BackboneAmerica

While the Colorado losses by Schaffer and McCain are disappointing, we fared better on a number of statewide ballot issues.

Amendments 47 and 49 went down to defeat at the hands of union-extorted money.

But Amendment 54 squeaked by 52-48, and it may well be
the most efficacious of the three, limiting certain campaign
contributions from unions and vendors of sole-sourch serivces to the
government.

Amendment 59, which would have gutted TABOR, failed by a
comfortable margin. Outgoing Speaker Romanoff completely sold out to
this effort, but the artificially-induced budget squeeze will have to
be resolved some other way.

Amendment 58, which would have hiked energy taxes going into a
recession, likewise suffered the ignominious defeat it deseves.

Referendum O, which would have severely limited the ability of citizens
to act as a check on their own legislature’s excesses, went down
to defeat as well.

And finally, Amendment 46, which would eliminate all racial and gender preferences by state actors, is failing very narrowly with most of the vote counted. That may still change with final returns.

Editor: Meanwhile in Nebraska, an identical civil rights initiative passed yesterday by 58-42%, sustaining some momentum for Ward Connerly’s heroic national effort to achieve color-blind law. And Californians passed their Proposition 8, affirming marriage between one man and one woman in contravention of the recent state supreme court mandate for same-sex marriage.