Free Republic

After the establishment National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) showed favor to John Keyser in the GOP primary for Colorado’s Senate race, not many thought Lt. Daryl Glenn had a shot, except for conservatives. But he easily won the primary and now he’s within striking distance of taking down liberal Sen. Michael Bennet, all without aid from Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party establishment. The Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) backed Glenn recently calling him a “truly exceptional candidate that will be a game changer for the country.” Now, in an email to supporters, the SCF says they’re internal polling has Glenn...

U.S. Senate GOP candidate Darryl Glenn picked up a major endorsement on Tuesday in the race to be the nominee to run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has come out in support of the Colorado Springs Republican, calling him a proven hero.“Over two decades of exemplary military service brought him honor and adulation from his intelligence, leadership skills, fiscal responsibility and patriotism,” Palin said on her Facebook page. “His deserved recognition honed a servant’s heart. He’s one who proudly clings to God, guns and our Constitution.”It is unknown if the endorsement also will...

According to a new poll by former Colorado Democratic Party Chair and pollster Floyd Ciruli (yes, Floyd, we know, you’re an independent now), embattled Democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennet is flopping with Denver Metro voters. In fact, his approval numbers are at 49%. Ouch. ... The metro area produces more than half (56%) of the state’s vote and about 65 percent of the statewide vote for Democrats, so rolling out of those seven counties with a big margin is a Bennet priority.” If Bennet can’t even close the deal with the metro Denver voters – where he needs a large...

Democrat under fire from supporters in own party. Sen. Michael Bennet was the only Democrat in Colorado not to be endorsed by the largest union in the state. The incumbent will not have the help of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) this fall, as the union’s 130,000 members voted to not support the candidate over his positions on trade. ... many union members were unhappy with Bennet’s support of a measure last year that gives the White House more power to cut international trade deals. Bennet has already come under fire from Democrats for...

The Republican Party is getting a political blood transfusion. For Democrats, this may not be good news. Colorado's GOP transformation progressed Saturday with the convention election of El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn to run in the Republican primary of the United States Senate. He won with 2,664 votes. Tim Neville, the presumed front-runner going in, garnered only 696 votes.

Colorado's Senate contest is second only to the presidential race in importance to Republicans nationwide. To blow a rare opportunity, Republicans need only nominate State Sen. Tim Neville — a politician known for close ties to a special-interest lobby that insidiously harms gun rights.

Senators urge president to enforce provisions 'as enacted and intended' Leading Democrats are taking aim at the Obama administration for its opposition to newly passed legislation that aims to bolster the U.S.-Israel economic relationship and combat boycotts of Israel, according to a statement issued this week. The Obama administration announced that it opposes portions of a bipartisan trade bill that would strengthen economic ties between the U.S. and Israel and force trade partners to sever ties with backers of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, an anti-Israel movement that seeks to economically isolate the Jewish state. President Barack Obama...

While everyone was voting in Colorado elections Tuesday, scant attention was paid to how our U.S. Senators voted on a measure that is extremely important to our entire way of life. We'll give you a hint - it's water. A bill by our Wyoming neighbor, Republican U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, would have required the EPA to rewrite the egregious Waters of the United States rule to give states and the agriculture industry more protection. WOTUS, as it's known, is the latest and worstest regulation issued by the Obama administration to regulate ponds and ditches in neighborhoods and farms as navigable...

Republican attempts to recruit a well-known challenger for a Colorado Senate race suffered a setback Wednesday when a prominent prosecutor said he wouldn’t run against Democrat Michael Bennet. George Brauchler, lead prosecutor in the case against convicted Colorado theater shooter James Holmes, responds to questions during an interview Friday, Aug. 14, 2015, in Centennial, Colo. Brauchler said that the jury's refusal to sentence Holmes to die for one of the worst massacres in the country's history does not mean the public is growing wary of capital punishment because only a single juror blocked the execution. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)Arapahoe County District...

Some of the most strident opponents of the nuclear accord with Iran are invoking memories of the Holocaust in an effort to defeat the agreement, arguing the deal could enhance Iran’s ability to build a bomb, leading to the destruction of Israel. Those arguments, however, failed to sway two senators who grew up hearing stories of the Holocaust firsthand, despite fierce opposition to the deal from Israeli leaders and some Jewish groups. “My parents told me at a young age what it was like to live in fear,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “For German Jews, the fear was always...

