Colorado: Post-election poll analyzes Latino vote

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

President Barack Obama.

Overwhelming Latino support was a key piece of President Obama’s Colorado win

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Changing demographics in swing states have already been widely discussed in the national media as a key factor in President Barack Obama’s win, but post-election polling that drills down a bit more adds some details.

The candidates’ positions on immigration and other issues important to the Latino community were crucial helping Obama win in Colorado, according to data from impreMedia and Latino Decisions. The polling results suggests the Latino vote determined the outcome of the election in the state — and that Latinos were under-represented in pre-election polling, leading to skewed projections on the closeness of the race.

In Colorado, Latino voters supported Obama over Romney by an overwhelming 87 percent to 10 percent margin, the largest split of all eleven states in the poll, for a net contribution of 9.5 percentage points to Obama (based on Latino Decisions’ estimate that Latinos accounted for 12.5 percent of the total Colorado electorate). (more…)

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Election 2012: Obama wins

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

President Barack Obama.

Colorado stays blue; votes to approve marijuana

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — In a race that wasn’t nearly as close as Republican pundits wanted it to be, Barack Obama won a second term to the White House by hanging on to Ohio, a white, working-class state that was crucial to Mitt Romney’s hopes for pulling off a GOP upset.

Obama was also leading by a razor-thin margin in Florida when major networks called the presidential election for the Democrat from Illinois.

The Democrats won by maintaining their margin of victory in traditional strongholds in the Northeast, the Midwest and along the West Coast, with a wide swath in the middle of the country remaining red, showing the deep ideological gulf between coastal urban areas and the country’s heartland.

In Colorado, voters approved Amendment 64, which legalizes possession and use of marijuana. Gov. Hickenlooper said the state will respect the will of the voters.

“The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will. This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly,” he said in a press release.

Mitt Romney conceded the election at about 11 p.m.

“This is a time of great challenges for America, I hope the president will be successful in leading our nation,” Romney said, thanking his family and his running mate, Paul Ryan.

“At a time like this we can’t risk bickering and political posturing,” he continued, calling on both parties to work together to tackle critical issues.

 

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Election 2012: Time to vote

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Barack Obama likely to carry Summit County

If the 7-11 coffee poll is correct, Barack Obama will serve another four years.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Voting day dawned bright and clear in the high country; weather won’t be a factor in keeping anyone from the polls this year in Colorado, one of several key swing states that could determine the outcome of the 2012 presidential election. While Summit County has been solidly blue in recent elections, there are a number of populated Denver suburbs that will likely determine which way Colorado goes, and there’s a lot at stake for the state. (more…)

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Udall: Obama a better choice for Colorado and the country

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

U.S. Sen. Mark Udall.

Opinion: President stronger on energy, economy and national defense

By Mark Udall

Colorado voters face a real choice this November. President Barack Obama and his opponent, Gov. Mitt Romney, provide Coloradans with very different approaches to governing and dealing with the long-term issues that the middle class cares most about. I am supporting President Barack Obama because he better represents the values and priorities of Coloradans, is committed to balanced and comprehensive deficit reduction, and is better prepared to further a smart, but tough, national security strategy.

I had the pleasure of talking to thousands of Coloradans from across the state in August. What they told me is that they expect elected officials to be leaders first and politicians second.

Colorado, a “purple” state, may be divided by party labels, but we are united in our common-sense approach to governing. This means casting aside divisive talking points and bumper-sticker slogans for policies that help hard-working Coloradans and small businesses thrive. (more…)

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GOP message: ‘We’re more American than you’

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Opinion: GOP offers flawed interpretation of ‘American exceptionalism’

Mitt Romney. Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore via Wikipedia and the Creative Commons.

Barack Obama. Photo courtesy Daniel Borman via Wikipedia and the Creative Commons.

 By Bob Berwyn

Republicans are recycling the theme of American exceptionalism as part of their campaign to win the White House and take control of the U.S. Senate. I applaud the recycling as possibly the only part of the GOP platform that’s environmentally friendly, but take issue with their efforts to co-opt Americanism as political campaign weapon.

