Colorado Caucus Gains Importance; **Update: Super Tuesday

**Updated and bumped to the top through Super Tuesday--scroll for caucus info**

<---Please take a moment to vote in SP's GOP poll, located to the left in the sidebar. Democrat caucus info/Republican caucus info

9NEWS has a short primer on caucus procedures for Democrats and Republicans

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With the Super Duper Tsunami Tuesday Caucus/Primary Electionpalooza (or whatever the MSM is calling it) only 26 days away (thanks Ben for the reminder!), Colorado's relatively obscure caucus should garner not only record turnout with both parties lacking a clear frontrunner, but also increased attention from the candidates:

Colorado is bracing for possible record turnouts in the Feb. 5 presidential caucuses, as state voters get swept up in the country's election fever.

Massive turnouts at the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary indicate that voters want to play a pivotal role in the country's most open presidential seat in more than 50 years. And Colorado voters — on both sides of the aisle — are no different.
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GOP and Democratic Party officials say they are expecting much higher participation at the caucuses than they have had in years. State GOP head Dick Wadhams said the intensity of the race was certain to bring out new attendees.

State Democrats have told their county precincts "to prepare for record turnout," said spokesman Matt Sugar, who noted that his party is involved in numerous caucus trainings.
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Unlike Iowa and New Hampshire, Colorado does not have so-called open caucuses. Only those who registered as a Democrat or Republican by the first week in December can attend the caucuses. Unaffiliateds — the state's second-largest registered group — cannot show up and vote.

The state currently boasts just over 1 million Republicans, 994,575 unaffiliateds and 875,650 Democrats. Unaffiliateds have increased by about 50,000 since March, while Democrats went up about 25,000 and Republicans 12,000.

Colorado is one of more than 20 states taking part in what's known as Super Tuesday. The front-loaded nomination schedule has accelerated the process, which may potentially result in both parties producing a nominee by dawn on Feb. 6.

The country would then have a two-candidate race for nine months — a historical first.

Having a closed caucus will prevent unaffiliateds from skewing either party's selection--giving a clearer picture of what rank-and-file Colorado Democrats and Republicans view as their ideal candidate, while leaving pollsters and bloggers to speculate on just how the 2nd largest voting bloc in Colorado will break come November.

Ben DeGrow has a good roundup of Colorado caucus information, including Jefferson and Douglas County GOP caucus gathering information and links. More from Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams.

Denver County GOP caucuses are arranged geographically, centered in the 9 State House districts that comprise the county:

District 1 - Kennedy High School
District 2 - Colorado Automobile Dealers Association offices
District 3 - Harvard Gulch Recreation Center, 550 East Iliff (Logan & Iliff)
District 4 - Lake Middle School
District 5 - Tivoli Auditorium, Auraria Campus
District 6 - Location 1: Windsor Gardens, 595 S. Clinton Street (Clinton & Alameda)
Location 2: Central Christian Church, 3690 Cherry Creek Drive South (Garfield & Cherry Creek Drive South)
District 7 - location TBD
District 8 - Park Hill Methodist Church, 5209 Montview Boulevard
District 9 - Hamilton Middle School, 8600 Dartmouth

DemNotes captures the excitement felt on the other side. Not every Democrat, however, knows which lever they will pull in the upcoming election:

Cory Madden, a student at the University of Denver, said part of his class is engaged in a youth voting project to get people involved in the presidential race.

He hasn't registered yet but plans to as a Democrat. However, he doesn't know which Democrat will get his vote.

"[Dude--ed.] I'm just not getting a huge political vibe yet," said Madden, 19, who is originally from Ohio.

Election '08--Colorado's Bloggers Analyze Iowa, Critique The Debates, And Back Their Favorite GOP Candidates

For the first week of 2008, the conservative blogosphere in Colorado has issued prognostications, offered analysis, and revealed who they think the frontrunners are (or should be). A few have even endorsed their primary candidate, or more importantly, detailed who they won't be voting for should that candidate receive the GOP nomination.

Michael at Best Destiny insightfully details more ground that ALL of the GOP candidates should be steadfast in not ceding to the Democrats this election cycle.

Mr. Bob at the Daily Blogster explains his (well-reasoned, IMO) to back Mitt Romney, and also his distaste for the over-the-top antics of radio personality Hugh Hewitt.

Jim at ThinkingRight also believes that Romney is the best of the leading candidates, and has analysis as well.

