Former New York Gov. George Pataki, by most accounts a moderate, sensible fellow, seems an unlikely leader of a torch and pitchfork movement to repeal “Obamacare.” But he’s now criss-crossing the country with a group called Revere America, as in Paul Revere.
But the British, so to speak, already arrived in March when the House passed health care reform. Still, Pataki wants to get 1 million Americans, including candidates for office, to sign a petition urging the repeal and replacement of health care reform. He breezily ran down a list of ways to make health care reform better when he stopped to visit us last week, but the notion of repealing the law is a pipe dream.
His plan is likely more geared toward getting candidates on the record regarding health care and to force a debate on possible changes. We think the reform package was severely flawed and hope this movement, if anything, puts forth some plausible and helpful changes to at least bring down costs.
A wise veto. We applaud Gov. Bill Ritter for acting swiftly in vetoing House Bill 1364, the misguided sex-offender bill. As former Denver district attorney, Ritter knows it’s improper to make such substantive changes to sex offender treatment without a full airing of the bill in the legislature. One of the key changes was slipped in on the last day of the session. We plan to comment further on his veto next week, but we’re glad he made this bold move.
Movies in the park? Not City Park. We gave two thumbs up to the idea of showing movies this summer in Civic Center. But the plug was pulled on that idea and now OpenAir, the group showing the films, wants to set up camp next summer in City Park. Neighborhood groups think it’s a bad idea, and we agree. The point of showing flicks in Civic Center was to get more people into the park and bring the heart of downtown Denver alive on summer nights. City Park already has many uses and users, and doesn’t need another commercial venture to pack the park.
And a tip of our caps to . . . the 73 graduates of Bruce Randolph School and their many wonderful, dedicated teachers. The school has made an amazing turnaround in just a few years and its 97 percent graduation rate shows that smart reforms work.
Short Takes is compiled by Denver Post editorial writers and expresses the view of the newspaper’s editorial board.
