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 … [Read more...]
Colorado Democrats Kill Clean Government, Anti-Political Blackmail Bill
From the Denver Post:A bill that would have barred back-room ballot initiative deals got the heave-ho at the state Capitol Tuesday. House Bill 1069, from state Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, would have made it illegal for anyone with a ballot initiative certified by the secretary of state to then withdraw that initiative because of a deal offering money, gifts or any “other valuable consideration.†A provision like that already exists in state law when it comes to candidates for office. It's official: your Democrats in charge at the Colorado statehouse once again come out against clean government. In voting down House Bill 1069, they have winked at the use of the citizens' ballot initiative process for political blackmail by … [Read more...]
Democrat Moe Keller Happy to Spend Your Money While Spending is Good
Hey, Colorado, guess what? Leave the Democrats in charge in your state for too long, and taste the fruits of bad fiscal judgment. Witness this Face The State story about my own state senator:Audio from April 3 uncovered by Face The State reveals Sen. Moe Keller, a Wheat Ridge Democrat and chairwoman of the Joint Budget Committee, optimistically arguing that Colorado’s economic future is a bright one, even though Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted on that same day the country was headed into a recession. "We do not have a projection from our economists that we are going into a fiscal train wreck," she said. Moe Keller and her fellow Democrats at the State Capitol are just happy to spend your money while the spending is … [Read more...]
Krista Kafer’s New Face The State Column Brings Needed Perspective
My Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR) classmate, sometimes Backbone America radio co-host, and Independence Institute senior fellow Krista Kafer debuted a weekly Face The State column today. Here's the timely conclusion of this first installment:Special interests that have much to gain from the demise of Amendments 47 and 49 are funneling millions of dollars into the election. Slick campaigns from candidates and groups lure voters with the promise to “Protect Colorado’s Future.†The advocacy groups, leftist candidates, and sadly, even the media, are banking on the public’s fears for the economy to turn the election in their favor. Unfortunately, conservatives and libertarians have had trouble articulating what’s at stake. … [Read more...]
Former Sen. Hank Brown Touts Colorado Amendment 49 Endorsements
Update: Audio embedded The campaign for Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative, has released a new 30-second radio ad featuring former U.S. Senator Hank Brown: Here's the text of the ad:Both the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post urge you to vote Yes on Amendment 49. 49 stops government from being the bagman for special interests and lobbyists. This is Hank Brown, and I'm thrilled that nearly every newspaper across Colorado agrees: Yes on 49. The Pueblo Chieftain, the Grand Junction Sentinel, the Colorado Springs Gazette, and yes, the Boulder Camera, just to name a few. Join me and Bill Owens in voting Yes on 49. 49 keeps lobbyists in line. Paid for by EthicalStandardsNow.com. I'm not sure if there is any other … [Read more...]
Voter Fraud ACORN Opposes Colorado Amendment 49, Ethical Standards
ACORN, the increasingly notorious voter fraud group, is part of the Colorado C-3 Roundtable going around "educating" voters about various ballot initiatives. Among the initiatives ACORN hates and opposes (and which the Roundtable won't invite supporters to share their side of the debate) is Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative. This amendment "will prohibit governments from bundling money from public employees’ paychecks and delivering the funds to special interests, like unions. These special interests use the money to lobby the same politicians who just delivered the cash to them." So why is ACORN part of the virulent opposition? We could start with its own ethical lapses, which include not only voter fraud but also an … [Read more...]
Backroom Deal Sheds Light on Colorado Labor Union Leader Priorities
Much ado has been made out of the 11th-hour deal that pulled four labor union-sponsored initiatives from the Colorado ballot. As opined by the editors of the Rocky Mountain News:On Thursday, labor peace was restored in Colorado. At least until the 2009 legislature convenes. The announcement that two labor-backed groups would remove Amendments 53, 55, 56 and 57 from the November ballot - and in return business groups would fund a joint business-labor campaign to defeat Amendments 47, 49 and 54 - is a positive development. The state's economic health was in the crosshairs of the labor measures, a couple of which probably had a good shot at passage. There's no doubt that the "economic health" and well-being of Colorado families and … [Read more...]
Mass Deception in Attacks Against Amendment 49, Amendment 54
This morning Mike Rosen, Colorado's leading radio talk show host, called out the group "Protect Colorado's Future" for deceptive ads run against Amendment 47, Amendment 49, and Amendment 54 on Colorado's ballot this fall. Here's the transcript:CALLER: A fairly deceptive ad running on TV. I've seen it a number of times recently. It's a fireman from Littleton, and the background is sort of set against a real sympathetic figure fighting fires, been doing this for 14 years and, you know, I'm in the same league with nurses, and teachers, and policemen, and all that, and vote against these "deceptive" amendments 47, 49, and 54. He never, they never come right out and say what these amendments are obviously, but - ROSEN: It's a clever tactic … [Read more...]
Peter Blake Chronicles Amendment 49 for the Rocky Mountain News
Peter Blake yesterday wrote a great Rocky Mountain News column about one of the major initiatives on Colorado's statewide November ballot - Amendment 49:As [Jon] Caldara, head of the Independence Institute, likes to put it, government would no longer be able to act as "the bagman for political special interests."... No doubt passage of No. 49 would make it more difficult for unions to collect dues. But Caldara said that in the age of automatic bank transfers, union members can easily arrange to have dues deducted if they want. "Taxpayers don't have to be on the hook for doing the accounting, the bookkeeping and collection work for special interests and their lobbyists." Caldara maintains it's a conflict of interest for, say, school … [Read more...]
Colorado’s Amendment 49 Better Version of Idaho Clean Government Law
The latest edition of Budget & Tax News highlights an important case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court about a clean elections law from Idaho:In 2003, the Idaho Legislature passed the Voluntary Contributions Act, which banned the collection of political contributions through government payroll systems throughout the state. Nothing in the law prohibits union members from contributing to candidates by choice, and nothing in it prohibits unions from engaging in politics. Policy experts view the law favorably. Noted Ben DeGrow, an education analyst with the Independence Institute, "Governments should be focused on performing vital services for taxpayers, not on acting as a bill collector for private groups--especially groups that are … [Read more...]