Author: Mike Rosen
With their majority in both houses of the state legislature and the office of governor, Democrats exploited their monopoly on state government to ram through a measure that commits Colorado to a nationwide plot to subvert presidential elections. It’s called the National Popular Vote (NPV) Compact.
It’s a devious scheme to circumvent the Electoral College which was brilliantly crafted by our founders to conform with the constitutional republic they created, as codified in Article IV, Section 4 guaranteeing to every state a “republican form of government.” And decidedly not a direct democracy. The word “democracy” appears nowhere in the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. The notion that we have a national popular vote for president is a fiction. What we have are 51 separate elections, one in each of the states and the District of Columbia. It’s only as a matter of curiosity that we tally the votes of those 51 popular elections to produce a national total. But it has no force of law.
The democratic principle of “one person one vote” applies more appropriately to the US House where seats are apportioned strictly by population; but not in the Senate where each state gets two votes regardless of population. Electoral votes for president are also assigned among the states to disproportionally favor states with low populations, and they’re cast winner-take-all (except in Nebraska and Maine) rather than proportionately based on a state’s popular vote. James Madison explained that, “The immediate election of the president is to be made by the states in their political characters.” That is, as individual entities not as members of any collective “compact.”



Coloradans may face 4 spending questions this year. Will new nicotine tax measure overload the ballot?
The proposal, announced Wednesday by Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic state lawmakers, would set a uniform nicotine tax at 62 percent. That would lift the taxes on a package of cigarettes to $2.49 from 84 cents.
Why the “National Public Vote” scheme is unconstitutional
- February 4, 2019
This article first appeared in the Daily Caller.
The U.S. Supreme Court says each state legislature has “plenary” (complete) power to decide how its state’s presidential electors are chosen.
But suppose a state legislature decided to raise cash by selling its electors to the highest bidder. Do you think the Supreme Court would uphold such a measure?
If your answer is “no,” then you intuitively grasp a basic principle of constitutional law—one overlooked by those proposing the “National Popular Vote Compact” (NPV).
NPV is a plan to change how we elect our president. Under the plan, each state signs a compact to award all its electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. The compact comes into effect when states with a majority of presidential electors sign on.
In assessing the constitutionality of NPV, you have to consider some of its central features. First, NPV abandons the idea that presidential electors represent the people of their own states. Second, it discards an election system balanced among interests and values in favor of one recognizing only national popularity. That popularity need not be high: A state joining the NPV compact agrees to assign its electors to even the winner of a tiny plurality in a multi-candidate election.
Third, because NPV states would have a majority of votes in the Electoral College, NPV would effectively repeal the Constitution’s provision for run-off elections in the House of Representatives.
Rural Sheriffs Defy New Gun Measures
‘Second Amendment sanctuary’ counties say they won’t enforce background checks, other gun-control proposals
SANTA FE, N.M.—In swaths of rural America, county sheriffs, prosecutors and other local officials are mounting resistance to gun-control measures moving through legislatures in Democratic-led states.
The “Second Amendment sanctuary” movement has taken hold in more than 100 counties in several states, including New Mexico and Illinois, where local law-enforcement and county leaders are saying they won’t enforce new legislation that infringes on the constitutional right to bear arms.
For instance, in New Mexico, 30 of 33 county sheriffs have signed a letter pledging to not help enforce several gun-control measures supported by Democrats in Santa Fe, according to the state’s sheriff association. The sheriffs, who are elected, say they are heeding the wishes of voters in the counties they serve. More than two dozen counties in the state have enacted “sanctuary” resolutions backing the sheriffs and affirming that no tax dollars in their jurisdictions should go to enforcing the proposed laws.



Boulder lawmakers have introduced Senate Bill 19-181, anti-oil and gas legislation that could have devastating impacts for over 100,000 hard-working families in our industry. The bill sponsors failed to hold a legitimate stakeholder process, never showed industry trades the bill, mislead Coloradans about how our rules haven’t been updated in 60 years, and are holding the first hearing just one business day after the bill was introduced.
The bill will be heard in the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, March 5th in Senate Committee Room 357 (third floor of Capitol).
The time to stand up for your job is NOW. Legislators need to hear our voices and see our faces. We can make a difference, but it will take all of us. Please take action using the steps below and share with friends and colleagues!
- Rally to protect our jobs. We are calling all members of industry to gather at the State Capitol at 12:00 PM on Tuesday before the committee hearing. Share the flyer and Facebook event with friends and colleagues.
- Testify in opposition to the bill. After the rally, industry members need to go inside the Capitol to testify in opposition to the bill. Legislators must hear your personal, passionate energy story. Check out these tips for testifying in a legislative committee hearing. Need to brush up on your facts? COGA’s fact sheets can help!
- Contact senators on the committee. Email and call the senators listed below, starting with the Democrats on the committee. Ask them to protect your job in this industry that is critical to Colorado’s economy.
Sen. Faith Winter (D-Adams) Committee Chair
- faith.winter.senate@state.co.us
- 303-866-4863
Sen. Brittany Pettersen (D-Jefferson) Committee Vice Chair
- brittany.pettersen.senate@state.co.us
- 303-866-4859
Sen. Kerry Donovan (D-Eagle)
- kerry.donovan.senate@state.co.us
- 303-866-4871
Sen. Mike Foote (D-Boulder)
- mike.foote.senate@state.co.us
- 303-866-5291
Sen. Dennis Hisey (R-El Paso)
- dennis.hisey.senate@state.co.us
- 303-866-4877
Sen. Kevin Priola (R-Adams)
- kpriola@gmail.com
- 303-866-4855
Sen. Ray Scott (R-Mesa)
- ray.scott.senate@state.co.us
- 303-866-3077