Today's Opinions

By Hannah Hayes

So much vitriol has been directed at Michael Jackson and probably too much adoration. His bizarre behavior has been subjected to intense scrutiny. Typically, a celebrity must fit a certain mold; not being a pedophile is certainly essential, and being too odd puts you dangerously outside the mainstream.

I recently spoke to a political pollster, who told me he is seeing strong evidence that Americans (and Coloradans in particular) are increasingly frustrated with their government’s culture of reckless spending, both at the state and federal levels. This is not a partisan issue, he said, since significant numbers of Republicans, Democrats and independents all share this concern to one degree or another.

Score one for common sense. When Colorado voters approved Amendment 54 last fall, they tromped all over First Amendment political speech rights of thousands of their friends and neighbors. While on its face Amendment 54 addressed pay-to-play government contracting, it was so far-reaching and the limitations it imposed had so little nexus to specific contracts that it was too flawed to pass any reasonable constitutional muster. When Denver District Judge Catherine Lemon blocked its implementation, she said, “It’s just not a close case.”