CO-04 (Special Election)
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(R) Greg Lopez
(R) Trisha Calvarese
90%
10%
President (To Win Colorado)
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(D) Joe Biden*
(R) Donald Trump
80%
20%↓
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
90%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
90%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(D) Adam Frisch
(R) Jeff Hurd
(R) Ron Hanks
40%
30%
20%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert
(R) Deborah Flora
(R) J. Sonnenberg
30%↑
15%↑
10%↓
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Dave Williams
(R) Jeff Crank
50%↓
50%↑
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
90%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) Brittany Pettersen
85%↑
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(D) Yadira Caraveo
(R) Gabe Evans
(R) Janak Joshi
60%↑
35%↓
30%↑
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
August 14, 2013 08:38 AM UTC
15 Comments
Nobody said consumers do not value safe, effective and affordable roads.
The problem is the courts have tried to play the role of Webster by altering the definition of tax, fee and enterprise.
The problem is nobody trusts the voter yet the voter elects representatives.
The problem is elected representatives who do not have and follow an understandable, enforceable constitution are nothing more than dictators.
The problem is elected officials sit idle while political judges twist reality. The Colorado legislator should refer measures that protect and remind the general populace as to the legitimate definition of fee, tax and enterprise.
The problem is work around, sleight of hand and word twisting is truly perverse.
The problem is we all get dirty in the process.
Really if legislators were doing their job, we would NOT be having this conversation…
This is pretty close. A clean transportation tax hike might get approved by the people. The point is that under TABOR, politicians are not supposed to be able to raise taxes, but the activist Supreme Court decided to salami slice the meaning of "tax."
All TABOR requires is to ask. Why is that such a problem for Demorats?
Sorry, I meant DemoCRATs. I wasn't trying to be uncivil.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't FASTER pass at the ballot box? If so, what place do these questions have here? I would expect them to be brought up in a diary where the conditions described by Nock actually applied.
FASTER was legislation passed in '09. It was upheld by the state SC.
Ah. I think I was thinking of FASTRAX or whatever that's called.
Getting old…
No worries, I hate all acronyms.
Pesky facts. 🙂
Let's turn that around. (I'm not a Democrat BTW.) Why don't we trust the legislature to handle the complex problems of raising and spending revenue? I trust people whose job is to do this stuff more than a large group of people who overwhelmingly don't understand it.
Spoken like a true paternalistic holier than thou Democrat. This is why we oppose you.
I think the thinking here is pretty easy to understand – and actually, it's conservative-friendly logic.
Taxes affect everyone. Vehicle registration fees affect people who have registered vehicles, i.e., drivers. The thinking behind FASTER was that the state needed funds to ensure that Colorado roads were safe for drivers, so it went and got the money from them. No one is being asked to pay for a service that they won't use. If you don't want the service, you're welcome not to register your vehicle in Colorado – our bike paths are great, too! The beef that conservatives I know have with, say, socialized medicine, is that it's coercive. FASTER was/is the opposite – it's pay-as-you-go government.
From the legislature's perspective, not raising the funds was not an option. This was an issue of public safety – people had been injured or killed in bridge collapses (the I-70/C-470 girder and the ominous warning of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota). Under TABOR, the citizens of Colorado had an opportunity to put a gas tax increase on the ballot and approve it, but that hadn't happened in 20 years. The legislature acted because, empirically, no one else was going to.
I have a great idea. Nocklehead and Immoderatus can go around the state fixing the unsafe bridges on their own dime and all by themselves. Because they DID SO BUILD IT themselves. They don't need no stinkin' gubmint.
Ya know, I'm really grateful to live in Colorado, which is mostly run by people who are largely sane. Imagine living in places run by folks who would agree w/ Nock et al., like (*cough, cough*) Texas or Missouri.
Unfortunately, that's a lot of places. Republicans are really doing everything they can, everywhere they can, to break our country.
Even the little bridges in the Big Thompson Canyon now have cameras after being repaired; wow we are all so much safer. FASTER commute to boot.
God I love illegal spending sprees…