The Democrats in the State Senate must feel immune from elections. Since they only lost one member of their caucus to election defeat in 2010 we can understand why their egos might be a little big. But votes like today's on Senate Bill 168 might help light the way to their defeat.
The bill would help set up a health care cooperative that would serve to help eliminate all private health insurance. Thankfully, Colorado’s Constitution stops crazy legislation like this from becoming law without the voters’ permission. If the bill passes, which it might not thanks to a Republican bulwark in the House, the law would be put on the ballot in 2012.
After an election when voters nationwide clearly and convincingly rejected government-run healthcare, you'd think Democrat legislators would have learned their lesson. Maybe it’s just that Democrats in the State Legislature in Colorado are farther left than the mainstream Democratic Party. They’ve been slamming Hickenlooper for tough decisions on the budget, crying out for tax increases, and now demanding government run healthcare.
Maybe it’s the overwhelming grassroots lobbying for Senate Bill 168 that persuaded the members of the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee. There were what—30 protesters out for SB 168 yesterday? The new census says there are over five million Colorado residents. Five million divided by thirty, carry the one, wait….nope. No bottom up demand for this. The Senate Dems are just nuts.
Maybe they were hibernating during the last election… That’s the only way they could have missed the fact that the public does not accept the idea of socialized health care.
What members voted for it? The link doesn’t say. I wonder if they’re all Boulder and Pueblo libs who don’t feel worried voting this way? Certainly doesn’t do their friends in competitive districts any good.
Doesn’t matter if the voting members were safe. It passed unanimously in the committee, so the Dem bosses must have approved. Looks like they haven’t learned their lesson. Don’t worry — we’ll go over it again next election.