Bully to new Governor John Hickenlooper for having the stones to implement some man-sized cuts to state government, rather than the cloak and dagger budget gimmickry that marred Bill Ritter's 4 years as the state's CEO.
The jig is up for business as usual in Colorado. And no one was hit harder then the state's K-12 education system, which amassed a $375 million cut under Hick's plan.
(A side note here: conservatives have always been skeptical of Henry Sobanet, Hick's budget chief who had the same job for Bill Owens. Most of us are still a little miffed about Referendum C. But this budget is his handiwork, and he is due props from the right for putting forward a Chris Christie sized dose of budget reality.)
Still, we wouldn't be sniveling right wing know-it-alls if we didn't wonder aloud, where in the name of Zeus’ beard are the union goons at the Colorado Education Association? Shouldn't they be clobbering Hick for balancing the budget on the backs of kids? Can you imagine if Tom Tancredo had defeated Hick and suggested such massive cuts to the children of this state? Heck, Bill Owens consistently increased K-12 spending and still got nuttin' but hate from the no-nothings at the CEA. And if Bill Owens had proposed a cut to schools even approaching this large, a million mom march orchestrated by the teachers union would have followed before the lunch bell rang.
We admit it. We are stating the obvious here.
The CEA's partisanship knows no boundaries.
Most days that means the CEA is accusing Republicans of not caring about kids. But today that just means the crickets are chirping over at the Big Labor wing of Colorado's education establishment while their own Governor drops a machete on funding to Colorado schools.
Two cheers for John Hickenlooper and Henry Sobanet.
Three Bronx cheers for the C-E-A!
The CEA is clearly a partisan hack organization. The double standard they employ for dealing with a Democrat proposed budget vs. a Republican one is striking.
That is why we shouldn’t have public employee unions. The reason unions need to exist in the private sector is to give workers a voice in major decisions companies make. But public employees already have that. It’s called elections.
Public employee unions get to buy off their negotiating partners with massive campaign donations and third party support before even sitting down to negotiate. And it’s ruining this country.
I’m sure it came as such a shock that their tried and true Denver Democrat formula has let them down this time.
“Y-You mean we’re actually going to do what we promised?! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!”
Congrats to Hickenlooper for proposing a common-sense budget. I can honestly say I’m pleasantly surprised.
I love how no major media has pointed out the disturbing difference in tone between how the CEA is reacting to Hick’s cuts vs anything Owens did. Kind of an important comparison.