The Colorado Independent » Aaron Harber

Where does the Colorado GOP go from here? Ask Dick and friends

Wendy Norris — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:17:27 +0000

Colorado Independent readers, your citizen journalism moment has arrived.

Rocky Mountain PBS talk show host Aaron Harber is requesting questions for his two-part series on the future of the Colorado Republican Party. But hurry, your deadline is 10 a.m. Monday.

Summon your inner Helen Thomas and ask some tough questions of these state GOP leaders — whose message out of their recent annual shindig was: “We lost our minds” but we’re not going to change a thing:

Part 1
• Dick Wadhams, Colorado Republican Party Chair
• John Andrews, Former State Senate President and Denver Post columnist
• Ryan Frazier, Aurora City Councilman and rumored U.S. Senate candidate
• Scott McInnis, Former District 3 Congressman and rumored Colorado guberbatorial candidate

Part 2
• Jessica Peck Corry, Public Policy Analyst, Independence Institute
• Josh Penry, State Senator Minority Leader (R-Grand Junction) and rumored gubernatorial candidate
• John Suthers, Colorado Attorney General
• Lori Weigel, Partner, Public Opinion Strategies

Questions for the panelists may be submitted confidentially via e-mail until 10:00 a.m. today.

Part 1 will air on The Aaron Harber Show Tuesday, April 7, at 8:00 p.m., and repeat on Wednesday, April 8, at 5:00 p.m. on KBDI-TV Channel 12. The part 2 broadcast will appear the following week on Tuesday, April 14 and Wednesday, April 15 at the same times, respectively.

Mike Rosen argues for ‘royal privilege’ over Electoral College reform

Aaron Harber — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:30:43 +0000

As someone who was fortunate to twice win Electoral College elections, I took great interest in Denver Talk Radio host Mike Rosen’s recent defense of the current system. His attack on the principle of “One Person, One Vote“ embodied in Democrats’ attempts to secure a majority of Electoral College votes for whoever wins the national popular vote borders on bizarre as he attempts to defend a system based, in part, on concepts of the privilege of royalty (e.g., the U.S. Senate paralleling the English House of Lords).

Despite Rosen’s pretense the Electoral College was a result of the perfection of a republic by our founding fathers, it was a rough-and-tumble political compromise at the time of the birth of our nation. Its establishment at that time does not make it inviolable, just as the legality of slavery or the disenfranchisement of women did not mean those conditions, too, should be immune to change.

Rosen objects to modifying the current system because he is a partisan Republican who admits the Electoral College disproportionately favors small Republican states. However, his argument a national popular vote would diminish importance of Colorado has little basis in fact.

The equivalent of a national popular vote actually may increase the attention Colorado gets primarily because Coloradans are open-minded and often split their tickets — voting for Democrats and Republicans based on citizens’ evaluations of each candidate. This kind of “swing” voter is exactly the kind which campaigns target — and is one of the reasons why Colorado has received extensive attention in recent presidential campaigns.

Admittedly, the Electoral College amplifies Colorado’s attractiveness because our state (and 47 others) is a “winner-take-all” participant. Hence, winning a small majority or even a plurality in Colorado gets the winner all nine of its Electoral College votes. But attractiveness is relative and it is possible a popular vote election could make Colorado a more popular place to campaign.

It also helps that Colorado has proved to be a solid source of fundraising for many candidates — hence, attracting them to the State for non-electoral reasons. Once they are here, most candidates tend to campaign. And our geographic position makes it easy for candidates to stop while en route to wealthier and more populous states such as California or Texas.

Rosen’s argument candidates would only go to big states is too general. If big states had large citizen blocks which always voted lockstep for one party (e.g., California for Democrats, Utah for Republicans), candidates would go to states where they had a better prospect of winning new votes.

Candidates also would focus resources in geographic areas which offer better media access to swing voters. Colorado offers both opportunities — a concentrated major media market in the Denver metropolitan area (the 18th largest media market in the nation — out of more than 400 markets) and a high percentage of swing voters.

