Adams County Republicans » National Politics

CO GOP Statement Regarding Reapportionment Briefs

ADCO GOP Administrator — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 07:30:15 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 8, 2011

"Times New Roman"">CO GOP Statement Regarding Reapportionment Briefs

Greenwood Village, CO – Colorado Republican Party Chairman Ryan Call issued the following statement today after briefs in opposition to the plan adopted by the Reapportionment Commission were filed:

“The objections to the maps submitted by the Democrat majority are simply stated: these maps are ill-intentioned, hyper-partisan and constitutionally flawed.”

“The majority plan unnecessarily splits counties and cities, ignores important communities of interest, and violates the clear standards set forth by the State Constitution and the Colorado Supreme Court. And the majority’s effort to draw ten Republican incumbents together is nothing more than an example of partisan politics and political gerrymandering at its worst.”

“I am confident that the Supreme Court will see the obvious flaws in the majority’s maps, which were pushed through the back door without public comment or the opportunity for amendments, and will order the Reapportionment Commission to adopt a fair and legal plan that protects the interests of the people of Colorado.”

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Debt ceiling debate with Littwin vs Mitchell

ADCO GOP Administrator — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:21:35 +0000

A Debate on the U.S. Debt Limit

Join State Senator Shawn Mitchell & Denver Post Columnist Mike Littwin for a debate on the U.S. debt ceiling vote

Moderated by Eli Stokols of KDVR Fox 31

Wednesday, July 20th at 7:00pm
Doors open at 6:30pm

Northglenn High School
601 West 100th Place, Northglenn

Click here for an invite.

The event is free and open to the public.
For a map and directions, please click here.

Biography of Senator Shawn Mitchell: Senator Shawn Mitchell represents Colorado State Senate District 23 which includes Adams, Broomfield Counties along with Southwest Weld County. He was elected to the Senate in 2004 after serving three terms in the Colorado House of Representatives. He currently serves as the ranking Republican on the Health and Human Services Committee. Shawn Mitchell and his wife Yvette reside in Broomfield. They have six children, Natalie, Matthew, Kevin, Danny, Bethany, Bradley and Jeffrey. Mitchell is an avid and experienced rock climber.

Biography of Mike Littwin: I’m a columnist for the Denver Post. I came to the Post as a Page 2 columnist when the Rocky Mountain News folded and have now moved to the editorial board and the op-ed page, where I do a little less beat reporting and a little more chin scratching. I began my career covering the Virginia Squires and Dr. J in the old ABA. I worked at the Los Angeles Times and the Baltimore Sun before coming to the Rocky 14 years ago. I’ve been a news columnist, sports columnist, features columnist and op-ed columnist. In my spare time, I go home to my wife, Susie, and sometimes exchange text messages with my law-professor daughter Angie.

“Raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure”….

ADCO GOP Administrator — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:37:58 +0000

"The fact that we're here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. Leadership means 'The buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America's debt limit." The speaker: Then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., back in 2006.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

7 Non-Political Differences Between Liberals and Conservatives

ADCO GOP Administrator — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:30:43 +0000

People who don’t follow politics tend to believe that conservatives and liberals are just flip sides of the same coin. In other words, conservatives are pro-life, pro-gun, and fiscally conservative while liberals are pro-choice, anti-gun, and want to tax and spend, but otherwise, there are no real differences.

However, if you follow politics closely, you’ll find that there’s a gulf as wide as the ocean between the average politically active conservative and the average politically active liberal. We don’t just have political differences; we view the world through very different eyes.

Of course, I don’t want to oversell this because as Americans, conservatives and liberals are more alike than different. There also tend to be differences between people who are heavily politically involved and those who aren’t. This column focuses on those of us who are more politically active, as opposed to people who don’t pay much attention to politics.

I’d also add that in every category, you’ll find exceptions that prove the rule. Moreover, sometimes you’ll find both conservatives and liberals engaging in the same behavior, although one side tends to do it much more than the other. All that being said, after spending a decade blogging, here are just a few of the genuine differences that have become apparent over the years.

1) Conservatives are more patriotic than liberals:Conservatives tend to focus on the positive things about America, while liberals focus on the negative. If the first thoughts that came to your mind when you thought of America were “slavery,” "imperialism," and "unfairly using too much of the world’s resources," you probably wouldn’t like America very much either. Conservatives, on the other hand, look at the fact that we saved the world in WWI, WWII, and the Cold War, take pride in the fact that we have contributed so much to the planet, and believe America has had a tremendous positive impact on history. The conservative view produces love of country. The other view produces a deep seated dislike of our nation.

