Ok, Colorado voters went for the Biden-Harris ticket by nearly 3 to 2, confirming we have indeed become a "blue state". But for confirmation just look at most state down ballot issues and you will likely find further evidence of a powerful progressive trend - and by significant margins (except for one, the introduction of gray wolves). Let's look at some of the encouraging results, and readers can refer to the list from this earlier blog post after we received out mail ballots:
Regarding Proposition 113, on whether Colorado citizens were in favor of joining the he National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, the vote was 52.1% for and 47.9 % against. The compact is such that once enough states sign on to it, then the antiquated Electoral College becomes a political relic. See my previous post on it:
All the Electoral College has done is kept minority rule going in 7 of 8 past presidential elections and undermined the popular will of the majority. In the case of 2016 it was responsible for the demagogue Trump sneaking in - on the basis of 77,000 votes in three key swing states- and then taking a blowtorch to our constitution after arriving at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Indeed, the Electoral College isn't even working properly as it was originally supposed to keep demagogues out. See e.g.
Regarding the current election, all the Electoral College has done is kept the high pitched drama going - including the flurry of bogus Trump lawsuits- when it could have been halted much sooner on the basis of the popular vote received by Biden (approaching more than 5% higher than Trump's)
Regarding Proposition 118 for paid family and medical leave, the passing margin was 57.3% to 42.7 %. Colorado thereby became the ninth state to approve such a law which, of course, has many businesses grumbling. Never mind. This will create a state-run paid family and medical leave insurance program for Colorado workers, giving employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave annually — a weekly maximum of $1,100 in the first year — to be with a newborn or to care for themselves or a family member who is seriously ill, while simultaneously safeguarding their jobs. Proponents say such an arrangement has payoffs that can’t be measured merely in dollars. Women and children benefit in particular, they say, as many mothers prematurely stop breast-feeding their babies because they have to return to work. The program would split the cost of the premium to fund the coverage evenly between the worker and the employer. According to numbers from the state’s Legislative Council, an employee earning $52,000 a year would pay $234 in premiums per year, as would that worker’s employer.
Regarding Proposition 115, the proposal to ban late term abortions, Coloradans sunk it by 58.8 % to 41.2%. In other words 3 out of 5 of us voted against this law. Had it passed, and this is about the fourth time the fanatics have attempted something like it (usually under the guise of "Personhood Amendments") we'd have been going down a dark path resembling what Margaret Attwood portrayed in The Handmaid' Tale
Proposition 114 barely passed, by 50.4% to 49.6%. This will now allow the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Dept to develop a plan and reintroduce an undetermined number of gray wolves, enough to ensure wolf survival, by the end of 2023 on former habitat in the state west of the Continental Divide
Amendment B: Repeal of the Gallagher Amendment of 1982 Coloradans from across the political and geographic spectrum came together to deliver the most significant fiscal policy change to our constitution in at least a generation. Amendment B’s passage (by 57.4% to 42.6%) is not solely a victory for liberals, conservatives, big cities and small towns it was a win for Colorado The last attempt to repeal Gallagher in 2003 resulted in a decisive, 78%-22% defeat. Gallagher’s outdated and complicated formula for property taxes made its ouster even more difficult. Not only was it important for voters to understand how Gallagher worked, but also how it had stopped working in Colorado’s best interest.
At the core of Gallagher was a misbegotten emphasis on keeping residential property taxes exceptionally low compared with non-residential - which were getting hosed. Repeal of Gallagher has enabled more money now to support public services as well as schools.
Janice and I were gratified that only two of the down ballot measures we voted for didn't pass. One was Proposition 116 which would lower the state tax rate from 4.63% to 4.55 % which we didn't want. We reasoned the higher state tax rate was justified and would take pressure off always going to property taxes, i.e. for new schools and road construction etc. We also lost on Amendment 77, which expanded gaming in certain Colorado towns. I wasn't too upset about that given I already kind of felt (as I noted in the uppermost link) that these citizens really ought to determine their own towns' fates regarding gambling.
Our one major beef? The election of Lauren Boebert, a bellicose, Glock-wearing, Reeptard firebrand and Joni Ernst clone, who's vowed to take on "the Squad" guns and all. E.g.
The little imp, who grew up under Democratic parents in Denver - before her brain went haywire - won the race for Colorado’s Third Congressional District. (Ok, it is made up mainly of rural yahoos who like to bring their weapons into 'Shooter's Grill' - Boebert's dining place in Rifle.)
Well, you can't win 'em all!
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