State of Change

by Daum, Courtenay W.; Duffy, Robert J.; Straayer, John A.

• ISBN13: 9781607320869
• ISBN10: 160732086X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-11
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Colorado

Summary

Colorado has recently been at the center of major shifts in American politics. Indeed, over the last several decades the political landscape has altered dramatically on both the state and national levels. State of Changetraces the political and demographic factors that have transformed Colorado, looking beyond the major shift in the dominant political party from Republican to Democratic to greater long-term implications. The increased use of direct democracy has resulted in the adoption of term limits, major reconstruction of fiscal policy, and many other changes in both statutory and constitutional law. Individual chapters address these changes within a range of contexts--electoral, political, partisan, and institutional--as well as their ramifications. Contributors also address the possible impacts of these changes on the state in the future, concluding that the current state of affairs is fated to be short-lived. State of Changeis the most up-to-date book on Colorado politics available and will be of value to undergraduate- and graduate-level students, academics, historians, and anyone involved with or interested in Colorado politics.

Author Biography

Courtenay W. Daum is an assistant professor of political science at Colorado State University. Robert J. Duffy is a professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at Colorado State University. John A. Straayer is a professor of political science at Colorado State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction: State of Change: Colorado Politics in the Twenty-First Century	p. 1
Colorado: Sometimes Red and Sometimes Blue	p. 19
What's Going On? The Shifting Terrain of Federal Elections in Colorado	p. 39
Colorado's Central Role in the 2008 Presidential Election Cycle	p. 67
Impact of Direct Democracy on Colorado State Politics	p. 89
Colorado's New Election Day World	p. 115
The Colorado General Assembly: It Ain't What It Used to Be	p. 131
How GAVEL Changed Party Politics in Colorado's General Assembly	p. 153
Disparate Impact: Term Limits, Female Representatives, and the Colorado State Legislature	p. 175
One Thing after Another: Layers of Policy and Colorado's Fiscal Train Wreck	p. 195
Financial Architecture of Post-Republican Colorado	p. 217
Epilogue: The State of Change Changes Again	p. 235
Contributors	p. 249
Index	p. 251
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

A rare and comprehensive examination of the state's political system and a good historical record of the evolution of our state.
--James A. Null, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs