Over the past week or so the Colorado Senate GOP Majority Office has loudly promoted Senate Bill 16-148, legislation that would have required high school students to pass an exam on civics patterned on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Test. This bill had bipartisan co-sponsors in the House and Senate, but was primarily the brainchild of principal Senate sponsor GOP Sen. Owen Hill.
On Twitter, Senate Americans For Prosperity GOP spokesman Sean Paige leaned hard on this bill to attack legislative Democrats–despite the bill’s Democratic cosponsors in both chambers:
“Sexual diversity” is preached 2 preschoolers https://t.co/8oZgv70Rt0 but testing on civics is a no-no? https://t.co/28xlnMIKWx #copolitics
— Colorado Senate GOP (@ColoSenGOP) March 31, 2016
Imagine that the proposed test was on “climate change awareness,” rather than civics. Would Dems B raising the same objections? #copolitics
— Colorado Senate GOP (@ColoSenGOP) April 5, 2016
It’s not an insinuation, it’s a fact, as anyone following the civics test debate can see #copolitics #coleg https://t.co/B6X9SzXyqy
— Colorado Senate GOP (@ColoSenGOP) April 5, 2016
As you can see, the Senate GOP’s press office was dead-set on making the debate over Senate Bill 148 a partisan issue, regardless of how many Democrats signed on as cosponsors. But today on the Senate floor, something else entirely happened:
We require Civic’s class to graduate. If we need to tweek standards, fine. I can’t support another mandated test https://t.co/clbpHVIfi3
— Jerry Sonnenberg (@JerrySonnenberg) April 6, 2016
That’s right! Senate Bill 148 died today after two Republican Senators, Jerry Sonnenberg and Ray Scott, cited existing burdens on school districts–especially rural districts they represent in the General Assembly–as a reason to reject another “mandate.”
To be clear, our purpose today is not to debate the merits of this defeated bill. We’ve heard good arguments for and against it, and as we noted the bill had bipartisan support and sponsorship. But folks, what the hell is Senate President Bill Cadman’s spokesman doing attacking Democrats on a bill for which he obviously should have done a whip count of his own caucus before popping off?
In any other situation, we’d call this very bad spokesmanship. But the truth, as has been the inside scoop at the Capitol all year, is that Americans For Prosperity’s former spox Sean Paige doesn’t have this job to represent the Senate GOP majority.
All he did here was prove that again.
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Sean Paige is smarter than the entire caucus of GOP Senators…….just ask him!
that's a pretty low bar, Zappy.
It's always such a shock when Democrats see others thinking for themselves! Fortunately, this is not a problem for conservatives. We prefer leaders who think for themselves instead of mindlessly obeying their DC masters.
So did a little mayo on that shit sandwich you just ate make it taste any better?
It's not a day in the real world unless Moddy is trying to put lipstick on a GOP pig.
PS – Don't fret too much about your cosmetic abilities, Mod – there isn't a shade of lipstick or a team of high-paid makeup artists that could make that pig look good on a bad day.
Practice, practice, practice …
“You can put lipstick and earrings on a hog and call it Monique, but it's still a pig.”
― Ann Richards
I really need to not be drinking hot coffee when I read your comments, Moderatus.
Even a stopped clock is right sometimes.
Twice a day which seems like a great record compared to this guy.