The community of Craig is holding its collective breath today, waiting on the feds to decide by midnight whether they will bother to challenge a court decision that threatens to shutter the Colowyo Mine. The Interior Department has gobbled up the entire period allotted to them to decide whether to appeal. We can only hope they have used this time wisely to decide in favor of the 200 plus workers whose jobs are on the line. And the lines in the proverbial sands have been clearly drawn. On one side is the radical environmental group WildEarth Guardians, who brought the...

It took just a few days after the stunning defeat of Obama's attempt to fast-track the Trans Pacific Partnership bill in the Senate at the hands of his own Democratic party, before everything returned back to normal and the TPP fast-track was promptly passed. Why? The simple answer: money. Or rather, even more money. Because while the actual contents of the TPP may be highly confidential, and their public dissemination may lead to prison time for the "perpetrator" of such illegal transparency .... fast-tracking the TPP, meaning its passage through Congress without having its contents available for debate or amendments,...

Republicans are trying to recruit Rep. Mike Coffman to challenge Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in Colorado. If he stays put in the House, that gives the GOP a crop of candidates who could have a harder time in what will be one of Republicans’ few offensive opportunities in 2016. Coffman will have breakfast Thursday with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who will surely make the case to convince the four-term lawmaker to try and join him across the rotunda. Asked about recruitment efforts, Coffman quipped, “Pressure, pressure, pressure.” Coffman is taking his time. He told CQ Roll Call a decision...

It took Republicans three tries to win control of the US Senate and consolidate Congress under their leadership. In the end, the landscape left by the 2008 Democratic triumph left them uniquely vulnerable in the sixth-year midterm of an unpopular presidency. The tables will turn in 2016, warns National Journal’s Charlie Cook, as the gains of 2010 will make Republicans highly vulnerable to losing control of the Senate once again: Today, The Cook Political Report puts two Republican-held seats in the “Toss Up” category—the open seat in Florida and Kirk in Illinois. That toss-up column will certainly grow as...

Rubio’s right that this is a hypothetical and that nothing like the Gang of Eight bill could pass the House right now. But Mickey Kaus is right that it’s a darned fine gotcha, a way to gauge how far Rubio’s willing to go in renouncing his signature “achievement” as a senator. What if Rubio defeated Hillary next year and the party’s leadership decided to capitalize by doing something splashy to show Latino voters that the new, Rubio-led GOP was ready to engage them like never before? A bill like the Gang of Eight bill getting past the House isn’t...

Already pegged by The Hill as one of the most vulnerable U.S. Senators facing re-election in 2016, and the only Democrat on that list now that Sen. Harry Reid has decided to retire, Michael Bennet is still scrambling to consolidate his base. With his polling numbers hovering just above the 50% mark among Democrats and Democrat activists actively protesting his fundraisers, we cannot blame him one bit. Bennet’s latest pander was an amendment he introduced last week that effectively declared climate change to be a national security issue. While this might mollify the environmental extremists who comprise a meaningful spot...

Senator Ted Cruz, the boat-rocking limited government constitutional conservative Senator from Texas, provided another one of his patented cross examinations of a smoke-blowing government official at a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Cruz, the son of legal immigrants from Cuba, asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about border security measures – the so-called “triggers” – contained in the “Gang of Eight's” immigration bill. Specifically, Senator Cruz asked, “If there are no objective metrics, if it is simply the subjective assessment of a host of factors, how can we have any confidence that the border will be secured and that any...

Senate Republicans will have to work hard to retain their recently won majority as they face a tough 2016 electoral map. They have 24 seats up compared to Democrats' 10, including seven in states resident Obama carried twice. Democrats won't have any red-state senators facing reelection and could be buoyed by a favorable presidential-year electorate. ... 1. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) 3. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) 7. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) 10. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

The Senate narrowly rejected legislation to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday, handing a defeat to the oil industry and dealing a major blow to Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu, who staked her political career on the outcome. The Senate voted 59-41 for the legislation, falling one vote shy of the 60 needed for passage under the deal bringing it to the floor. But Keystone supporters insisted the defeat would be short-lived. Republican leaders are vowing to try again after they take over the chamber in January — when they will have more than enough votes to get a measure...

President Barack Obama will star at an “intimate” $32,400 per head June 6 fundraising dinner and discussion in the Portola Valley home of star Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and his wife, Neeru, according to the invite obtained by the Chronicle. The dinner is one of two events in Peninsula private homes on Obama’s upcoming fundraising swing here, which benefits the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In addition to the Khosla home dinner, Obama will also attend an earlier reception in the home of Marci and Mike McCue of Palo Alto. McCue co-founded Flipboard, and serves as its CEO. Senator...