Repubs Unveil Contract on Colorado

[donco6]

Governor Ritter is certain to be voted out next term, and here's what we get to look forward to under Gov. McInnis:

Top Colorado Republicans unveiled Monday the Contract with Colorado, also known as the Platform for Prosperity, a set of principles for candidates in the 2010 campaign that pledges to:

-Create jobs by limiting taxes, opposing fee hikes, encouraging business investment, and imposing caps state spending above an annual 6 percent increase;

-Repeal Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter's executive order allowing state employees to unionize;

-Support legislation and rules that will promote development of energy, including wind, solar, hydroelectric, oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear power;

-Control health-care costs by backing insurance portability, reinstating ban on taxpayer funding for organizations providing abortions, allowing patients to purchase insurance across state lines, opposing single-payer health care;

-Expand school choice by supporting charter schools and magnet schools, and protect rights of home-school families;

-Protect states' rights by opposing federal stimulus bills;

-Require the verification of workers' immigration status through the federal e-verify program and oppose sanctuary policies;

-Oppose policies that would curtail the right to bear arms;

-Undertake a comprehensive review of state government to eliminate waste, fraud, excess and abuse.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

1. Ritter is Vulnerable

He's done such a fine job of pissing off his own party that the Republicans actually might have a chance of getting the governor's office back. I think he should step aside and Hickenlooper or another popular, business-based local should run against that choadmonkey McInnis. I really, really hate Scott McInnis. Ugh.

[donco6]

6. Ugh - me too.

McInnis is like a Tom Tancredo who knows how to keep his mouth shut. Other than that, there's no difference whatsoever.

[rockymountaindem]

2. It's be practically miraculous how poorly Ritter has done.

Yet, he might be able to pull it off. We'll see.

[madamesilverspurs]

3. Yuck.

Dick Wadhams (state GOP chair) explained it in his usual thuggish manner on the teevee news. Of course, this is the party that gave us Tancredo, Musgrave, Shulteis, and Douglas Bruce (TABOR's papa), all of whom have managed to be endless sources of national embarassment for the state. Double-yuck on the dickwad.


---

[Winterblues]

4. Promote "state's rights" by opposing stimulus but not by

allowing State's Insurance Laws be upheld. They want to allow the purchase of Insurance across state lines even if the state you buy in has less strict rules on Insurance companies. It is a race to the bottom for consumer protections in the Insurance Area.

[librechik]

5. Colorado is an unstable swing state--it's swinging back the other way

after voting for Obama last year. Believe me,

Colorado is FULL TO THE BRIM WITH MORONIC TEABAGGERS

I was raised by a couple of them. I knew they weren't going away, even as I celebrated our Democratic victories last year.

But also remember--these guys are full of big talk and bullying. We can fight them if we stand up to them and don't run away.

[donco6]

7. I'm not planning on running away - but -

I work in public ed (we're off for holiday). We're looking at a 6.12% cut in funding next year. That's probably two schools to close. We'll have to combine schools and raise class sizes markedly. More and longer bus rides. And these guys want to enshrine that into law. I've got 5 years to retire (if they don't kill PERA off by then). I hope I can make it.

[librechik]

10. The birthplace of TABOR

is Colorado, and shamefully so. The DPS used to be a superior organization, back in the 60s-70s when
I was lucky enough to be educated by it. Now it's mostly not much more than just a place where people show other people how to fill out forms, and fail half the time at that--

donco, I'm sure you are a superior educator wasted in the system--which, BTW, I am considering getting into as a teacher if my current position goes away (which it might--we should find out if we still have jobs by the first of January. )

How crazy am I?

[donco6]

13. You can still find a great place to be.

I don't think you're crazy. Not at all.

But it's not going to be easy for quite a while, I'm afraid.

[donco6]

8. Oh, and note the "development of energy" bs -

It's really all about drill, baby, drill. They don't give a shit about wind power.

[gratuitous]

9. Prosperity for whom?

Good heavens, this looks like the robber barons' wet dream:

"Limit taxes to create jobs." Yeah, that really worked well on the national level during the horrendous Bush years, didn't it? We handed the keys to the Treasury to the greediest motherfuckers on the planet, and the economy hemorrhaged jobs.

"Repeal the order allowign state employees to unionize." Because as we all know, a fragmented work force that's at each other's throats in a race to the bottom is a cheap work force that doesn't have any money to spend.

"Oppose single payer health care." Collective bargaining is for wimps; real men negotiate on their own against megacorporations with unlimited resources. You're not a bunch of wimps, are you?

And on and on. Does this claptrap still play with a majority of Coloradans?

[donco6]

12. At this point, it probably will

We vacillate between semi- and total-wingnuttery, depending on the day.

[donheld]

11. Colorado may just have to sink into hell before

it gets its act together.

[Catshrink]

14. Looks like it's trying to follow Arizona's lead into the toilet.

AZ has given all these breaks and incentives to businesses for years and it hasn't helped a bit. Most of these were to the construction industry -- but you can't build forever. They never stopped to think who would be buying these $3-4-500,000 homes, especially on AZ salaries. AZ is a low wage state -- where will working people live? But, the people keep voting for the neo-Libertarians so I guess they get what they deserve. Think Joe Arpaio. I don't get it.