Colorado Is Not China: Taking On Caldara & the GOP On Worker Rights
11/9/2007 - 7:16am
Last night, PBS aired the debate I had with Independence Institute president Jon Caldara and Republican House Whip Cory Gardner over Gov. Bill Ritter's (D-CO) modest move last week to allow workers to join state-recognized employee partnership associations. You can watch it here. It was a two-on-one affair, of course, so the deck was stacked against me from the beginning, but I think I held my own. What do you think?
One note - when I say that I support the legislature taking up the issue, I meant not that I think Ritter should not have done what he did via executive order, but that I support the legislature moving forward with solidifying the executive order with a statute, so that a future governor cannot rescind these basic rights for workers. Right-wing governors in some states have rescinded basic rights for workers via executive order before - and that's something we should want to prevent here in Colorado.
For some basic facts on Ritter's move and what other states have done on this issue, check out this fact sheet from the folks at the Progressive States Network (whose board I am a member of).
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Caldra's conservative two step.
Good work David. The stacked deck was scattered in Caldara's lap within minutes of the opening. The two on one attack became the desperation conservative 'two step' as Caldara and Gardner sniveled over the 'increased cost of government' and 'last minute sneak previews without consulting the legislature or the citizens' argument. They cannot quite understand the concept of executive order or the fact that this could be a boost to state employee moral or government efficiency. They will no doubt beat this dead horse to the dying end. In the meantime, carry on Governor and keep up the great work David.