Third Colorado State Senator May Face Recall

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Photo Credit: Evie Hudak/FacebookEnergized by historic recalls of two Colorado state senators last month, activists have begun collecting signatures to oust state Democratic Sen. Evie Hudak from office.

Hudak, who represents Westminster, a suburb northwest of Denver, is a favorite target of the GOP for her liberal voting record and a propensity to attract bad PR for herself.

Under Colorado election law, those wishing to prompt a recall election must collect 18,900 signatures from district residents – 25 percent of the total votes cast in the last election. Hudak was initially elected to the state Senate in 2008 after two terms on the state Board of Education.

In both senate elections, Hudak has won by narrow margins; in 2008 she topped Republican Libby Szabo with 51 percent of the vote. In 2012, she won with only 47 percent, narrowly edging out Republican Lang Sias by 0.7 percent. Sias’ defeat was blamed in Republican circles on the presence of Libertarian Lloyd A. Sweeny, who garnered nearly 7 percent of the vote. GOP analysts believe a majority of those Libertarian votes would have otherwise gone to Sias.

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WSJ Economist Stephen Moore: The US Will Not Default, Constitution Explains Why

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Wall Street Journal economist Stephen Moore stated the United States will not default. He told Pat Robertson in an interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club on Monday, “There will be no default. In fact, anyone who is watching this show, who owns a government bond, the chances that we will have a default on that debt and you won’t get paid is very, very close to zero.” He added, “The real danger to our credit rating and our status as a world economic superpower is if we are going to continue to borrow a trillion dollars a year.”

Moore went on to further explain why he believes the government will not default stating, “The Constitution guarantees that the full faith and credit of the United States government will be assured. That means that if we had a shut down, that doesn’t mean the government can’t spend money, it means it can’t borrow more. So I would make the case and most constitutional scholars would agree with me that the first people who would get paid [from incoming revenues] are the people who own the bonds…I think it’s highly irresponsible for this President to be running around saying we are going to have to default on the debt. Telling people to sell their stocks. Can you imagine, Pat, if a CEO of a company started talking down their stocks and their bonds?”

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Reid Blasts Media For Being Too Conservative

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Photo Credit: Western JournalismIf anyone still needs proof Harry Reid is completely disconnected with reality, recent comments he made about the state of mainstream media should suffice. The Senate majority leader and bitterly partisan Democrat unbelievably complained today’s press is not leftist enough.

Speaking to Politico recently, he identified a “real shortcoming” within the media, saying journalists “are trying so hard to be fair that [they] are unfair.”

With countless newspapers, networks, websites, and other outlets dedicated to carrying the Obama administration’s water on a daily basis, Reid’s argument falls flat in the face of facts. The mainstream leftist media are, for the most part, not interested in presenting a balanced reportage of the news. While Reid accurately describes the press as “unfair,” most Americans understand that bias is in favor of the leftist cause.

Nevertheless, he sticks to his irrational diatribe by placing the blame for our current federal government shutdown squarely on the shoulders of his political adversaries.

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Wall Street Shrugs off President, Focuses on Congress

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Photo Credit: APWhen it comes to worrying over a possible debt default, Wall Street is brushing off President Barack Obama’s warnings and focusing its attention instead on Congress.

Investors say they currently view the words and deeds of Congress as having more power to move markets because the president is not viewed as being intimately involved in the ongoing fiscal negotiations — more of a spectator in chief as the House and Senate fight over how to break their impasse.

“The financial markets seem to believe at this point it’s really in the hands of the House and the Senate,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist with Deutsche Bank. “In other words, I think the market’s focused more on what might be happening between [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid and [Speaker] John Boehner than the president.”

This dynamic was on display in recent days as Wall Street tried to parse Washington’s jawboning.

Last week, Obama cautioned that Wall Street should be seriously worried that Congress may fail to raise the debt ceiling, saying in an interview with CNBC that markets “should be concerned” and that “this time it’s different.”

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Truckers to Protest Obama on Beltway

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Photo Credit: kate at yr own risk/flickrA group of truck drivers are planning to protest the federal government by backing up the Capital Beltway around Washington, D.C.

The group “Truckers for the Constitution” is hoping to call attention to its frustration with regulations from the Obama administration and the overall political climate in the U.S. with an appeal that echoes the early rhetoric of the Tea Party.

“Independent Truckers of America are essentially operating on extremely low; and in most cases working below minimum wage, and all paying exorbitant fuel costs and fees,” the group said on its website, RideForTheConstitution.org.

