Colorada Republicans appear to be old school. I hadnt heard about this

http://www.theocracywatch.org/



The 2004 General Assembly has faced a growing number of bills from conservative Republicans designed to expand government's reach into courts, classrooms, college campuses and more.

As the legislative session heads into the final 10 days, bills to censor left-leaning college professors, limit teachings on homosexuality, require waiting periods for abortions, loosen gun controls and restrict racial preferences in college admissions have been squelched by moderate Republicans with the help of Democrats.

On Friday, a bid to support a federal anti-gay marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution and a measure proposing that state employees help round up illegal aliens were defeated.

"Colorado is not an extreme state. We just are not," said Rep. Mark Larson, a moderate Republican who has led the opposition to much of the conservative agenda. "Citizens of this state are reasoned, educated the majority of the time on issues. I'm pleased to see that representative government does work."

Still, with a May 5 adjournment looming, conservatives are pressing forward with efforts to impeach a sitting judge for ordering a Denver woman to shield her adopted daughter from anti-homosexual religious teachings and rid the courts of "activist judges."

"What you have is extreme Christian conservatives ... using government to try to place into statute matters having to do with their religious beliefs and lifestyles," said Colorado State University professor John Straayer, author of books on Colorado politics.

While socially conservative legislation is not new in a state where Republicans have controlled both chambers much of its history, the sheer volume this session has surprised veteran lawmakers and political observers alike.

"There has been more of this kind of legislation this session than any I can remember," said Sen. Norma Anderson, a Lakewood Republican and 18-year veteran of state government. "We're here to create laws for the state, not to do ideological legislation. The laws of the state have to apply to everyone equally."

In any given year, a handful of such bills and resolutions are introduced. This session, more than two dozen appeared. The rash of legislation has led moderates and others to wonder about the growing power of the right wing, whose members now make up half of the 37 Republican House members in the Colorado legislature. Some predict that the November election could be a bellwether for the short-term course of state politics. If conservatives gain seats in both chambers, they would be in a position to pass their failed legislation.

A backlash, however, could catapult Democrats back into control of at least the Senate, where they need just one more seat to regain the majority.

"If the hard-core right wing of the Republican party takes control and pushes their social agenda, they may bring the state to a turning point," in which Democrats regain control of at least the Senate, said Straayer, a registered Republican.

Rep. Shawn Mitchell, who sponsored bills to impose an academic bill of rights on public universities and to restrict teachings on homosexuality in schools, dismisses the critique as "lacking in perspective and even a little silly."
"We've had some 600 to 700 bills this session. Because five or 10 bills got a lot of attention for their conservative positions doesn't mean it's been a session top-heavy with conservatism," said Mitchell, R-Broomfield. "For some people, any conservative bill is too many."

He killed his own academic bill of rights legislation after university officials agreed to protect conservative political views on campus, and watered down the school- homosexuality measure under pressure from opponents.

But Mitchell, a candidate for state Senate, said he will reintroduce the academic bill next year if universities renege on their promise. "That's not big government, that's protecting students from one-sided government indoctrination," he said.
Rep. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, said conservatives are simply trying "to advance the values and principles of the Republican Party."

"We're definitely hanging together very strongly," Schultheis said of the hard-liners. "Not that we're identical on everything, but we're trying to encourage each other to vote the principles that we say we adhere to."

But Rep. Gayle Berry believes her conservative colleagues have defied the mainstream philosophy of less government.
"There has been a real inconsistency in some of the philosophy of the far- right group that profess to want to keep government out of citizens' lives, while at the same time they are wanting to bring government into some of the most important parts of your life," said Berry, a Grand Junction Republican.

Schultheis said conservatives embrace the philosophy outlined on the website of the Wilberforce Center, a think tank for Christian conservatives: smaller government, limited state funding for health and welfare programs and right to life.
Other principles outlined on the site abhor homosexuality as a "moral, spiritual, emotional and physical threat to individuals who engage in it," and shun the women's rights movement as "unwarranted prejudice against men."

The website also ranks lawmakers according to party loyalty and their votes on key legislation.

Larson said those rankings have many lawmakers fearing for their jobs and their reputations during elections when conservative campaigns mail negative fliers to voters. The Cortez businessman, along with Berry and Anderson, are among the few mainstream Republicans unafraid to talk on the record. All are ranked low on the conservative scale.
"Nobody wants to be labeled not a Christian, or not as Christian as others are, or not standing up for things that are mom and apple pie and God and country," Larson said. "So they're just afraid to take them on."

Many are also afraid that they will be "primaried," meaning the hard-core right will find a conservative opponent to challenge them in a Republican primary, said Republican Rep. Brad Young, chair of the budget panel.

"Sometimes, there's no disguise about it," said Young, R- Lamar. "No one ever did it to me. But it has happened to other people."

Young, Larson and others point to Berry, who has angered hard-liners for not toeing the line on far-right conservative issues, such as the proposed federal marriage amendment and a statewide voucher bill.
Berry admits she was threatened in 2002 with a primary - and got one - but refused to cave to the threats by changing her votes and won the heated contest anyway.

Berry says she believes the hardliner agenda could result in a backlash that will benefit Democrats.

"I think (November) is going to be an election to watch in terms of a bellwether on where the far-conservative movement is headed or if the Democrats are going to be picking up some of those seats," Berry said.

Schultheis believes the conservative core in the House will gain four to six "real strong fiscal and social conservatives" in November, putting them firmly in charge of the House leadership.

In the Senate, where Republicans hold an 18-17 majority, Democrats hope to tip the balance in their favor come November and check House conservatives, Senate Minority Leader Joan Fitz-Gerald said.

Meanwhile, Larson hopes to be re-elected in November and to continue being a thorn in the conservatives' backside for two more years. The lawmaker, who at 6-feet-4-inches and 280 pounds towers over most of his colleagues, said he is not intimidated by his more conservative colleagues, in part because he does not fear for his job. "If I don't get re- elected, I'll go fishing," Larson said.