The Colorado Sun published a voter guide comparing Democratic congressional candidates Manny Rutinel and Shannon Bird in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District primary. The article walks through where both candidates stand on healthcare, immigration, and other policy issues ahead of the June 30 primary. Both candidates generally support expanding government involvement in healthcare, including exploring a public option and expanding federal healthcare programs.
Now, if you are a Democrat trying to decide which Democrat best represents Democratic priorities, this guide probably serves a purpose. But for many readers of The Scott Sheet, the bigger question is simpler: why would we want to send either one of them to Washington?
The Bullet Point Brief
- Manny Rutinel and Shannon Bird are competing for the Democratic nomination in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. The winner will face Congressman Gabe Evans in November.
- Both candidates support restoring Affordable Care Act subsidies and expanding government healthcare options. Different packaging. Similar destination.
- The Sun presents this as a helpful policy comparison. Fair enough. Voters should understand where candidates stand before casting a ballot.
- What the guide really highlights is how little daylight exists between many Democratic candidates on the major issues that have driven Colorado’s political direction for years.
- Elections matter because policies have consequences. Colorado is living with many of those consequences right now.
My Bottom Line
They’re Democrats.
And increasingly, that alone tells you quite a bit about where they are likely to take Colorado and the country.
Look around.
Housing affordability is a disaster. Energy policy is increasingly driven by mandates and political fashion. Public confidence in government continues to erode. Businesses are questioning whether Colorado remains competitive. Infrastructure gets neglected while bureaucracies grow. Yet somehow the answer from the political class is almost always more government, more spending, more regulation, and more central planning.
Different names. Same playbook.
Now, to be fair, this is not really a criticism of The Colorado Sun’s guide. Voter guides are useful. Citizens should absolutely understand where candidates stand before voting. The problem is that when you read through these issue positions, you begin to realize how much of Colorado’s governing class is operating from the same set of assumptions that helped get us where we are today.
More programs.
More subsidies.
More federal involvement.
More bureaucracy.
More promises.
Less discussion about whether the existing system is actually working.
Colorado voters in the 8th District have a meaningful choice this November. But before they get there, Democrats will decide which version of Democratic governance they want representing them in Washington.
For my part, I look at the direction Colorado has traveled over the last decade and find myself asking a pretty simple question:
If this is the philosophy that helped create many of the problems we are dealing with today, why would we send another representative of that philosophy to Congress? Re-elect Representative Gabe Evans in November. He has my admiration and my complete support.
Source: The Colorado Sun
Share your thoughts...