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Hillman: Free state of Colorado? Not hardly, Gov. Polis
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Commentary, Mark Hillman

Hillman: Free state of Colorado? Not hardly, Gov. Polis

By Mark Hillman | Commentary, MarkHillman.com Colorado’s ruling progressive Democrats believe in equality under the law only in the sense, as in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, that some of us are “more equal than others.” Nothing illustrates this better than their current contortions related to gun policy and crime. On the one hand, progressives resist passing a law to increase penalties for stealing a firearm because, they say, it might result in too many “black or brown” men going to jail. Likewise, they don’t want to make it easier for law enforcement to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport illegal aliens who have committed violent crimes. Level heads might consider it a higher priority to protect law-abiding black and brown people who aspire to live ...
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Hillman: We don’t need lawyers to solve every dispute
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Commentary, Mark Hillman

Hillman: We don’t need lawyers to solve every dispute

By Mark Hillman | Guest Commentary, Capitol Review Everywhere we turn, there’s an ad for a lawyer — on television, streaming services, radio, podcasts, public transportation and, of course, billboards. Not so long ago, the legal profession observed a self-imposed ban on advertising by law firms, considering such self-promotion unprofessional. In 1977, the Supreme Court ruled such bans to be an unconstitutional restriction on freedom of speech. What began as a trickle of unremarkable professional services ads is now a deluge. Lawyers in the U.S. spend an estimated $2.4 billion annually on advertising. One survey finds that in 2023 law firms spent more than $40 million on advertising just in Colorado. Billboard lawyers don’t spend that kind of money because they ar...
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Hillman: This ain’t your father’s Colorado
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Commentary, Mark Hillman

Hillman: This ain’t your father’s Colorado

By Mark Hillman | Commentary, MarkHillman.com If you’re 40 or older, today’s Colorado is very different politically than the state where you grew up – assuming you grew up here. Except for Lyndon Johnson’s landslide win over Barry Goldwater in 1964, no Democrat won more than 45% in Colorado between 1952 and 2000. When Bill Clinton won Colorado in 1992 (with 40% in a three-way race), we became a “swing state” in presidential races through 2008.  Three of those elections were decided by less than 5%. Republicans’ most decisive win in that era was George W. Bush by 8.4% in 2000.  Ranked by margin of victory, Colorado was then 19th most-Republican state, darker red than Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, Florida or Iowa. READ THE FULL STORY AT MARKHILLMAN.COM Editor’s n...
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Hillman: National debt is silent threat to America’s security
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Commentary, Mark Hillman

Hillman: National debt is silent threat to America’s security

By Mark Hillman | Commentary, MarkHillman.com With the election mercifully behind us, Americans should expect those we’ve elected to get to the less-pleasant task of governing responsibly.  While hot-button issues such as immigration, inflation and foreign affairs will garner most headlines, a more pressing concern is too often overlooked: America’s staggering national debt. Growing faster than the economy and projected to reach a record share of gross domestic product (GDP) within three years, our debt is a national crisis.  If we continue down the current unsustainable path, we are flirting with catastrophe that would dwarf the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Our next Congress and President must confront this challenge before it is too late. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY A...
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Hillman: For Trump to win, he must be disciplined
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Commentary, Mark Hillman, National

Hillman: For Trump to win, he must be disciplined

By Mark Hillman | Commentary, MarkHillman.com In a close election, everything matters.  Just ask Hillary Clinton about taking Wisconsin and Michigan for granted in 2016. This election looks like another close one because some voters will enthusiastically vote for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, but many others will again be voting against the candidate they dislike most. Based on recent polling, Trump has a base support of about 42%.  He can likely count on those voters no matter what.  Biden’s lowest numbers were similar, so Harris probably starts in the same or slightly better position depending on how long her media honeymoon lasts.  Support for third-party candidates has collapsed to 5% or less. A mere 10% of voters appear truly undecided.  If they v...
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Hillman: ‘The Colorado Song’ recalls a better time and place
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Commentary, Mark Hillman, State

Hillman: ‘The Colorado Song’ recalls a better time and place

By Mark Hillman | Commentary, MarkHillman.com             On this Colorado Day, I remember the 1970s when our local radio station would open its morning show by playing The Colorado Song: “If I had a wagon, I would go to Colorado,” praising a state known for “Rocky Mountain peaks, climbing up to the sky” and inhabited by “folks who are rugged and bold!”             One verse describes what was quintessential Colorado: “A uniting spiring they will find at the great Continental Divide.”             It’s a fun song, and I’ve taught it to my kids.  But, I get a little choked up because it describes a Colorado whi...
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Hillman: Jokes about our legislature used to be funny
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Commentary, Mark Hillman

Hillman: Jokes about our legislature used to be funny

By Mark Hillman | Guest Commentary We used to joke that “no man’s life, liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session.”  That’s no laughing matter in today’s Colorado. The collective sigh heard across our state when 100 legislators finally went home to mind their own business reflects the growing sense of dread that accompanies the Colorado General Assembly convening each January. Although some of their worst ideas died on May 8 when the annual session ended, many of them will rise again like zombies next January, and Coloradans will again be subjected to this same ritual.  Not long ago, Democrats and Republicans argued mostly about whether taxes and government spending should be higher or lower.  But as Democrats achieved super-majority status – now 46-1...
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Hillman: Progressive gun control bills defy common sense
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Commentary, Mark Hillman, State

Hillman: Progressive gun control bills defy common sense

By Mark Hillman | MarkHillman.com Although I am less optimistic, I still hold out hope that Colorado isn’t irretrievably doomed to follow California, Oregon and Washington into the hopeless abyss of Progressivism. A few key indicators will soon reveal if we have passed the point of no return, including whether enough common-sense Democrats remain to stand with Republicans against the Far Left’s relentless assault on our 2nd Amendment rights. Senate Bill 131 would prohibit licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying their guns in “sensitive spaces,” which sponsors Sen. Sonya Jaquez-Lewis (D-Boulder) and Chris Kolker (D-Centennial) defined as most places outside your home. The bill would ban legal possession in these gun-free zones by licensed permit-holders.  It would,...
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Hillman: Colorado Democrats are no longer the party of free speech
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Commentary, Mark Hillman

Hillman: Colorado Democrats are no longer the party of free speech

By Mark Hillman | Capital Review Remember when Democrats fiercely defended freedom of speech and freedom of expression with few limitations? That was when Colorado Democrats still had to compete with Republicans for statewide elected offices and legislative majorities. Having grasped the political upper hand, Democrats are now sadly in thrall to Progressivism and its requisite censorship of dissenters. Instead of proclaiming, “I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” Democrats at our State Capitol now practice “free speech for me, but not for thee.” Consider the prevailing limitations on debate in the Colorado House of Representatives. Once called “The People’s House,” the chamber majority now shows little regard for core constitution...
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In a different time, ‘The Great Communicator’ unified America
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Commentary, Mark Hillman

In a different time, ‘The Great Communicator’ unified America

By Mark Hillman | MarkHillman.com Forty-four years ago this month, Ronald Reagan won the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, vaulting him on a path to the 1980 nomination and a landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter. The last presidential candidate to largely unite the country, Reagan defeated Carter 489-49 in the Electoral College and 51%-41% in the popular vote.  Four years later, he won 49 states and 59% of the popular vote. Reagan “rose from the ashes” of Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential campaign thanks to his “A Time for Choosing” speech, writes Peggy Noonan in her Reagan biography, When Character Was King.  Goldwater could define what conservatism was against, but “Reagan could define it by what it was for: for greater individual auth...
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