BackboneAmerica

It fries me when anyone tries to make my Republican Party, the party of Lincoln and Reagan, the party of liberty and limited government, into the party of tax and spend. It ain’t so.

Contrary to recent news stories suggesting the Referendum C & D tax increase has split the GOP down the middle, a clear majority of Republicans in Colorado want nothing to do with this Democrat-endorsed plan. Polling shows 54% opposed and 15% undecided — only 31% in favor. In an election that would be called a landslide. (more…)

When the other side in an argument feels they have to defame your character, twist your words, and just plain make up stuff you never said, they obviously lack confidence in their own views and persuasive powers. This seems to be the case with Denver Post columnists Bob Ewegen and Diane Carman — and the political operatives they front for — when it comes to my opposition to Referendum C & D. (more…)

(John Andrews in the Denver Post, July 17) If you go west on the Arkansas River from Pueblo, up the Royal Gorge and then north past Salida, the Heart of the Rockies, you come to Buena Vista, “the place of a lovely view.” It’s pretty much the route taken by Lt. Zebulon Pike, the first American to explore this high valley, just before Christmas 1806.

Then if you branch off the Arkansas at Bueny and follow Cottonwood Creek to its headwaters between Mt. Princeton and Mt. Yale, just below the Continental Divide, with luck and a sharp eye you’ll find the old mining road that climbs into a side canyon where my imaginary hometown, Backbone, Colorado, lies hidden. (more…)

Former Senate President John Andrews and former Speaker of the House Lola Spradley, along with two of their Republican predecessors in legislative leadership, held a news conference at the State Capitol yesterday announcing their opposition to the Referendum C tax increase. Andrews and Spradley were joined by Ray Powers and Bev Bledsoe in signing a letter to the 28 current legislators who opposed the tax hike and defended TABOR. (more…)

(John Andrews in the Denver Post, July 3) The Independence Day barbecue at our house tomorrow will be a time of celebrating patriotic spirit and reliving family memories, some of them anyway. We do not plan to reenact the great fence-crashing incident of 1976. (more…)

(John Andrews in the Denver Post, June 19) “Government is not eloquence, it is force,” cautioned George Washington. “Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” The downfall of Richard Nixon, an episode I lived through as a young presidential assistant, has to be seen in the light of Washington’s warning if we are to learn its real lesson. Ordinary Americans get this, but to judge from the Deep Throat uproar, intellectuals still don’t. (more…)

“Head On,” John Andrews’ daily debate feature with Susan Barnes-Gelt on Colorado Public Television, this month dives into topics from Iraq and the Supreme Court to flag-burning and the campaign against TABOR. Democrats’ defeatism on the war draws John’s strong condemnation. (more…)

“Backbone Radio with John Andrews, ” 5-8pm on 710 KNUS this Sunday, July 10, will look at the people and policies of our U.S. Supreme Court — after a spring of big decisions and heading into a summer of confirmation battles. (more…)