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Election '05 - C&D Email Print

By Blue the Wild Dog
11/01/2005 08:16:54 PM EST

In less than an hour, the polls will close in Colorado. The two important state-wide items are Referenda C & D. C authorizes the state to retain, for the next 5 years, the surplus usually returned to taxpayers under TABOR - the so-called Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. D, which takes effect only if C also passes, uses 10% of the retained surplus to issue bonds for various capital improvement projects.

Among the supporters of C & D are every prominent Democrat in the state, along with a handful of Republicans, most notably Governor Bill Owens. Owens is bucking none other than Grover Norquist, who is behind robocall anti-C&D push-polling. Other ideologues, such as Colorado's own Jon Caldara, have been been playing on racial fears by tying C&D to the unrelated issue of government services for illegal immigrants.

Currently, predictions have both these votes as too close to call. Off year turnout could be a real wild-card. Can the sleazy government-drowners be given a black eye? Or will the State of Colorado sink beneath the waves of Norquist's rubber ducky?


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Poll

Most repugnant repub in Colorado?
James Dobson 100%
Tom Tancredo 0%
Marilyn Musgrave 0%
Jon Caldara 0%

Votes: 3
Results | Other Polls
< What Sparked Today's Closed Session? | Political Cortex Blog site tip #1 - External feeds >
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Election '05 - C&D | 5 comments (5 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
So Blue (none / 0)
what happened? How'd it go?

by mcjoan on 11/02/2005 02:49:40 PM EST

C passed and D failed. (none / 0)
D was less important and subsidiary to C. Passing C was a real slap in Norquist's face, as well as an object lesson to other states that might be foolish enough to consider TABOR-like restrictions.

Pointless, incessant barking since 10/31/2005 03:16:11 PM MST

by Blue the Wild Dog on 11/02/2005 03:46:52 PM EST

[ Parent ]
TABOR in other states (none / 1)
Californians are scheduled to vote on state spending limits Nov. 8, and Kansas, Ohio, Maine, Nevada, Oklahoma and Arizona are considering spending caps.

I've heard in the past few months that those TABOR-like proposals do not include the so-called ratchet effect that hamstrung Colorado's ability to recover from the last recession.

I certainly hope Norquist's efforts to grow TABOR from Colorado to other states will fail.  Does anybody have info on how those ballot proposals are doing in pre-election polling?

by WeatherDem on 11/02/2005 03:54:21 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Good news (none / 1)
Thank you.

by mcjoan on 11/02/2005 04:07:29 PM EST

[ Parent ]
It was a close-run thing - 52% - 48% (none / 1)
I started to think we would lose when the evildoers brought out the "illegal immigrant" theme, but it was a strange off year election. I have no idea if it might be a bellwether. Here is some schadenfreude for your enjoyment, courtesy of the Denver Post -

Douglas Bruce, an anti-tax crusader who wrote the 1992 Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, said Colorado voters caved in to government pressure.

Tuesday's vote makes it harder now for other states to cap spending, he said. California, Kansas, Ohio, Maine, Nevada, Oklahoma and Arizona all are considering new limits.

"The establishment is going to say we had 13 years of experience with spending limits and we changed our minds. I'm sorry for their sake and I'm sorry for our sake," Bruce said.

Pointless, incessant barking since 10/31/2005 03:16:11 PM MST

by Blue the Wild Dog on 11/02/2005 04:16:22 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Election '05 - C&D | 5 comments (5 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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