Colorado voters suspend TABOR

One more piece of evidence for Wisconsin supporters of the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, that this is not a simple, slam dunk issue. So far, Wisconsin Republicans who support the concept have not even been able to agree on a proposal, let alone pass one.

Today's news is a serious setback to their efforts to sell the TABOR snake oil. The first customers to buy it have returned it for a refund. Already there is talk of the likely impact on other states considering similar measures.

Colorado, the first state to adopt TABOR, has become the first state to reject it. The AP reports:

Colo. Voters Suspend Taxpayer Rights Bill

DENVER -- Colorado residents have voted to suspend their Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, the strictest government spending limit in the nation, and give up more than $3 billion in tax refunds to help the state bounce back from a recession.

Fiscal conservatives were dismayed at the outcome Tuesday night and worried about its impact on other states considering similar spending limits.

But supporters said Colorado couldn't afford to vote no, not with higher education, health care and transportation already suffering from millions of dollars in budget cuts.

"It means we can join 49 other states recovering from the recession, we can make up some of the cuts," said Republican Gov. Bill Owens, who stunned his own party by joining Democrats in crafting the ballot measure.

The Rocky Mountain News offers a list of winners and losers. Among the losers:

Grover Norquist, Dick Armey and other national leaders in the "drown government in a bathtub" movement who focused their efforts on making Colorado's TABOR a model of fiscal restraint.

An earlier story, before the vote, from the LA Times:

CALIFORNIA
Would State Budget Cap Pinch Like Colorado's?

LOVELAND, Colo. — The scene may seem familiar to Californians: a Republican governor warning that fiscal meltdown is imminent unless voters approve new rules on how much money the state can spend each year.

But Colorado Gov. Bill Owens isn't looking for the kind of budget cap that California Republicans want voters to approve. That was imposed 13 years ago.

Now he is pleading with voters to lift it.

The problem: Colorado's spending controls appear to have worked too well. Now some of the most strident fiscal conservatives in Colorado — long viewed as a model for others considering such restraints — say the cap has strangled government. There is talk of closing community colleges, privatizing the university system, releasing inmates early.

Owens said he never saw it coming.

TABOR VIDEO. Want to know more about Colorado's experience? Here's a video from the Oregon Center for Public Policy. It's 13 minutes and filled with information about what happened in Colorado.