It would be nice if Colorado Senate Democrats could put partisan politics aside in the name of good government just once, but apparently that is just too tall an order for them.

Rep. Dan Nordberg explains:

My bill to audit CO Health Exhcange, which passed House 60-1, dies in Senate Health Cmte. What are @COSenDem afraid of? #coleg #copolitics

— Dan Nordberg (@RepNordberg) March 26, 2014

The bill Nordberg is referring to is House Bill 1257, which proposed a completely reasonable audit of the taxpayer-funded Connect for Health Colorado.  The bill was surprisingly killed in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee today on a 4-3 party line vote.  In their press release, Senate Republicans point out several reasons why the audit is a no brainer:

On Monday, the Denver Post reported that Connect for Health Colorado had spent $46,000 on “exchange-branded packets of sunscreen and lip balm” and an additional $9,627 to rent an RV.

In February, the Denver Post revealed that a Director at Connect for Health Colorado had been indicted in Montana for stealing from a non-profit housing organization.

Connect for Health Colorado has signed up about 100,000 fewer Coloradans in the exchange than they originally predicted.

Why would a bill that sailed through the House 60-1 get shot down so abruptly in the Senate?  We thought Democrats were better communicators than that.  If Colorado Dem leadership had major objections to HB 1257 from the start, it never would have gotten so far.

Clearly, someone had a change of heart or, dare we speculate, even received a call from the White House.  It wouldn’t be the first time a member of the administration (ahem, Vice President Joe Biden) interfered with a local Colorado issue (remember last year’s debate to restrict 2nd Amendment rights?).