Capital Review

On this Colorado Day, I remember the 1970s when our local radio station would open its morning show by playing The Colorado Song: “If I had a wagon, I would go to Colorado,” praising a state known for “Rocky Mountain peaks, climbing up to the sky” and inhabited by “folks who are rugged and bold!”

One verse describes what was quintessential Colorado: “A uniting spiring they will find at the great Continental Divide.”

It’s a fun song and I’ve taught it to my kids. But I get a little choked up because it describes a Colorado no longer exists.

The “rugged and bold” Colorado elected both liberal Democrat Governor Dick Lamm and conservative Republican U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong in 1978. Both received 58 percent of the vote, so nearly one of every six voters supported both Lamm and Armstrong, recognizing personal qualities regardless of political differences.

Don’t get me wrong: I don’t get choked up just because Republicans can no longer win statewide elections or legislative majorities. What I miss is the Colorado that truly was a live-and-let-live state.

I miss a Colorado in which persuading the political center was key to good governance. That’s when voters understood the common-sense center of both parties served as a ballast against the radical extremes.

I miss a Colorado in which people had the good grace and common decency to not impose hardships on ranchers hundreds of miles away by voting for an unconscionable plan for ravenous wolves to prey on ranchers’ calves and sheep.

I miss a Colorado in which we were grateful for the good jobs and reliable energy provided by our vibrant oil and gas industry. We celebrated clean energy like natural gas and appreciated the revenue it produced for our roads and schools.

I miss a Colorado where the legislature knew it had no right to put someone out of business with a simple vote. Most legislators understood if our businesses prospered, so did our state.

I remember a Colorado in which Boulder Democrats’ notion of freedom was almost libertarian, supporting gay rights, abortion, a clean environment and the Second Amendment.

To be sure, gays and lesbians surely didn’t think Colorado was tolerant when voters passed Amendment 2 in 1992. But later given the freedom to marry, it’s disheartening to watch many of their political leaders now try to restrict the freedom of others.

In that “uniting spirit” Colorado, lawmakers insisted that schools successfully teach reading, writing, math and science — not political doctrines like intersectionality, gender identity and climate activism.

I remember a Colorado where local school boards and legislators still firmly adhered to the constitutional principle of local control. Lawmakers knew that selecting school mascots was a decision best left to communities like Aurora, Lamar, Yuma, Saguache, Highlands Ranch, Cope, Montrose and Mosca.

I remember Denver when the worst part about walking from Pepsi Center (now Ball Arena) to the State Capitol after a Nuggets or Avs game was the long walk. Now, anyone braving that trek risks life and limb.

I remember a Colorado in which legislators behaved with dignity and treated each other – and nonpartisan staff — with respect.

I remember when you could park your car on a Denver street and assume it would be left alone.

I remember when Coloradans respected law enforcement and knew criminals belonged behind bars. Now we restrict law enforcement, threaten them with lawsuits, and prohibit them from apprehending criminal illegal aliens.

I miss a Colorado in which silly ideas like banning plastic grocery bags were laughed at – not voted into law.

I remember a Colorado in which we believed in freedom of speech for all. If the First Amendment protects anything, it protects political dissent. A legislative speech code that tells one side it may not use certain terms is an affront to that freedom.

It would be tragic if a better, nicer Colorado is a thing of the past, erased by a population that has more than tripled and by political parties that ignore those who simply want quality schools, safe communities, properly-maintained roads and otherwise to be left alone.

I want my children to experience the Colorado of that song.

Mark Hillman served as Senate Majority Leader and State Treasurer.