I live in Colorado. There is a man here, who has by the way been completely destroyed by the legal toes he has stomped upon, named Douglas Bruce. He was a local attorney who got fed up with the absolute disregard that he saw in the acts of the Colorado Legislature, and also in the courts. He wrote and promoted a piece now known in CO as the "Tabor Amendment". Tax increases, and expenditures of things not specifically defined and approved, must be approved by a vote of the people. Excess monies must be returned to the people at the end of each tax yr. Colorado people had nearly forgotten the concept of tax refunds. NOW we get a few bucks back every year.
The effect this has had on the state, through all of the economic crunch of the past few years, is that Colorado is in a much better fiscal condition than most of our peer states, those of similar size, population, etc. TABOR has been attacked from literally EVERY legal prespective known to man in the past 11 yrs. They have been in a frenzy to find a way to eviscerate it. This is not necessarily a partisan attack. Legislators from both parties vehemently HATE that Amendment. WHY? Because their livliehoods depend on making more and more excuses to spend our money. They make a living off of creating more and more laws, and needing more and more money for their "social programs".
Doug Bruce shot the monetary foundations out from under them, and they have never given up finding a chink in the armor. THIS year, the attack is a plan to convene a Constitutional Convention, Specifically to address supposedly conflicting laws. Meaning, laws that were meant to spend money, and which TABOR prevents from gaining access to the funding for the target program, or whatever.
Doug Bruce has been falsely prosecuted for just about everything except street walking in the past 11 yrs. His legal expenses have nearly bankrupted him, and his professional license has been attacked several times. NOW, he is presenting a petition to the people asking for a simplified petition process... allowing the people a more streamlined access to present a proposal to the voters. You would think that he just suggested legalizing Heroin. They are going insane, vilifying and attacking him.
The FACT is that whether they are Rep or Dem, the politicians, by and large, do not want we the people to HAVE any more understanding or access to the governing process. They have the opinion that we are not capable of the exalted understandings of life and law that they are privvy to, and cannot, therefore be allowed to get in the way of the experts... THEM. The arrogance of that astounds me. Yes, it IS an election year. And the one single criteria I have for assessing a candidate this year is: DOES THIS PERSON BELIEVE WE HAVE ENOUGH LAWS which are not enforced NOW, and will this person support the literal and absolute reliance on the Constitution?? If they fail my litmus test, with the exception of one, I will refuse to vote for them. Bush is the exception, because I believe a vote for anyone else will result in the effect of a vote FOR John Kerry, and I would almost rather give up my right to vote at all.