2) It’s socially acceptable for liberals to lie about conservatives: Whether you’re talking about theNew York Times, The Washington Post, or the Daily Kos, it’s considered to be perfectly acceptable to lie about conservatives. That’s because, as Charles Krauthammer once said, To understand the workings of American politics, you have to understand this fundamental law: Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil.

If you think your opponents are evil, you tend to be okay with using tactics that you would describe as "evil" under other circumstances to fight them. If you’re up people you compare to Nazis, it’s easy to tell yourself that lying to beat them isn’t so bad. If you’re in a dispute with people who you believe are just too stupid to understand what’s going on, you feel compelled to try to explain yourself a little better.

3) Conservatives are results-oriented. Liberals are not: If you understand one thing about liberals, understand this: Liberalism is nothing more than "childlike emotionalism applied to adult issues." That’s why they don’t care very much about whether the programs they advocate work or not. Proposing programs isn’t really about what will help the most people to liberals; it’s about making them feel good about themselves. On the other hand, conservatives are results-oriented, which is why they tend to be so down on the government, which is inevitably slower, more expensive, and less effective than the private sector at pretty much everything.

4) Conservatives care about the Constitution. Liberals don’t: Conservatives believe that we need to try to interpret the Constitution in the way that the Founders intended it to be read and if we want to change it, then we need to pass a Constitutional Amendment. Liberals believe in a "living Constitution," which is functionally no different than believing in no Constitution at all. If you believe in a "living Constitution," you think it is okay to do whatever you want for political reasons and then come up with a legal justification afterwards, which you’ll then call "constitutional law."

5) Liberals are much more misogynistic than conservatives: If you’re a prominent conservative woman, you will be deluged with rape threats, death threats, attacks on your family, attacks on your looks, and offers to give you a good screwing as a public service. In other words, what you’ve seen with Sarah Palin is actually the same thing that happens to most prominent conservative women, but on a larger scale. That’s not to say that liberal women don’t get some of the same treatment, but it’s several orders of magnitude worse for women on the Right.

That’s largely because liberals claim the "feminist" mantle and so, if they’re feminists, then obviously they can’t be "anti-woman" no matter what they actually say, right? Even worse, most of the actual feminist women on the Left tend to either participate in the abuse or, alternately, turn a blind eye to it as long as it’s aimed at conservative women.

6) Conservatives are happier people than liberals: Despite all the claims you hear that conservatives are angry, cruel, and mean, conservatives are much happier people than liberals. This is something that has been consistently proven in studies and, let’s face it — anyone who knows a lot of liberals and conservatives will tell you that it’s not a surprise. Conservatives love the country they live in, they’re more likely to be Christian, and they take responsibility for their own lives instead of griping that the world is terribly unfair. If you want to be a happy person, you’re more likely to be a happy conservative than a happy liberal.

7) Conservatives are better Christians than liberals: Certainly there are debates about social conservatism and Christianity on the conservative side of the fence, but Christian conservatism is considered to be a honorable and important part of the Republican base. People are going to hate to hear this, despite the fact it’s absolutely true, but Christianity and liberalism have become largely incompatible. That’s because there are so many liberals who are implacably hostile to Christianitythat liberal Christians are left with one of two unpalatable choices. Either they can water their Christian beliefs down into thin gruel so as to be compatible with liberalism or liberal Christians can choose to be cringing dogs and keep their mouths shut while their beliefs are regularly insulted, demeaned, and attacked by their fellow liberals. Neither option should be acceptable to someone who has a strong Christian faith.

http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnHawkins/2011/01/25/7_non-political_differences_between_liberals_and_conservatives/page/full/

Health-care repeal: Colorado’s congressmen follow party lines

ADCO GOP Administrator — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:40:24 +0000

January 19, 2011

By Adam Schrager and Jeffrey Wolf

Colorado’s delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives is split by party when it comes to repealing the newly enacted health-care reform law.

The state’s four Republicans all say they will vote to support H.R. 2, which is a vote to repeal the law, while the state’s three Democrats in the House say they will vote against it.

"I do support repeal," Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colorado) said in an interview on Tuesday morning. "The individual mandate in the law is unconstitutional. I think it’ll go before the Supreme Court, which will rule that way, but secondly, it puts really an undue burden on small business."

