Democrats rely on voters' blind spot regarding their record on taxes. Here's their record:

• Colorado Democrats raised everybody's taxes, not just on the rich and big businesses.
• Colorado's Republican legislators opposed these taxes and fought to roll them back.
• Higher taxes mean fewer jobs and more families losing their homes.
• The Democrats' $5.9 Billion in higher taxes equal 85% of a year's Colorado sales tax and General Fund income tax revenues. For our state, this is huge money.

Democrats hiked taxes in four categories: income, sales, property and vehicle. Except as noted, all numbers come from the March Focus Colorado.

Democrats raised income taxes $208.8 Million. The biggest single area was capital gains taxes … and half of cap gains earners have incomes below $75,000. Cap gains taxes are a real concern for seniors who earn 30% of this total income stream.

Democrats raised sales taxes $426.6 Million. If you eat in a restaurant, buy candy, soft drinks or cigarettes, pay up. If you work in manufacturing, mining or construction, perhaps your employer felt this tax hike. And that may help explain why these economic sectors' jobs haven't rebounded to pre-recession levels.

Democrat property taxes were a bonanza: $3.798 Billion in general property tax hikes [Legislative Council Deb Godshall memo, 9/12/07] and a “double whammy on seniors” property tax hike of $274 Million. These taxes were supposed to help local schools, but the Dems quickly shoveled the cash elsewhere. Their motto: keep donors happy.

Hickenlooper advocated increasing taxes on seniors' homes in his 2012 budget. Despite voters' rejection of taxes in 2011, Democrats tried, in part, to renew this tax this year. Every Democrat who voted on the bill said “raise senior's taxes.” Every Republican said “no.”

The typical American woman aged 65 and beyond has an annual income of $14,000. Many are widowed homeowners. Why do Democrats want to tax the elderly?

In addition to the higher tax bite, property taxes cause other harm.

First, 110,000 homes have gone in foreclosure in Colorado beginning in 2007, when the $3.8 Billion tax hike became law. How many families might have made it without this extra tax?

Second, this law took effect in May, 2007. Within two months, construction workers were beginning to lose jobs. Construction work vanished; we now have 50,000 fewer jobs in Colorado.

Which is better? Higher taxes or more jobs? Democrats chose taxes.

Perhaps the sneakiest tax was on vehicles: $1.2 Billion. [Legislative Council Ryan Brendle memo, 4/9/12] Why raise vehicle costs in a recession … especially when domestic car sales dropped 3.2 million nationally? Could this tax hike have factored into the loss of almost 2,500 car dealership jobs in Colorado between 2008 and 2009? Job numbers kept dropping in 2010.

DirecTV's ad says, “Don't end up in a roadside ditch.” Colorado's voters should follow a different rule: “Don't have a blind spot on taxes.” The first IS a bad ending; the second could CAUSE a bad ending.