Ten Things Conservatives Can Be Festive About in Commie Colorado

Before you celebrate, make sure to get my Christmas gift to you - an e-book detailing specific strategies on how we take Colorado back from the libs (without rage-quitting and moving to Texas). Get that HERE. 

Most of what we write here on the Scott Sheet winds up sounding negative. Why?

Because we’re conservatives in Commie Colo-RAD-oh, that’s why.

This is the state where the legislature wakes up every morning asking, “How can we regulate that guy’s life today?” The headlines are a steady diet of tax hikes, energy crackdowns, social experiments, and smug lectures delivered by people who’ve never balanced a checkbook or fixed anything more complex than a podcast mic.

So yeah – sometimes it feels like Christmas in Colorado is just another reminder that the spirit of 1776 took one look at Denver/Boulder and Ubered itself to Texas.

But here’s the inconvenient truth the professional doom-merchants like me don’t like to admit: even in deep-blue, self-satisfied, government-knows-best Colorado, 2025 wasn’t a total wipeout.

In fact, if you dig past the press releases and the activist noise, you’ll find something unexpected:

Actual wins. Real guardrails. Moments where the Constitution cleared its throat and said, “Excuse me, I’m still here.”

So in the spirit of Christmas – and because spite-joy is still joy – I went digging. And I found ten things conservatives in Colorado can legitimately be festive about this year.

Yes. Ten.
No, I haven’t been drinking. Yet.

Let’s hang some lights on this year.

1. TABOR Still Has Teeth (And Lakewood Got Bit)

Let’s start with the most beautiful acronym in Colorado language: TABOR. Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Libs hate it. I swoon like a teenage girl at a boy band concert.

Lakewood decided it would be cute to “modernize” a 1969 phone tax by quietly expanding it to cover cell phones – without asking voters. Just a little tweak. A little bureaucratic sleight of hand. Nothing to see here, sucker, er, citizen. (Colorado Politics)

The Colorado Supreme Court took one look at that and said, in legalese:

Absolutely not. Sit down.

They ruled the move unconstitutional and voided the ordinances. Translation: you don’t get to expand a tax to new people without a vote. Period. End of story. Read the Constitution next time.

Why this belongs on the nice list:
In a state that treats TABOR like a decorative inconvenience, the courts reminded everyone it’s still binding law. Government still has to ask before grabbing more of your money.

That’s the kind of ruling that makes a taxpayer sip eggnog and whisper, “God bless the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.”

Now, can we add FEES to TABOR, please?

2. The Great Gas-Stove Freakout Hit a Wall

Next up: a small victory for people who cook food without apologizing for it.

The legislature passed a law forcing retailers to slap warning labels on gas stoves – labels that read less like neutral information and more like a state-approved sermon about how your kitchen is basically a death trap. (Colorado Politics)

A federal judge in Denver shut it down, ruling that the labels crossed into compelled ideological speech, not consumer protection.

In other words: the government doesn’t get to turn your stove into a billboard for climate anxiety.

Why this is worth celebrating:
• The First Amendment still exists
• Fear-based junk science doesn’t automatically win
• You can sauté without a moral scolding

I’ll keep my gas stove. They can keep their sanctimony.

3. NEPA Got Put Back in Its Lane – and the Train Moved Forward

This one came wrapped in crude oil and common sense.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that federal agencies don’t have to analyze every speculative downstream effect of projects they don’t control under NEPA. That cleared the path for the Uinta Basin Railway, allowing energy to actually move. (Axios)

For years, activists tried to weaponize NEPA into a permanent veto for infrastructure they dislike. The Court responded with a polite but firm:

“That’s not how this works.”

Why conservatives should smile:
• Infrastructure can move again
• NEPA is an environmental review law – not a kill switch
• Energy reality beat activist fantasy

If America’s going to function, energy has to move. For once, the train didn’t get buried under lawsuits. (And why doesn’t the choo-choo Polis lusts for encounter the same roadblocks?!)

4. Weld County Still Governs Like Adults

Let me brag on Weld County for a minute – because someone has to remind the rest of the state what competence looks like.

While Denver plays regulatory whack-a-mole, Weld spent 2025 doing something revolutionary: making rules clearer, predictable, and workable. (Weld County)

We streamlined oil and gas regulations without gutting protections. We improved processes. We worked with Severance so they could use Weld’s proven system without extra cost.

