The Governor just delivered his final state of the state address. It was at times, surprisingly shrill and partisan. The whole of it had a revisionist undercurrent. One might think he would presage his forthcoming exit from the mansion this year with more grace, modest acknowledgment of the role Republicans have played in driving good state policies, and a more forthright telling of his fabled Colorado Promise.
At roughly the address' midway point, he went out of his way to bash his predecessor's legacy. He went on to cite what he implied has been a far reaching -- but in truth has been a far fetched -- job creation super nova in his energy policy. In this vein, he made no small pretense that he has been a strong friend and ally of the state's oil and gas industry -- even while his drilling rules have clearly reduced the industry's economic incentive for staying in the state to produce more high paying in the first place.
What took the cake though, was that he feigned regard for leaner government! This on the heels of three years of adding thousands of new state employees to the payroll paid for in part by a multitude of slick budgeting gimmicks. And despite the feel good veneer that he was quick to apply over his party's economic mismanagement, many Coloradans watching today haven't forgotten that he and his party drove the steamroller just last year that crushed our state's spending limitation, while at the same time passing last year's wildly unpopular car tax.
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Hmm,blame the former admin. Is that in the Democrat handbook?
ReplyDeleteMike,the car tax is just the tip of the iceberg. My Colorado Insurance Producers License renewal went from $34 in 2008 to $96 in 2010. I don't consider that a 'nominal' increase.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the lefts debacle in MA and the accompanying referendum on the lefts policies, Colorados "R"s are in an excellent position to reverse the damage done by the left. I just hope that this time my support of the Republican party is not wasted and that we repeal and undo the damage. In my opinion the measure of a successful state legislator is the amount of garbage legislation he/she gets rid of. Confine the state and all levels of government to their proper roles of police, courts, and the military. I'm tired of government limiting my freedoms with ill-considered legislation.
ReplyDeleteLet's just face the fact that most Colorado Legislators actually represent the government. Of the 35 Senators, 4 are attorneys, 9 are educators, 3 work only for the government, and 1 is a nonprofit worker. Now, that's conflict of interest.
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