Ten years from now, we may all be taking driverless Ubers to Bronco games and working from home (or in our parents’ basement – because there’s nothing wrong with that at all, right Alan?).  But in the meantime, Coloradans love to live in nature, but we still want our commute to clock in under 30 minutes.  And we’d love it if everyone else takes the light rail.  Nevermind how much money this all costs— whatever it takes so that we can leave work at 5:30 and make it to our local vegan artisan doggy daycare before it closes.

Senate President Kevin Grantham is a great guy, a true gentleman.  But he messed up big time on this one.  When you are elected by your colleagues to leadership, your actions speak for them, too. In this case of his proposed $600+ million tax increase, it’s not entirely clear if Sen. Grantham even speaks for himself.  Hear us out because we’ve seen this play out before:

  1. The “Business Community” (Definition: a cartel of Democrats, Local Governments, and cement or construction companies) convinces a major Republican that they will save their Party if they join their ranks for a tax increase.
  2. Major Republican tries to extract a few compromises from the Dems before cosponsoring.
  3. The Dems get their co-sponsor.
  4. Major Republican discovers that the “compromises” were basically worthless and don’t even work.
  5. The Dems— usually one with aspirations for higher office— barnstorm the media taking credit for their “bipartisan bill.”
  6. Major Republican almost instantly has major buyers remorse— you can see it in his eyes— and loses a massive load of credibility with those he still needs to lead.
  7. The media and “Business Community”, as accomplices to the Dems, use this proposal to drive a wedge in the GOP.  It becomes a litmus test for any GOP politician seeking higher office in the next election.
  8. GOP activists become disheartened, disillusioned for good reason.
  9. Dems remain totally unified. Why wouldn’t they be? Look at the havoc they wreaked in numbers 1-7!  While they eat a 12-ounce sirloin cut from the GOP’s sacred cow, their own blessed cattle remain grazing safely in the pasture.

And here’s the most ridiculous part- the tax increase is going to fail anyway.

Meanwhile, Obamacare caused Medicaid spending to absolutely explode.  For example, $600 million may be a lot of money to taxpayers, but that’s just “budget dust” over at the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. It has almost a $10 Billion budget. If the legislature wants $600 million from us, we already gave it to you— almost 20 times over.

Sen. Grantham, it’s not too late to realize this mistake. Take your name off the bill. Next time, bring the rest of your caucus – and the House GOP – into the huddle. That way, everyone knows the play and when the Democrats blitz, you actually have some teammates to back you up.