As Rosen points out, indeed the United States of America is a republic, but to conclude the founding fathers would be aghast at the idea the nation’s President ultimately would be chosen via a popular vote is silly. Given the configuration of the country today — quite different than that of the 13 colonies 233 years ago — it is entirely possible the founding fathers would be in favor of the direct election of the President while preserving the republican nature of the legislative branch. Of course, if the founding fathers saw the country today, they might have a number of other suggestions for “improvements…”

Aaron Harber hosts “The Aaron Harber Show” seen Tuesdays at 8:00 pm and Wednesdays at 5:00 pm on PBS Station KBDI-TV Channel 12 and viewable 24/7. Send e-mail to Aaron@HarberTV.com. © Copyright 2009 by Aaron Harber and USA Talk Network, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ask the governor: Ritter on ‘Aaron Harber Show’ tonight

Wendy Norris — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:04:55 +0000

Gov. Bill Ritter joins Aaron Harber for a special live one-hour electronic town hall at 8 p.m. MST this evening on KBDI-TV Channel 12′s “The Aaron Harber Show.”

To ask a question of the governor during the live call-in segment, dial (303) 296-1253. Be sure to mention that you’re a Colorado Independent reader when you reach a show producer for special priority. According to Harber, there are no restrictions on the subject matter of questions.

What do you want the governor to talk about?

Ask the Governor: Live Call-in Tonight on ‘The Aaron Harber Show’

Wendy Norris — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:45:00 +0000

Governor Bill Ritter joins Aaron Harber for a special live one-hour electronic town hall this evening at 8:00 p.m. MST on KBDI-TV Channel 12′s “The Aaron Harber Show.”

Colorado Confidential readers will be given priority on the phone lines, according to Harber.Here are the program details:

Harber Goes to Iraq; Invites Colorado Confidential Readers to Submit Questions to U.S. Leadership

Wendy Norris — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:49:50 +0000

Under a special arrangement with “The Aaron Harber Show” and KBDI-TV Channel 12, Colorado Confidential readers are invited to submit questions to Aaron Harber to be posed to General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.

Harber is traveling to Iraq this week for a 10-day tour of the war-torn nation.

Jot your questions here and we’ll send them along to Aaron and his producer. Deadline for submissions is Monday at 5 p.m. MST

_{Click the image above to view a video of Petraeus and Crocker following their Iraq assessment testimony to Congress on Sept. 12, 2007}

Ask Tom Tancredo: Local talk show wants your questions

Wendy Norris — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 17:30:46 +0000

Colorado Confidential readers have a special opportunity to pose questions to Congressman Tom Tancredo when he goes under the klieg lights on KBDI’s The Aaron Harber Show.Questions submitted as comments below will be forwarded to Harber ahead of the show’s taping.

* Questions should be posted here no later than 7:00 a.m. MDT on Monday, January 7 in order to be forwarded to the show’s producers by deadline
* There are no restrictions on subject matter or type of questions
* There are no restrictions on who may submit questions. Everyone is eligible to send in questions.
* The host will attempt to have Rep. Tancredo address as many questions as possible in the 30-minute program.

Ask the Governor: Live Call-in Tonight on ‘The Aaron Harber Show’

Wendy Norris — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:30:00 +0000

Governor Bill Ritter joins Aaron Harber for a special live one-hour call-in this evening at 8:00 p.m. MST on KBDI-TV Channel 12′s “The Aaron Harber Show.” Colorado Confidential readers will be given priority on the phone lines according to Harber.Here are the program details:

Ask the Governor: Live Town Hall Tonight

Wendy Norris — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:15:34 +0000

Uncensored and unrehearsed — what do you want Gov. Bill Ritter to say tonight?Gov. Bill Ritter will take questions from Colorado residents this evening on a special one-hour live broadcast of the Aaron Harber Show on KBDI Channel 12.

Harber encouraged Colorado Confidential readers to identify their CoCo-affiliation when calling:

Ask the Governor: Ritter on First Live Electronic Town Hall Tonight

Wendy Norris — Wed, 16 May 2007 21:38:06 +0000

Governor Bill Ritter joins Aaron Harber this evening at 8:00 p.m. MDT for a special one-hour “live” broadcast on KBDI-TV Channel 12′s “The Aaron Harber Show.”

The Governor will discuss his inaugural legislative session and talk about how his vision for Colorado – known as “The Colorado Promise – is being implemented. He also will answer questions from citizens across the State.

“Because the Governor now is considering whether to sign or veto a number of bills, this is a great opportunity for people to be heard one final time on a number of issues,” noted Harber. “Again we are honored to have the Governor and believe this once more illustrates how willing he is to make himself available to the people of the State of Colorado.” Harber especially emphasized the Governor’s willingness to answer questions in an unrehearsed setting.

Here are the details for the program: