In the fiasco that was the Colorado legislature’s special session our own Jim Riesberg was a standout. The whole special session appeared to me to be just a power struggle between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans wanted to put the immigration issue on the ballot and let the voters decide. Democrats on the other hand wanted to ‘do their elected job’. Riesberg himself was quoted as saying

“We pass 400 laws a year, and we don’t put 400 things on the ballot,” he said. “If we can do the job the voters send us to do, why do we have to put it on the ballot?”

Good for him, I think. Problem is the Democrats then killed House Bill 1018, which would have required employers to get a state issued ID when hiring an employee, undoubtably due to pressure from lobbyists. Instead they passed the nearly incomprehensible HB1023 that bans non-emergency taxpayer-funded services from anyone without a state issued ID. Now maybe I’m crazy, but exactly what kind of non-emergency services is this going to cover? Are IDs going to be needed when enrolling a kid for school? If you call to report a non-emergency crime, like theft, are the cops going to ask for an ID? Wouldn’t it just be simpler to keep employers from hiring illegal immigrants?

I’m guessing if HB1018 had become a ballot issue it would have passed with flying colors, instead the Democrats ‘did the job the voters elected them for’. Appearantly they know what we want better than we do ourselves.