This time of year, a thoughtful observer might wonder if the border we need to close is not to the south, but to the north. The Wyoming border, that is.
In most neighborhoods, the nights are alive with the pop, clatter and boom of illegal fireworks. Colorado cities have banned virtually all of these small explosive devices for a number of reasons, including nuisance, injury, drought and the danger of wildfires.
But the illegal things still flood across our borders, breaking our laws, disrupting our peace of mind and impacting our economy. Colorado entrepreneurs can’t sell exploding, blazing fireworks; Wyoming opportunists can, and they encourage, or at least abet, the smuggling of these illegal alien devices.
But then, these are incendiary times. In observance of Independence Day, the U.S. Senate debated a constitutional amendment on flag burning. It ultimately failed, by one vote.
There was another recent test vote in Congress, over when to pull back troops from Iraq – a vote intended to test the resolve of war opponents and to put them on record. It passed.
These are attempts to get the other side on the record in what your side hopes is an embarrassing position, something your political operatives can exploit to smear the opposition in the upcoming campaign. And is there ever a time when there isn’t an upcoming campaign?
Another example, closer to home, was the short-lived competition over who would get to convene a special session of the Colorado legislature to deal with immigration.
After the Colorado Supreme Court said a ballot issue intended to limit state services to illegal immigrants was fatally flawed, Gov. Bill Owens immediately raised the possibility of his calling a special session on the issue.
The Democrats, who control the legislature, believe the Republicans are emphasizing immigration in an effort to make them look soft on security and sovereignty. So at first they opposed the idea of a special session.
But then it occurred to them they could ask for a session themselves. And if the Republicans wouldn’t give them the two-thirds vote necessary for the legislature to self-impanel, well, it would just show everybody what hypocrites those Republicans are.
Immigration, like flag-burning and the Iraq war, is one of those issues that lend themselves to the most cynical exploitation of the political process. And the process is rife with those who are quick to inflame the divisiveness.
Before the Colorado Supreme Court finally ruled him off the August primary ballot – June was a busy month for the justices – Marc Holtzman, the repeatedly rebuffed Republican candidate for governor, made an observation that exemplifies this sorry state of contemporary politics.
Holtzman said that, if he were to lose his Supreme Court appeal – as he did – he would throw his support to Bob Beauprez, the fellow Republican of whom he had been speaking ill for months. And so he did.
The reason for doing so, he explained even before the decision against him was handed down, is because “the alternative is unthinkable for Colorado’s future.”
Unthinkable? That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? A victory by Democrat Bill Ritter might be disappointing to a Republican, or even regrettable – but unthinkable?
That’s the sort of exaggeration we’ve come to expect. Mere criticism is not enough; there must be vilification. The other side isn’t just wrong; it’s sinister and wicked, possibly even evil. Jockeying for advantage has edged out actual lawmaking in legislative bodies.
As it turns out, Colorado’s legislature is not quite as cynical as Congress. Both sides in the immigration debate seem to have moved closer together, and – to no one’s surprise – Owens is the one calling a special session. The legislature never has managed to call itself into special session in the 130 years of state history.
Of course, given the emotional nature of the debate, it’s still unlikely a special session will satisfy everyone or avoid political fireworks. It’s more than unlikely, actually – it’s … well, it’s unthinkable.
Fred Brown (punditfwb@aol.com), retired Capitol Bureau chief for The Denver Post, is also a political analyst for 9News.
