Speaker Hullinghorst
In a post-session interview consisting of softball questions and platitude-laden answers, one interesting glimpse into the mind of House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst was her reply to the ubiquitous “What was your greatest accomplishment” question. Before discussing any legislative accomplishments, the Boulder Democrat retorted “For me, just getting through the year as the speaker. I enjoyed wielding the power…”
There is an old saying about some people running for office to help accomplish great things, and others who just want the office for the sake of having it. While we wouldn’t accuse Hullinghorst of being that self-centered (or would we?), her initial response to the question didn’t exactly inspire confidence. What about service? What about the people? Nope, it’s the power. Good to know.
When the Speaker finally got to something of substance in her answer, Hullinghorst couldn’t just pick just one. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise, as asking a Democrat to pick a favorite new law is almost as hard asking him to pick a favorite child. Some of Hullinghorst’s favorites included a good budget, the School Finance Act, school testing, and workforce development.
It’s was also curious to hear the Speaker describe some of the other issues facing the legislature. For example, “gun safety” is now some sort of euphemism for the unconstitutional gun control laws that Democrats rammed through on a party line vote. Sorry Madam Speaker, “gun safety” is understanding what the business end of your weapon is pointed at. It’s certainly not infringing on constitutional rights of law-abiding Coloradans, such as what you were a part of in 2013.
But, then again, that fundamental misunderstanding is partially why Morgan Carroll is Sen. Morgan Carroll, not Senate President Morgan Carroll.