News comes today from state economists that the Referendum C "forever tax increase" projects to yield $5.9 billion in revenue: That amount is $2.2 billion more than originally expected in November 2005 when voters approved Referendum C, suspending the state constitution's revenue limit for five years. Most telling from the piece in today's Denver Post is the defensive response from the governor's office - responding to questions of how to justify further tax increases (such as this one): Jim Carpenter, chief of staff for Ritter, said voters sent Ritter to the Capitol to "solve problems," which is what the commissions studying health care, transportation and higher education will do. "It's an easy thing to throw out this comment, … [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...]

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...]

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...]