Last week I brought to your attention an organized labor power play at the State Capitol that shot down a simple effort to make school plumbing inspections more efficient. Today in the Colorado Springs Gazette, guest columnist Daniel Cole tells the story at greater length and offers a forceful conclusion:
The unpleasant reality is that Democratic campaigns in Colorado are often financed by unions, so only the strongest Democrats dare defy a union’s wishes. Union camaraderie means that a Democrat who votes against a single union can earn a reputation for disloyalty and untrustworthiness. Considering that unions gave [state senators Bob] Bacon and [Evie] Hudak $90,000 for their most recent campaign – [Senator Keith] King’s entire war chest was, by contrast, half that – it’s no shock that Democrats would vote against their own bill before risking the wrath of organized plumbing.
Their about-face was designed to protect their careers, but in the end, Bacon, [Senator Rollie] Heath and Hudak did themselves more harm than good. They assumed that, in the midst of the heated debates over the federal stimulus package and the state budget crisis, their surrender to mindless bullying would go unnoticed. This hasn’t been the case.
Democrat or Republican, we all deserve legislators noble enough to vote for their own legislation, no matter what the special interests might think.
Daniel Cole is a welcome addition to the growing group of conservative, pro-liberty voices focused on issues at the Colorado state level. I look forward to reading more of his work in the future.
In the meantime, SB 64 continues to be laid over for the state senate to sort out. It could be heard again and voted on as soon as Monday, but who knows how long this basic, commonsense legislation will be put off at the plumbers union lobby’s whim?
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