One of the very few people in politics that I can admire is Doug Bruce, the Colorado Springs activist who wrote the TABOR Amendment mentioned below. It's an amendment to the state constitution prohibiting government spending from expanding beyond the combined rates of inflation and population growth. It's not a terribly radical thing, but it's one of the only laws in the nation that explicitly limits the growth of government.
As I've mentioned before, big government types hate it. Most Democrats, to be sure, but it turns out a surprising number of Republicans do, too.
Enough Republicans, in fact, that his effort to run for a legislative seat a few years ago was thwarted in the primary. Not many Republicans of such prominence would lose in a primary, but party leaders just don't want him around.
This year Bruce is aiming for a more modest goal, a county commissioner's seat. Reader Jason sent me a link to this Rocky article, GOP Effort: Stop Bruce.
COLORADO SPRINGS - Douglas Bruce, the anti-tax activist who has battled government from the outside, is poised to take in on from the inside.
But in an unusual development, his fellow Republicans have launched a last-ditch effort to keep Bruce on the audience side of county commission meetings come January.
...
He wants to sell off the county's rodeo arena and the Performing Arts Center, reduce the salaries of county administrators, and end financial subsidies to the county fair and the senior citizens' center.
"I don't think it's the job of government to entertain old people, young people, horse owners or concert goers. That's not what the government's about. My two priorities are law enforcement and roads," said Bruce.
See why I like him?
But Bruce's unending quest for less government is viewed as too extreme even for El Paso County's conservative mainstream Republicans, and they're trying to stop Bruce's ascendance to elected office.
Rocky writer Dick Foster fails to mention names of any of these Republicans except the one running a write-in campaign against Bruce, one Robert Null. I think local small government advocates deserve to know.
And they should remember their names for a long, long time.
Elected officials "all through Colorado are upset about Doug Bruce and the effects of his tax-limitation policies on government at all levels," (Colorado College Poli Sci Prof Robert) Loevy said.
Elected office attracts a certain sort of individual, and Doug Bruce doesn't fit in with them. Best of luck to him.
I find myself agreeing with Andrew Sullivan, who says that the Republicans are no longer a small-government party. The big two parties are the party of Big Solvent Government (the Dems) and Big Insolvent Government (the GOP).
Now I don't have a problem with Big Solvent Government, but those who do no longer have a home in the Republican Party.
Posted by: Colorado Luis at September 7, 2004 08:41 AMThe republicans don't understand why Libertarians are always running against them, well here we have a republican we could support and the republicans are trying to stop him. The best thing out of this is it shows how hypocritical most "smaller government" republicans are. They are not smaller government, they are for big government right now we have (at the state house) a republican legislater and govenor, so how many programs have been eliminated? Same thing on the national level? Republicans have become a joke, the only problem is the the real joke is on all of those fools who still believe in the rhetoric.
Posted by: severin at September 9, 2004 08:52 AMDoug Bruce is a political liability for any party. He's an ultra-reactionary slumlord with a penchant for combative, devisive, dogmatic, anti-intellectual tirades. His selfishness does not lend itself to public service, indeed, one gets the impression that the only reason he's interested in public office is so that he personally can somehow save a few more bucks on his taxes. It's very difficult to image a more cruel, repugnant man.
Posted by: dan at September 11, 2004 07:52 PMHis political opponents have labeled him as a slumlord, and I read that accusation as pure political mudslinging. He's spent an enormous amount of his own time and money on his anti-tax crusades, far more than he'll ever save. He's ideologically driven, and you may disagree with that ideology, but to call him selfish is to duck the debate.
Posted by: Walter at September 11, 2004 09:03 PMI remember I was at the 1994 Republican convention. I saw Douglas Bruce arguing with some Republicans in the hallway. I don't remember what the argument was about, I think it was something about his attorney license being suspended.
Anyway, I told some of the other delegates that I was with about it. They looked at me and said "He's a hasbeen"
I'm gald to see he's still around bucking the system. Go Douglas Bruce!!!!!
Posted by: Jeffery at September 13, 2004 11:42 PM