Salazar, Udall: Bill’s Protections For Taxpayers Were Insufficient
By Mike Saccone
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Western Slope’s two congressmen, Manassa Democrat John Salazar and Eldorado Springs Democrat Mark Udall, both said a proposed $700 billion bailout for the faltering financial markets simply did not go far enough to protect taxpayers.
“I take very seriously the warnings about how conditions in the credit markets could affect the overall economy. But, the cost of this bailout was too high and the return far too uncertain for the American families who were being asked to bear the burden,” Udall said in a statement.
The legislation’s failure sparked a record drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and similar declines in other indexes. It have allowed the U.S. Treasury to buy up bad mortgages and other distressed assets held by commercial banks and other financial entities.
Salazar, whose district includes Grand Junction, said he thought the bill failed to do enough to help homeowners facing foreclosures.
“The bill is also deficient in that it provides no relief to homeowners who desperately want to remain in their homes but need direct assistance,” he said.
Reps. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan., and Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs., also voted against the bill, which died in a 205-228 vote.
The bill’s supporters, including Reps. Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, and E Perlmutter, D-Golden., said they were discouraged that Congress did not act quickly enough to prevent the financial markets from tanking.
“Our nation faces serious economic challenges that require serious action,”
Congresswoman Diana DeGette, D-Denver, said in a statement Monday. “Doing nothing risks a freeze in our financial markets, further exacerbating the economic meltdown while everyday Americans suffer.
“After the vote today, about a trillion dollars of wealth in our economy evaporated in just a few hours.”
Though the two sides split in their support for the legislation, they agreed that Congress should go back to the negotiating table and hash out a second bill before the House adjourns for the fall.
Mark Udall Pledges to Work Toward Energy Solutions Before Congressional Recess
At yesterday’s pre-recorded debate between Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall, the Boulder liberal Democrat candidate made a promise:
Schaffer, meanwhile, accused congressional Democrats of being more concerned with voting to recess at the end of the week than passing an energy plan. Agreeing to Schaffer’s challenge, Udall said he would not vote for a recess until an energy bill comes up.
At The Colorado Index, Civil Sense highlights the importance of Mark Udall’s promise and why it will be difficult for him to keep:
It is unlikely that Nancy Pelosi and the Delay, Don’t Drill, Do Nothing Democrats would allow debate on an energy bill before summer recess as this would force vulnerable Democrat House members to vote against their leadership. Time will tell whether or not Mark Udall will have to follow through or renege on his promise to vote against summer recess.
In addition to sitting on their collective hands on expanding domestic energy supply, Mark Udall and the Democratic Congress have failed to pass a single appropriations bill to fund the federal government, to fill numerous judicial vacancies, and to investigate massive corruption uncovered among trial lawyers.
Will Mark Udall keep his promise? Or will he come back to Colorado with an “aw shucks, I tried” that befits his dedication to radical environments over domestic energy solutions?
The Bob Schaffer-Mark Udall debate airs locally in Colorado on 10 PM Sunday on Fox 31.
By Ben Degrow
Schaffer v Udall: 2008 Colorado Senate Battle
July 30, 2008
Energy dominates Senate debate
Schaffer, Udall differ on methods
Democrat Mark Udall defended his alternative-energy plan in a U.S. Senate debate Monday, despite recent polls showing that Republicans are scoring points with calls to increase domestic drilling.
While Republican Bob Schaffer pushed for oil exploration and increased use of renewable energy, Udall said the country needs a new energy policy focused on renewables, nuclear plants and alternative-fuel cars. The Eldorado Springs congressman blasted Schaffer for working for an oil company and labeled him a “Johnny-come-lately” to the renewable energy bandwagon.
The debate was taped for broadcast Sunday on Fox 31.
Schaffer, a former congressman from Fort Collins, defended his record on renewable energy. Although the Congressional Record noted him discussing the topic only once on the House floor in six years, he talked about it more often outside Congress, Schaffer said.
The Republican nominee also continued to advocate expanded drilling in coastal waters and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to free the nation from dependence on foreign oil.
Udall, who has seen a 10-point lead in polls slip to a tie in the past month, fought back by saying the tax breaks Schaffer and others gave to big oil have not stopped - and may even have hastened - recent gasoline price increases.
The Democratic nominee turned most questions, including one on the Iraq war, to a discussion on energy and said afterward that he won’t change the subject no matter what polls say.
“People are feeling the pain, and I’ve got a plan to respond to that pain,” Udall said of high gas prices. “This has been the focus of all 12 years I’ve been in office. It’s been the focus of my career. Why wouldn’t I talk about it?”
In discussing the war, Udall said he has gone twice to Iraq to visit troops while Schaffer has gone only once, to secure an oil deal for his company with the Kurds against State Department wishes.
Schaffer responded that Udall was “untruthful” about the trip to Kurdistan in 2006 to introduce Aspect Energy officials to the Kurds. Unlike Udall, Schaffer said, he supports troop withdrawal based on a checklist of achievements rather than an arbitrary timetable.
Schaffer, meanwhile, accused congressional Democrats of being more concerned with voting to recess at the end of the week than passing an energy plan. Agreeing to Schaffer’s challenge, Udall said he would not vote for a recess until an energy bill comes up.
The debate was the second joint appearance by the men looking to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Wayne Allard.
Want to see the debate?
Watch Rep. Mark Udall and Bob Schaffer duke it out.
* When: 10 p.m. Sunday
* Where: Fox 31
By Ed Sealover
Rocky Mountain News
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Democratic convention brings challenges to Denver
Fundraising for next month’s event is off by $10 million, Obama’s stadium speech is a logistical migraine and the catering menu is a laughingstock. Don’t even start with the flowers.
For nearly a decade, city leaders here have wooed the Democrats, hoping to lure their national convention to this often-overlooked town and showcase its new public transit system, bustling downtown and sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains.
Municipal leaders were jubilant when they won the right to hold this year’s event. But the convention is raising questions about whether this perennial booster town has bitten off more than it can chew.
FOR THE RECORD:
Democratic National Convention: An article in Monday’s Section A about problems the Democrats are having raising money for their national convention quoted the executive vice president of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce as saying his organization was going to donate $250,000 to the convention but had to hold back $150,000 to fight ballot initiatives. The group has donated $250,000, but held back an additional $150,000 it had planned to give.
The host committee is as much as $10 million short in fundraising, and financial difficulties have forced it to cancel two dozen parties for delegates. Denver officials are scrambling to deal with the logistical challenges of Barack Obama’s acceptance speech being held at an outdoor stadium instead of in the arena where the rest of the convention will take place. Even special daisies that the city bred partly to show off for the convention are failing to sprout.
Criticism has been so harsh that this month the host committee felt compelled to issue a news release defending its much-mocked catering guidelines, which recommend organic produce and color-coordinated meals and discourage fried food.
“It’s an embarrassment, particularly for the political class,” said Floyd Ciruli, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party who is now an independent pollster unaffiliated with the convention effort. “At this point, everybody’s thinking about the burdens rather than the benefits.”
Local political leaders and the host committee insist everything is fine, and that any bumps along the way will be overshadowed by the attention showered on the city next month.
“That’s a little bit of white noise around the perimeter,” said Mayor John Hickenlooper. “Did we ever dream we’d have a candidate of this historic magnitude? Did we ever dream we’d have a candidate who’d make his acceptance speech in front of 80,000 people and have to turn away another 80,000?”
Nonetheless, at a conference on Western issues last week, Hickenlooper referred to the event as the “blasted convention” and compared it to a summer he spent painting a house for which he was never paid. “If we’d known back then what we know now, we’d never have done it,” he said, before quickly adding, “and what an incredible shame that would have been.”
Last month the host committee said it was $10 million short of its $40-million target, but it now refuses to discuss fundraising totals.
Officials blame several factors: The drawn-out primary battle sapped would-be donors. The economic downturn has hit Denver hard because the city’s relatively modest corporate base includes struggling companies such as Frontier Airlines, which is reorganizing under bankruptcy law protection. And business leaders say attention and money are being diverted by union-led ballot initiatives that they are fighting, measures they insist could destroy their livelihoods.
Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, said his organization was going to donate $250,000 to the convention but had to hold back $150,000 to fight the initiatives. “There’s a lot of calls on the money right now,” he said.
Denver leaders say they are determined to meet their goals. “We will find the money and get it done,” Clark said. “When you’re an aspirational city, you don’t walk away from your place on the world stage.”
Since it raised money to lure the transcontinental railroad away from Cheyenne in the 1860s, Denver has tried to will its way to greatness. A hundred years ago it held its last Democratic National Convention to showcase its then-mayor’s attempt to build a European-style “city beautiful” with grand boulevards and Beaux-Arts statues.
In the last decade, Denver has built an immense airport, now the world’s 11th busiest. It revived its faded downtown, now speckled with clubs, restaurants and condos, with a new wing on its art museum designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. It has invested in a $6-billion project to build 119 miles of light rail.
