Colorado: A History of the Centennial State, Fifth Edition

24. Cultural and Political Wars

443 24 Like other Americans, Coloradans have often fought their cultural wars in the political arena. Issues and the intensity of the battles have varied, but the political game has always been more than just a game. From the late 1960s into the early 2000s, passionate partisans debated abortion, the status of gays and lesbians, gun control, legalization of marijuana, punishment of criminals , education, immigration, term limits, campaign finance, and taxation. Governors and legislators sometimes played gladiator. At other times, individuals and organizations took their causes directly to the people. None of Colorado’s post–World War II governors better fit the description of crusader than Richard Lamm. When elected governor in 1974 he was already well-known for his opposition to Colorado hosting the Winter Olympics, for favoring legalized abortion under certain circumstances, and for his opposition to unfettered growth. As governor, Lamm found his power limited by the legislature. In 1978 he won a second term, defeating Republican Ted Strickland. In 1982 he took a third term, defeating Republican John Fuhr. During those years Republicans held at least one house of the general assembly, and, with the exception of 1975–76, they controlled both houses. Lamm’s successor, Roy Romer, appealed to independents and Republicans while maintaining his Democratic base. Born in Garden City, Kansas, Romer grew You come down to that legislature when you know we’re going to be debating one of those bills, and you can hear crackling in the ceiling, you can hear the smiles of the beast as it’s trying to force its puppets to do its bidding—and is successful at it.1 —State Senator CharleS Duke, 1997 Cultural and Political Wars DOI: 10.5876/9781607322276:c24 chapter twenty-four 444 up in Holly, Colorado, and became wealthy as a John Deere farm machine dealer in the Arkansas Valley, giving him the rural credentials that often appealed to voters . Three times he bested his Republican rivals for the governor’s job—Ted Strickland in 1986, John Andrews in 1990, and Bruce Benson in 1994. Like Richard Lamm, Romer never enjoyed the luxury of a solidly Democratic general assembly. Both Lamm and Romer learned to compromise, as did the general assembly, which faced vetoes when it passed laws unacceptable to the governor. As a result, the state government usually stayed on a middle course shepherded by Republican legislators such as Fred Anderson, Chuck Berry, Bev Bledsoe, Al Meiklejohn, and Ted Strickland—leaders as powerful in their spheres as Romer and Lamm were in theirs. With years of experience, they understood the complexities of the legislative process and the intricacies of state government. MuchofthepowerwithinthelegislaturerestedwiththeJointBudgetCommittee (JBC) and its staff, which determined state spending. Bowing to the influence of the JBC, Romer quipped, “When I’m done being governor in this state, I’m going to get a position of real power. I’m going to become a JBC analyst.”2 Measured change, however, was not to everyone’s liking. Zealots often itched to take the law into their own hands, something they could legally do. Because of provisions added to the state constitution by reformers in 1910, citizens could amend the constitution through the initiative process. By a simple majority, voters could make laws. Neither the governor nor the legislature could ignore the voice of the people, although if state constitutional amendments conflicted with the US Constitution, courts could negate them. Colorado’s constitution sometimes needed amending because, unlike the relatively brief US Constitution, it is a detailed tome. For example, until 1974 the constitution required the state to publish the amount of every check written by its agents—a task so gargantuan that after 1958, officials simply ignored it. In 1974, when legislators wanted to spend aviation fuel taxes on airport improvements , they had to seek a constitutional amendment because the constitution earmarked such funds for highways. Such amendments, although they sometimes led to complex ballots, did not distress the electorate. Big-issue constitutional questions, however, pitted Coloradans against each other. Governor Roy Romer expanded Coloradans’ educational and recreational opportunities as he steered the state through its 1990s boom. (Tom Noel Collection.) cultural and political wars 445 abortion On April 25, 1967, Governor John Love approved legislation sponsored by state representative Richard Lamm that permitted doctors to perform an abortion if a three-member medical panel concluded it was necessary to preserve the mother’s life or physical or mental health...