Pubdate: Tue, 14 May 2013
Source: Summit Daily News (CO)
Copyright: 2013 Summit Daily News
Contact: http://apps.summitdaily.com/forms/letter/index.php
Website: http://www.summitdaily.com/home.php
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/587
Author: Morgan Liddick

COLORADO'S CHEECH AND CHONG CHICKENS WILL COME HOME TO ROOST

Thank God that's over. The state Legislature won't meet again for
another 239 days, so productive Coloradans can breathe a little
easier; no further confiscations of our hard-earned gains for
political purposes can be undertaken at present.

How it happened doesn't matter. Whether it was the country-club
attitude of Colorado's Republican establishment, who don't realize
that politics is a barroom brawl, not a polite conversation; the
bottomless bucket of funding from gay activists; the clouds of
cannabis smoke obscuring serious issues; the media's mindless prattle
about cowboy boots and quixotic quests to describe zygotes as persons;
or a tragicomic combination of all of these, Colorado's 2012 election
results will produce poisonous fruit for years.

Is it a good thing that Colorado has been the butt of stoner jokes for
months on the late-night comedy circuit? We may not want the sort of
tourism this publicity will generate, but we're going to get it - good
and hard.

And the impending flood of Cheech and Chong wannabes is the least of
our problems. Democrat solons want to raise taxes by about $1.1
billion, making rich school districts in the state "spread the wealth
around" to their poorer brethren. That's a hike of about 10 percent to
keep the teachers' unions and educrats in the chips. Dopers should get
set to pay up, too: there will be at least a 35 percent state surtax
on marijuana purchases in Colorado.

If you get electricity from a rural co-op, prepare to pay much more
for it. Democrats, mostly living in the Front Range, have decided that
rural electric co-operatives' 2007 commitment to obtain 10 percent of
their power from renewable resources should be doubled, just because.
And since most of these same folks think that milk and vegetables come
from supermarkets, don't be surprised if they propose controls when
the price of arugula doubles.

Then there was the Democrats' anti-gun hysteria. Reminiscent of the
effects of Timothy Q. Mouse's first appearance in "Dumbo," the very
thought of "mean-looking" semi-automatic rifles threw Colorado's
Democrat lawmakers into a tizzy and gave us statutes which wouldn't
have affected James Holmes or Adam Lanza in the least. But they will
restrict the activities of law-abiding Coloradans while making
liberals feel good about themselves, so ... mission
accomplished.

These antics are not only a caution against the dangers of one-party
rule, they are a useful insight into the liberal mind. We should pay
attention.

Liberals admit no limit to the size or reach of government. There is
no end to its ability to control; to pick winners and losers; to
interfere and meddle -- all in our best interests, naturally. To
liberals, government exits to save us all from ourselves, because we
are incapable of making proper decisions. Government must address
every grievance, right every wrong, cure every care. And government
must be controlled by liberals, who are wiser, more compassionate and
better informed than the rest of us, who must be regulated and
administered so we do not harm ourselves or others in our ignorance
and neglect. Liberals are also better suited to dictate the use of our
money than we - poor, stupid sheep that we are. And they are perfectly
willing to bankrupt our country to prove it.

This Brobdingnagian self-image is hogwash, but many Coloradans
willingly accept the idea that others know far better than we how we
should live our lives. Perhaps it's the liberal air of certainty, or
airheaded appeal to some nebulous concept of "fairness." Perhaps it's
fear of being victimized by accusations of racism, misogyny,
homophobia, environmental wrecking or grannycide - the stock-in-trade
of the Left. Whatever it is, it's past time to stand up and shout "stop."

Recent FBI statistics show that gun violence has declined dramatically
in the United States over the past two decades. Gun restrictions
passed by our Legislature were not driven by a sudden increase in
firearms deaths, but by the Left's lust to control citizens' behavior.

Pouring a river of new tax money on an educational system, 40 percent
of whose graduates require remediation to continue to college or the
workforce, will only produce more mediocrities. Profound systemic
changes, not greater calls on taxpayers' wallets, are required.

Pushing a social-issues agenda that moves Colorado to the left of
California will only further divide our state. Those in control in
Denver don't care, but anyone thinking on the long history of
intractable social conflict must be deeply concerned.

Giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants will not improve traffic
safety. If figures from Utah are to be believed, the percentage of
uninsured motorists will remain constant, and traffic deaths will
actually rise.

We've got to look at the facts, and realize we've been suckered.
Admitting one has a problem is the first step to recovery.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt