March 16, 2009 10:13 PM UTC

Whistling Past The "Party of No"

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the landmark decision this morning by the Colorado Supreme Court is digested, affirming the authority of the state government to take reasonable measures not in conflict with the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) to preserve state revenue, one thing is clear: a lot of GOP talking points just got ripped into bite-size pieces.

The AP previewed over the weekend the first likely impact of this decision–we’re done screwing around with Arveschoug-Bird.

Majority Democrats in the Colorado Senate are moving ahead with plans to change the state’s budget rules without Republican support.

Bipartisan talks aimed at reaching a compromise broke down last week. Senate leaders plan to take a vote on the original bill on Tuesday.

They originally planned to vote Monday but delayed that so they could meet with editorial boards to build support for the measure. They also want to review a new Supreme Court ruling on a property tax bill for possible guidance…

Guidance delivered. The court’s decision should provide the legal backing needed by the legislature to complete passage of Senate Bill 228 without further obstruction, and for Governor Ritter to sign it. It’s not really a secret that Ritter was waiting for this decision before giving any indication what he would do on Arveschoug-Bird: even his overcautious, pedantically-calculating staff should be able to see the way clear now. Signing this bill will reap far more positive benefits for Ritter in terms of mollifying his base than the few increasingly irrelevant has-beens stroking out with rage today can hurt him.