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THINK HARD: Democrats Unwise to Want to Repeal TABOR

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Hang on one second, Democrats. Over the past week, Democrats across Colorado have all taken turns railing against TABOR, also known as the taxpayer bill of rights. It is the reason, they pout, that Colorado can’t do anything. Read: spend money recklessly.

But, is repealing TABOR a bad idea for liberals? We think so. Hear us out.

We assert that Democratic politicians have been getting a free ride (typical) thanks to TABOR when it comes to their drunken sailor spending ways.  Because a key component of TABOR requires politicians to get taxpayer permission in order to raise taxes, Democrats never have to really face the music for their unwise spending decisions. They just shrug, grandstand, and blame TABOR.

Imagine an electoral world in which Democrats had to vote to raise taxes…and, then, answer for it. Republican candidates could actually hold Democrats accountable for bad spending, like Medicaid expansion, in a way that is actually meaningful to voters.

It is far different to say State Rep. So-and-So voted to raise taxes by a billion dollars rather than saying Rep. So-and-So voted to ask voters to raise their own taxes to cover So-and-So’s spending. In many ways TABOR takes taxation, Democrats’ Achilles heel, off the table and removes their responsibility. Without TABOR, we predict that there would be fewer Democratic electeds.

Don’t get us wrong, we love TABOR because, ultimately, it keeps our taxes low, but it sure would be nice to hold Democrats clearly accountable for their unwise spending.

Think about it, Democrats.

MAD POOPER: Get Her a Job at the EPA!

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The world is abuzz with news about Colorado Springs’ hometown zero, the Mad Pooper, a female jogger who will not stop pooping in one family’s yard. From the Denver Post to USAToday to BBC, Colorado is now no longer known for its consumption of illegal (in some places) products, but the elimination of everything. How embarrassing both for this woman (who must be mentally ill – right?) and for the state as a whole. Colorado Springs Police Sergeant Johnathan Skarketti said:

“It’s abnormal, it’s not something I’ve seen in my career. For someone to repeatedly do such a thing…it’s uncharted territory for me.”

But not for Colorado. This isn’t the first time Colorado is been known for its inappropriate bodily functions. If you recall, PeakNation™, the Denver Environmental Protection Administration also had a Mad Pooper that was so contaminating the work environment that the management had to send a memo reminding people to poop in the toilets.

Does anyone know who this woman is? Can you get her a job at the EPA? Does she already have a job at the EPA? Does she think in this era of social media that she will remain anonymous forever?  Others have come forward to say that they have seen her do her business in front of a Walgreens and in other people’s backyards. Someone must know who she is….

OFF THE RAILS: Denver Hilariously Hosts Rail Conference Amid Continuing Issues with Light Rail

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We literally laughed out loud when we saw that Denver was hosting the Rail-Volution Conference where attendees can “learn to effectively promote, plan, and implement transit development projects.” We caution the conference attendees – do not learn from our light rail system, which has been quagmired by technical issues and funding (where’s that line to Longmont, again?) issues.

While a Denver Post editorial encourages readers to look at the larger picture of RTD’s successes, it acknowledges that light rail has not been an overwhelming success. Here is the Post’s parting shot:

“We hope RTD, community and state leaders come away from Rail-Volution with a plan to ensure the FasTracks system becomes a self-sustaining operation that carries its own weight both financially and in helping the regions transportation nightmare.

“The infrastructure is here, taxpayers are invested, and now all that’s needed is a flood of riders willing to pay a premium for the service.”

We can’t decide if the writer was being ironic or literally thinks there might be riders, other than little kids, who might pay a premium to ride on a train. If serious, it’s worth reading Reason’s “Myths of Light Rail Transit” that debunks many of the claims that supporters of light rail make. Here are just a few busted myths:

  • Light rail will not decongest roads, it simply takes riders from buses (which in another myth bust are actually more efficient than light rail)
  • Light rail is not more cost effective than buses (which, by the way, are regularly empty in Denver)
  • Light rail imposes heavy costs on low-income people (a fact that the Post rightly pointed out)

Light rail might look shiny and exciting and, perhaps, government officials equate the arrival of light rail with the “arrival” of Denver as a “real” city, but light rail has been a disappointment to many in Colorado.

REVISING HISTORY: Bennet Bill Shifts Blame on Gold King Disaster

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U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is very incorrectly using the Gold King Mine disaster as an excuse to push a mining bill through Congress.

The goal is to avert such a disaster, the rhetoric goes, a disaster caused an EPA contractor.
Extra emphasis on the word contractor.

As everyone including Democrats and even the EPA know, the disaster was caused by the EPA itself. The mine did not cause it.

The legislation would prevent further disasters by requiring gold, silver, copper and other hard rock mining operations to pay the government royalties.

That’s how environmental disasters caused by the EPA are prevented, we are led to believe by Bennet and the other bill sponsors that including Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

The bill “helps ensure that taxpayers aren’t on the hook for cleaning up abandoned mines, and seeks to prevent another toxic spill like the Gold King Mine disaster of 2015,” the senators said.

It sounds like the Democrats spent more time revising history than they did crafting the actual law.

NOT SO FAST: Governor Hickenlooper Doesn’t Have Special Session Support He Claims

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If you read Governor Hickenlooper’s proclamation about his special session to fix SB17-267, you would think that the entire legislature, including the bill’s sponsors, were behind the move. You would be wrong. Here is a section of the Governor’s proclamation:

“We have had extensive conversations with Senate Bill 17-267 sponsors, interested stakeholders, and General Assembly leadership to identify how to minimize harms to impacted special districts, other limited purpose governmental entities and their constituents; and achieve greater clarity and efficiency in the State’s tax code. A special session is the most expedient way to advance those interests.”