Critics of the law have contended the regulations involved on employers will lead to dramatic job losses and that expanding the number of people who have health insurance should be done through incentives like tax credits rather than government mandates. Further, Coffman asserts that without a legitimate discussion of medical malpractice reform, cost containment cannot happen.

Supporters of the law say they will vote against its repeal because for the first time in decades, this country is tackling important issues like guaranteeing coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, allowing people to move from job to job without fear of losing their insurance and closing the so-called "donut hole" for seniors who were paying significant funds out of their own pockets for prescription drugs.

"To throw the whole thing out when you are finally dealing with some very, very important issues that have hung around for years, I think is a really extreme departure from where we should go," Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colorado) said Sunday.

Practically, the vote in the U.S. House will be symbolic as the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate has vowed to block the measure’s repeal.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/201101190531/UPDATES01/110119002?odyssey=mod_related_topix

What if every American had to buy a gun instead of health insurance?

ADCO GOP Administrator — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:12:40 +0000

RWB News: What a great question that was brought up byAndrew Malcolm of the LA Times and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli who was successful in his recent suit against Obamacare. What would be the difference, or do Libs agree that the Government could make you buy a gun — or does the Constitution only allow Health Insurance to be forced upon Americans? Neither!

Would love for a Democrat or Liberal that supports the mandate to explain the difference between the two.

Ken Cuccinelli has not been a well-known public figure — until now.

He’s the attorney general of Virginia, who wasn’t given much chance of succeeding in his lonely legal challenge to President Obama’s beloved health care legislation designed to change whatever you believe on that subject.

But then, oops, Federal District Judge Henry Hudson on Monday agreed with the Virginia AG, declaring a crucial part of the law unconstitutional. Full details here, including the opinion’s complete text.

Cuccinelli’s victory which, of course, the Democratic administration will appeal, is but one of several legal challenges to the measure wending their way through the nation’s arcane legal system. Arguments resume in a similar federal case in Florida on Thursday. Nothing will be finally resolved until the Supreme Court gets it, accepts it, and decides it and a lot of lawyers’ financial health benefits.

So in the intervening months, possibly years, we’re left with plenty to argue over as both sides seek to make their case to the jury of public opinion.

Here’s how the judge put it in a powerful historical footnote: “Neither the Supreme Court nor any federal circuit court of appeals has extended Commerce Clause power to compel an individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce by purchasing a commodity in the private market.”

Speaking today on CBS’ “Washington Unplugged” with Bob Schieffer, here’s how Cuccinelli put it:

“Never before in our history has the federal government ordered Americans to buy a product under the guise of regulating commerce. Imagine if this bill were that in order to protect our communities and homeland security, every American had to buy a gun. Can you imagine the reaction across the country to that?”

Yes, we can.

Lock and load for a long fight, folks. Check out Cuccinelli’s full answer on the video.

– Andrew Malcolm

http://redwhitebluenews.com/?p=13616

Libeling the Right: The Key to the Left’s Success

ADCO GOP Administrator — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:17:07 +0000

By Dennis Prager

1/18/2011

Last week, following the murder of six people and the attempted murder of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona, the American people were given a vivid display of the single most important tactic of the left: libeling opponents.

Most Americans have been naively and blissfully unaware of this aspect of the left’s arsenal against the right. But now, just as more Americans than ever before understand the left’s limitless appetite for political power in an ever-expanding state, more Americans than ever before understand that a key to the left’s success is defaming the right.

I do not recall any major American daily attacking another major American daily the way the Wall Street Journal attacked The New York Times last week under the heading "The New York Times has crossed a moral line." I do not recall Pulitzer-Prize winning Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer ever expressing contempt toward a colleague the way he did against The New York Times columnist Paul Krugman last week. Krauthammer ended his Washington Post column "Massacre, then libel" with this sentence: "The origins of Loughner’s delusions are clear: mental illness. What are the origins of Krugman’s?"

People are awakening to the seminal fact of left-wing success: The only way the left can succeed in America is by libeling the right. Only 20 percent of Americans label themselves liberal, let alone left. How, then, do Leftists get elected? And why don’t more Americans call themselves conservative when, in fact, so many share conservatives’ values?

The answer to both questions is that through its dominance of the news media, entertainment media and educational institutions, the left has been able to successfully demonize the right for at least half a century.

The left rarely convinces Americans to adopt its views. What it does is create a fear of the right that influences many Americans to align themselves with the left.

