Are the new majority Democrats in Colorado's statehouse losing focus so soon? A bill proposed by Senator Jennifer Veiga (D - Denver) that requires employers not to discriminate against employees on the basis of "sexual orientation" or "gender variance" has passed the Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee on a 4-3 party-line vote. The repercussions of such legislation if passed into state law? Employers (except of religious organizations) may have to accept behavior they find morally repulsive or be unable to express deeply-held religious convictions. Such were the objections of Republican committee members Sen. John Evans and Sen. Tom Wiens. Or imagine this scenario: Mr. Smith owns a small family pharmacy. One of his … [Read more...]
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Halaby Steps Down
Colorado State Republican Party Chairman Ted Halaby has announced he will not seek another term. In an open letter to the state central committee, Halaby decries the new system of campaign finance laws that have diminished the importance the clout and importance of the state party organization: ...it is clear that federal and state campaign-finance laws must be changed to bring the political process back within the traditional auspices of the national and state political parties and their candidates, with the accountability and timely disclosure this provides. I intend to do what I can to assist in this process. However, for now, unfortunately, the most influential battles in Colorado will be waged outside the political party process. … [Read more...]
What Negotiations?
Both the Republicans and the Democrats under Denver's golden dome have staked their ground on proposing solutions to the state budget crunch: Democrats and [Republican Governor Bill] Owens agree on many parts of the plan. Owens' budget proposal in December included a tax cut, dedicated transportation dollars and increasing the state spending limit by $500 million annually. The sides disagree on how much of future TABOR refunds the state should keep. [Democrat House Speaker Andrew] Romanoff's plan would re-start refunds once government spending reaches the level it hit in 2000, before Colorado's recession, which he calculates at roughly 6 percent of residents' personal incomes. Owens doesn't consider that a "meaningful cap" on … [Read more...]
The Dems’ First Week in Charge
Some good analyses of what it means to have a "bipartisan" Democrat majority in both branches of Colorado's statehouse: The Post's David Harsanyi looks at some of the "dopey" and "nanny" bills being proposed by our legislators. Good intentions do not necessarily lead to successful results, nor do they necessarily make good public policy. Michael breaks down the Democrat response to Governor Owens' State of the State speech. Breaking down Democrats' statistical assertions, Michael finds that many of the disparities in claims come down to this: the Democrats and liberals tend to measure input and the Republicans and conservatives tend to measure output. Best example? The statistic cited by many liberal groups that Colorado ranks … [Read more...]
RMA Starts Reviewing the State of the State
As most of my readers already know, several members of the RMA attended the Governor's State of the State speech yesterday at the behest of the Governor's office and House leadership. Afterwards, they got a private blogger press conference with Governor Owens and some photo-ops. First, the famous picture, originally posted on Clay's site: Michael is the first to flesh out some serious analysis: the governor laying down the veto gauntlet and which applause lines the Democrats in the chamber sat out on. The Kestrel suggests better educating Coloradans about the major role Amendment 23 has played in the budget crisis. He also has linked to the full text of the governor's address. Joshua catches the new Senate president … [Read more...]
She Said What?
You've got to grant Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald (D - Golden) something: it hadn't even been a full day since she took over as Colorado's first ever female Senate president. But in her speech to the joint session yesterday, Fitz-Gerald said: "I see an opportunity to provide a paycheck for every family, a textbook for every child and a doctor for every patient." Stop for a minute, re-read the quote, and ponder. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Sure, Joan. That's the way to solve the state's budget crisis. Spend your way out of it. Despite running on the platform of fiscal restraint, the Colorado Democratic Party looks like it won't be able to hide its true colors for long. She made this statement on the first day of … [Read more...]
More on TABOR: A Kindred Spirit
Read this letter published in today's Gazette (Colorado Springs) from John Leonard of Monument: With liberals in charge, hold onto your wallets Colorado taxpayers had better hold on to their wallets as the tax-and-spend liberals take over the state Legislature. Already, liberal organizations such the League of Women Voters, AARP and the Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation have begun their assault on TABOR so taxes can be raised to have state taxpayers support their pet programs. The Democrats controlling the Legislature are more than willing to support the move as long as Amendment 23 is not changed. That allows them to pay back the teachers’ unions for their political support and to pour more money into the public … [Read more...]
Where’s the Outrage?
A guest column in today's Fort Collins Coloradoan brings up an excellent point: why can't we blame the state's budget crisis on the ill-devised Amendment 23? Especially when we see where some of that taxpayer money is going... Writer Paul Marrick explains the problem with his local Poudre School District: Our school board, in its infinite wisdom, decided many years ago to pay the majority of the union president's salary. That's right, folks, we as taxpayers funded almost $60,000 of a $70,000 salary last year so the local union representative could, among other things, campaign for our newly elected state Sen. Bob Bacon. Mary Lynn Jones, Poudre Education Association president, spent a great deal of time working on a political … [Read more...]
If It’s Not Close, They Can’t Cheat – Washington State
I don't know how many of you have been following the ongoing saga of the gubernatorial race recount in Washington state, but it makes for fascinating insights into what lengths the Democratic party will go to win an election... after it's over. I couldn't possibly summarize all the developments that have taken place there. I've been checking articles from the Seattle papers on an almost daily basis. The latest article reports that the state Democratic party is prematurely declaring victory. After several counts, Republican candidate Dino Rossi has been in the lead every time, though Democrats in King County keep magically finding new votes to trim the lead smaller and smaller. Now that they may have manufactured a scenario giving … [Read more...]
Teachers’ Union Triumphs and Trauma
"Where's the conservative leadership?" That's what many Colorado Republicans will be crying out for as 2005 rolls around - maybe even before they've finished digesting the turkey sandwiches and fruitcake. Yesterday Gov. Bill Owens announced his compromise plan to fix the state's ongoing fiscal crisis. It includes a small tax cut and the state selling its share of the tobacco-settlement plan, not to mention a $500 million "de-Brucing" (allowing the state to keep revenues mandated by TABOR to be refunded to Colorado taxpayers). But here's the kicker: Conspicuously absent from Owens' proposal were changes to Amendment 23, which requires annual spending increases in K-12 education. For the past year, Owens had insisted that any … [Read more...]