Regaining control of the State House is a priority for Republicans, according to the Rocky Mountain News [January 9, 2006, "GOP aims to regain House"]. From the article, "But Republicans believe they have regained the edge because they aren't faced with the dynamics that undid them in 2004: A controversial presidential race turned out unlikely Democratic and left-leaning independent voters, diluting the GOP registration advantage; Weak candidates and GOP gaffes gave victories to Democrats in seats traditionally held by Republicans; The budget crisis is over for now, with the passage in November of Referendum C. Democrats had successfully hammered the message that Republicans failed to deal with catastrophic budget cuts; Four wealthy Democrats helped fund attack ads against Republicans, who were caught napping when it came to fundraising."
Here's a story from today's Denver Post about a petition drive for a state constitutional amendment to limit governments from taking private property [January 9, 2006, "Petition targets eminent domain"]. From the article, "Colorado Citizens for Property Rights aims to collect 100,000 signatures by June 4 to get the issue on the November ballot. On the stock show's first day, 600 voters signed the petition...[Marsha] Looper said the proposal would block 'land grabs' for private uses, such as 'big box' retail developments or toll roads. The proposed amendment would allow acquisition of property by eminent domain if the property is occupied by a public entity or a public utility such as a highway or school. The initiative would go against last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded eminent domain for economic development, Looper said. The court ruling said states could enact stricter property rights laws."
Jim Spencer weighs in on the proposed constitutional amendment limiting late term abortions in his column in today's Denver Post [January 9, 2006, "Proposal's flawed premise: a problem"]. He writes, "To read the newly proposed state initiative banning late-term abortions, you'd think there was an epidemic of evil in Colorado. You'd think heartless, money-grubbing doctors were killing healthy babies by digging them out of greedy, self-absorbed women. Why else would voters be asked to make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion on a 'viable fetus'? You don't revise the law unless there's a serious, persistent crisis that you can't address any other way. So as holier-than-you abortion foes tell voters they must turn physicians into criminals and take away women's control over their bodies, look for the problem. There is no epidemic of late-term abortions here. In 2002, doctors performed 7,757 legal abortions in Colorado, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just 184 of those involved women who were more than 20 weeks pregnant. No evidence exists that the few late-term abortions that took place were matters of convenience."
Colorado Luis: "Why not a pro-choice initiative?"
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
5:55:50 AM 
|
|