For example, most Americans want to retain the man-woman definition of marriage. Even most voters in liberal Californians want to. The left has not been able to convince even Californians to redefine marriage to include members of the same sex. So what the left did was to declare as "haters" all those who wanted California to retain the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Proposition 8 became "Prop. Hate."

But the Left’s modus operandi was never as apparent as it was this past week when it took a tragic mass killing of innocents by a violent mentally ill individual and transformed it — within hours — into an attack on the decency of the Right: specifically Sarah Palin, the tea party, Fox News and talk radio.

The same left, led by The New York Times, that warned against making any quick assumptions that Islam had played any role in Maj. Nidal Hasan’s murder of 13 people and wounding of 30 others at Fort Hood, immediately declared that the Arizona murders were largely a result of a "climate of hate" induced by Palin and other conservatives.

It wasn’t true. They knew it wasn’t true. And, yes, it was a libel.

But when you control all the major news media, Hollywood, much of the rest of the culture and most of the high schools and colleges, how are most people one supposed to realize that it is not a valid description of the right?

What makes last week different is this: The left, for the first time, does not have the same monopoly over mass information, and the Republican Party is no longer emasculated. There is talk radio, there is the Internet, there is Fox News and there is a vigorous conservative Republican Party. So, when the left unleashed its libel against the right, claiming that it was responsible for a "climate of hate" that produced Jared Loughner, to its shock, America did not lie down and believe it. Many millions did, as usual. But for those with eyes to see, it was a false accusation, and for many, for the first time, it provided a clear view into how the left operates.

As it becomes ever more obvious that Loughner’s crimes had nothing — absolutely nothing — to do with conservatives, the left will do three things: change the subject by criticizing Palin’s use of the term "blood libel," (a term whose use by Palin was honorably defended by Professor Alan Dershowitz, a prominent Jewish liberal); deny it ever really blamed the right for the Loughner’s crimes (hoping, with good reason, that Americans have a short memory); and continue to blame the right for creating the "climate of hate" that the left itself has created.

That is why it is important for conservatives and honorable liberals not to allow Americans to forget what the left did last week. It is the key to giving conservatives the good name they deserve. And it is the key to giving the left the name it deserves.

http://townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2011/01/18/libeling_the_right_the_key_to_the_lefts_success

Adams County Early Voting and Vote Center Locations

ADCO GOP Administrator — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:22:34 +0000

ADAMS COUNTY EARLY VOTING AND VOTE CENTER LOCATIONS

EARLY VOTING CENTERS:

Early Voting Centers will be open October 18th-October 29th Monday–Friday 7am- 5pm (except Watkins) and Saturday, October 23rd from, 9am to 2pm. Mail in ballots may also be dropped off at these locations.

Adams County Admin Bldg – Lower Level 450 S 4th Ave Brighton 80601

Adams Co Human Services Bldg – Lower Level 7190 Colorado Blvd Commerce City 80022

Aurora Motor Vehicle Office 3449 N Chambers Rd Suite A Aurora 80011

DeVry University 1870 W 122nd Ave Westminster 80234

Watkins Motor Vehicle Office (M-F 8am-4pm) 5150 Front Range Pkwy #G Watkins 80137

Westminster Motor Vehicle Office 8452 N Federal Blvd Westminster 80031

VOTE CENTERS: Vote Centers will be open on Election Day November 2, from 7am to 7pm. Mail in ballots may also be dropped off at these locations on Election Day.

1. Southwest Adams Fire District #2 3365 W 65th Ave Denver 80221

2. St Martha’s Episcopal Church 4001 W 76th Ave Westminster 80030

3. Westminster Motor Vehicle Office 8452 N Federal Blvd Westminster 80031

4. St Mark Catholic Church 3141 W 96th Ave Westminster 80031

5. Westminster Church of the Nazarene 3501 W 104th Ave Westminster 80031

6. Immaculate Heart of Mary 11385 Grant Dr Northglenn 80234

7. Crossroads Church 53 E 128th Ave Thornton 80241

8. DeVry University 1870 W 122nd Ave Westminster 80234

9. Chapel Haven SDA Church 9911 Huron St Northglenn 80260

10. Holiday Hills Village MHP 2000 W 92nd Ave Federal Heights 80260

11. Thornton Civic Center – Training Room 9500 Civic Center Dr Thornton 80229

12. Mapleton Schools Admin Bldg 591 E 80th Ave Denver 80221

13. Perl Mack Community Center 7125 Mariposa St Denver 80221

14. Holy Cross Catholic Church 9371 Wigham St Thornton 80229

15. Northglenn Christian Church 1800 E 105th Pl Northglenn 80233

16. Villas at Sunny Acres – Ambassador Rm 2501 E 104th Ave Thornton 80233

17. Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center 11151 Colorado Blvd Thornton 80233

