The Colorado Springs Gazette editorial: Winning in politics, one play at a time
Pessimists on the right and left decry Colorado’s 2017 legislative session as a loser. Neither team scored home runs.
To optimists and realists, the endgame looks pretty good.
In the not-so-distant past, divided governments achieved positive outcomes. Each party was humble to the cumulative value of minor progress in pursuit of long-term gain.
For this reason, Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich compromised to balance the budget and pass welfare reform. Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill achieved bipartisan outcomes by rationally accepting partial victories. Democrats won innings, Republicans won innings, and the crowd was served.