There’s a subtle but persistent message trying to convince voters that Republicans are somehow “more American” than Democrats. It’s an election tactic that may play well with part of the electorate, but it’s fundamentally divisive and destroys the consensus needed to govern, regardless of which party controls the White House and Congress.

It starts with the low-level background buzz questioning the authenticity of President Obama’s birth certificate and peaks with a nationalistic war cry that seems to put us on a path toward yet another bloody Middle East confrontation with Iran, based on an antiquated and unrealistic interpretation of foreign relations, with the U.S. as a militaristic world policeman. The Republican vision of American exceptionalism is based on the myth of the lone gunman — that’s why Clint Eastwood was a speaker at the GOP convention. (more…)

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Romney’s lunar-landing reference beyond ironic

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

The 1969 moon landing was an example of American collectivism at its best, the antithesis of what the Republican Party stands for in 2012. Photo courtesy NASA.

Opinion: Space program driven by a vision for the common good of mankind

By Bob Berwyn

If I were to give Mitt Romney the benefit of the doubt after his acceptance speech, I would say his reference to the moon landing was a plea for national unity on crucial issues, or an appeal to find common ground to move ahead toward goals all Americans can support.

But in reality, the lines were inserted by his committee of speech writers as a grasping reference to current events. And Romney managed to turn even this shining example of the American can-do spirit at its best into a shrill pitch for nationalism and American exceptionalism.

And it’s beyond ironic that he chose the space program, which illustrates American collectivism at its best — not to mention that it was initiated by a president who would repudiate nearly all of Romney’s notions of what it means to be American. (more…)

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Energy: Senate moves on wind power tax credit

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Romney favors coal and oil over renewable energy

Wind turbines in Montana. Photo courtesy NREL.

By Summit Voice

Wind power in the U.S. may yet get a leg up from Congress this year, as the Senate Finance Committee this week passed a bill including language that would renew the wind Production tax credit, due to expire at the end of this year.

While the tax credit faces additional hurdles, Colorado’s U.S. senator Mark Udall and Michael Bennet praised the committee after the vote.

“Passing the wind Production Tax Credit is one of the most important steps Congress can take this year to re-energize our economy, create jobs and pursue true energy security. I am glad to see the Senate Finance Committee agrees,” said Udall, who has been giving almost-daily floor speeches on wind power to draw attention to the issue. (more…)

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Germany: Full speed ahead on renewables

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Germany forges ahead with ambitious renewable energy plans

Germany’s rail corridors are lined with medium-size photovoltaic installations.

A cluster of wind turbines is barely visible in the lower righthand corner of the image.

By Bob Berwyn

MUNICH, GERMANY — It’s been a whirlwind week of travels here in the ‘old country’ where I grew up, but as I scan the news from back home in the USA and Colorado about the politics of renewable energy, I’m still thinking about what I saw as we flew into Frankfurt a little more than a week ago.

The U.S. Senate is playing politics with wind power, and presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he would do away with even the most harmless way to promote renewable power, the so-called wind energy production tax credits.

Meanwhile, even from 30,000 feet, the change in the German landscape is striking — hundreds, and even thousands, of power-generating wind turbines dot the countryside, in small clusters near villages, in lines along ridge tops, and in seemingly random clumps around some of the larger cities.

It all adds up to about 29,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply 8 percent of the industrial country’s needs, and Germany has been adding new wind capacity at a healthy rate. (more…)

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Colorado: Romney to hold rally in Craig

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Mitt Romney.

State’s mining industry touts appearance as a boost for fossil fuel

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will bring his pro-fossil fuel agenda to the heart of Colorado this week, with a campaign appearance scheduled Craig Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m.

The location highlights the fact that energy policies could be a significant issue in the upcoming presidential race. At the state level, Colorado is embroiled in an intense debate over how to regulate impacts from traditional energy development, while the issue of continued incentives for renewable energy has been center stage at the national level. (more…)

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