18. Lord of Life Lutheran Church 12021 Northaven Cir Thornton 80241

19. North Metro Church 12505 Colorado Blvd Thornton 80241

20. Northern Hills Church 5061 E 160th Ave Brighton 80602

21. Heritage Todd Creek Clubhouse 8455 Heritage Dr Thornton 80602

22. Brighton Recreation Center Rm 102/103 555 N 11th Ave Brighton 80601

23. Adams County Admin Bldg – Lower Level 450 S 4th Ave Brighton 80601

24. Greater Brighton Fire District Great Rock Station 15229 Great Rock Rd Brighton 80603

25. Belle Creek Family Center 10693 Belle Creek Blvd Henderson 80640

26. Reunion Recreation Center 17910 E Parkside Dr N Commerce City 80022

27. Adams Co Human Services Bldg – Lower Level 7190 Colorado Blvd Commerce City 80022

28. Commerce City Recreation Center 6060 E Parkway Dr Commerce City 80022

29. Fletcher Elementary School 10455 E 25th Ave Aurora 80602

30. Aurora Motor Vehicle Office 3449 N Chambers Rd Suite A Aurora 80011

31. Bennett Community Center 1100 W Colfax Ave Bennett 80102

ADAMS COUNTY SERVICE CENTERS AND DROP-OFF LOCATIONS

SERVICE CENTERS: Service Centers are open from 7am-5pm Monday-Friday (except Watkins), 9am-2pm on Saturday, October 30th, and on Election Day from 7am-7pm. At these locations, Voters may: Replace spoiled, defaced, or lost mail-in ballots Surrender a mail-in ballot and vote on an accessible voting machine Emergency register Drop-off voted mail-in ballots

Adams County Election Office 1865 W 121st Avenue Westminster 80234

Adams County Recording Office 450 S 4th Avenue Brighton 80601

Aurora Motor Vehicle Office 3449 N Chambers Road Suite A Aurora 80011

Commerce City Motor Vehicle Office 4201 E 72nd Avenue Commerce City 80022

Watkins Motor Vehicle Office (M-F 8am-4pm) 5150 Front Range Pkwy #G Watkins 80137

Westminster Motor Vehicle Office 8452 N Federal Boulevard Westminster 80031

DROP-OFF LOCATIONS: In addition to the Service Centers and Vote Centers, voters may drop-off a VOTED mail-in ballot in the signed Official Return Envelope at any of the following Adams County designated drop-off sites: Drop-off locations will be open 7am to 7pm on Election Day (except Thornton Justice Center and Westminster Public Safety Bldg).

Aurora City Clerk’s Office 15151 E Alameda Parkway Aurora M-F 8am-5pm

Bennett Town Clerk’s Office 355 Fourth Street Bennett M-F 8am-5pm Sat Oct 30 9am-2pm

Brighton City Clerk 22 S 4th Avenue Brighton M-F 8am-5pm Sat Oct 30 9am-2pm

Commerce City City Clerk’s Office 7887 E 60th Avenue Commerce City M-F 8am-5pm Sat Oct 30 9am-2pm

Federal Heights City Clerk’s Office 2380 W 90th Avenue Federal Heights M-F 7am-5pm Sat Oct 30 9am-2pm

North Pecos Motor Vehicle Office 12200 N Pecos Street Westminster M-F 7am-5pm Sat Oct 30 9am-2pm

Northglenn City Clerk’s Office 11701 Community Center Dr Northglenn M-F 8am-5pm Sat Oct 30 9am-2pm

Thornton City Clerk’s Office 9500 Civic Center Drive Thornton M-F 8am-5pm

(Thornton Justice Center) 9551 Civic Center Drive Thornton Sat Oct 30 9am-2pm only

Westminster City Clerk’s Office 4800 W 92nd Avenue Westminster M-Thurs 7am-6pm

(Westminster Public Safety Bldg) 9110 Yates Street Westminster Fridays 8am-5pm Sat Oct 30 9am-2pm

Bennet’s attack on Buck unfair

ADCO GOP Administrator — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 02:10:17 +0000

The senator’s ad is dark and alarmist, with misleading claims. He should be honest about the issues, which matter to voters.

