While Colorado families are wondering why groceries cost more than a Taylor Swift ticket, the state legislature just finished a six-day brawl over an $800 million budget hole. The Denver Gazette’s Thelma Grimes recaps the special session, where Democrats called it “necessary,” Republicans called it “political theatre,” and Gov. Jared Polis called it “Trump’s fault.” Apparently, that’s what passes for leadership these days.
The session ended with 11 new bills, a lot of finger-pointing, and precisely zero meaningful cuts. Instead, we got higher taxes, vague promises, and the governor grabbing even more budget power. To put it bluntly: this wasn’t a fix, it was a sideshow.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Democrats swore they “rolled up their sleeves” to fix the deficit, but apparently forgot to roll down the spending. Funny how that works.
- Republicans walked away muttering “political theatre,” which is generous. Most Broadway plays are shorter, cheaper, and have better acting.
- Polis and pals blamed Congress and the Trump years for the shortfall, ignoring the fact that Colorado’s deficit was already ballooning like a bad Botox job.
- The legislature raised taxes, rubber-stamped Polis’s authority to cut spending later, and called it progress. It’s like robbing you today and promising to maybe return some loose change next week.
- The only bipartisan agreement? Everyone agreed the session was “divisive.” Translation: no real solutions, but plenty of press releases.
My Bottom Line
The Scott Sheet called it from day one: this was always political theatre. Democrats were never going to cut spending – it was baked into Polis’s executive order before the curtain even rose. The whole script was prewritten: blame Trump, bash Republicans, slap on new taxes, and leave the governor holding the scissors over the budget.
And what about Coloradans? The great suburban normie just shrugs, hits Starbucks, and pretends their property tax bill didn’t grow a second mortgage. Folks, wake up. This isn’t about red vs. blue – it’s about whether you’re okay being played for an ATM while politicians rehearse their talking points. The “fiscal responsibility” act is a flop, but you’re still footing the ticket price.