Meanwhile, Ben DeGrow remains a FredHead for as long as he sticks in the race.

Clay Calhoun, after an extended blog hiatus, offers his rundown of the marathon two-party debate Saturday evening--he likes Fred and Huck, can't stand Romney or Giuliani, and thinks McCain will get the GOP nod.

Phil Mella at ClearCommentary takes Barack Obama's foreign policy philosophy to task--would we be safe (from external threats/attacks) with Obama in the White House?

Iowa Caucus Roundup

**Update (via Drudge)

Obama 37.36; Edwards 29.97; Clinton 29.45
Huckabee 34; Romney 25; Thompson 14; McCain 13%; Paul 10%

Initial thoughts--nice finish for Fred Thompson

Michelle Malkin has a roundup, liveblogging

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This post will be updated and amended as the results from the Iowa Caucus--the official start to this year's Presidential battle--come in this evening.

First, a comprehensive PJM roundup on all things Iowa.

Ben DeGrow has been following Fred Thompson's campaign, and did a little bit of results blognostication himself.

Michael at Best Destiny has a few thoughts as well.

Of course, 2008 will not only just be about electing a new commander-in-chief. Colorado's GOP has set its sights on reclaiming both houses of Colorado's legislature, by laying the groundwork for in this election and the mid-term 2010 election, targeting the Democrat-held Senate seat and the governor's mansion. Political cycles are no longer confined to the election year itself or even the normal two-year pattern (off year elections notwithstanding). The campaign for '08 began as soon as John Kerry conceded in November 2004. Republicans, having learned that their vaunted GOTV campaigns can not rescue hapless candidates in a poor political climate, must set to work building, or in some cases, re-building the grassroots elements of the party, and move away from the intraparty bickering and recriminations that have come to define recent primary campaigns, on both a local and national level. This will be put to the clearest test this year in the Presidential campaign, but will also have ramifications for GOP candidates on all levels. A permanent fracture would leave the GOP in permanent minority status, giving Democrats the keys to our government--and our future--not by losing the battle of ideas, but simply by default.

Wash Park Prophet has a post on the "irrational" voters--often those self-proclaimed "unaffiliateds" or "independents"--which might explain the rise of Ron Paul.

Thoughts On The Primary--Fred! Not Huckabee

**Update 2--another Fred! endorsement

**Update--Iowa Rep. Steve King endorses Fred Thompson, in clear and forceful terms (via Michelle Malkin)

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Haven't had too much time finishing up this semester's work to keep up with the GOP primary--and since the first votes are literally just weeks away, the importance cannot be understated.

Ben at Mount Virtus has done a little looking, and his post on Fred Thompson (and his primary endorsement of Fred!) are certainly echoed here.

More primary thoughts over the next few weeks.

Giuliani Defends Immigration Record In Visit To Colorado

Accused of harboring illegal immigrants in New York, a city dubbed as a "sanctuary" by those critical of illegal immigration, Giuliani argued that his record demonstrated a tough stance on those here illegally:

"My response is you have to look at the results. New York City had the least amount of illegality per capita of any major city in the country and I brought that change about," Giuliani said during a visit to a Colorado Springs restaurant.

"When we came into office, New York City was the crime capital of America. When I left office, it was the safest large city in America in just about every single category, which means it had the least amount of illegality of any kind, whether you're talking about illegal immigrants or illegal Americans," Giuliani said.
. . .
Giuliani also answered questions from supporters and customers about his stance on illegal immigrants. He drew a map of the Mexican border on a piece of paper and said fighting illegal immigration will require a combination of physical barriers and technology to fill in the gaps.

Giuliani said immigrants should be given tamperproof identification cards.

"Everyone from a foreign country should be identified," Giuliani told Krystal Holthus, a Colorado Springs resident concerned about the issue.

Mitt Romney has argued that Giuliani's lax position and failure to enforce immigration policies made New York City a de facto "sanctuary city", inherited from his predecessor, Mayor Ed Koch. Giuliani will have to square away his current explanation of his stance on illegal immigration with his statements made in the '90s:

At a June 1994 press conference, Giuliani decried anti-illegal immigration policies as unfair and hostile.

"Some of the hardest-working and most productive people in this city are undocumented aliens," Giuliani said at the time. "If you come here and you work hard and you happen to be in an undocumented status, you're one of the people who we want in this city. You're somebody that we want to protect, and we want you to get out from under what is often a life of being like a fugitive, which is really unfair."