By The Denver Post

Posted: 09/11/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

For weeks now, Bennet’s campaign has been running a television attack ad that offers a number of out-of-context quotes and dubious assertions regarding Buck’s positions.

On Social Security, for instance, the viewer sees a video of Buck claiming, "I don’t know whether it’s constitutional or not. But it is horrible policy."

If viewers were given more context, they would also see that it was a questioner who asked Buck: "Is it constitutional for the government to have a Social Security program where it directs the monies that we put into it?"

In short, Buck is dismissing the constitutional question rather than volunteering it, before plunging into a substantive discussion of the history and future of Social Security.

Not all voters will agree with Buck’s conclusions, but they’d be better served if Bennet would debate the structural problems of the program and possible solutions rather than simplifying his opponent’s intentions and trying to foster fear. Unless Bennet believes any recommendation deviating from the status quo is extreme.

The ad goes on to feature a video snippet of Buck declaring, "We don’t need a Department of Education."

Buck did use those words in the course of answering a larger question regarding federal spending cuts. But he followed up by explaining that "education decisions are best left to a parent and a child, a parent and a teacher, a school board to determine curriculum. A one-sizefits-all system coming out of D.C. is a disaster and it has been a disaster for years." Whether you agree with his contention or not, it is nuanced opinion worthy of debate.

(Officially, Buck opposes shutting down the Department of Education, and says so often.)

Next, the ad alleges, "Ken Buck wants to end student loans for middle-class kids." This is a complete falsehood.

At the time, Buck was discussing the federal government’s takeover of the student loan business — a program previously shared with private banks.

The Denver Post supported President Barack Obama’s initiative. Yet, we also understand that those who think the federal government has no business running this program are not saying they want to end student loans for the middle class. And Bennet understands that, too.

The pervasive tone of Bennet’s ad is dark and alarmist, with a message that is fundamentally unfair. If Bennet intends to have a fair and vigorous discussion on the issues that matter to Coloradans, he’s off to a poor start.

Denver Post’s Snarky Fact Check Fails: Ken Buck and Social Security

ADCO GOP Administrator — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:55:28 +0000

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Note to Elizabeth Miller of the Denver Post: when writing a "fact check" about political candidates, you should probably try to make sure that your own statements are correct.

Consider Miller’s snarky — and obviously false — statement about the founders’ beliefs: "[U.S. Senate candidate Ken] Buck called the [Social Security] program unsustainable, and said he didn’t think the nation’s founders intended to have a program like Social Security (let’s recall that these people hadn’t conceived of a fire department or a postal service, either)."

I do not know the founders’ specific views on fire departments, but no serious person thinks they "hadn’t conceived of fire departments." [August 17 update: a reader sent in a link about Benjamin Franklin's firefighting efforts.] But regarding the postal service, we have readily available evidence. Perhaps Miller has heard of a little document called the U.S. Constitution, which contains the following line (Article I, Section 8): "The Congress shall have Power To… establish Post Offices and Post Roads…"

A review of the source Miller reviews, John King’s interview with Buck, clarifies that Buck made no mention of fire departments or the postal service.

Miller’s comment is not only stupid in content, it is wildly out of place. (I suppose it’s possible that an editor inserted the comment. If so, Miller, whose name appears on the piece, can take it up with the editor. If the line is indeed Miller’s, then her editor should take up the matter with her.) A "fact check" article is supposed to evaluate the claims of a candidate, not insert the writer’s own editorial remarks.

In fact, America’s founders did not envision Social Security or anything like it. Indeed, they did not envision a federal welfare state, which is almost entirely the product of the past century. Social Security dates from 1935. So Buck’s statement on the founders’ views is entirely correct, which is all that should concern Miller for the piece in question.

It is true that, at times, Buck has seemed to criticize Social Security per se, as when he said "the idea that the federal government should be running… retirement… is fundamentally against what I believe and that is that the private sector runs programs like that far better." However, it is possible to think that while still advocating reform to save the system now that it is in existence, and that is Buck’s stated view.

I’m surprised that Miller does not reference Buck’s interview with the Denver Post’s own editorial board, which I have reviewed, in which Buck offers a specific plan for reforming Social Security.

To briefly review my own positions, I have indeed called for the privatization of the Post Office. I absolutely oppose the misnamed plan to "privatize" Social Security by transferring a portion of the funds to government-managed investment accounts. Instead, I want to truly privatize retirement planning by slowly phasing out Social Security by incrementally and continually raising the pay-out age. Perhaps Miller will note the difference between stating one’s own views and evaluating the views of others.