I asked before if Bill Ritter called the bluff of Big Labor with his veto of Senate Bill 180. If we're to judge by last Friday's union-organized rally, then Ritter made a mistake. To see what I mean, take a step over to Face The State's slideshow, and see signs like "Why does Ritter hate fire fighters?" and "Ritter lied to my dad" (or just Senator Lois Tochtrop's angry expression). Of course, Ritter didn't make a mistake from the standpoint of choosing good policy over bad policy. But he has made four mistakes surrounding this issue: Don't make promises you don't intend to keep. Backroom campaign promises can come back to burn you. As observed at ColoradoPols and demonstrated by the little girl's "Ritter lied to my dad" sign, … [Read more...]
Will Bill Ritter Really Pursue “Best Public Policy” and Veto Big Labor Bills?
So Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has a couple tough decisions to make. That could pose a problem. This morning the Denver Post's John Ingold follows up on the political challenges posed to Ritter from the legislature placing Big Labor bills Senate Bill 180 and House Bill 1170 on his desk. The Governor sure is talking a good game:"This is not a zero-sum game," Ritter said. "The way I approach this is not based upon this notion that somebody wins, somebody loses. The way I approach this is 'What is the best public policy for us?' " In that case, from the standpoint of "best public policy", vetoing the costly and intrusive SB 180 is a no-brainer -- for all the reasons I've previously explained. HB 1170 is problematic for its own reasons, … [Read more...]