Mark Hillman

President Obama claims to “have no interest” in running General Motors.  He does so with a straight face — and the same monotonous cadence that he employs whether condemning North Korea for nuclear explosions or joking with Jay Leno.  But his actions, as well as his words, betray him.

The significance of the bankruptcy and restructuring of General Motors isn’t that it happened but the way it happened.

His protestations notwithstanding, this is Barack Obama’s General Motors.  Just read from his statement earlier this month: (more…)

President Obama says he seeks “empathy” in a Supreme Court justice.  His first nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, says a “wise Latina woman” would generally make better decisions because of “the richness of her experiences” than a white man.

Those views reveal the extent to which political and personal agendas have supplanted the rule of law in selecting nominees.

If “rule of law” sounds cold and callous, remember that the alternative isn’t “rule of empathy” but “rule of men” — the hierarchy most prevalent throughout human history. (more…)

If Democrats in the 2007 General Assembly were devious for passing Gov. Ritter’s infamous property tax hike without voter approval, the current crop plunges to new depths.

In an act of sheer arrogance, this year’s Democrat majority poked taxpayers in the eye just for spite. (more…)

We allow government to tax and spend, recognizing that forcibly taking the fruits of someone else’s labor would constitute theft if anyone else did it.

In turn, we expect our elected officials to remember that their responsibility is to represent taxpaying families and businesses — not to protect government at all costs.

Well, after three years of spending every available tax dollar, dismissing every opportunity to save for the next downturn, and surreptitiously raising taxes without voter approval, Colorado’s Democrat lawmakers are now planning to steal — a term I don’t use loosely — $500 million to balance this year’s state budget. (more…)

Seventeen years ago, Colorado voters frustrated by the excesses of an unresponsive government passed the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), a constitutional amendment designed to limit government spending and give voters to final word on tax hikes.

Initially, government officials largely adhered to TABOR’s strictures, ever mindful that the voters had spoken and expected those they elected to play by the rules.

Last month’s Orwellian decision by the Colorado Supreme Court signaled that no longer will the executive, legislative nor judicial branches of state government — all dominated by liberals — abide by a constitutional amendment that crimps their big-spender style. (more…)

Colorado’s constitution plainly says that state and local governments can’t raise taxes without permission from voters.  If only the Colorado Supreme Court could read plain language.

Instead, the court’s liberal majority ignores terms that should obviously protect taxpayers and instead emphasizes extraneous arguments that accommodate government.

This latest legal chicanery comes from the same playbook that turned the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom into a tool to suppress religious speech. (more…)

“The country looks to the President on occasions like this to be reassuring to the nation. Some Presidents do it well, some Presidents don’t.”

That’s how ABC’s Peter Jennings assessed President George W. Bush’s performance on Sept. 11, 2001.  The criticism was superficial, shortsighted and unfair, given that President Bush’s finest moments came in rallying the country after 9/11 — not scapegoating the previous administration.

Bush didn’t spend the next few months claiming that he “inherited” a national security mess – nor did he complain about the economy which faltered in two of the final three quarters under President Clinton before contracting again in Bush’s first year. (more…)