Levi Ellis Levi Ellis

Kevin McCarthy’s Concessions: Here’s What He Gave Up To Win House Speakership

McCarthy won the speakership with 216 votes just after midnight Saturday morning, after flipping 15 hard-line Republican votes on Friday and after four representatives who refused to support him, changed their votes to “present” in the final round of voting—enabling him to win. The final vote came after 15 rounds, bringing the chamber to a standstill and preventing it from establishing rules, swearing in new members or making committee assignments. Throughout the week, McCarthy’s dissenters had opted instead for Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), although Jordan had urged GOP members to support McCarthy, and former President Donald Trump pleaded with dissenters—including some close political allies—to vote for McCarthy. The California Republican later thanked Trump for helping him win the speakership, saying nobody should doubt his influence.

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Levi Ellis Levi Ellis

Guest Editorial: The case for Matt Solomon in Senate District 8

I believe individual freedom, personal safety, and fiscal responsibility are important to all of us. I am passionate about my love for where I live. Colorado has been my home for all of my adult life and many of the lessons I have learned on my path of growth and opportunity, I have learned here, along with many of you.

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Susie Huxfoard Susie Huxfoard

VOTE NO on Vail Valley Transit Authority

Transit agencies’ solution to this decline in ridership is the same as their solution to every other problem: give them more money. Yet increasing funding for transit hasn’t had much success in the past.

Agencies claim that spending money on transit is good for the environment, helps low-income people, and relieves congestion. Yet all of these things have been proven false.

Even before the pandemic, Colorado transit used more energy and emitted more greenhouse gases per passenger-mile than the average automobile. Even electric transit is environmentally unsound because Colorado gets most of its electricity from burning fossil fuels. For example, Denver’s electric-powered light-rail lines use more energy and the power plants that generate that electricity emit more greenhouse gases per passenger-mile than the average sports-utility vehicle.

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Susie Huxfoard Susie Huxfoard

A secret ballot system at Colorado’s statehouse is quietly killing bills & raising transparency concerns

“It's a secret ballot, essentially,” Hansen said in a 2020 interview with RadicalxChange, a nonprofit that helped him set up the voting system website. “You're filling this thing out in your pajamas, you know, in the comfort of your own home sitting by yourself. And so, you know, we get a better indication of people's actual preferences.”

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