April 25, 2007 05:11 AM UTC

Winning Elections v. Doing what is right

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• by: WinstonSmith

There is a never ending debate about whether politicians make decisions based on what they think is right or whether it will help them in the next election. Often, it is hard to discern just who is motivated by what. Sometimes though, things become strikingly clear.

Take, for example, Today’s Rocky Mountain News Article: “Ritter, Dems walking political tightrope on school funding plan”. The article mentions three Senate Democrats who are going to be running in ’08 and are concerned that Gov. Ritter’s school funding measure could hurt them in their respective races. According to the article, “Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, of Coal Creek Canyon, is running for Congress in the 2nd District. Sens. Betty Boyd, of Lakewood, and Bob Bacon, of Fort Collins, both of whom live in tough swing districts, are up for re-election.”

So, who are the three Senators who have voiced the strongest concerns about the measure? The article says, “Fitz-Gerald and Sens. Ron Tupa, of Boulder, and Peter Groff, of Denver.” Tupa and Groff give an adequate (although debatable) reason for opposing the measure, namely “they are fundamentally opposed to the bill because it is, in effect, a property tax increase.”

That leaves Fitz-Gerald. Is she, like Tupa and Groff, fundamentally opposed to the bill? Or is she weighing the potential political ramifications for herself more heavily than her belief about what is right? It seems abundantly clear that the only reason she opposes this measure is for political reasons. But, since she doesn’t want to piss off either side, maybe she will just bury the measure so that she can personally avoid having a voting record on it.

Since Fitz-Gerald is the swing vote AND controls the Senate calender, she could effectively kill the school funding measure by either voting against it, or killing it in other ways. If it comes up for a vote, she almost has to vote in favor of it. Whatever the results, Fitz-Gerald is showing her true stripes by playing personal politics rather than doing what she thinks is best for Colorado.

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