The Denver Post ran an opinion piece recently by John Andrews entitled Two Visions for America in this Year's Elections.  Mr. Andrews is a former President of the Colorado Senate and now heads the conservative Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University.  He was a lead organizer of the Western Conservative Summit recently held in Littleton and one of the founders of the Independence Institute.  If you're curious, here's a link to his opinion (click here).  I wrote the following response and wanted to share it with you to get your feedback.  Please take the poll at the bottom of my newsletter.

Thanks!

Brandon

More than Two Visions for America

In a recent attempt to redefine all mankind under his limited political scope, John Andrews would have us believe there are only two visions for America in this year’s election.

Honestly, I don’t think Coloradans of any political persuasion care to be so lightly categorized, or characterized.

I’d like to suggest a broader vision for Colorado.  One where politicians follow the advice of eighth-grader Rachel Gabbard in her winning essay in the Longmont Times-Call’s 2010 writing contest.  “Leaders,” she writes, “must be understanding of circumstances beyond their own and not be judgmental of what others bring to the table.”

Quick and dirty character assassinations and sound-bite labels are used by those who don’t trust the electorate – they don’t believe the electorate understands difficult concepts or nuanced issues.  Thus, they strive to oversimplify concepts and choices.

Lumping everyone into a binary system of “fit” or “unfit” categories does not create a continuing dialogue for governing.  And it rejects the possibility that a leader in the Democratic Party could accept good ideas and principles all along the political spectrum.

In the recently concluded legislative session, Democrats and Republicans worked together to help Coloradans.  We balanced our budget, rescued the PERA retirement system, created more opportunities for Coloradans to attend college, passed K-12 education reform, expanded the use of natural gas in the production of electricity, and much more.

Yes, there were difficult votes and partisan fights, but we were able to compartmentalize these instances so they didn't interfere with our ability to make real progress in other areas.

Sometimes I wish I lived in Mr. Andrews’ world because it’s very simple.  There is a “Yes” or “No” answer for every question that comes his way.  “Maybe” or “It depends” are not options.

In the real world, especially in America where people are free to think and act for themselves, things aren’t that tidy.  Collaboration, communication, acceptance, empathy … these are the characteristics to look for in our leaders.

Governing has nothing to do with one man’s rigid ideology, and everything to do with bringing people together, listening to different perspectives and forging compromises to solve problems.

Poll Question

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