February 19, 2009 08:44 PM UTC

"Has-Beens, Losers" - GOP Unity Fracturing?

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• by: Colorado Pols

Fresh on the heels of reports that GOP Senators are resisting their heavy-handed leadership similarly, the Rocky Mountain News reports:

A prominent GOP lawmaker has gone rogue and will attempt to do away with a decades-old spending limit without any support from his party, the top House Republican said Wednesday.

Rep. Don Marostica shot back, however, that legislative leaders are being influenced by “has-beens” and “losers” within the party and that he is going ahead with his efforts.

Marostica, R-Loveland, will introduce a measure today to remove the 6 percent general-fund spending limit, known as Arveschoug-Bird, that has been in place since 1991. He will sponsor it with Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs.

The law was passed to restrain government growth in boom years, but critics say that when the budget shrinks during recessions, Arveschoug-Bird ensures departments like higher education and human services can never recover. Some legal opinions say it can be repealed by statute, but others say it can only be changed by a vote of the people…

Marostica acknowledged that he might not get support from another legislative Republican but said he’s going to move ahead with the bill. He questioned why May was taking advice from people like Caldara and Hillman.

“They’re has-beens. They’re losers,” Marostica said. [Pols emphasis]

Ouch. That’s not going to please Mike May, to say nothing of how Mark Hillman or Jon Caldara will react. But the rest of you, that is Republicans who might actually prefer to be seen collectively as something more than the simpleton “Party of No,” should find this an encouraging moment.

And kudos to Rep. Marostica for actually trying to do his part to help the State of Colorado during this fiscal crisis. At least somebody on the Republican side of the aisle is actually interested in finding solutions. That he would be criticized for that tells you all you need to know about Master Penry and his band of Republican “no” men.