Colorado: America

Nine Democrats are vying to be appointed to the state Senate seat vacated by Denver attorney Jennifer Veiga, who resigned to move to Australia.

Her successor will be chosen tonight by the Senate District 31 vacancy committee. The district includes central Denver and portions of Adams County.

The candidates are:

Patrick Byrne

Age: 28

Occupation: Fiscal policy analyst at the Colorado Department of Transportation

Time in district: Two years

Why you? I am ideally suited to do this because of my budget experience in municipal, county and state government in Colorado.

Jill Conrad

Age: 40

Occupation: Ph.D. student in educational policy, education consultant, at-large member of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education

Time in district: Six years

Why you? I want to create new opportunities for everyone in the community to become engaged and empowered in our government, our schools, our communities and our state.

New national Republican Party chairman Michael Steele urged Colorado Republicans on Friday night to stand up for their beliefs and told the youth of the party to take the reins of the GOP.

Speaking before a crowd of hundreds at an annual party fundraising dinner titled "Blueprint for Tomorrow," Steele said it has not been the party's ideals that caused the GOP to suffer losses across the country and particularly in Colorado the past several election cycles.

Rather, he said, it has been the party's failure to stick to its principles, which he defined as fiscal conservatism, family values and personal liberty.

A self-described "old lesbian" and three students urged lawmakers Monday to support a bill that would make it easier for gays and others to pass down property and handle emergency situations.

Supporters said the bill would apply to a man and a woman who lived together and weren't married or a grandparent and an adult grandchild, for example.

But critics, including Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, called House Bill 1260 "marriage light" and said it was another attempt to give more benefits to gay couples.

"You call this an estate-planning tool, but it really strikes me as a marriage replacement," he said.

The measure allows those in a relationship to file beneficiary agreements with county clerks, a boon for those who can't afford lawyers for wills and other documents, such as power of attorney, said the sponsor, Sen.

Awash in the sound and fury of today’s anti-tax crusaders — the refusenik governors, the tea party attendees, the screamers of “socialism,” the Ayn Rand-loving libertarians “going Galt,” the op-ed writing de facto leaders of the Republican party, the just plain fools — you would think there was significant disagreement among the U.S. population on the big tax-spending stimulus package.

There’s not.

All of the racket generated in the days since this surprising piece was published by Republican pollster Frank Luntz at the end of January drowned out what polls have demonstrated: Americans agree the government should spend whopping amounts of tax dollars in order to get people working again and spending money in order to get more people working and spending money.