After 2 years of deriding the organized marches of Tea Partiers as “astro turf”, yesterday the liberals returned fire on House and Senate Republicans with a march of their own, protesting GOP members of the budget committee who had the nerve to keep a school lunch program at its current funding level, rather than expand it as Democrats had proposed.

Confronted by a more than $1 billion budget shortfall, and a budget that has been balanced with accounting gimmicks for the last three years, Republicans on the budget panel are actually making the tough choices, and showing some brass doing it. While Democrats proposed to spend an additional $250,000 on the already fully funded school lunch program, Republicans said no, and will likely push to transfer the surplus money to the general budget to spare higher education and K-12 additional budget cuts.

But Sal “The Fist” Pace and his big government buddies are having none of it. Aided by the PR firm owned by Democrat operative Eric Sonderman and various other liberal non-profit organizations, yesterday Team Big Government marched on the Capitol to proclaim from the rooftops that they want  to expand the school lunch program, even if it means more cuts to the state's colleges.

But let's be serious for one moment. The coalition marching on the Capitol grounds wants to expand every program, not just this one.

This is, after all, the same Sal “the Fist” Pace who last year voted to slap a huge new energy tax on one of Pueblo's largest steel producers, even though the steel manufacturer said the new tax would force numerous lay offs in Pace's hometown of Pueblo.  Higher taxes on Pueblo steel meant fewer cuts to the programs that Pace and liberals truly value, which is why Pace and the Dems told the steel company and other businesses to pound sand.

Now we wonder, what about all the mom's and dad's who lost their jobs because of your energy tax, Minority Leader “Fist”? 

What about their lunches, and their kids lunches, Mr. Sonderman?

Republicans should stand firm and respond with a strong and principled  message of their own. 

Yes, we love children and we value the school lunch program, which is the reason it isn't being cut. But in this budget environment, it would be irresponsible to expand this or any government program. Because we can't afford it.  

Meanwhile, look for this to be the playbook of Democrats this session. At every available opportunity Democrats will have the faux outrage machine in full swing.