Colorado is one of a handful of states being targeted by a new campaign to get big money out of national politics. You might have already seen one of the TV commercials on cable that features images scrolling on an iPad in support of the Fair Elections Now Act in Congress.

Celinda Lake, Democratic pollster with Lake Research Partners, asked voters if they would support such a measure that encourages candidates to raise money from small donors in their states rather than from large special-interest and corporate donors.

“Every single demographic group had almost two-thirds support for this measure, whether you’re talking age, whether you’re talking about every region of the country, including more conservative regions.”

She says they found majority support among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

Some opponents of the bill say it would likely end up using taxpayer money to support far-left or far-right candidates with potentially offensive ideologies. But, Republican pollster Mark McKinnon says that even after hearing that objection, a majority of Republicans still support the measure.

“Nothing strikes hotter in the values category for Republicans than the idea of accountability, and that’s really what this proposal is all about.”

Under the bill, candidates would be able to run campaigns for office on a blend of Fair Elections Funds and small dollar donations. H.R. 1826: Fair Elections Now Act legislation has 157 co-sponsors in the U.S. House and 21 for the companion bill S. 752 in the Senate. Mountain state Democratic Reps. Martin Heinrich (NM-1), Ben Luján (NM-3), Betsy Markey (CO-4), Walter Minnick (ID-1), Jared Polis (CO-2), Harry Teague (NM-2) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) are co-sponsoring the tandem bills.

Listen to the Colorado News Connection podcast by Eric Mack.

BOOTSTRAP: WHAT CAN YOU DO TODAY
Fair Elections.org offers a grassroots campaign finance reform activists toolkit to bird-dog elected officials and candidates to pledge support for clean, small donor-based elections.

Embattled Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke is expected to narrowly win confirmation for a second term. The Senate vote is expected as early as Thursday.

Hotline OnCall’s whip count on Bernanke’s confirmation reports only Idaho GOP Sen. Mike Crapo has formally announced his opposition. While others have signaled their support: Max Baucus (D-MT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Robert Bennett (R-UT), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Mark Udall (D-CO). The region’s remaining Senators have not yet made their perspective known.

While Bernanke hangs on by his fingertips to lead the nation’s central bank, a controversial — though bipartisan — bill to audit the Fed moves forward. Treasury Sec. Timothy Geithner is expected to be grilled today by members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform over the secrecy of the Bush Administration’s Sept. 2008 bank bailout which is re-igniting calls to examine backroom deals during the financial crisis.

Co-sponsors of Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s bill include familiar names to Rocky Mountain West voters: Republicans Rob Bishop (UT-01), Jason Chaffetz (UT-03), Mike Coffman (CO-06), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Cynthia Lummis (WY-ALL), Dennis Rehberg (MT-ALL), Michael Simpson (ID-02), and Democrats: Martin Heinrich (NM-01), Ben Luján (NM-03), Betsy Markey (CO-04), Walter Minnick (ID-01), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Jared Polis (CO-02), John Salazar (CO-03), Harry Teague (NM-02).

This American News Project video report on the Federal Reserve explores “one of the most powerful and secretive institutions in Washington, long considered beyond the reach of lawmakers. But now, as details emerge of how the Fed secretly doled out more than a trillion dollars during the financial crisis, a rare bipartisan movement in Congress demands that the Fed be held accountable.”

UPDATE 1/28/10: Idaho Republican Jim Risch told StarkReports.com about how he was leaning on the Bernanke confirmation, “You’ll see at 3:20 when I vote.” The only remaining undecided vote among the Rocky Mountain caucus is New Mexico’s Tom Udall.

UPDATE 1/27/10: After the publication of this story, Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) issued a statement Wednesday morning affirming his support of Bernanke. We’ll update the original Hotline whip count list above by indicating the remaining Western senators’ vote intentions in italics.