Among the worst-kept secrets around the the state Capitol these days is that Gov. Jared Polis has a big problem with his party’s political fringe. In particular, the left wing of the ruling Democrats over at the Legislature.

They keep coming up with nutty legislation that not only defies logic – on law and order, on basic economics; the list goes on – but also risks sabotaging his presidential ambitions.

As adult in chief at the Capitol, he knows he can’t continually cave in to his party’s clueless kids. It would wreck the economy and wreak even more havoc on our streets, among other things. And he’d get blamed. Yet, reining in the radicals is a tricky matter, even for a governor.

It would be easy enough to veto legislation from the opposing party – should Republicans retake the Legislature – but it’s a lot harder to swat down ridiculous ideas from fellow Democrats. It might upend alliances on other pending legislation the governor needs.

And he fears publicly betraying the increasingly collectivist Democratic platform even if some of it strikes him as nonsense. He is the state party’s standard-bearer, after all.

So, he is by all accounts doing what governors tend to do in such circumstances. He’s pulling strings, having private conversations, probably calling in favors, deploying his lobbyists to whisper in ears, and so forth. The end game is to derail the worst of the bad bills and water down some others – discreetly and without his fingerprints.

That approach might blunt some bad legislation, but only for so long as legislative radicals grow restive and enlist ever more lawmakers against a governor some deride as Democrat-lite. And it will do nothing to burnish his carefully cultivated image as a moderate Democrat – even a “libertarian”-leaning Dem – for a national political bid.

Which is why it’s time for Polis to be brave and draw the line.

Pick a bad bill – there are many – and publicly declare it dead on arrival. Tell the sponsors not to bother amending it.

He could start with House Bill 23-1118, the “fair workweek” legislation. Widely denounced by the state’s employers, the bill would devastate our service economy. It would make day-to-day operations nearly impossible for a host of businesses, especially restaurants, that rely heavily on flexible-shift workers.

Employers would have to post work schedules before even they knew how many workers they would need on a shift. And the businesses would have to pay workers anyway if their shifts got canceled.

Of course, the governor is painfully aware of the bill. As an extraordinarily successful entrepreneur, he gets the threat it poses.

As reported the other day by our news affiliate Colorado Politics, the bill is on hold pending a “rewrite.” Which means the sponsors know the governor isn’t happy and are desperately trying to morph it into an acceptable version. Standard procedure at the Capitol.

But this time, why let it end there? Governor, here’s your chance to stand tall. Threaten to veto the measure – with a harpoon.

Sure, the loopy “Democratic Socialists” and their ilk will be furious. But who cares? The rest of Polis’ fellow Democrats in the Legislature – too timid to shout down the radicals – will thank him. So will everyday Coloradans, spared another blow from the legislative agenda.

It also could give Polis bona fide bragging rights for a White House run – as an independent thinker who stared down his party. The national media never seem to tire of that narrative.

And it just might embolden Colorado’s moderate Democrats – before they go extinct.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board