As is all too often the case, there are far too many recent Colorado Politics stories that merit examination than there is room to write about. So please forgive me as I jump around a bit, there is a lot going on, and there might be homework.

Given the current leadership of the U.S. House, especially in the form of current (and hopefully soon “former”) Speaker Mike Johnson is continuing the radical-right MAGA view of governance, it is always a pleasure to see him have to back down. For reasons known only to him and his fellow cult members, Johnson was strongly opposed to the idea House members who happen to be new mothers should not be able to vote by proxy during those first weeks of motherhood.

Now there is a lot in this issue the GOP, allegedly a “family values” party, should embrace, but Speaker Johnson opposed measures introduced to allow Colorado’s own U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen and Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna to vote by proxy, given their recently giving birth. Pettersen gave birth Jan. 25, and Luna had her baby back in 2023. Oh, and this is quite rare, with Pettersen’s baby only the 14th born to a member of Congress, so it is hardly a vital ideological issue.

Here’s where it gets odd: a certain felonious president, for some reason, decided to take a position against Speaker Johnson, telling reporters on Air Force One, “You’re having a baby, you should be able to call in and vote. I’m in favor of that …I don’t know why it’s so controversial.” So, as he has always been a willing President Donald Trump lackey, and after he lost a procedural vote (the type he should never lose), Johnson caved to the president’s directive.

Of course, the very next morning, President Trump reversed his thinking and told Johnson that he had his support on the proxy measure. After arguing for a few days, nine Republicans joined the Dems to block the effort to end proxy voting, and so we are seemingly now OK with it. I guess those nine can still claim to be at least a little in support of family values.

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Another story you should check out concerns a recent bill signed by Gov. Jared Polis, and I admit this is a new law that rankles my libertarian streak, albeit just a little bit. Gov. Polis signed into law a bill that limits liquor licenses for grocery stores that also have pharmacies. That seems a tad convoluted to me, but the reasons are fairly clear. Small liquor stores, and especially the mom-and-pop type of operation I tend to favor, have been hurt badly by the ability of big supermarket chains to sell wine and beer.

Though liquor stores sell lots more kinds of alcoholic products than the grocery stores do, in the U.S. alcohol market, beer typically accounts for around 42% of the total value share, while wine represents roughly 16%. Spirits make up the remaining portion, at approximately 42%. So, it is a big deal to the smaller operations and this new law will help protect them a bit in the marketplace.

I admit to being torn on this one, as I generally favor less regulation, but the simple fact is capitalism, for all its many blessings, is not entirely fair to smaller businesses, and so I think I’m OK with Gov. Polis signing the new law, though I admit to being a tad concerned. We’ll see what the effect ends up being over time.

Oh, and my old friend U.S. Rep. Jason Crow hasn’t called me yet.

I mention that because of another recent CoPo story, wherein ace reporter Ernest Luning chronicles the rise of now 4-term Congressman Jason Crow and his new role as one of the key candidate recruiters for the Dems this coming midterm election. Give the story a read and you’ll see Crow doesn’t deny the tremendous difficulty of actually running a congressional campaign but stresses the vital need for excellent (and electable) candidates in 2026.

As I learned in my unsuccessful run here in CD5 back in 2008 (where Jason was a kind and helpful volunteer), running for Congress is exceptionally hard work if you do it right. The Dems have a real chance at getting the House back, which is vital to any efforts to slow down the crazed Trump cult’s actions (for example, did you see RFK Jr’s HHS department recently fired all the full-time employees of the agency that inspects cruise ships for various viruses and other nasty bugs that make people sick? Oh, and since the cruise lines actually pay for these inspectors, the move didn’t save taxpayers a dime and made those folks who take cruises less safe. And this happened the very week a cruise ship arrived in Miami with dozens of passengers sick with norovirus. Too bad there were no HHS inspectors there to look for a cause.

But hey, it looked like a cool MAGA move, right?

But I digress…

Rep. Crow hasn’t called me to ask me to run again, and he won’t. And, frankly, that’s a good thing. I’m 67, which I shall continue to claim is “late middle age” and that is, I hate to say it, too old for national office. We need new blood, new energy, and honestly, younger people in Congress. Are you listening Chuck Schumer? Nancy Pelosi? Chuck Grassley? Crow will be calling the new blood, and that’s a good thing, even if it stings a bit.

Lastly, let me offer congratulations to a very unlikely recipient. Brand new CD-3 congressman Jeff Hurd ran for office as a Trump type, and I had little hope he would be anything other than a cult member and instrument to approve any and all Trump moves. But he surprised me this week, as reported in CoPo, when he emerged as a cosponsor of bipartisan legislation to limit President Trump’s ability to toss tariffs on nations at his whim. Rep. Hurd, along with another GOPer and a couple of Dems, introduced a bill that, as reported in the story, “would align the federal government’s international trade procedures with a constitutional requirement that Congress has the ultimate authority over tariffs.”

In other words, if passed (and that is not likely) the new law would at least in part reverse a trend of the last few decades wherein the legislative branch ceded more and more power to the executive branch. This is a great first step, even though it is doomed (President Trump would certainly veto the measure, and there are nowhere close to enough votes to override said veto), it shows yet another crack in the wall of Trump subservience. I shall keep my eye on Rep. Hurd (not that he cares), as perhaps my initial judgement was too harsh.

So, there you have it, a busy time in Colorado politics.

Stay tuned.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.