The Get More Smarter Podcast - A Weekly Show About Colorado Politics

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, what counts as merch, and what counts as a campaign donation, and does it even matter if you’re a doomed Republican running for governor of colorado? Yeah, we’d say so. That, and we cover Victor Marx’s peculiar pick for his running mate at the top. Then, pop quiz, is The Red Flame of Liberty affixed to a certain statue on Ellis Island, the discarded name of our patriotic hardcore punk band, or the newly-minted Republican nominee for Colorado secretary of state? And if it’s the last one, is that the least strange thing about him? Next, the President of the United States is 0 for 20 on trying to get the voter rolls out of states, including Colorado, and School District of the Pod goes to court to protect trans kids; they must listen to the podcast outro. And finally, we check in on some historical polling data and some current concerns over data centers. 

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, is Victor Marx running a campaign for Governor of Colorado, or a grifty merch store? Can it be both? Then, what do 2010 and 2026 have in common? Could it somehow be the even further collapse of the Colorado GOP because of top of the ticket vote-splitting due to the primary electorate being completely and totally brainrotted? 

Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, we’ve got even more bad news for Colorado Republicans whose names rhyme with Beth Dank or Stave Blevins. Speaking of Beth Dank, a friend of the pod down in Colorado Springs is KILLIN it, as we get more polling showing that a once-safe-GOP stronghold is moving rapidly toward the side of truth justice and light. And finally, as the Big Orange Guy continues to sleep his way through his second term, surprise, the Iran war isn’t over yet...or maybe it’s just begun. Again.

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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THIS WEEK on the Get More Smarter Podcast, it’s another bonus interview-only episode! This time, we check in with Michael Farrington, candidate for RTD District K up in Adams county. 

Michael is a fourth-generation Coloradan who grew up and lives in Commerce City with his wife Kassidy and Great Pyrenees mix Zeus.

Michael graduated from the University of Colorado Law School, where he focused on land use, housing, and local government. During law school, he worked in the Colorado Governor’s Office of Legal Counsel and served as the lead articles editor of the Colorado Environmental Law Journal. He now works with Colorado cities and towns on local government and land-use issues. Before attending law school, he worked for Denver Public Schools.

Michael also co-founded YIMBY North Metro, a housing advocacy organization focused on building more homes and creating walkable, connected communities. An actual transit rider, he is running for the RTD Board in District K, a seat representing Brighton, Commerce City, and parts of Thornton.

You can follow Michael online wherever you get your ai slop mixed with the occasional human missive:

Campaign Website:

• https://michaelforrtd.com/

Social Media

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikeforco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikeforco
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mikefromco

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, we have a guest co-host! State Senator and Democratic nominee for State Treasurer Jeff Bridges joins Jason Bane to discuss all of the latest political news, including...

Marxism survives the Primary Election in more ways than one, while the DSA learns about political reality. Then, Colorado’s most intense General Election battle gets underway; we try to figure out how you would run an 18-day Primary campaign; we ponder Mitch McConnell’s current state of aliveness; and once again, it’s ALWAYS a Republican. 

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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In a special interview-only episode of the Get More Smarter Podcast, Attorney General Phil Weiser joins us to talk about his big victory in the Democratic Primary for Governor and what comes next. And also, LeBron James. 

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, we try to explain what the hell just happened in Colorado's Primary Election.

Your hosts Jason Bane and Ian Silverii were LIVE on the day after the Primary with Seth Masket -- author, political science professor at Denver University, and fan favorite guest -- over at his pod house called "The Smotus Report." This is that conversation in its entirety. 

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, by the time you hear this episode there will be less than one week left in the Colorado Primary Election, so whatever you do, DO NOT MAIL YOUR BALLOT! Take it to your nearest convenient drop box which you can locate at justvotecolorado.org before 7pm on Election Night, next Tuesday, June 30th...at least, if you want your vote to count. Then, it’s our FINAL PROGNOSTICATION before the results come in for the 2026 general election in Colorado, even though it’s only the Primary! And finally, a shoutout to the "Wife of the Pod," how the Big Bullshit Bill is screwing over Colorado, and a metaphor in the reflecting pool in our nation’s capitol. 

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, with less than 15 days until the 2026 Colorado Primary Elections we give the electorate a vibe check and let you know who to bet the college fund for or against on Polymarket! Then the Iran war enters its 15th-ish week, or it’s already over, or it never began, or it wasn’t a war, or maybe we shouldn’t have gotten rid of Obama’s Iran Deal to begin with! We find out that the federal government is using some combination of stupid idiots and some bad LLM to try to target Jefferson County Schools, again, and it doesn’t go well. And finally, we’ve got a new game inspired by our time with our friends at the Douglas County Democratic Party! 

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, we continue our quest to interview every Democrat in an important primary election, and this week we’ve got fan-favorite and three-time returning champion State Senator Jessie Danielson back on the show to talk about her run to be Colorado’s next Secretary of State!

Senator Danielson represents Jefferson County’s District 22, home of the Get More Smarter Podcast in the Colorado State Senate. As a Democratic state legislator, Jessie has focused her work on economic security for working Coloradans, expanding voters’ access to the ballot, better protections for seniors and the at-risk, environmental preservation and equality for women.

Prior to serving in elected office, Jessie was the Colorado State Director for America Votes. Her leadership was instrumental in the passage of 2013’s groundbreaking Voter Access & Modernized Elections Act. She served as then-Gov. Hickenlooper’s appointee on both the Voter Access & Modernized Elections Commission and the Colorado Commission on Aging.

Jessie was first elected to the Colorado Senate in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. She currently serves as Chair of the Business, Labor & Technology Committee and Vice Chair of the Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee. Jessie served in the Colorado State House from 2015 - 2019, including as Speaker Pro Tem during her second House term.

She also previously worked as Political Director for NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, now known as Cobalt. She also worked as a housing coordinator for Connections for Independent Living, a nonprofit organization that helps individuals with disabilities lead full and independent lives.

Jessie is a former board chair of Emerge Colorado; she also served on the boards of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado and ProgressNow Colorado and is a fourth generation Coloradan.

You can follow Jessie online wherever you get your digital norepinephrine boosters:

Campaign Website:
https://www.jessiedanielson.com/

Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessiedanielsonforcolorado
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessiedanielson_co/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jessiedanielson.co
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@jessiedanielson_co

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, we were complaining just a few weeks ago about the lack of political ads on the airwaves and now, we’re very, very sorry, because it is nigh impossible to turn on a screen anywhere in Colorado without getting blasted by primary campaign ads…from Democrats only. Then, has Donald Trump finally gone too far? We check in with soon-to-be Ex Senator Bill Cassidy and soon to be ex congressman Thomas Massie to see if Trump still has the pull that he once did in the GOP. In related news, the coalition that brought Trump back to the White House is disintegrating before our very eyes! We ask why this couldn’t have happened around this time two years ago, instead? Then, there are a few reasons why one ought not to commute the sentence of a convicted election denier and overall menace to civilized society, but Tina Peters seems intent on giving us a few more on her way out of prison. 

But first...in his triumphant return to the podcast, one of our very highest ranking Friends of the Pod is back! We’ve got U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper on the pod today to talk the chaos in DC, the war in Iran, holding ICE accountable, and how he stopped Trump’s $1.8 billion dollar insurrectionist fund with just one amendment.

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!