We are barely a quarter of our way through the 21st century and three Colorado governors have been singled out as potential White House occupants, a Republican and two Democrats. It was Bill Owens who first drew attention among Washington’s “mentioning mavens,” receiving plaudits from both the National Review and uber-columnist George Will. Anointed as America’s best governor by the nation’s conservative press, Bill’s name was quietly whispered among the congressional cognoscenti as a potential Republican presidential candidate to succeed George W. Bush in 2008. He raised a few eyebrows at home when he declared during the fire season of 2003 his entire state seemed to be on fire (there’s nothing quite like the Sunday morning talk shows to elicit exaggerations from guests).

By 2006, TABOR spending limitations were strangling the state’s budget and Andrew Romanoff had led Democrats to a surprising takeover of the Colorado House. In a surprise compromise, the governor joined the speaker in promoting “Ref C,”which set a precedent for temporarily lifting TABOR caps with voter approval. This surrender to fiscal reality took much of the shine off Owens’s appeal with the fiscal hawks at the Colorado Union of Taxpayers and earned him a charge of apostasy from Grover Norquist at Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist demands Republican candidates pledge never to increase taxes by as much as a a nickel anywhere, at any time for any reason. The governor’s personal life also got complicated as his wife requested a divorce and Bill joined Gary Hart on the roster of Colorado’s “might-have-beens.”

Next up was barkeep, John Hickenlooper, who was rated the country’s best mayor early in his second term at Denver City Hall. Once he moved to the governor’s desk in 2010 it wasn’t long before George Will was back in town touting the new governor as a rising star for middle-of-the-road Democrats and an attractive dark-horse in the 2016 race. State governors were once regarded as strong national candidates, but it’s been more than 30 years since Bill Clinton made the leap from Arkansas and 24 years since George Bush hacked a path from Austin to the White House. Meanwhile, TABOR was once again distorting Colorado’s general fund expenditures in ways that prompted the governor to jump from an airplane in a successful effort to convince voters to endorse a further relaxation of spending limits.

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Over the past five years, Gov. Jared Polis has evidenced a political shrewdness that placed him on the 2024 “mention” list in the event Democrats need to scramble for a Biden substitute. Alternatively, he should remain a top-10 candidate come 2028. The first indication Polis was being taken seriously in the presidential sweepstakes was another trot out to Colorado by George Will. The pundit’s record as a seer has proven poor but he can’t be faulted for lack of persistence. If Hawaii can produce a president, surely Colorado will one of these days. The governor’s hopes may have hit a pothole, however, with his botched handling of the property tax ballot question that failed with voters and was then further bungled during the special session. You can’t escape a suspicion both the governor and Democratic leadership ensnared themselves in a severe case of self-congratulating groupthink.

It’s worth bearing in mind the anticipated 46% average hike in property taxes can also be traced back to TABOR. Placing fiscal rules in the Constitution presumes our economic circumstances will remain unchanged. In the spiirt that no crisis should be allowed to go to waste, the authors of referendum HH (if it had passed, it would enjoy widespread parentage – as a failure, it’s now an orphan) jumped on the opportunity to remedy a basketful of budget problems. HH was never about property tax relief, but a subterfuge to shore up K-12 funding. You only had to skim the Blue Book explanation to sniff a rat. As Democratic campaign consultant Steve Welchert observed, “A confused voter on a ballot question is a ‘NO’ voter.” This did not produce humility on the part of Democratic sponsors. The special session intended to restrain property taxes yielded a handout of subsidies to an array of arguably worthy causes.

Republicans didn’t see the proposed Democratic package of bills until the Friday morning they arrived in Denver. Senate President Steve Fenberg added insult to injury by pre-emptively labeling all Republican bills as unserious. Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer of Greeley, a JBC member who has as thorough an understanding of property taxes as any legislator, had successfully tied up HH at the end of the regular session and is predicting a coming reckoning for Democrats. “When homeowners receive their revised assessments early next year and see their mortgage payments jump to satisfy escrow requirements for 30% increases in property taxes, Republicans will know exactly who to blame.” The failure to restrain exorbitant increases invites a citizen initiative similar to California’s infamous “Prop 13.”

Once these property tax chickens flock home to roost, they will arrive as damned angry birds. The bizarrely constituted commission created by the legislature to design a permanent fix may be a day late and a dollar short. TABOR seems on track to trip up yet another Colorado governor’s ambitions. Mislead me once, shame on me. Mislead me twice, shame on you.

Miller Hudson is a public affairs consultant and a former Colorado legislator.