At a speech in Minneapolis in 1996, Giuliani defended Koch's executive order, that, in his words "protects undocumented immigrants in New York City from being reported to the INS while they are using city services that are critical for their health and safety, and for the health and safety of the entire city."

"There are times when undocumented immigrants must have a substantial degree of protection," Giuliani said.

This is a different decade, and Giuliani is no longer running for office in one of the most liberal cities in America. He will, if he receives the GOP nomination, have to overcome considerable doubt by those who seek border security and enforcement of the law. Anyone concerned by the state of illegal immigration in this country will demand more than platitudes from any candidate seeking their vote come November 2008.

After The VT Massacre: Gun Control?--Update: Penn & Teller's "Bullshit"

Roger Fraley of XDA fisks an editorial from The Times of London that suggests "America’s deep-rooted and sometimes lethal commitment to its own freedoms" leads to the type of gun violence seen at VT. Money quote:

Don't tread on me. ...cold, dead hands. Lethal commitment to Freedom. All good thoughts.

Other European MSM highlighted America's pervasive gun culture, a violent society, the Iraq War, and even Charlton Heston as explanations for the outburst at VT. Our Constitution and the pesky rights afforded American citizens and their reluctance to cede them to an ever-burgeoning Federal Government was a recurring theme.

Perhaps the Europeans are jealous--jealous of our enshrined freedoms and of our ability to maintain a desire to keep them in the face of ridiculous calls for emotional, knee-jerk reactions to an isolated but tragic event. In similar situations, Europeans permanently surrendered their freedoms for a little temporary safety. We all know how Benjamin Franklin felt about that equation.

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Liberal Denver blogger Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft calls gun control a "non-cure" and says what every gun-rights and 2nd Amendment advocate said right after Columbine:

Guns effected, but did not cause the killings. They were the means by which an unbalanced, disturbed individual carried out his rage.

For the time being, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opposes a "rush to judgment" in introducing new gun control legislation--noting that the time for such measures may come down the road, even though the issue has been a loser for Democrats for nearly a decade.

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Local gun rights organizations showed up to protest GOP Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's visit to Denver, only to have it cancelled at the last moment due to the events at VT.

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Penn & Teller's "Bullshit" offers their take on gun control. (obviously, NSFW)

Allard Endorses Romney; Giuliani In Town For Fundraiser

Sen. Wayne Allard's endorsement of Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney had my head spinning:

Colorado Republican Sen. Wayne Allard is endorsing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president, the campaign announced Monday.

Allard praised the candidate as someone who could bring “a much needed breath of fresh air to Washington.” He is the fifth GOP senator to publicly back Romney.

“After reviewing Governor Romney’s impressive resume and having the opportunity to visit one-on-one with him about his vision of innovation and change for America, I am proud to announce my endorsement of him,” Allard said in a statement.

Romney noted the Colorado Republican’s commitment to fiscal conservatism and homeland security.

“Senator Allard’s record of leadership and commitment to change make him a valuable addition to my campaign team,” Romney stated. “In Congress, he has fought to restrain spending while working to ensure that Americans are safe at home and abroad. Senator Allard understands, as I do, that we must bring innovation and transformation to Washington if we are to meet the new generation of challenges facing our country today.”

Colorado Conservative Project sums it up nicely: Allard endorses Romney, conservatives weep

The Political Pale Horse asks, "What the hell?"

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**Update--Giuliani fundraiser cancelled due to VA Tech massacre

Meanwhile, former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani is in town tonight to raise cash . . . but has also appeared to make a comment that marginalizes social conservatives in the GOP:

“Our party is going to grow, and we are going to win in 2008 if we are a party characterized by what we’re for, not if we’re a party that’s known for what we’re against,” the former New York mayor said at a midday campaign stop.

Republicans can win, he said, if they nominate a candidate committed to the fight against terrorism and high taxes, rather than a pure social conservative.

“Our party has to get beyond issues like that,” Giuliani said, a reference to abortion rights, which he supports.

Social conservatives prepared to make allowances for a moderate candidate like Giuliani can accept compromises, or are at the very least willing to entertain a candidate that will at least take them seriously. Ostracizing them with flippant comments dismissing the importance of the issues social conservatives hold dear will do nothing to endear him to skeptical GOP voters hesitant to countenance a socially liberal Presidential candidate.