Colorado: Republicans

In what is expected to be the last major fight in the legislature over Colorado's proposed new rules for oil and gas drilling, the state Senate gave initial approval today to the controversial regulations.

The vote, which broke along party lines, came after Republicans made an unsuccessful, last-ditch effort to sway moderate Democrats to make some changes to the rules, which are designed to protect the environment and public health from drilling side-effects. The Republicans hoped to increase certain protections for drinking water and to raise fines for some rules violations in exchange for stripping out a number of regulations.

Democrats summarily rejected the change, and, afterward, Republicans conceded the fight in the legislature is basically over.

Congressman Mike Coffman has a date with the state's Independent Ethics Commission this week, after a Denver District Court judge denied his request to delay a hearing in a complaint against him.

"Having fully considered the jurisdictional arguments of Coffman advanced to the Court," Judge Norman Haglund wrote in his order on Friday, "the Court finds no support for the contention that the Commission is clearly acting beyond its constitutional authority in proceeding."

The hearing is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Friday.

Colorado Ethics Watch, a watchdog group, filed the complaint last year with the ethics commission alleging that Coffman, a Republican, violated state ethics rules while serving as secretary of state.

The Republican is accused of improperly allowing an employee who dealt with elections to also operate a partisan political business. Coffman will go before the new state Independent Ethics Commission next month.

A 2007 state audit concluded that Coffman failed to properly supervise his employees. Afterward Coffman set up a new policy preventing election workers on his staff from partisan activity.

The ethics complaint also accused Coffman of improperly approving electronic voting machines made by a company that hired a lobbying group he used to run his successful congressional campaign.

The complaint was filed last year by Colorado Ethics Watch, a government watchdog group.

The Los Angeles Times profiles one of our favorite open thread quote machines--prominent like never before? The "unofficial leader" of a leaderless GOP?
While the GOP's star has fallen, Limbaugh's has soared. As party leaders struggle to find their voice, Limbaugh's baritone booms loud and clear three hours a day, five days a week on 600 radio stations across America. If a $400-million contract and the title of most influential talk radio personality -- as voted by industry pros -- aren't sufficient proof, consider President Obama's decision to pick a fight with him three days into his presidency...

By his own account, he is the most prominent voice of conservative thinking -- "the last man standing" -- now that Republican lawmakers have decided to, in his judgment, bow before the president.