Here is what one of the sponsors of the bill said about the Governor’s decision to call a special session:

“This is not the way government should work in Colorado. Calling a special session without an understanding of the game plan, or proper consultation with the legislators involved, is an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars.”

According to Senate leadership, they were not consulted until after a special session had been called. In fact, most Republican legislators currently claim that the fix would be a tax increase and would need to go to a vote of the people. It’s obviously too late this year, so 2018 would be the earliest.

It looks like those bike lanes might come in handy after all, if the buses stop running, that is.

HILLARY’S CRYING FIT: Gardner Says She Should Be Ashamed Of Blame Game

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Hillary Clinton is still crying over spilt milk, blaming everyone but herself for not getting elected president nearly a year ago.

And you can read all about it in her new book she is promoting, the title of which sounds like a bad Saturday Night Live skit, “What Happened.”

She blames her emails, her pledge to put coal out of business, Russia, the DNC, sexism, Obama, Bernie Sanders, Wikileaks, campaign finance, and women pressured by their husband and fathers not to vote for her, among other excuses.

Clinton is now refusing to rule out challenging the legitimacy of 2016 election, which led U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner to tweet this:

 

Gardner’s tweet prompted outrage from the Denver Post, which in turn criticized him for questioning Clinton’s book sales tactics.

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to lambaste Hillary Clinton for not ruling out the idea of questioning the legitimacy of the 2016 election, calling her “wildly irresponsible” and saying that “she should be ashamed.”

The Post goes on to defend Hillary’s crying fit, including a rant about Trump, and points out that Gardner has also disagreed with Trump.

Comparing oranges to orangutans is one way to take the focus off Hillary’s wild claims. But just for the record, she also blames journalists for her loss.

DO IT: Why Won’t Democratic AG Candidate Joe Salazar Debate AFP?

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Fun Twitter banter about TABOR between Americans for Prosperity’s Michael Fields, former Colorado State Director turned education guru, and mouthy Democratic Rep. and Attorney General candidate Joe Salazar turned into a challenge that the two debate. We would absolutely pay to see Fields mop up the floor with Salazar on the too-often-maligned Taxpayer Bill of Rights – the only thing standing in Democrats’ way of raiding our pocketbooks.

We suspect that Salazar knows he would look spectacularly clownish at a debate against Fields and AFP, so it’s no surprise that he and his Twitter troll friends are dodging the opportunity. At issue is whether TABOR should be repealed (it shouldn’t). Here are just a few of the cowardly tweets Salazar sent while trying to avoid committing to a debate:

What’s Salazar so afraid of? Why won’t he debate Michael Fields?

SURVEY SAYS: Health Care Not So Great Under Obamacare

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A new survey suggests that Colorado’s insurance market is not in a death spiral, despite the fact that prices continue to increase yearly since Obamacare took effect.

As a matter of fact, the number of those without insurance declined by half between 2013 and 2015, which is great news.

Except, that was mostly due to more folks jumping into the government-paid Medicaid program. And, Obamacare didn’t fully take effect until 2015.

There goes that pesky sad trombone sound effect, again.

Colorado Politics reports that other challenges remain, including the revelation that one in five residents did not get medical care last year because they still couldn’t afford it.

More than 98 percent of Douglas County residents have some sort of coverage, but counties like Moffat, Routt, Rio Blanco and Jackson still have 13 percent uninsured rates.

The polling was conducted by the Colorado Health Access Survey.

5-STAR MEALS: Oh, To Be Homeless In Aspen

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The homeless in Aspen aren’t having too rough a time, reports the Glenwood Springs Post Independent.

The might not be able to afford a place to live, but they can afford to dine on lobster tails, rack of lamb and salmon steaks.

That’s according to the Aspen Police, who responded to a complaint of smoke coming from the homeless campsite near the hospital.

When told to put out the fire because the woods are too dry and might spark a wildfire, the two homeless men opened up a few cans of Stella beer and doused the flames.

Meanwhile, the officer reports he had cold pizza for dinner.

YOUR BIAS IS SHOWING: Marianne Goodland Carries Her Union Love to ColoradoPolitics

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We had hoped that journalist Marianne Goodland’s switch to ColoradoPolitics meant that she would be forced to temper her left-leaning rants articles about education as she was in the company of legit journalists, like Joey Bunch. As it turns out, she’s just spewing the same junk she did at Colorado Independent. Here are just a couple of examples of her left-wing journalism from a recent article on a Jeffco School Board forum:

“Van Gieson is affiliated with the Golden View Classical Academy, which he didn’t mention during the evening. Academy teachers receive training from Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian college in Michigan that has ties to billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who visited Denver earlier in the day.”

God forbid Van Gieson is affiliated with a Jeffco school – that she highlights Golden View is a dog whistle to liberals in Jeffco. Same with Koch references. And – gasp – the teachers receive training from Hillsdale, which she characterizes as a Christian school. It’s actually more known for its free market ideology, but hey, whatever gets liberals worked up.

Of course, then, there’s the old trick of mischaracterizing liberal groups. She calls Support Jeffco Kids a “pro-teacher” group. Wrong. It’s a pro-union group and one that turned Jeffco into an ugly place. In fact, according to the Colorado Education Association website, Support Jeffco Kids is considered a partner group to the CEA, the largest teachers union in the state. Convenient that she missed that.

But what should we have expected from someone who wrote so joyously for the Colorado Independent? Well, if she’s reporting from ColoradoPolitics, we expect a hell of a lot more.