Author: Jon Caldara

Jon Caldara Politics is the art of addition, not subtraction. The job of electing someone is all about getting people who aren’t all that crazy for you to vote for you. Proving to voters you despise them oddly doesn’t win them over. Just like government cannot tax a people into prosperity, a political party cannot…

Jon Caldara It’s not the banning of plastic bags that pisses us off. It’s the intolerance and abuse of power behind it. Soon plastic shopping bags will be forbidden in Colorado. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not the worst inconvenience or even most expensive headache our state government has thrown at us. I…

Jon Caldara While the world is consumed with the latest bit of activism from the Colorado Supreme Court regarding Donald Trump, the media oxygen has been squeezed away from another important ruling, one that’s going to hit property owners. The Colorado State Board of Equalization has decided counties cannot provide property tax relief by lowering…

Jon Caldara The first mention of vampires in English literature appeared in 1801 in an epic poem, “Thalaba the Destroyer,” written by Robert Southey. The earliest known plan for a railroad in the United States was drawn up in Pennsylvania, also in the early 1800s. Coincidence trains and vampires started at about the same time?…

Jon Caldara Yes, it was an insurrection. Let’s call it what it was – an insurrection designed to prevent duly elected lawmakers from moving forward with the people’s will. Thousands stormed the Capitol. Doors were ripped from hinges. Law enforcement was overwhelmed. Despite the optics of spontaneousness, the event was planned well in advance. And though…

Jon Caldara Colorado has the possibility to become the nation’s first post-partisan state. As the number of unaffiliated voters swell and registered Republicans and Democrats shrink to all-time lows, we see a growing movement of people who have just had it with both parties. And why not? The extremes of both parties are becoming more…

Jon Caldara Yep, the Colorado Republican Party can be completely dysfunctional and embarrassing. It has elements many call “ultra-right wing”, or “alt-right.” And you shouldn’t care because it just doesn’t matter. There is no bigger non-story in Colorado than Republican infighting. How could there be? They have no political relevance. None. They are the super-minority.…

Jon Caldara There is one final observation from the last election no one seems to be talking about. Proposition HH failed by more than 19 points and there doesn’t seem to be any real denial of the legitimacy of the results. I mean no one is screaming about a stolen election. Most everyone seems to…

Jon Caldara The debacle that was Proposition HH has one owner. His name is Jared Polis. He is not only the leader of the executive branch of Colorado’s government, but also the leader of the Democratic Party that has a super-majority control of the legislature. To put it as simply as possible, HH is his…

Jon Caldara You don’t have to be a psychic to figure out what Colorado U.S. Rep. Ken Buck’s next job is likely to be. First, a hearty thank you for Ken’s many years serving the people of his district, not only his dozen years in Congress but his many years as a fierce Weld County…