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Like all other states and the federal government, Colorado is living in the post-modern age--an age
of great wealth and technological progress, but also an age of family breakdown, social decay,
increasing attacks on private property and wealth creation, hostility to religion and tradition,
and aggressive secular ideology which offers government as a solution for every social challenge
while undermining government restraints on vice and injustice. In the name of utopian progress,
government grows rapidly while becoming an agent of injustice and social breakdown instead of
justice and social conservation. Colorado's government, no exception to this trend, grows
significantly each year despite its favorable comparison to the government of many other states.
Colorado is a largely conservative state, going for George W. Bush by a 58-42% margin in 2000. The
conservative movement in Colorado is composed mainly of Catholic, Protestant, and Mormon elements,
manifested in pro-family, pro-life, gun rights, taxpayer and property rights, business, right-to-work,
and school choice groups and their constituencies. As is the case in most places, influence by
churches as organizations is more present on the left than on the right. Politically, the movement
is represented mainly by the Republican Party, with some overlap with the Libertarian Party. Much of
the Republican Party has been influenced by liberalism, creating a reaction in places toward libertarianism.
The Independence Institute (www.i2i.org) is the state's largest think-tank,
dealing mainly in education, guns, and free markets, avoiding the social issues. The Christian
Coalition and the Rocky Mountain Family Council (www.rmfc.org) are the
state's most active organizations on social issues. Rocky Mountain Gun Owners
(www.rmgo.org) is the state's largest and most active gun rights group. The
Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) is a volunteer group focusing on fiscal and spending issues. The
Colorado Alliance for Reform in Education (CARE) is the state's most active education reform group.
Citizens for Responsible Government and the Colorado Right to Life Committee
(www.coloradorighttolife.org) are active statewide pro-life groups.
The liberal/radical movement in Colorado, as everywhere, is driven by secular rationalism. Where it
carries a religious or Christian title, the movement is Christian only in name or rite, as Christianity
is by nature conservative. Catholic liberals do not adhere to Catholic doctrine, and Protestant liberals
do not adhere to orthodox Protestant doctrine, though many liberal politicians and constituents claim
religious membership and participation. The movement manifests itself in homosexual groups, abortion
groups and businesses, the public school establishment, government employees, gun control groups,
"consumer" advocates, the Bar Association, labor and teacher unions, environmental groups, women's
and multiculturalist groups, and the mainstream media. Politically, the movement is represented by
the Democratic Party, with very little conservative influence guiding Democratic policy positions.
All major newspapers (Rocky Mountain News, Denver Post, Grand Junction Sentinel,
Pueblo Chieftain, the Boulder Daily Camera, and Colorado Springs Gazette) are liberal in their disposition
toward both news and opinion, with the exception of the opinion pages of the Colorado Springs
Gazette, which are of a moderate libertarian stripe.
The Colorado General Assembly is the most conservative branch of state government and has been controlled
by the Republican Party for decades. Aside from a two-year exception between 2000 and 2002, when Democrats
controlled the state Senate, Republicans have controlled both houses for over 40 years. Despite Republican
control, a pervasive liberal drift affects the General Assembly.
Democrats held the Governor's Mansion for decades prior to 1998, when current Republican incumbent Bill
Owens was elected. He was re-elected by a wide margin in 2002.
Due to philosophical trends in the legal community and years of court appointments by Democrat governors, the state
Supreme Court is overwhelmingly liberal.
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