Bill Ritter and The World's Oldest Profession

More than a year ago, we wrote a blog entry that might have been called "A Ho House on Every Block." Not coincidentally, it was about a Bill Ritter campaign promise to build shooting ranges around the state that we knew he wouldn't keep. He didn't keep it but it got him votes, and that is what politics is all about, right? Big Blue Lie Machine.

The thing that amazed us at the time was that we had spoken to two Republicans who lived ten miles apart, both of whom would be voting for Ritter. Their reasons: One was certain that Ritter would bring gun control to Colorado and the other thought Ritter would protect hunter's rights. In 2006, Bill Ritter was all things to all people. Big Blue Lie Machine.

We were reminded of that essay and that theme when Bill Ritter said the following about TABOR:

Most, however, agree that if voters want the state to make health care and higher education more affordable or maintain and improve roads, the state as a whole needs to start untangling the constitution's fiscal knot.

Ritter views TABOR as the tightest part of that knot. He wants to maintain what he calls the "virtuous" part of TABOR, that requires a public vote on any tax increase or change in tax policy.

Isn't Bill Ritter in effect saying "If you look hard enough, you can find some virtue even in a Ho?" Can't you hear him saying "But my wife wants this Ho run out of town!"