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I have to take issue with The Daily Sentinel’s defense of Amendment 49. I take offense to the idea that special interests who are pouring money into Colorado to push their deceptively written, narrow ideological interests on voters somehow know what’s best for Colorado’s law enforcement officials, educators, and firefighters.
The Daily Sentinel offensively calls the arguments opposing amendment 49 “laughable.” Firefighters, police officers, teachers, and nurses have legitimate concerns about what this amendment and the other issues targeting working families will do. If they say Amendments 47, 49, and 54 will make their jobs harder by making it much more difficult (yes, much more difficult, not “marginally difficult”) to come together to advocate for things they need, we should take them at their word.
The truth is Amendments 47, 49, and 54 each limit the voices of these hard-working professionals and others like them, by interfering with the private employer-employee relationship in the workplace, taking away their choice on how they spend their hard-earned paychecks, and barring them from participating in the political process. Many business and labor leaders have come together to oppose these measures, leaving only a few narrow special interests in favor of them. I urge all Coloradans to stand with our business, labor, and community leaders in opposition to these deceptive amendments.
TOM GAHAGAN
Grand Junction
One Response to “Amendment 49 is deceptive”
Posted September 26th, 2008 at 2:20 pm Login to Send PM Report this comment
1. “Many business and labor leaders have come together to oppose these measures, leaving only a few narrow special interests in favor of them.”
This certainly isn’t true about Amendment 49 (http://www.ethicalstandardsnow.org/amendment-49-endorsements/). Groups supporting 49 include: Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Association of Builders and Contractors, Colorado Contractors Association, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Health Care Association, Colorado Home Builders Association, Colorado Realtors Association Issue Committee, and National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), to name a few. Many major newspapers, elected officials, and community leaders also support Amendment 49.
2. “If they say Amendments 47, 49, and 54 will make their jobs harder by making it much more difficult (yes, much more difficult, not “marginally difficult”) to come together to advocate for things they need, we should take them at their word.”
First of all, I haven’t seen a poll taken of police, fire, and education personnel to see where they all come down on Amendment 49. That I personally know some who support the measure doesn’t mean I should take them at their word any more than others should take this letter writer at his word. How about the fact that numerous local governments - including many of Colorado’s largest county governments - have already put the same policy in place at the local level? And how about the fact that there have been no reports from any of those agencies that they have found more difficulty getting the tools they need to do their jobs?
3. “I take offense to the idea that special interests who are pouring money into Colorado to push their deceptively written, narrow ideological interests on voters somehow know what’s best for Colorado’s law enforcement officials, educators, and firefighters.”
You’re going to have a hard time persuading people that stopping government from collecting funds for political special interest groups, an idea endorsed by numerous mainstream business and civic organizations for its ethics and fair play, represents “narrow ideological interests.” Amendment 49 creates a simple, ethical standard of good government that works to the advantage of the general public interest, which may frighten certain narrow special interests.
The group opposing Amendment 49 has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from out-of-state interests (just go and look up “Protect Colorado’s Future” on the campaign finance reports on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website). As pointed out before, Amendment 49 is a homegrown idea that has been tested at the local Colorado government level already.
Don’t buy the deception. Amendment 49 deserves our support.
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