"State representative Don Marostica reportedly has apologized for yesterday’s bizarre comment that Mark Hillman, Jon Caldara, and other fiscally conservative Colorado leaders are “losers” and “has-beens”. The apology was a public sign of good behavior and good taste, and perhaps a political necessity."

"Former Republican Burlington state Sen. Mark Hillman will not run for elected office in 2010, told Political Notebook today.

“Just wanted to give you a heads up that I’ve begun telling my closest friends and best supporters that I will NOT be running for office in 2010,” Hillman said in an e-mail.

Hillman, one of Colorado’s representatives on the Republican National Committee, has been mentioned as a possible candidate to take on Congresswoman Betsy Markey, D-Colo., or as a contender for one of the state’s top-of-the-ticket races."

"Colorado Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams recently sat down with the Colorado Statesman for an extended interview. There isn’t much in the way of new information, but there is one passage worthy of comment.

Namely, it’s interesting to see whom Wadhams is talking up for the U.S. Senate race to challenge the newly-selected Michael Bennet..."

"Not exactly breaking news: former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele is the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. Polipundit has a blow-by-blow account of the six rounds (and five hours) of yesterday’s balloting to achieve a majority of support from the 168 delegates. Five candidates started the day. At the end it came down to Steele and South Carolina’s Katon Dawson. Steele prevailed by a count of 91-77."

"I was very pleased when the Rocky Mountain News contacted me to offer a "social libertarian" opinion to an upcoming "Speakout" piece by my friend Mark Hillman.

The two pieces ran on Saturday, and you can read them both here."

"I make it no secret that I have always liked Mark Hillman. His essays are top notch.

Unfortunately, he might have said what he said differently:

If the goal is winning elections, rather than purging membership rolls at the country club, throwing social conservatives under the bus is a catastrophically bad idea.

Social Conservatives have been throwing everyone else under the bus for a decade. No one that I know of is talking of “throwing social conservatives under the bus.” I’m not. It would be impossible, given their control of the party machinery.

"Simply put, the GOP coalition ought to be broad enough to include the Kathleen Parkers and Mike Huckabees who want to gripe, but it will consign itself to a generation in the political wilderness with either element in charge. As long as they continue along the lines witnessed above, I don’t want Parker or Huckabee to be influential voices or leaders in the Republican Party. Period.

In Colorado, we’ll be much better off heeding voices like Krista Kafer rather than Kathleen Parker, and elevating leaders like Mark Hillman rather than Mike Huckabee."