To its credit, the Rocky Mountain News editorial board utterly discredited one of four health-care reform proposals made by Gov. Bill Ritter's 208 Commission. The Rocky picked off the bad, low-hanging fruit of a single-payer, government-run proposal. But the other three plans are only less bad and more palatable by small degrees. If you wish to learn more about the deficiencies in these proposals, the dangers revealed in other experiences with socialized medicine, and the campaign for a pro-freedom, consumer-friendly reform to our health care system, then you have to bookmark the blog We Stand Firm by Dr. Paul and Diana Hsieh, Lin Zinser, and Ari Armstrong. For compelling visual media that makes the same case, please also visit filmmaker … [Read more...]

Good news: the Independence Institute (where I work) unveiled its strategy today to sue the state for imposing a property tax increase without a vote of the people: Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute in Golden, also promised to sue the state, claiming that freezing school districts' tax rates is a tax policy change that requires statewide voter approval. "There will definitely be a lawsuit," Caldara said at a news conference at the Capitol. "No question about it." Caldara brought a stack of letters - more than 170 for school districts and 64 for county clerk and recorders - that he plans to send requesting records related to previous school district votes waiving revenue limits. A press release from House … [Read more...]

What happens when you vote to jam a property tax hike down your constituents' throats? People from the other major party can't move fast enough to file the paperwork that will enable them to run against you in the next election. Just ask Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction: Between six and 10 local Republicans are considering a run against incumbent Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, next year, according to senior members of the Mesa County Republican Party. Alan Farina, chairman of the candidate search committee, said his committee has attracted a series of serious candidates who could run against the two-term incumbent next year. “We actually have several people expressing interest,” Farina said, “some really, really … [Read more...]

Excellent editorial in Saturday's Rocky Mountain News on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding individual free speech rights: It is perfectly OK to require unions to get permission from workers before spending their dues on political activity, the U.S. Supreme Court said this week in a unanimous decision. Yet when Dennis ruled that unions obtain permission annually from every member before making donations to political campaigns from their "small-donor" committees, the outcry was such you'd have thought she'd raided Fort Knox. We agreed with critics that she acted without sufficient public debate, but we never doubted the basic good sense of her decision. Nevertheless, the courts went against Dennis, with the state appeals … [Read more...]

Face the State has the skinny on a leading Democrat state lawmakers' campaign ethics challenges. The conservative website has uncovered evidence that the House Majority Leader exceeded campaign expenditure limits, misused campaign funds for personal purposes, has received numerous fines for repeated late paperwork filings, and more. In case you missed it earlier this week, Face the State exposed serious allegations that an ostensibly "nonpartisan" conservation group has manipulated votes to rate Democrats higher than Republicans. They're both worthwhile reads. … [Read more...]