There’s a special kind of chaos at the state Capitol right now – and it ain’t because the Wi-Fi is down. According to The Denver Gazette, Colorado’s governor and lawmakers still don’t have a clue what the hell they’re doing to close an $800 million budget shortfall caused, allegedly, by changes in federal tax policy under President Trump’s HR-1. And I say “allegedly” because that’s the scapegoat du jour for Democrats who still refuse to admit the real issue is their addiction to spending like a teenager with their parents’ credit card.
Governor Polis has called a special session (beginning August 21) to address the budget mess, but the only thing that seems clear is how unclear everything else is. Each legislator will be allowed to introduce one bill during this session. There are 100 of them. Do they really expect 100 separate bills to pass? Or even make it out of committee? Spoiler alert: they won’t.
Meanwhile, no one knows which legislator will carry “the Governor’s package.” (Yes, stop laughing, we’re professionals here.) The big question remains: Will this be about fiscal responsibility or another campaign-ad production paid for by your tax dollars?
The Bullet Point Brief
- $800M budget hole, no clear plan: Democrats still haven’t figured out how to patch a deficit they helped create, and are now blaming Trump to cover their tracks.
- Polis calls a special session: Each of the 100 legislators gets one bill. That’s 100 bills, because what this budget crisis needs is more paperwork.
- Finger-pointing begins: The narrative forming? Trump’s HR-1 did this. Reality? Colorado’s spending problem was here long before HR-1 even had a number.
- “Governor’s package” TBD: No one knows who’s carrying Polis’ legislative priorities yet, which just shows how scrambled the Capitol really is.
- Theatrics over substance: With no defined strategy and everyone pointing fingers, the Capitol is starting to look more like a cable access soap opera.
My Bottom Line
As predicted right here in The Scott Sheet, the curtain has risen on “The Special Session Show.” The set is the gold dome. The script? Still being written. The plot? Blame Trump for Colorado’s structural budget problems that have nothing to do with Trump and everything to do with years of reckless, virtue-signaling spending.
Let’s get real: Colorado doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem. And until Democrats stop using Medicaid as a billboard for their progressive bona fides and start trimming the fat, no, not public safety or infrastructure, but the ideological pork, they’re just performing for the cameras.
You heard it here first: when the cuts come, they won’t be from DEI consultants or bloated climate commissions. Nope, they’ll slice road maintenance and public safety to create maximum pain. Why? So you’ll blame Trump, vote blue, and maybe, just maybe, soften on the idea of gutting TABOR, the one constitutional speed bump standing between you and a full-on tax-and-spend highway to hell.
So grab your popcorn. The show must go on.