“American truckers are also very politically astute and great patriots, they are all well aware of what is happening to our U.S. Constitution,” the website continued. “Through this campaign, they are leading the convoy of all Americans coast-to-coast who wish to restore our constitutional republic. America is calling out to our Patriots, and if any group can help lead the charge to save our nation, it’s the U.S. truckers.”

The truck drivers are complaining about their wages, gas prices and the Obama administration’s regulations of their industry. Additionally, they are unhappy with reports the U.S. government was spying on American citizens earlier this year and the amount of debt the country has.

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Obamacare showdown in Texas

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Photo Credit: APThe ground war over Obamacare — the one that will determine whether people sign up — will be won and lost in places like Texas.

If Obamacare fails in the Lone Star State — that is, if a significant portion of the 6.1 million uninsured Texans don’t or can’t enroll — then the White House could miss its national enrollment targets, the new health insurance exchanges could falter and insurance rates could spike.

Obamacare could be unsustainable.

And that’s exactly what leading Texas politicians like Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Ted Cruz would like to see happen. With the political leaders’ “hell no” approach to Obamacare, Texas may not seem like a health law battleground. But the demographics — a huge, hard-to-reach uninsured population — mean it’s a make-or-break state for making the law work.

Advocates are banking on the idea that a grass-roots push in more liberal, urban areas of Texas, plus the demand among the uninsured to get health coverage, will overcome the state’s institutional opposition and deliver on the promise of Obamacare.

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Wisconsin Professor tells Students Tea Party, Republicans at Fault for Slimdown

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Photo Credit: UWLAX.EDUA Wisconsin college professor warned her students they wouldn’t be able to get all of their homework done because of the partial government shutdown, and put a partisan spin on the bad news.

“Some of the data gathering assignment will be impossible to complete until the Republican/tea party controlled House of Representatives agrees to fund the government,” University of Wisconsin La Crosse Assistant Geography Professor Rachel Slocum told students in an e-mail.

“The Census website, for instance, is closed,” she continued. “Please do what you can on the assignment. Those parts you are unable to do because of the shutdown will have to wait until Congress decides we actually need a government. Please listen to the news and be prepared to turn in the assignment quickly once our nation re-opens.”

At least one student in the online course reported the professor’s political spin to the education blog The College Fix, which first reported the story.

Slocum could not be reached for comment, but a school official told FoxNews.com the issue was addressed.

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Least Essential? Some Agencies Have 0 Employees on Job During Slimdown

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Photo Credit: APFiscal hawks say the silver lining to the partial government shutdown, which is entering its second week of scaled-back services, could be the picture of government waste it paints for taxpayers.

A look through the shutdown contingency plans of the federal government shows some little-known commissions and agencies — like the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness — don’t have anybody reporting for work during the partial shutdown.

The ability of the government to run without any of the people from any of these agencies on the clock is prompting some watchdog groups to question why, then, do the agencies need to exist in the first place?

“Think of all the money we could save as a nation,” Judicial Watch said in an Oct. 7 post. “Besides bringing attention to these largely unheard of agencies, the shutdown – caused by Congress’s inability to agree on a funding bill – is also shedding light on just how bloated the federal government is, with an astounding workforce that’s seen nearly 800,000 furloughed this week.”

Government bodies that have exactly zero people on the job this week include the USDA Risk Management Agency, where all 430 employees are furloughed, and the Federal Maritime Commission, where all 120 workers are furloughed.

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Ready to Hear Latest Lie about Obamacare?

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Photo Credit: WNDThe Obama administration is gushing that Obamacare will change the lives of three uninsured women – but none of the women have actually enrolled in the program.

Twitchy noted that the HHS blog “offers the stories of three women as if they’re Obamacare ‘success stories.’”

However, a close reading of their statements reveals Caroline, Kate and Elizabeth say they are “looking to buy,” “still shopping” and “still trying to decide.”

The HHS blog says Caroline, a 27-year-old substitute teacher and part-time guidance counselor in Washington, D.C., who has been uninsured since 2009, wants to “get insurance on the Marketplace” so she can avoid expensive emergency hospital bills.

According to HHS, Kate, a 30-year-old consultant for a non-governmental organization said she is “overwhelmed” by her options on the Marketplace and is “still shopping to make sure I make the right decision.”

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‘Shutdown’ Day 7: Government Buys $47,174 Mechanical Bull

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Photo Credit: mechanicalbullsales.comThe government shutdown may be keeping furloughed federal workers at home, but on Monday the U.S. Army contracted to buy a mechanical bull.

The $47,174 contract was awarded on Oct. 7 to Mechanical Bull Sales Inc. of State College, Penn.

According to the General Services Administration (GSA) listing, the National Guard of Utah made the request for a “bull which needs to be durable and low maintenance.”

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