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If Obama is a huge buzzword for Republicans this election cycle, a close second in Colorado must be "unity."

The Grand Old Party in the state is departing from past practice and trying to avoid the fractious primaries that have hobbled it for years.

State Rep. Mark Waller was the latest Republican to use the word, when he dropped out of the attorney general's race Monday and backed his one-time primary rival. In his news release, Waller said he was promoting "unity behind the Republican ticket."

Ryan Call, director of the Colorado Republican Party, thanked Waller for his work to "unite the party" behind Cynthia Coffman, the chief deputy attorney general.

"Unity" was the theme when a Republican recently withdrew from his legislative race.

And the unity motif made national news earlier this year when the three top contenders in the GOP race for U.S. Senate bowed out and threw their support to Congressman Cory Gardner, believing he had a better chance of defeating Democrat Mark Udall in November.

"We're recognizing we can't spend all of our energy and resources fighting each other," said state Sen. Owen Hill of Colorado Springs, who dropped out of the U.S. Senate race. "We are genuinely moving toward unity."

Call said he can't remember another election where so many GOP candidates cited unity as they withdrew from their races and supported the front-runner.

"The stakes are so high we just can't afford to be divided," Call said in an interview this week. "The old way of doing things is not a recipe for success. Republicans are finally realizing that."

Rick Palacio, chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party, countered that "unity means absolutely nothing when you have bad candidates and bad ideas."

See the article here:
Colorado Republicans unite behind front-runner in Senate, other races

Should black liberals get a pass on making racist accusations?

On a Nation of Islam radio show last weekend, Rep. Bennie Thompson a Mississippi Democrat and member of the Congressional Black Caucus called Justice Clarence Thomas an Uncle Tom for his part in recent Supreme Court decisions, such as last years finding of a portion of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional.

For the uninitiated, this is one of the most vile terms that can be directed at an African-American. It has come to mean a servile black person in league with white power interests.

Days later, Thompson refused to apologize: If you look at his decisions on the court, they have been adverse to the minority community, and the people I represent have a real issue with an African-American notsensible to those issues.

A CNN reporter noted that Uncle Tom is inappropriate if said by a white person. But Im black, Thompson responded.

So that makes it right, Congressman?

We note this is not the first time Justice Thomas has been slurred in this fashion. A few years back, members of the Hawaii branch of the ACLU also called him an Uncle Tom when they objected to inviting him to a conference on the First Amendment. Thomas isnt alone: Other black conservatives have been likewise smeared simply for having convictions that deviate from proscribed liberal orthodoxy.

People are free to disagree with Justice Thomass decisions and his views on life. But hurling a slave term at a black man of singular achievement is racist no matter what the race of the person saying it.

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When liberals cry uncle

NSW

ANALYSIS

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NSW Premier Mike Baird reacts to former police minister Mike Gallacher's resignation.

The credibility of the NSW government has been hanging by a thread since the resignation of premier Barry O'Farrell last month.

O'Farrell's decision allowed cleanskin Mike Baird to step into the job in a bid to stem the bleeding that started when energy minister Chris Hartcher resigned from cabinet in December and continued when he and fellow central coast MPs Darren Webber and Chris Spence had their memberships of the parliamentary Liberal party suspended.

NSW Premier Mike Baird faces a massive credibility challenge one year out from an election. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

The resignation from cabinet of Mike Gallacher on Friday after he was accused of corrupt conduct in relation to the same alleged slush fund, Eightbyfive, that has tainted Hartcher and his colleagues risks blowing any remaining trust in the government to pieces in the mind of the public.

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The message it sends is appalling. Gallacher is not only Police Minister but also Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council. In other words, he has enjoyed the position of a respected leader of the parliamentary wing of the Liberal party.

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Liberals' credibility hanging by a thread

Ontarios Liberal government is ramping up the provinces deficit with a big-spending budget designed to either forestall an election or pay off at the polls in the event of a snap vote. The spending plan which hikes the shortfall to $12.5-billion outlines a sweeping, left-tilting agenda including a new provincial pension plan, billions of dollars worth of new infrastructure and piles of money for social services.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa said the government has to intervene to stimulate a sluggish economy. Weve taken the deliberate step and the conscious step to make these investments this year, he said. Thats going to propel our economy to a level that otherwise wouldnt occur.

The reasoning behind the document, however, is as much about politics as policy. The Liberals are banking that the budget will be hard for the NDP to vote against.

And if they do, they hope the new spending will win them the ensuing election. The Grits control only a minority of seats in the legislature and, with the Progressive Conservatives vowing to vote down the budget, need the NDPs support to avoid an election.

Just minutes after Mr. Sousa tabled the plan in the legislature, Premier Kathleen Wynne ratcheted up the pressure on NDP Leader Andrea Horwath to support it by giving her a one-week deadline to make up her mind.

We are eager to implement key aspects of the document immediately, Ms. Wynne wrote in an open letter. We need to begin the process of putting the new Ontario Retirement Pension Plan in place, of building infrastructure across the province, especially through our Moving Ontario Forward plan for transportation and transit, and of creating good jobs and growing the economy.

Ms. Horwath skipped the traditional news conference with reporters in the budget lockup, saying she would instead respond to the budget Friday. Ill be talking more in the morning, she said as she left the legislature.

The hefty deficit is $2.4-billion more than the governments target, but Mr. Sousa insisted he could still balance the books by 2017-18 using a combination of higher taxes on the rich and smokers, and brisker economic growth. The shortfall, he said, will fall dramatically to $8.9-billion next year.

But the blown deficit target could lead to a downgrade in the provinces credit rating in the weeks ahead.

Its obviously more than we expected and factored in, in our last review, said Mario Angastiniotis, who analyzes Ontarios finances for Standard & Poors. And thats disappointing. While saying its understandable given the weaker-than-expected economy that revenues are not growing as much as expected, Mr. Angastiniotis noted the lack of offsetting measures in the form of greater spending restraint.

The rest is here:
Ontario Liberals give NDP hard deadline to decide on budget

Democrats embrace economic populism
Mike Gousha says changing tax policy to address income inequality is an idea picking up steam among Democrats.

By: WISN 12 News

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Democrats embrace economic populism - Video