Democrat Sen. Jeanne Nicholson voted in committee to raise Coloradans taxes by $16B

The horribly unpopular $16 billion proposal for a state-run universal health care system has run smack into reality – Democratic Senator Irene Aguilar has killed her own bill as she cannot muster enough support to move it forward.  As a refresher, she needed all 20 Democratic Senators to vote for it as well as four Republican Senators (or 2/3 of the Senate) to get it on the ballot.

The bill would have launched the first state-run universal health care system in the country. With its enormous price tag, it was seemingly unappetizing for the majority of Coloradans, who are still struggling to recover from the years-long recession that’s plagued our nation.

While the bill may be dead, let’s us not forget which Democratic Senators were perfectly willing to vote it out of committee (i.e., throw hardworking Coloradans under the bus).  The committee vote was a party-line vote meaning all the Democrats on the committee voted for it.  The Democrats on the committee, not including Committee Chair Aguilar, are: Sens. Jeanne Nicholson, John Kefalas, and Linda Newell.

While Nicholson has claimed to be a proponent of strengthening Colorado’s economy and putting Coloradans back to work, her rhetoric rings hollow when she votes for unimaginably burdensome tax hikes like this one.

Perhaps the most hypocritical vote, however, comes from Sen. Linda Newell.  She and her family didn’t pay income taxes for seven years.  It was so bad that the IRS put a lien on her house for nearly $30,000.  It just seems outrageously unfair that Newell wants to hike everyone else’s taxes when she didn’t bother to pay her own.

But, it’s good to remember who was willing to jeopardize the financial security of Colorado’s families with this wasteful bill.  Don’t worry, while the bill is dead, Health Care for All Colorado is moving forward with plans to put universal care on the ballot.