In honor of this joyous political season, when our televisions spew candidate commercials with a passion usually reserved for post-Thanksgiving shopping sale ads, here are the top 10 things that drive this voter crazy:
1. So many laws, so little time. The Colorado legislature considers nearly 700 bills every session, leading to the question: Are we any better off now than we were in 1996, when we had approximately 4,000 fewer laws on the books? Currently, our legislators make less than $40,000 a year, making it impossible for the average person to take six months out of their year to serve their fellow citizens. Perhaps, in a cost-and- sanity-saving measure, lawmakers should meet every other year.
2. The idea that conservatives can’t be environmentalists. As a Republican who recycles, buys organic vegetables and limits my driving, I’m mocked by my Democratic friends who say a conservative can’t be an environmentalist. That’s not true; we simply don’t need government telling us to be good stewards of the earth.
3. The idea that women must be Democrats. As a Republican woman, I also reject any notion that a woman can’t be a feminist if she’s anything other than a liberal socialist. The media are already revving up their “Republicans as Sexists” machine despite the fact that nationwide, according to research by renowned political analysts Ronald Keith Gaddie and Charles Bullock, female GOP candidates are more likely to succeed than their Democratic peers.
4. The “Hick” Effect. Speaking of our media machine, what’s up with the endless devotion to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper? He gets better mileage from the media than he does from his Vespa. Hire Hickenlooper as a poster boy for any proposed tax increase; it will definitely pass. Others benefiting from the Hick Effect: House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and Denver Public Schools chief Michael Bennet.
5. Democrats masquerading as Republicans. A recent brief in The Denver Post headlined 7th Congressional District Democratic candidate Ed Perlmutter’s endorsement by former GOP state Sen. Al Meiklejohn. The real story is not Meiklejohn’s endorsement; it’s the fact that in the last three major election years, Meiklejohn has publicly denounced his party in support of Democrat candidates. Al, if you have such a hard time with Republican candidates, why not switch parties?
6. Obsolete bumper stickers. John Kerry lost. Get over it and move on to a new candidate and new bumper sticker. Rick O’Donnell, anyone? Equally strange: people who leave out yard signs for months after an election. During the last week of October, it’s patriotic. A month later, it’s recycling waiting to happen.
7. Young people who don’t vote. In 2004, Paris Hilton was a national spokeswoman for the “Vote or Die!” campaign, designed to encourage young people to vote. The only problem: She didn’t vote. In fact, she never even bothered to register. Sadly, she represents her generation well. Young people, while complaining about a lack of student financial aid, the impact of war on their generation, or the rising costs of health care, fail to vote. Well, get out there and do something about it.
8. Libertarian discrimination. A decade ago, the word “libertarian” was something associated with “Star Trek”-loving, conspiracy-theorist lonely guys just discovering the World Wide Web. In 2006, it’s all the rage. The impromptu motto of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, says it best: “Conservatives want government out of the boardroom, liberals want government out of the bedroom. We want it out of both.” It makes sense. To the average Colorado family, including mine, we just want to be left alone to live our lives and run our small businesses without government stepping in to “help.”
9. Attack ads. Enough said. I just wish I had the job of the voiceover guy. He must make a fortune this time of year.
10. Calling all politicians evil. Despite what we may tell ourselves, all politicians aren’t evil. My favorite is the humble and brilliant Mark Hillman, who drove hours from Burlington to Denver every week as the Colorado Senate GOP leader, somehow managing to balance life as a husband and wheat farmer with his legislative duties.
Now, if only we could do something about my first pet peeve, we could cut those commute times in half.
Jessica Peck Corry (jessica@i2i.org) is a policy analyst with the Independence Institute, where she specializes in civil rights, higher education, and land use policy.
