Colorado cautionary tale – American Thinker

Colorado is a microcosm of Democrat governance. It is a cautionary tale for every state in the USA and for voters who will choose between candidates for federal office this year.  

Life changed in Colorado about a decade ago when a few privileged billionaires joined forces to turn Colorado blue. They created “The Blueprint” to take over the state politically. Adam Schrager and Rob Witwer wrote the book The Blueprint: How Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care) Republican leaders did not counter this effort in any effective way. And so, here we are in Colorado, run by Democrats.

My liberal friends would ask what’s wrong with that? They would reason, Democrats are liberals and liberals are good, so it’s good that Democrats are governing.

Not so, oh liberal friends.

First, not all Democrats are liberals, many are leftists. Leftists are severe in a bad way — authoritarian, intolerant, immoderate — so it’s not good that leftist Democrats are governing.

Even Democrats are realizing this and more than a few are resigning from the Colorado Legislature.

According to Colorado Politics, “In the past month, two Democratic lawmakers, both at the end of their first year in the House, have resigned. Rep. Ruby Dickson of Greenwood Village officially resigned on Dec. 11. Rep. Said Sharbini of Brighton’s last day is Dec. 31. Both cited the vitriol of the House chamber as part of the reason for their decision.”

What’s going on in the State House in Colorado is also detailed in an interview with Rep. Scott Bottoms for a podcast on Free State Colorado, which was published on January 1, 2024. The representative from House District 15 in El Paso County filed a lawsuit on December 28, 2023, to stop a bill. With it he is also holding Speaker Julie McCluskie and Governor Jared Polis accountable, and he is exposing a “culture of harassment” in the institution.

Bottoms began the interview by saying that many conservatives talk a lot of good talk when they’re campaigning but when push comes to shove, they don’t stand up in office. He is a pastor who prays about these things, and Rep. Bottoms said he felt called to stand up.

Bottoms detailed how Democrats in Colorado behave, “I know the liberal push against life, against liberty, against 2^nd Amendment, all the things that the Dems are doing, but when I actually got to the House and realized they’re also — many of them — are very corrupt and don’t go by the rules. They are bullies, a lot of this stuff is what is driving this whole thing.”

For example, protestors for “Palestine” took over the House during the November 2023 Special Legislative Session described in the Colorado Sun, waving flags and using violent language. Not only did Speaker McCluskie, a Democrat from Dillon, not stop this prohibited behavior, afterward she demanded that all representatives agree with the protestors. Rep. Bottoms said in the Well that he did not agree, so the Speaker told him to leave the Well, and she would not recognize him when he got up to read a bill later in the day.

This is why Bottoms filed the lawsuit to stop HB23B-1002: Increased Earned Income Tax Credit 2023 from becoming law. “What had basically happened… the Democrats were getting more and more out of control with using rules that should not have been used, unethical behavior, breaking rules that are in existence, going against the Constitution, and specifically Speaker McCluskie picking on me and a couple of other representatives that just don’t agree with her. We weren’t breaking rules, we weren’t doing anything wrong, but she doesn’t like what we say, and so she harasses… I mean, this is unhinged, crazy behavior.”

“This bill… was shoved through unconstitutionally, and we’re not going to allow this to happen.”

HB23B-1002 messes with Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) refunds, which are protected in the Colorado Constitution, after Colorado voters rejected Proposition HH in November 2023, which tried to take TABOR refunds. In this iteration, the bill specifies that people without social security numbers can request TABOR refunds and will receive double the amount that taxpaying Coloradoans will receive. (Well, there’s a bullying tactic against Colorado voters right there!)

Beware, fellow Americans. Learn from Colorado. Keep Democrats from governing in your states and at the federal level.

CS Boddie writes for Meadowlark Press, LLC.

Image: Public Domain