage. It’s picking his…

The playbook in which John Elway makes a run for Colorado governor may not be mythical. That’s according to one person who commented on yesterday’s “John Elway for Governor?” post. The claim: A polling firm actually asked about that possibility a few weeks ago…

“Is there anything we can do to win the governor’s race?” asked registered Republican Jon Caldara, moaning and grabbing what would be his hair, during yesterday’s taping of Devil’s Advocate (the show airs tomorrow on Channel 12). Well, yes, I told him: You can convince John Elway, the state’s biggest…

In late August 2009, Jane Norton had not yet entered the U.S. Senate race — although her anointment by Republic Party powers was imminent. Former Congressman Bob Beauprez had just announced that he’d decided against a run. That seemed to leave just Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier, since reports had…

Since January 1, 82,000 unaffiliated Colorado voters have switched their registration to an official party — most allying with the Republicans. But that leaves over 750,000 unaffiliated voters who still have a chance to affiliate with a party today…

A third of Denver’s 423,622 registered voters didn’t get mail-in ballots for tomorrow’s primary — not because of any postal snafu, but because these voters are officially registered as unaffiliated, and ballots only went to voters registered with parties that have contested races. Very contested races, as Michael Bennet v…

If you thought Michael Bennet’s Regal Cinema deal for Philip Anschutz was complicated, just try to wrap your brain around the Denver Public Schools financing deal he arranged in 2008. The New York Times did, and just published “Exotic Deals Put Denver Schools Deeper in Debt.” Here’s the start of…

I love the history of Denver — even though I lost a large slice of my personal view of the past when Denver’s Landmark Commission allowed the destruction of the oldest building on my historic block, which has been replaced by a huge, modern structure going up on the very…

Representative Wes McKinley was standing on the steps of the State Capitol yesterday, discussing the discovery of “breathable particles of plutonium” near the now-defunct Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant, when hundreds of bicyclists and a whirring helicopter drowned out the revelations. Calling Dan Maes!…

The Libertarian Party — which got its start in Colorado close to forty years ago — has two candidates for governor in the upcoming primary. But you don’t hear David K. Williams, chair of the Libertarian Party of Colorado, whining about Tom Tancredo entering the race as a third-party candidate…

A third of Colorado’s registered voters haven’t gotten their ballots for the August 10 primary — because they’re officially registered as unaffiliated, and only voters affiliated with parties that have contested races get to vote in the primary. But that also means independent voters have a real chance to be…

Just six weeks ago, Kevin Foote was opening his third BenchWarmers Tavern & Grill in a month, and offering this explanation of the origins of his mini-chain: “I was at a Colorado Avalanche game one evening with friends. We overheard some of the fans complaining about how cold they were…

On Sunday, August 1 — officially “Colorado Day” — Colorado collected the last medical marijuana business applications it will accept before officially shutting out any new operations until July 2011, in accordance with new state law. And the state is wasting no time further defining those laws: The first rule-making…

Frankly, I think Jamba Juice owes me more than a buck off for the urp-factor of the e-mail I just opened: Jamba Juice Launches Cheeseburger Chill Smoothie! “What’s beefy, smothered in cheese, loaded with your favorite condiments and blended to creamy perfection? Jamba Juice’s new Cheeseburger Chill smoothie, of course!”…

America Calling came calling on Wednesday. Page Penk, the man who claims to be president of the local organization 3 Woman Against Violence and is now putting out America Calling, billed as a “Journal of Civilization,” arrived at my office with a cop, to deliver a copy of the upcoming…

Gourmet trucks are all the rage right now — but sadly, El Mariachi is stuck in park. Although loncherias have a long, noble history in Denver, Jesse Morreale and Sean Yontz were the first to get on board the tricked-out truck concept, creating El Mariachi, a hipster taco truck, for…

Under Colorado’s new laws, dispensary owners can’t have recent felony convictions for any crime, or drug-related felony convictions ever. But the state doesn’t seem as picky in other areas, as evidenced by the health department’s pick of Ken Weaver, a Texas felon, to represent patients on the Medical Marijuana Registry…