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Gaines: Legislative Democrats do their business in darkness
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Commentary, completecolorado.com

Gaines: Legislative Democrats do their business in darkness

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Complete Colorado On Dec. 30, 2024, right prior to the legally-mandated deadline, the Executive Committee of the Colorado legislature held a hearing on Senate Bill 24-157.  If you don’t know it by number, this is the bill that, among other things, allows the legislature to avoid certain provisions of the Colorado Open Meetings Law, which privileges them in ways that almost no other governmental entity in this state enjoys.  This privilege extends beyond just legislative business, too.  Majority Democrats have already made use of the law to hold two closed caucus meetings. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessaril...
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Senate Bill 25-005 would unwind labor compromise, prompt ‘right to work’ initiative
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completecolorado.com, State

Senate Bill 25-005 would unwind labor compromise, prompt ‘right to work’ initiative

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado Colorado workers and their employers have lived in relative peace under a deal struck more than 80 years ago that stopped years of violence over salary and working conditions. Colorado Democrats want to unravel that deal, but one local policy influencer isn’t going to let it pass without a fight. Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute*, has filed a ballot initiative that won’t only unravel Senate Bill 25-005, should it pass, but it would also make Colorado what’s called a “right-to-work” state, giving employees the right to refuse to join unions, and denying unions the ability to force non-union employees to still pay dues. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO
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As 75th session gets started, GOP opens caucus meetings, Democrats behind closed doors
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completecolorado.com, State

As 75th session gets started, GOP opens caucus meetings, Democrats behind closed doors

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado As the 2025 legislative session gets underway it appears majority Democrats will continue practicing closed door governance, while Republicans have pledged to be more transparent, saying Colorado voters have right to know what is going on under the gold dome of the state capitol. Both Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie (D-Dillon) and Senate President Steve Fenberg (D-Boulder) have made it clear that Democrat caucus meetings will no longer be open to the public or the media. The two started closing meetings last August after a new bill they both supported went into law that exempted the legislature from portions of Colorado’s open meeting laws. Senate Bill 24-157 was passed after another bill sponsored by Democrats allowing legislators to block...
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Caldara: Prying open secretive government at the ballot box
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Commentary, completecolorado.com

Caldara: Prying open secretive government at the ballot box

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Hubris? Arrogance? Disdain? Contempt? What word describes the attitude of the Colorado legislature toward those who elected them? What explains their actions? Longtime political strategist Eric Sonderman described it to me in three simple words: “Because we can.” How can Sen. Chris Hansen run for re-election knowing that as soon as he wins, he’ll resign to take a $500,000 per-year crony job at a power utility? Well, because he can. How can the governor, who campaigned promising to massively cut special interest tax breaks, instead create an avalanche of new ones, enough to drain the budget of all TABOR surplus money? Again, because he can. READ THE FULL STORY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinion...
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Rep. Gonzalez: Without TABOR, we would have higher taxes, little to no tax refunds, and unlimited government spending
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Commentary, completecolorado.com

Rep. Gonzalez: Without TABOR, we would have higher taxes, little to no tax refunds, and unlimited government spending

By Rep. Ryan Gonzalez | Commentary, Complete Colorado In 1992, Colorado voters passed the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, the nation’s strongest tax limitation law to this day. For those who are unfamiliar what TABOR really does, this amendment to the Colorado Constitution allows government spending to reasonably increase using a formula of population growth plus inflation. Excess revenue, known as the “TABOR surplus,” must be refunded to taxpayers. If state government wants to keep the surplus, or raise taxes, voters must approve. That is exactly why progressives abhor TABOR. But the truth is, a little north of 60% of Colorado voters approve of TABOR. Many progressives have made their disdain for TABOR be known, having tried time and time again to chip away at TABOR’s...
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Caldara: Progressive press needs a dose of ideological diversity
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Commentary, completecolorado.com

Caldara: Progressive press needs a dose of ideological diversity

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado I am told over and over that the greatest quality reporters can have is curiosity. Then why aren’t journalists even slightly curious about why they lost their credibility from their customers? In 1976, 72% of Americans had a “great deal of trust and confidence in the mass media” to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly” according to that year’s Gallup survey. By 2024 that number plummeted to 31%. Congrats honored members of the press. You’re trusted less than Congress. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the c...
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Caldara: Reality check on mass deportations in Colorado
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Commentary, completecolorado.com

Caldara: Reality check on mass deportations in Colorado

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Let the meaningless battle over mass deportation in Colorado begin. Watching our cities virtue-signal on immigration is the best free entertainment your tax dollars can buy. The war of words and chest beating is worthy of a reality show. On one side, you have Denver’s Mayor Mike Johnston playing a modern-day Paul Revere. With those hideous Redcoats marching on Denver, his cry of “ICE is coming” will rally the Highland moms (who apparently cannot be messed with) and his own police force to take up arms to protect the immigrants who are bankrupting his city. On the other side, you have cities like Castle Rock, those dirty British sympathizers, who have made it clear they welcome the motherland’s ICE agents and wil...
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Caldara: The ridiculous double-standard behind Denver’s flavor ban
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Commentary, completecolorado.com

Caldara: The ridiculous double-standard behind Denver’s flavor ban

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado I get tired of all the double standards. When The Little Mermaid swims around half naked, singing to her underwater friends, she is “sweet” and “beautiful.” But when I do it, people say I’m “drunk” and “no longer welcome at the aquarium.” Modern society often makes knowing when you’re acting hypocritically difficult. I mean, burn a body at a crematorium, you’re “doing a good job.” Do it at home you’re “destroying evidence.” It’s just hard to know when people are going to get upset and throw the double-standard flag at you. So, of course, I’ve got a great deal of sympathy for the Denver City Council and its bizarre inconsistent hypocrisy between cannabis and tobacco. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s n...
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Caldara: Taxpayers foolishly subsidized my new electric car
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Commentary, completecolorado.com

Caldara: Taxpayers foolishly subsidized my new electric car

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado I want to thank the taxpayers of Colorado for my brand-new car. Really, thanks to each and every one of you dupes. You see, I have never in my 60 years had a brand new, off-the-lot automobile. Instead, I buy used, and I mean really used, cars and drive them until they drop. Out of college I bought a sexy $500 Datsun 210 and sold it eight years later for $950. My current beater is a 2010 Nissan Altima. I bought it with 95,000 miles for $6,000. It now has over 200,000 miles and still going strong. I drive ugly, old used cars. Why do I drive these cars? Simply, because I know what women like. While they’ll rarely admit it out loud, when a woman sees a bald man tooling around town in a 15-year-old rusted-out Japanese car she can’t help...
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Caldara: Trump win puts progressive intolerance on display
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Commentary, completecolorado.com

Caldara: Trump win puts progressive intolerance on display

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Welcome to the Great Un-friending. One of the telltale signs of a progressive is the constant self-celebration of their tolerance. Progressive communities, like my hometown of Boulder, slap the word “diversity” on every school wall, rec center poster and library. “All are welcome,” don’t ya know. The woke mob has mandated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion trainings that feeds the DEI Industrial Complex. The trans movement created the pronoun police state, where gender dysphoria is not merely tolerated, it will be celebrated. Free speech and proper grammar are relics of a long-gone racist era. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COMPLETE COLORADO Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not ...
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