Arrest warrant issued for embattled ex-Larimer GOP chair Carillo

As the 2012 race in Colorado’s always hotly contested 4th congressional district officially kicked off this week, Republicans in Larimer County, the most populous county in the district, are suffering through another humiliating chapter in the unfolding history of incompetence and corruption that plagued the county party under the recent direction of Larry Carillo. Police issued a felony theft arrest warrant for the former party chairman Tuesday, accusing him of stealing more than $17,000 to pay bills and gambling debts. Carillo is alleged to have unwittingly set up payments to a company created by the department of Homeland Security to fight online gambling and money laundering. Carillo paid more than $27,000 in online gambling debts while he was party chairman.

Lunchtime Links: Colorado’s non-mysterious ‘Mr X’ and other bad actors

These links are for those yet to read about “Mr X” the non-mystery man behind the three tax-slashing ballot initiatives meant to starve Colorado government and now at the center of unfolding courtroom drama that calls into question…

Markey seeks to emphasize independence at Denver fundraiser

DENVER– At a fundraiser featuring Vice President Joe Biden here Friday afternoon, Colorado Congresswoman Betsy Markey toed the line she has tread since she was elected in 2008 to the seat held by hard-right social conservative Marilyn Musgrave in the mostly agrarian Front Range Fourth District. Markey, one of the swing so-called “blue dog” moderate Democratic members of Congress, talked to the crowd of roughly 150 people at the Sheraton about the value of independent political thinking and her non-lawyer, non-politician entrepreneurial background.

Buck: ‘I didn’t choose the Tea Party; I’m being accepted by them’

DENVER– U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck rallied thousands of Tea Party grassroots conservatives at the Denver capitol today, coming at the height of a long roster of speakers and receiving a warm reception from the crowd. Picking up on the patriot theme and no doubt delighting members of the crowd dressed in 18th-century patriot and minutemen outfits, Buck likened conservative activists and candidates this year to Paul Revere, the colonial figure who signaled the arrival of the British and the start of the Revolutionary War.

Gardner scores CD4 endorsement from former rival Brown

Fort Collins City Council member Diggs Brown has endorsed state Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, in the 4th Congressional District race, according to Fort Collins Coloradoan Editor Bob Moore. Brown ranked second in the 4th CD race among GOP caucus voters…

Buck and Romanoff notch caucus wins

The Associated Press described last night’s caucus results as a measure of anti-establishment sentiment but that’s a stretch. The results suggest voters’ feelings were mixed, that there are no clear frontrunners, and that Coloradans should be prepared for heated campaigns for months to come.

Caucus Night Colorado

Tonight is Caucus night in Colorado. Thousands of political junkies and activists will turn out to elect delegates to represent candidates at the party state assemblies in May.

Speeding Tea Party rhetoric bangs against Ref C guardrail in Loveland

At last week’s 4th congressional district candidate forum in Loveland, theoretical anti-tax anti-government consensus broke down briefly during discussion of Referendum C, Colorado’s 2005 voter-supported “TABOR timeout,” which has become a litmus-test topic for state Republican candidates this year.

Candidate Lucero ‘cleaned up that Churchill mess’… or not

Conservative Colorado University Regent Tom Lucero is sure to mention on the stump in the Fourth District where he’s campaigning for Congress that he was the guy who got lefty CU Professor Ward Churchill fired. A recap of…

State Supreme Court declares ‘clean government’ Amendment 54 unconstitutional

In a four to one vote, the Colorado Supreme Court this morning declared that so-called clean elections Amendment 54 unconstitutionally tramped on the right to free speech. The Court barred authorities from enacting its provisions.

“[W]e find the…