Do you ever wonder if our elected officials – in either loathsome party – ever read the Constitution they swear to protect?
“I’m not big on litmus tests,” newly minted Gov. Bill Ritter claimed in his State of the State speech last week, “but I will have one litmus test for every bill that comes to my desk … ‘How does this create a better future for our children and our children’s children?”‘
Not only is that a platitude, it’s shameful. The one litmus test a governor should have is this: Does a bill deprive Coloradans of life, liberty, property or due process of law?
The rest is politics.
Most of us had no idea where Ritter would fall ideologically. The governor was excruciatingly vague during the campaign. Though he still nimbly avoids anything as cumbersome as specifics, we have a better idea of where we’re headed:
Toward bankruptcy.
Ritter is here to “lead” and “inspire” because the people of Colorado, he claims, want politicians “to solve problems.”
Funny, I know a lot of people in Colorado – most of them Democrats – and I’ve yet to hear a single person say, “Boy, we could really use Andrew Romanoff down here to fix this marriage.” (Though, clearly, that would be a more constructive use of a legislator’s time.)
Come to think of it, most people don’t even know who Romanoff is.
Did you watch that self-congratulatory orgy at the Capitol last week? I didn’t think so. Not many did.
Yet, listening to Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, you might be under the impression that the entire population of the state was taking deep breaths so they wouldn’t faint from the overwhelming gratitude they felt.
Fitz-Gerald called Ritter’s speech inspirational. “Government,” she erroneously asserted, “is supposed to be inspiring. This is why most of us run for office – to have a vision.”
Yet somehow the Founders managed to inspire us by keeping government out of our lives.
Politicians, as a rule, don’t stir the soul. In fact, no one really likes politicians very much at all. Nothing personal, but in poll after poll, elected officials fall into the general vicinity of tricycle thieves, lobbyists and journalists.
Ugly territory, indeed.
One reason politicians are reviled is that they promise a lot of stuff they can’t possibly deliver. And man, does Ritter now have a lot to answer for.
Most of Ritter’s proposals begin with a nebulous “investment in our future.”
So hold on, because there’s going to be so much investing in our collective future that you might not have any money left over to send your own kid to college.
Though I should note, Ritter plans to have government make college education “affordable.” So if you’re lucky, someone else can pay for you.
You know even scratching the surface of Ritter’s speech brings up so many questions about economic feasibility it’s hard to take it seriously.
Take for instance Ritter’s idea to force Colorado transmission lines to carry wind power. Feels good, right?
And wind energy might be a brilliant idea – though there are many questions about its viability and practicality – and shouldn’t we at least see what the market has to say before we wire the state?
Xcel already plans to invest more than $420 million in transmission lines through 2010, and according to a spokesman they can’t really comment on a project of this size. Judging by the small-scale project in existence, the price will be in tens of billions.
For the grandkids, you know.
Ritter will also have health insurance for everyone by 2010. Medicaid, apparently, doesn’t count.
He’s also going change all the cars in Colorado’s fleet to hybrid vehicles.
On education, Ritter took a different approach. Big promises? You bet. But he framed it as a 10-year plan. Genius. Really, who’s going to remember anything 10 years from now?
Even if we do, it won’t matter, because we’ll either be overtaxed, broke or both.
David Harsanyi’s column appears Monday and Thursday.
He can be reached at 303-954-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.
