Political Avalanche--Not Just Another Conservative Political Blog For Colorado
Welcome to Political Avalanche, Colorado's newest conservative political blog.
Why, you ask, do we need another blog?
Well, some may have noticed Colorado's recent shift into the "purple" state category--Democratic wins in '04 (Ken and John Salazar, against major GOP victories around the country) and '06 (which garnered the Dems the governorship, a 4-3 Congressional delegation, and retained control of both houses of the state legislature) have left the once vigorous state GOP foundering and conservatives of all stripes struggling to figure out what went wrong.
Colorado, like other Western States, has always exhibited political independence, exercising its will beyond party confinement. GOP moderates, right-wingers, and libertarians created a majority that in big-tent style appealed to the state's large numbers of "independent" and "unaffiliated" voting bloc. Indeed, both registered GOP voters and independents have consistently outnumbered Democrats for years. What gives?
Colorado's GOP collapse represents a failure of the party to hold constant to both its inclusive appeal but also its conservative principals. Election '06 national sentiments aside, Colorado's GOP became complacent while in power and a dearth of appealing candidates combined with neglect of principles has allowed "moderate" Democrats like Ken Salazar and Bill Ritter--much to their savvy political credit--to capture the hearts and minds of a majority of Colorado voters and bring Democrats to office.
While a more detailed vision and mission statement will follow in the following days, the ostensible purpose of Political Avalanche--a group blog featuring some of Colorado's best conservative bloggers--is at least four-fold:
1. Help rebuild the fractured state GOP by identifying and promoting new GOP leaders and candidates.
--Though conservatives come in all shapes and sizes and are likely not to see eye-to-eye on many issues, the GOP continues to provide the only vehicle for providing a satisfactory solution for a majority of those who believe in strong conservative principles. Libertarians might protest, but the only party with potential electoral viability to support small-government, personal responsibility, free-market, and individual freedoms is and will remain to be the Republican Party.
2. Watchdog the Democrats
--As has been repeated ad nauseam in the local media, the Democrats control Colorado's political future by possessing both houses of the state legislature and the governor's mansion for the first time since the early '60s. This is true for at least the next two years, and in that time conservatives are obligated to hold these elected officials accountable, by identifying partisan politics and revealing shortcomings that threaten Coloradans' freedoms. This is not to say that the blog will strictly engage in the sort of demagoguery of attack-dog sites; we vow to remain the loyal, if warranted, and dedicated opposition. We may not hold the veto pen, but we sure can cause a stir!
3. Highlight key issues and races for 2008
--What are those key issues and races? While it is only January of 2007, those electoral issues and key races will emerge steadily over time, and without a doubt, the contributors to Political Avalanche will have strong but varying opinions on all of them. PA is not simply intended to be a GOP rubber-stamp. If conscience dictates, the bloggers are committed to going against the grain. Promoting strong conservative principles will guide the editorial decisions here, not the ever-changing flow of the political winds. Criticism will be of the constructive sort; too many blogs today offer disagreement and disapproval without proposing a plan of their own. This does a disservice to the reader, even if the criticism in insightful and warranted. Promotion will be independent. Contributors will of course have their own affiliations with the party, and transparency will be upheld. PA is not a covert, secretly funded GOP blog with "connections". However, if you can hook us up, shoot us an e-mail. (sarcasm!)
4. Promoting conservative principles
--Free market solutions. Individual freedom and responsibility. Preventing the creep of the nanny-state. Liberals, including Democrats, believe that increasing government handouts, raising taxes, and legislation a mile high is the panacea for all that ails Colorado. "Look what we can do for you." Conservatives and the Republicans who espouse these principles believe that everyone should look to themselves first. When people encounter difficulty, they should get a hand-up, not a hand-out. The left believes that (other people's) money can solve everything. Colorado's future depends on the citizens of the state, not the government. Articulating various views on the nature of conservative principles, PA intends to be inclusive--libertarians, social conservatives, and the multitude of other self-identified conservatives and Republicans should feel welcome. PA's contributors are by no means of one mind, and the diversity of ideas (the only true diversity) should be this blog's strength.
To achieve these objectives, Political Avalanche has gathered six of the state's conservative blogs:
Best Destiny
Clay Calhoun
Mount Virtus
View From a Height
Slapstick Politics
Mile High Delphi
By concentrating their efforts and avoiding the unnecessary duplication of efforts so endemic in the blogosphere, Political Avalanche promises to provide comprehensive conservative commentary on Colorado politics in a single location.
Liberals have ColoradoPols and Colorado Confidential.
