Posted on 12/20/2013 7:32:00 AM PST by george76
Gov. John Hickenlooper called Thursday for a focus on bipartisanship in the 2014 legislative session, but Republicans can be forgiven for greeting his proposal with a certain skepticism.
The 2013 legislative session, often described as the most liberal in state history, may have also been the most partisan. Democrats pushed through major legislation with no Republican votes on a half-dozen fronts, including election reform, gun control, education funding, and the rural renewable-energy standard.
“It would be lovely if he behaved in a bipartisan manner, but that’s not what we saw last year,” said state Sen. Greg Brophy (R-Wray...
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This year’s legislative session falls in an election year that finds Hickenlooper seeking a second term amid flagging approval ratings. Running for the GOP gubernatorial nod are Brophy, Secretary of State Scott Gessler, former state legislator Mike Kopp and former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo.
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The governor, who was criticized for failing to veto any bills in the previous session, was asked Thursday by the Denver Post’s Lynn Bartels whether he planned to use his veto power this year.
“I’ll find something to veto, I guarantee it,” quipped Hickenlooper, adding, “That was a joke, Lynn.”
Republicans said the problem is that the governor promised a spirit of cooperation last year, yet the legislative session was marked by tension and divisiveness.
Gessler, for example, lambasted Democrats for drafting without his input House Bill 1303, a sweeping elections overhaul that ushered in same-day voter registration and all mail-in elections.
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Until Hickenlooper shows he can rein in the “our-way-or-the-highway” impulses of his own party, Brophy said the governor’s talk of bipartisanship isn’t going to be taken seriously.
“His actions don’t match up with his words,” said Brophy. “It doesn’t matter what he says. It matters what he does.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thecoloradoobserver.com ...
Don’t forget they forced rural communities to buy renewable energy which will make their energy costs skyrocket.
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