The Panzer-Grothman State Senate race is shaping up to be an epic fight for the heart and soul of the Republican party and the soul-less Grothman wants to pull his party even further to the right.

Grothman is upset that State Senator Mary Panzer delayed scheduling a special session to vote on a bill called TABOR (Taxpayers Bill Of Rights). TABOR puts caps on local government taxing authority, while State legislators do nothing about the State’s main tax – the income tax. It is the ultimate ‘do as I say, not as I do’ bill. Majority-leader Panzer supports TABOR but doesn’t have enough votes in her own caucus to pass it, which makes calling an extraordinary session an exercise in futility. 

While the arguably moderate Panzer has supported restricting abortion procedures, Grothman wants to make abortion illegal even in the cases of rape and incest. 

It’s a bizarre perversion of morality to describe government indifference to rape and incest victims as “pro-life”. Grothman’s morals tell him it’s ok to force women to bear the children of rapists.

It’s odd that Grothman is now casts himself as the conservative alternative when his irresponsible legislative actions show that he’s in favor of taking control away from local government and favors big government control over women’s bodies.

This race is about more than taxes and abortion – it’s about the heart and soul of the Republican party. If being a moderate means you have to have compassion for victims of rape and incest, then Panzer is clearly the moderate. If being a conservative means exerting big government control over smaller, local government, then Grothman is the conservative.

Grothman’s ideas may not be mainstream, but they do represent what Republicans are letting happen to their own party. If Republicans truly want to claim their party has any compassion, they’ll send Grothman back to the private sector. While Panzer isn’t perfect, compared to Grothman, she’s a pillar of compassion and decency.