Conservatives now have Political Avalanche.
Why, you ask, do we need another blog?
Well, some may have noticed Colorado's recent shift into the "purple" state category--Democratic wins in '04 (Ken and John Salazar, against major GOP victories around the country) and '06 (which garnered the Dems the governorship, a 4-3 Congressional delegation, and retained control of both houses of the state legislature) have left the once vigorous state GOP foundering and conservatives of all stripes struggling to figure out what went wrong.
Colorado, like other Western States, has always exhibited political independence, exercising its will beyond party confinement. GOP moderates, right-wingers, and libertarians created a majority that in big-tent style appealed to the state's large numbers of "independent" and "unaffiliated" voting bloc. Indeed, both registered GOP voters and independents have consistently outnumbered Democrats for years. What gives?
Colorado's GOP collapse represents a failure of the party to hold constant to both its inclusive appeal but also its conservative principals. Election '06 national sentiments aside, Colorado's GOP became complacent while in power and a dearth of appealing candidates combined with neglect of principles has allowed "moderate" Democrats like Ken Salazar and Bill Ritter--much to their savvy political credit--to capture the hearts and minds of a majority of Colorado voters and bring Democrats to office.
While a more detailed vision and mission statement will follow in the following days, the ostensible purpose of Political Avalanche--a group blog featuring some of Colorado's best conservative bloggers--is at least four-fold:
1. Help rebuild the fractured state GOP by identifying and promoting new GOP leaders and candidates.
--Though conservatives come in all shapes and sizes and are likely not to see eye-to-eye on many issues, the GOP continues to provide the only vehicle for providing a satisfactory solution for a majority of those who believe in strong conservative principles. Libertarians might protest, but the only party with potential electoral viability to support small-government, personal responsibility, free-market, and individual freedoms is and will remain to be the Republican Party.
2. Watchdog the Democrats
--As has been repeated ad nauseam in the local media, the Democrats control Colorado's political future by possessing both houses of the state legislature and the governor's mansion for the first time since the early '60s. This is true for at least the next two years, and in that time conservatives are obligated to hold these elected officials accountable, by identifying partisan politics and revealing shortcomings that threaten Coloradans' freedoms. This is not to say that the blog will strictly engage in the sort of demagoguery of attack-dog sites; we vow to remain the loyal, if warranted, and dedicated opposition. We may not hold the veto pen, but we sure can cause a stir!
3. Highlight key issues and races for 2008
--What are those key issues and races? While it is only January of 2007, those electoral issues and key races will emerge steadily over time, and without a doubt, the contributors to Political Avalanche will have strong but varying opinions on all of them. PA is not simply intended to be a GOP rubber-stamp. If conscience dictates, the bloggers are committed to going against the grain. Promoting strong conservative principles will guide the editorial decisions here, not the ever-changing flow of the political winds. Criticism will be of the constructive sort; too many blogs today offer disagreement and disapproval without proposing a plan of their own. This does a disservice to the reader, even if the criticism in insightful and warranted. Promotion will be independent. Contributors will of course have their own affiliations with the party, and transparency will be upheld. PA is not a covert, secretly funded GOP blog with "connections". However, if you can hook us up, shoot us an e-mail. (sarcasm!)
4. Promoting conservative principles
--Free market solutions. Individual freedom and responsibility. Preventing the creep of the nanny-state. Liberals, including Democrats, believe that increasing government handouts, raising taxes, and legislation a mile high is the panacea for all that ails Colorado. "Look what we can do for you." Conservatives and the Republicans who espouse these principles believe that everyone should look to themselves first. When people encounter difficulty, they should get a hand-up, not a hand-out. The left believes that (other people's) money can solve everything. Colorado's future depends on the citizens of the state, not the government. Articulating various views on the nature of conservative principles, PA intends to be inclusive--libertarians, social conservatives, and the multitude of other self-identified conservatives and Republicans should feel welcome. PA's contributors are by no means of one mind, and the diversity of ideas (the only true diversity) should be this blog's strength.
To achieve these objectives, Political Avalanche has gathered six of the state's conservative blogs:
Best Destiny
Clay Calhoun
Mount Virtus
View From a Height
Slapstick Politics
Mile High Delphi
By concentrating their efforts and avoiding the unnecessary duplication of efforts so endemic in the blogosphere, Political Avalanche promises to provide comprehensive conservative commentary on Colorado politics in a single location.
Liberals have ColoradoPols and Colorado Confidential.
Conservatives now have Political Avalanche.
posted by el presidente at 1/12/2007 12:36:00 AM
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