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Schumann: Understanding special districts. Where your tax dollars meet local decisions and why you should care
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Schumann: Understanding special districts. Where your tax dollars meet local decisions and why you should care

By Jen Schumann | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Coloradans, on average, will pay $540,680 in taxes over their lifetime.  Many politicians promise to limit taxes once elected. President Trump believes there is a way the U.S. can abolish federal taxes. Let's say the second Trump Administration does fix the $36 trillion national debt crisis, growing by $268 million each hour, and cuts federal taxes. There will still be state and local taxes to pay. Many local leaders elected through special district elections will set county and city tax rates. They make decisions on how to spend taxpayer dollars, having a huge impact on residents' lives. In Colorado, there are more than 3,000 special districts.  Special district elections in Colorado have low voter turnout. But...
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Russel: If Republicans can deliver on populist platform, they can expand on majorities
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Russel: If Republicans can deliver on populist platform, they can expand on majorities

By Robert Russel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Having won an impressive yet precarious electoral majority in the 2024 election, MAGA Republicans are faced with a conundrum -- whether to follow several previous Republican majorities down the path of tired old policies that voters repeatedly reject, or embrace specific issues on which they campaigned to deliver what the voters asked.  In 2023, the new House majority outfought and outmaneuvered Biden into accepting a budget deal with $1.5 trillion in spending cuts while avoiding further drastic cuts to an underfunded military or cuts to social security. They had gotten major concessions, and given Biden nothing that the Democrats did not already have. In the bargain, they even got Biden blamed for the confrontation, a...
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Richendollar: Lori Chavez-DeRemer would be a disaster as labor secretary
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Approved, Commentary, National, The Federalist

Richendollar: Lori Chavez-DeRemer would be a disaster as labor secretary

By Nathan Richendollar | The Federalist Republicans should take the side of their own voters instead of listening to decadent union goons like Sean O’Brien. Donald Trump’s cabinet picks have been mostly stellar. They have signaled Trump’s administration will enforce U.S. immigration law, pursue a firm but less adventurous foreign policy, and most importantly, empower the people at the expense of the federal leviathan, as exemplified by the new Department of Government Efficiency. All of this makes Donald Trump’s Friday announcement of soon-to-be-former Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., as his prospective Secretary of Labor incomprehensible and unacceptable. Donald Trump should force her to withdraw immediately. If not, the Senate should reject her appointment. RE...
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Emmons: Dems mad they ‘got killed in alternative media’ as they seek to replicate TPUSA, Daily Wire
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Approved, Commentary, National, The Post Millennial

Emmons: Dems mad they ‘got killed in alternative media’ as they seek to replicate TPUSA, Daily Wire

By Libby Emmons, Commentary | The Post Millennial Democrats are unhappy about their electoral loss and they're still trying to figure out how it happened. They have blamed voters, pollsters, Joe Biden, each other, and now they have decided that their lack of alternative media in the parallel economy model of the right is to blame. "We got killed in alternative media," said Stuart Perelmuter in a new article out from The New York Times. Perelmuter has been "contemplating" some kind of alternative Dem influencer group. "Republicans have been investing in that space for years. And on the left we have treated creators who are not in legacy media as gig workers." Perelmuter is one of many left-wing progressive influencers who complained to The Times that the Democrats are...
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Commentary: Bhattacharya is a strong pick to head NIH
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Approved, Commentary, National, Washington Examiner

Commentary: Bhattacharya is a strong pick to head NIH

By The Washington Examiner | Commentary Senators may still have some real substantive concerns about President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of Health and Human Services, but his decision to tap Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as director of the National Institutes of Health is the right choice. A Stanford University professor of economic and health policy, Bhattacharya rose to national prominence when he co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, an open letter published in October 2020 that questioned the lockdown policies promoted by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci and then-NIH Director Francis Collins. While thousands of scientists ended up signing the declaration, or m...
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Boddie: Independent expenditure committees effect election outcomes
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Boddie: Independent expenditure committees effect election outcomes

By CS Boddie | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice One of the reasons candidates lost in the 2024 election may be that independent expenditure committees (IECs), with millions to spend, negatively affected the races. Was it mainly Democrat-leaning IECs at work or did Republican-leaning IECs play too? Pertinent facts are available from TRACER, a  ‘campaign financial disclosure website’ to which political candidates and ‘issue committees’ reported for the office of the secretary of state.  Note that the home page shows a big disparity in ‘contributions and loans filed in 2024’ by political parties, with Democrats receiving about $6.8 million in loans and contributions while Republicans received $1.8 million. Just one IEC existed to support Republicans: New Day Col...
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Devotional: If you want to live in amity, navigate your emotions with love
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Devotional: If you want to live in amity, navigate your emotions with love

By Drake Hunter | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The word “amity” might sound like something out of an old-fashioned novel or the name of a charming little town, but it’s far more than that — it’s a transformative treasure we’ve lost in the shuffle of our fast-paced, fragmented lives. So, what exactly is amity, and why is it important? Simply put, it is the pursuit of friendly relationships and mutual understanding. It’s not just about holding hands and singing songs; it's about the deep, intentional pursuit of harmony, friendship, goodwill, and affection that creates lasting fulfillment and joy. But here’s the twist: amity is more than just being nice and staying in line with the norm regarding friendships and understanding — it’s a spiritual calling that can transform our l...
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Gaines: Yes, oppose anti-2A legislation, but don’t forget to support state and local pro-gun orgs
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Gaines: Yes, oppose anti-2A legislation, but don’t forget to support state and local pro-gun orgs

By Cory Gaines | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The recent election results for Proposition KK (the state excise tax on guns and ammunition) were disappointing, but not altogether a surprise.  By this point, Colorado gun owners and those that support the 2nd Amendment are becoming accustomed to annual encroachments on that right, the one new detail here being that it's now clear that the liberal districts along the Front Range, Interstate 70 and in the Southwest corner of the state are following the lead of those they sent to the state capitol. What can you do if you are one of those gun owners or 2A supporters?  What can you do if you're concerned about fundamental Constitutional rights? Over the last two or three years, it's become increasingl...
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Rahn: The value of AP African-American studies is in the truth, not CRT
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Rahn: The value of AP African-American studies is in the truth, not CRT

By Priscilla Rahn | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice What is education for? Education is about searching for the truth, analyzing and differentiating good ideas from bad. Imagine a classroom where students are inspired to be creative, independent, taught self-determination and invested in the power of capitalism.  As a conservative, Republican and descendant of enslaved Africans, I believe in personal responsibility, freedom and the promise of America’s founding ideals. These traits are foundational to American greatness. Advanced Placement (AP) African-American Studies teaches students these ideals through historical analysis. This course is not CRT, which has become weaponized to define the human experience as solely and completely about our race, rather, it is a valu...
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Krannawitter: Thankful for the lessons of failure learned by early Americans
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Approved, Commentary, Thomas Krannawitter

Krannawitter: Thankful for the lessons of failure learned by early Americans

By Dr. Thomas L. Krannawitter | Commentary, Thomas Krannawitter Substack The first Pilgrim colonists who arrived in North America in November of 1620 failed in grand ways. Later generations — especially the Founding generation — learned valuable lessons from those failures. We should be thankful the Founders learned from the failures of the Pilgrims and other early colonists. Those same failures also offer important lessons for us, today, if we are willing to learn. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THOMAS KRANNAWITTER SUBSTACK Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinion...
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