The Colorado Effect

As part of the long march, the social and political shift towards the Left is a gradual process done little by little. Agents find their way into an institution, whether it be a Union job, teaching position, or a popular career field, and plant seeds of dissent; “working against the established institutions while working within them.” Much like Tom Metzger telling skinheads to grow their hair out and work their way into regular walks of life, there is an understanding of playing the long game: getting into positions of power to shift the culture gradually as time moves on, making a “natural” progression towards the future the Left wants.

Shifting the Overton Window is something that the Left is extremely good at. While at first it’s just an attack on firearm attachments and accessories, it soon becomes an attack on gun ownership itself. While it starts off as “we just want to get married,” it quickly turns into “bake the cake, bigot” and another privately owned company is locked in a legal battle for denying homosexuals their services. To make matters worse, the so-called Conservatives back down every time; the bump-stock ban being a prime example. Little by little, law by law, the Left change the political discourse; not only getting what they want, but getting Conservatives to capitulate to their demands. This creates what I call “The Colorado Effect,” where the Left slowly turns the tide in a single state.

Colorado, who has a long history of being right wing, is the perfect example of these tactics successfully changing the culture. From 1952 to 2004, Colorado voted Republican in 12 out of 14 elections, 1964 and 1992 being the exception. In 2008, they voted for Obama, alongside 27 other states, and have voted Democrat since. A similar case can be seen with their governorship, their last Republican governor being Bill Owens, serving from 1999 to 2007, and the last 3 being Democrats.

With the help of the 2008 financial crisis and the 2008 Democratic National Convention being held in Denver, Obama was able to win Colorado, taking over 70% of the vote in both Denver and Boulder. While McCain did well in rural areas of Colorado near Kansas and Utah, the urban areas swung left due to the increase in the Hispanic population, young professionals, and transplants. With this leftist grip on Colorado, they were able to push through amendments that further solidified their hold on the state and welcomed in more left leaning voters.

While medical marijuana had been legal in Colorado since 2000, it was not widely available until 2009. On November 6th, 2012, recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado after Colorado Amendment 64 was passed. This amendment allowed adults aged 21 or older to grow up to six marijuana plants privately in a locked space, legally possess all marijuana from the plants they grow, legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana while traveling in Colorado, and give as a gift up to one ounce to other citizens 21 years of age or older. Amendment 64 also provides for licensing of cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities, testing facilities, and retail stores. After the passing of Amendment 64, the population has increased by 60,000 to 75,000 each year due to migration to the state, with no change in out-migration.

On July 1, 2009, the Designated Beneficiary Agreements Act of 2009 was enacted, allowing unmarried couples in Colorado to enter a designated beneficiary agreement, which grants them limited rights, including making funeral arrangements for each other, receiving death benefits, and inheriting property without a will. The Colorado Civil Union Act was shot down by the Republican House of Representatives in both 2011 and 2012 but an amended version of the act was voted in on March 21, 2013, allowing two adults to enter a civil union “regardless of the gender of either party”. On October 7th, 2014, gay marriage was legalized in Colorado, 8 months ahead of the Supreme Court ruling.

This shift towards the left has solidified Colorado’s position as a Blue State. Just in 2019, we have seen laws passed in Colorado allowing licensed businesses to have social marijuana use areas, Boulder attempt an “assault weapons” ban, the enactment of a Red Flag law, and, since November of 2018, the right to change legal gender and third gender options. This path is bound to continue and spread to other states as the left slowly turns the culture.