Rocky Mountain Voice

Rocky Mountain Voice

After Trump pulls endorsement, CD3 Republicans weigh loyalty and constitutional independence
State, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

After Trump pulls endorsement, CD3 Republicans weigh loyalty and constitutional independence

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke his endorsement of Rep. Jeff Hurd and instead back primary challenger Hope Scheppelman reshaped the Republican race in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. It also sharpened a debate inside the party: does representation mean standing firm on constitutional ground—even when that conflicts with the president—or aligning closely with the America First agenda? From Durango to Grand Junction, Republicans are trying to sort out what Trump’s move means—not just for June, but for November. A question of representation Delta County resident Shirley Bauer said Trump’s announcement hit her hard. “When I heard President Trump pulled his endorsement of Rep. Jeff Hurd, it honestly thr...
You can’t afford your government: The cost of Colorado’s “affordability” agenda
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

You can’t afford your government: The cost of Colorado’s “affordability” agenda

By Dave Kerber | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Here we go again. Another crisis has materialized demanding our immediate attention and action. In the 2024 elections, Democrats took to lamenting the unaffordability of stuff in America to sweep to victory. Absent in those campaigns were any suggestions as to exactly how to make things “affordable” nor was there any mention that it was the Democrats with their massive post-COVID, Inflation Reduction Act spending that crammed money into the economy causing the rapid increase in inflation and economic unhappiness. Trump initially responded that affordability was a hoax, that the price of gas was down, and that little girls only needed two dolls not thirty-four. After being mocked by those who caused the crisis, he ...
President Trump’s Historic Year of Achievements for Colorado
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President Trump’s Historic Year of Achievements for Colorado

By Christy Fidura | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice When Joe Biden left office, he left a legacy of weakness, wokeness, and worry among the American people about our nation's future. In just over one year, President Trump has turned America around to ensure that the state of our Union is strong, and the future is bright. Despite inheriting an economy on the verge of collapse, President Trump stopped the bleeding and is getting America, and Colorado, back on the right path. True wages for workers increased more than $1,100 last year and Americans are reaping the rewards of tax refunds up 15% this year thanks to President Trump and Republicans passing the largest tax cut in history. The Working Class Families Tax Cut fulfilled several of President Trump's c...
State approval to farm? Lawmakers debate new limits on seed and pest control
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State approval to farm? Lawmakers debate new limits on seed and pest control

By Sen. Byron Pelton | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s farmers and ranchers already face significant challenges, including volatile commodity prices, rising input costs, labor shortages, and unpredictable weather. They should not also have to contend with a state legislature that increasingly seeks to regulate how they protect crops and livestock.  Yet that is precisely what Senate Bills 26-062 and 26-065 represent: a top-down attack on agriculture that increases costs, undermines private property rights, and signals deep disrespect for the men and women who feed our nation and the world. A Direct Hit on Practical Pest Control SB26-062 would significantly restrict the sale and use of common rodenticides and glue traps. While intended to pr...
Running on the American Dream: Inside Joshi’s Senate Campaign
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Running on the American Dream: Inside Joshi’s Senate Campaign

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Dr. Janak Joshi is back on the campaign trail — this time seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. The physician and former state legislator is entering Colorado’s caucus process, which begins March 3, ahead of district and state assemblies and the June primary. When asked why he entered the race, his answer centered less on political ambition and more on concern — about affordability, opportunity and what kind of country future generations will inherit. “I am running for US Senate because we are seeing that the Democrats, and particularly the liberals, haven't done much in the last five years to help in any way to Colorado and as a country.” He spoke about rising costs, businesses closing and ...
They Would Not Stand for Americans
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They Would Not Stand for Americans

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice During the State of the Union, Donald Trump issued a clear and direct statement. “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal immigrants.” Every Republican in the chamber stood. Not one Democrat did. https://twitter.com/TheRMVoice/status/2026479858017276192 That moment was not theater. It was a stress test. And it revealed something deeply troubling about the state of the Democratic Party at the highest levels of government. Protection of citizens is not a partisan concept. It is the foundational obligation of any legitimate government. The Constitution exists to secure the bless...
As in the Days of Noah: Moral Decline, Divine Patience, and the Certainty of Judgment
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

As in the Days of Noah: Moral Decline, Divine Patience, and the Certainty of Judgment

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Civilizations do not collapse at random. They follow patterns. Scripture presents that pattern with clarity. Moral order produces stability. Moral rebellion produces decay. The sequence is consistent across centuries and continents. Romans 1 describes the progression in forensic detail. People suppress truth. They exchange what is righteous for what is corrupt. God then gives them over. That phrase signals something profound. Judgment often begins with permission. Restraint is lifted. Disorder becomes self-inflicted. What was once shameful becomes celebrated. What was once honored becomes despised. The Old Testament confirms the pattern at a national scale. Israel did not fall in a single dramatic mo...
From $8 Billion to $16 Billion: How Colorado’s Medicaid Budget Doubled in a Decade
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From $8 Billion to $16 Billion: How Colorado’s Medicaid Budget Doubled in a Decade

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice If you ask most Colorado families how they feel about health care right now, the answers aren’t complicated. It’s expensive.It’s confusing.It keeps going up. And for taxpayers helping fund Colorado’s Medicaid program — known as Health First Colorado — another question has started to surface: If enrollment has come back down, why hasn’t spending followed? Ten years ago, Colorado’s Medicaid agency operated on roughly $8 billion. Today it’s closer to $16 billion. The Common Sense Institute (CSI) calculates that as 101 percent growth over the decade. CSI reports that the rest of the state operating budget grew 64 percent during that same period. The story of enrollment is different. ...
Colorado should drop its membership in the California Clean Car Cartel. 
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Colorado should drop its membership in the California Clean Car Cartel. 

By Sean Paige | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice President Trump's recent repeal of the "endangerment finding"—a Barack Obama-era rule that handed the federal government absolute power to regulate almost anything that emits CO2 emissions, in response to the alleged climate crisis—marks a potential turning point for Colorado.  Why?  Because it gives Colorado an opportunity, an invitation, to decouple from California clean car mandates we've been operating under for years.  Most Coloradans probably don't know that their state’s "clean car" mandates are written by an unelected board of all-powerful ecocrats called the California Air Resources Board (CARB.)  But why would most Coloradans know this, since it was never debated by the legislat...
The question no court has answered: Was Tina Peters jailed for speech?
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The question no court has answered: Was Tina Peters jailed for speech?

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Despite months and months of litigation in both state and federal courts, no appellate court has ruled on whether Tina Peters’ speech was constitutionally protected—or whether it was improperly used to justify keeping her behind bars. Her bond challenge stalled in Colorado’s appellate court, which dismissed it as untimely. She's also turned to federal court, where her habeas petition was rejected under the Younger abstention doctrine. Even after a certificate of appealability was denied at the district court level, her case now proceeds forward in the Tenth Circuit—still without an answer to the First Amendment question at its core. Peters’ case is now moving through two separate court systems.  Peters’ conviction is b...