Commentary: Time to Reconsider Ideology

By Anonymous

Our U.S. congressman, Doug Lamborn, spent 12 years in the Colorado legislature prior to his election to the House of Representatives in 2006.

While in the legislature, Lamborn often took positions that were, in our opinion, ill-considered.

In 1999, he was one of only three state senators to oppose a bill which banned female genital mutilation. The bill passed the Senate 32-3, passed the House 56-5, and was signed into law by Gov. Bill Owens. At the time, Lamborn claimed that the bill was unnecessary, since the practice was non-existent in Colorado.

That same year, he attempted without success to refer a radical anti-abortion proposal to Colorado voters that would have criminalized many abortions. If his proposal had been enacted into law, doctors who performed abortions would have been charged with murder and would have faced mandatory jail time.

He also indulged in the kind of frivolous lawmaking that often characterizes state legislatures, attempting, for example, to switch the names of Colorado’s Mount Democrat and Mount Republican, so that the GOP could claim the higher mountain.

We had hoped that when this resourceful and intelligent man took office in Washington, D.C., he would move beyond the fierce partisanship and extreme positions that formerly characterized him. We believed that he would recognize that, in a changing national political climate, he would have to work harmoniously and effectively with members of both parties.

As Lamborn must realize, the vital interests of this region are often at the mercy of congressional policymakers. During the last few months, legislation concerning the Pinon Canyon expansion and the proposed Southern Delivery System has been proposed by other Colorado legislators. While the ultimate outcome is still uncertain, it is clear that substantial majorities in the House of Representatives support legislation that will at best delay, and at worst kill, both projects.

It cannot be easy, as a freshman Republican, to effectively advance the interests of your constituents. The Democratic majority has its own set of priorities, and the needs of an obscure city in a sparsely populated state will never be of much importance to them.

But it seems both self-defeating and, to put it plainly, stupid, to take positions that seem calculated to infuriate the moderates and liberals who control the House — especially when the bills in question have no chance of passing.

In recent months, Lamborn has sponsored bills which would have stripped funding from public broadcasting and from the National Endowment for the Arts. Both bills failed by overwhelming bipartisan majorities. Clearly, most elected officials see that there’s little to be gained by opposing Big Bird or modest funding for regional arts groups (such as our own Imagination Celebration).

But even more disturbing was Lamborn’s vote in March against the Federal Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act. The legislation, which passed the House by a vote of 368 to 39, and passed the Senate unanimously, upgraded the penalties for the illegal transportation of fighting dogs from misdemeanor to felony.

President Bush signed the measure in May.

It is hardly necessary to point out, especially in the wake of the Michael Vick indictment, that most Americans (and most residents of the 5th Congressional District) find dog fighting to be cruel and abhorrent.

Lamborn characterizes his votes as consistent with long-held beliefs in frugal, minimally invasive government. He sees his positions as independent and principled.

We have no reason to disbelieve him.

But we would remind the congressman that there’s a difference between principle and posturing, between admirable independence and futile wheel-spinning.

We urge him to stop tilting at windmills and to get on with the business of representing the 5th Congressional District.

Credit: Colorado Springs Business Journal Staff

(Copyright 2007 Dolan Media Newswires)

(c) 2007 Colorado Springs Business Journal, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.