Denver competed unsuccessfully for the 2000 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Los Angeles. The city was the sentimental favorite this year for a Democratic Party eager to highlight its new reach in the West. Hickenlooper vowed the convention would be the most environmentally friendly one yet.
Problems swiftly surfaced, starting with fundraising. The host committee told caterers they should make “every effort” to ensure that each plate consisted of 70% organic food and 50% fruits and vegetables; include nothing fried; and contain at least three of these five colors: red, green, yellow, purple/blue and white.
After caterers complained and the policy was mocked in the media, the host committee put out a defensive news release saying the guidelines were voluntary and fried food would still be available.
“That was not a good start, creating the food police,” said Councilman Charlie Brown.
To add insult to injury, special “Denver daisies,” bred for the city’s 150th anniversary in November and designed to bloom during the convention, are having a hard time growing. Only about a third have blossomed — an issue so serious that the City Council heard a report on it this month.
For their part, many Denver residents, apparently fearful that security measures will paralyze the compact downtown, say they plan to skip town the week of the convention.
Steve Farber, co-chairman of the host committee, denied that the city was in over its head. He said fundraising had picked up since Obama clinched the delegates needed for the nomination last month.
“We had confidence in the city, and I really believe the companies within the city and Colorado have stepped up,” he said.
Ciruli said the convention would probably be a success, especially for Democrats eager to expand out of their base on the coasts.
“The backdrop is still working very well for them,” he said of the national party. “I’m just not sure it’s working very well for Denver.”
By Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Times
July 28, 2008
Times staff writer Mark Z. Barabak contributed to this report.
DNC Boondoggle: Carbon Credits Fund Broken Turbine
WRAY - The eastern Colorado wind turbine tapped for the Democratic National Convention’s carbon-offset program has one problem: It doesn’t generate any electricity. Convention organizers are now being questioned for their eagerness to market those credits to delegates.
The DNC has contracted with Vermont-based NativeEnergy to offer delegates “Green challenge” carbon offsets to soften the environmental impact of convention travel. That money is then invested in carbon-free “green” energy sources around the country, including a wind turbine installed this year by the Wray School District RD-2. But a Face The State investigation reveals the district’s turbine has never produced marketable energy due to massive equipment malfunctions.
The school district held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the wind turbine February 15th. Officials soon discovered, however, that the turbine was incapable of producing its intended output. “We flipped it back off and on about 10 times since then,” said Superintendent Ron Howard. “It has run, it will run, but it won’t ramp itself up to full capacity.”
In the meantime, the project has been touted by Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration as an example of government innovation in clean energy, with district officials still attempting to reassure residents of the technology’s long-term potential. Area residents tell Face The State the blades do turn some days, even though the turbine is not producing electricity. The district Web site reads, “As you note the blades turning evenly in the wind…this ‘dream turned into reality’ is providing an environmentally safe source of power to our community.”
In a feature story in Saturday’s Rocky Mountain News, reporter Jerd Smith claimed that 20 percent of Wray’s power is generated by what it calls “a windmill that toils day and night producing clean electricity.” Smith’s report professed that the Wray project is “at the heart” of the DNC’s carbon-credit program.
The Rocky report also described the school wind turbine as “a project that generates thousands of dollars for the region’s cash-strapped schools,” but provided no financial data regarding any energy sales to date.
Howard says the turbine requires replacement equipment, which is scheduled to be installed this month. “It’s a new technology, so they don’t have the bugs out of it,” he said. “Since there’s so many people watching [the turbine], they might be better served to go to a more reliable model.”
State Sen. Greg Brophy, a Wray Republican, says residents feel let down by town leaders. “Most of the people out here were very excited about it,” he said. “But nobody likes to be misled. The ‘green’ DNC convention is an absolute sham.”
Despite the fact the wind turbine does not produce energy, that hasn’t stopped the district from cashing in on the project. In addition to the carbon credits sold to the DNC and others through NativeEnergy, Howard says the district receives downtime compensation from Americas Wind Energy, Inc., the firm that built the apparatus. “The money that we’re making isn’t necessarily coming from production,” he said.
When asked to quantify those payments, Howard would only describe them as “substantial.” While the details of school district contracts and finances are public information, Howard refused to disclose that information. “I’m not going to tell you how much money we are receiving from AWE while we’re waiting for this thing to run,” he said. Face The State has since requested documents from the district under the Colorado Open Records Act.
Howard is similarly tight lipped on the district’s income from carbon offsets. “I’m also not going to tell you how much we got from the sale of the green tax for green energy,” he said. “That’s all there is to it.”
Face the State Staff Report
7/26/08