No drama. No ideology. Just governance.

Why this matters:
• Energy workers aren’t treated like villains
• Communities can still develop responsibly
• Bureaucracy doesn’t automatically win

5. The Ballot Box Is Fighting Back

When the legislature refuses to listen, Colorado voters still have a weapon: the initiative process.

And in 2025, citizens started loading the 2026 ballot with common-sense corrections:

• #85 – Penalties for Fentanyl Crimes: already on the 2026 ballot, with signatures deemed sufficient. A law-and-order response to a very real crisis. (Colorado Secretary of State)
• #95 – Law Enforcement Reporting Requirements to Federal Authorities: a constitutional amendment requiring law enforcement to notify DHS when someone with a prior felony or a violent-crime charge may be unlawfully present in the U.S. (Colorado Secretary of State)
• #108 – Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor: tougher consequences for some of the worst crimes imaginable; approved for circulation. (Colorado Secretary of State)
• #109 – Male and Female Participation in School Sports: requires K-12 and colleges to base sports participation on biological sex, with protections for girls’ teams and an exception for girls playing on boys’ teams if no girls’ team exists. Titles set; rehearing attempt denied. (Colorado Secretary of State)
• #110 – Prohibit Certain Surgeries on Minors: approved for circulation; focuses on limiting certain irreversible procedures on kids. (Colorado Secretary of State)
• #175 – State Revenue Supporting Road Transportation: another approved-for-circulation measure aimed at prioritizing actual transportation spending. (Colorado Secretary of State)

Agree with every comma or not, the message is clear:

The people are done waiting for permission.

That’s the system working the way it was meant to.

6. Progressive Income Tax Shenanigans Got Smacked Down

The tax crowd tried to sneak in a progressive income tax hike north of 9%, mess with TABOR caps, and tweak refunds – all in one ballot question. (The Sum and Substance)

The Title Board eventually said what everyone was thinking:

“That’s multiple subjects. Try again.”

That’s not bureaucracy – that’s constitutional enforcement.

Why this is a win:
• TABOR rules still apply
• Voters don’t get tricked into swallowing three pills at once
• High-tax fantasies hit a wall

One question. One subject. Sorry, Santa.

7. Voters Finally Admit the System Is Broken

Polls showed nearly three out of four Colorado voters now believe American politics are in crisis. (Axios)

That’s depressing – but also hopeful. Because now, maybe they’ll pay actual attention.

Because once people admit the system is broken, they stop defending it out of habit.

Denial is ending. Reality is creeping in. And that’s how change actually starts.

8. A Race Hoax Met Consequences, Not Applause

In a rare moment of accountability, a staged cross-burning tied to a political narrative didn’t get rewarded with headlines – it got prosecuted. (AP News)

A federal jury convicted the people responsible for fabricating the threat and spreading it online.

Why this matters:
• Fake hate doesn’t get a free pass
• Truth beat theater
• Political stunts aren’t immune forever

If your cause needs lies, it’s not strong – it’s hollow.

9. Gun-Control Overreach Didn’t Get Everything It Wanted

The legislature took a massive swing at your 2A right, and largely connected, but they also wanted a sweeping semiautomatic crackdown. (Colorado Politics)

They didn’t get it.

After pushback from citizens, law enforcement, and reality itself, the final version was watered down – and immediately challenged in court (and I believe it will ultimately be found unconstitutional).

Why this belongs on the list (in spite of SB25-003):
• Worst-case scenario avoided
• Courts – not vibes – will decide
• The Second Amendment isn’t optional

No miracle. But no catastrophe either.

10. Joy Is Still an Act of Defiance

Yes, the year was heavy. Yes, the legislature was exhausting. Yes, the nonsense was relentless.

But here’s what all ten of these moments prove:

• The Constitution still slows bad ideas
• TABOR still protects your wallet
• Courts still matter
• Voters still have power
• Competence still exists
• Truth still outranks narrative – eventually

Christmas is about light showing up in the darkness – not pretending the darkness wasn’t real.

That’s Colorado right now.

Not saved. Not lost. Still fighting.

So this Christmas, I’m choosing stubborn joy – not because everything’s fine, but because the foundation hasn’t collapsed, and the fight isn’t over. And Jesus Christ is still my King!

Merry Christmas, Commie Colorado.
You’re not redeemed yet – but you’re still in the game.