Sit back, Aurora, and console yourself as you watch the bullies in Colorado eat your lunch.
That’s essentially what’s happening after Gov. John Hickenlooper “reached out” to rural county officials in light of their foolhardy votes to secede from the State of Colorado.
Hickenlooper’s attempt at political diplomacy was a disappointment and nothing more than a shortsighted maneuver to try and save his bumpy campaign for a second term.
Grumpy rural county officials said they have had no choice but to secede from Colorado after state lawmakers imposed egregious gun laws, granted civil rights to gay residents and forced rural electric companies to come slightly closer to green-energy regulations that metropolitan companies must work with.
Their story stunk worse than some of the feedlots that dot the area.
In response to the horrific mass murder here in Aurora and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, lawmakers created two Colorado measures in hopes of preventing further gun violence. The first measure, which polls show that a huge majority of residents from all over the state support, ensures only that all residents who buy guns in Colorado undergo background checks, instead of just some residents. The other measure limits the size of new ammunition cartridges to 15 rounds. If you already own a bigger one, keep it. Few, if any, rural Colorado residents need, own or want gun and rifle cartridges that allow someone to fire more than 15 rounds almost instantly without reloading.
And some northeast Colorado residents say they want their own state rather than recognize the civil rights of gay residents that even the U.S. military now accepts? It’s shameless bigotry on par with Old Dixie that should never be condoned, yet alone accommodated.
As to new green-energy requirements, one of the state’s few attempts to recognize and stem global warming, which threatens the livelihood of every Colorado farmer and rancher, the result could be a rate hike that is no better nor worse than rate hikes local power companies impose all the time. And without a doubt, the possible, potential rate hikes are nothing compared to the whopping tax hike each and every rural northeast Colorado resident would be forced to pay if the area were to secede from Colorado.
The vote of secession was nothing more than a temper tantrum, not unlike the ones that occurred in Pueblo and Colorado Springs, where Republicans managed to oust two Democratic state lawmakers over their support of the new Colorado gun regulations.
The tactics were nothing short of attempts to cow and bully state lawmakers into backing off what they set out to do. This isn’t an exercise in democracy, and it certainly isn’t good government. It’s a dangerous attempt by sore losers to change the outcome of legitimate elections by gaming the system. It’s the same thing that’s led to frightening loss of democracy and civil rights in Texas, and the total end of functioning a government in the U.S. House of Representatives.
And instead of calling these bullies on the carpet for their failed attempt to blackmail state lawmakers, Hickenlooper said that he and other state officials have done a poor job of hearing their concerns. Nothing could be further from the truth. State lawmakers heard rural Colorado say they want better schools, even at the expense of urban residents. They heard rural Colorado say they want cheaper fuels, even at the expense of urban residents. They heard rural Colorado say they want endless exemptions to state environmental laws, and money for for-profit farms and ranches, and crop protection and plenty more.
No apology is needed, and it only encourages more undemocratic, uncooperative, unhealthy behavior from a small group of radicals who will stop at nothing to wrestle away control of Colorado from anyone who doesn’t do their bidding — Democrat or Republican. And by pretending to offer peace to these radicals causes real Colorado, including Aurora, to suffer.
The benefit of living in a free country is the right to frees peach. Rural citizens have as much right to say and do what they feel is right as the idiot who wrote this opinion.
So the paper of the community that is the king of buy and dries wants
rural Colorado to shut up so they can continue to grab water.
“The vote of secession was nothing more than a temper tantrum…”
Hmmm…you mean a temper tantrum like calling for a boycott of Denver?
https://www.aurorasentinel.com/opinion/editorial-stop-downtown-denver-blackmailers-boycott-greedy-downtown-hotels/
It is no wonder why our print news media has died with uninformed,
divisive editorials like this one. Does the editorial board not require
those writing articles in their names to possess any sort of cognitive
thinking?
DEMOCRATS ARE THE ONES DESTROYING THE COUNTRY.
You put it in caps, so it must be true. Eight years of Dubya, two unfunded wars and billions of tax cuts to the rich had NUTHIN to do with our current state of affairs?
Ignorance, bigotry, greed and apathy are destrying our country. Both sides have convinced themselves the other is to blame.
In fact, it was the comprimise and willingness to find miidle ground by both sides that made this country great.
Every since the GOP felt it was a anomole that Clinton won due to Perot, and started focusing on bring down their opponent rather than moving foward, we have be moving further and further from the ability to be civil.
Tom, you spew hate and a me first attitude. But I am sure if we were all just like you America would be great?!?!?!
Eight years of dubya? and what problems did that cause? two unfunded wars…everything that’s been done by government for the last 20yrs has been borrowed money and billions of tax cuts to the rich? like who and what misery did that cause (be specific) to you? and the gall to say that because republicans want to dismantle Obamacare and stop a dictator president that has violated the constitution and constantly blame republicans for everything “THEY” implemented without repud support…your living in fantasy land.
Eight years of Obama by the time he was done. Yeah, talk about Dubya all you want. He was better than Obama. So keep talking about him. Dubya wasn’t the one who passed Obamacare.
Edit: You accused Tom of “spewing hate and a me first attitude.” What??? Where was that???? He just said that Democrats suck, which is true. You could say Republicans suck if you want. (You did criticize the GOP.) You’d be wrong, but you wouldn’t be hateful; you’d just be wrong. LOL at your lack of logic.
What a bunch of blather this editorial makes. How can a newspaper say with certainty how many bullets a gun should hold? None of the laws that were passed would have prevented the tragedies that occurred, so why pass useless laws? Additionally, the Aurora Sentinel should act responsibly and not print stupid articles.
This article serves only one purpose: It proves the “Radicals” to be correct. You are correct that this isn’t an exercise in democracy. The problem with that statement is that this is a republic, not a democracy. Rights of the individuals are supposed to supersede the desires of the state. That has not been happening, that those in rural Colorado are pointing that out.
This article proves that the “urban elitism” that those counties were upset about is, in point-of-fact, quite prevalent.
Hick was right to reach out and try to mend fences.
And for what it’s worth, the “stink” of those feedlots is a lot more tolerable than the odor that this editorial emits.
The rural lawmakers apparently disagree with you about politics. You really want to keep them in Colorado. They don’t want to stay. We see who is more in need of the other.
The rural newspapers should write articles talking about how radical you are and why your politics are wrong since they equally disagree with you.