It would do politicians well to remember, as Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says, “When you’re in Congress, you’re not spending your own money, you’re spending taxpayer money.”

Before 2022 closed out, 18 Republicans senators joined with the Democrats in the U.S. Senate and the House to pass the Omnibus Bill. This $2 trillion monster was 4,155 pages long and included roughly 7,500 special interest earmarks – what we commonly call “pork.”

Just to prove the point, Democrat Sen. Chris Coons went on TV and said, “I voted for the Omnibus and I’m proud to support it…I don’t know exactly what every other member of the Senate has put in the bill.”

Of course, border security – one of our nation’s most pressing needs – was nowhere to be found. As Republican Sen. Mike Lee said, this is “the ugliest spending bill on record.”
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While Republicans nearly always stand strong on the life issue, religious freedom, and key social issues, Lee’s statement rings true for far too many elected Republicans on the national level when it comes to spending.

It’s worth knowing who represents us well and who does not. While Republican leadership in the U.S. House requested a delay on the Omnibus Bill – until the Republican majority just elected in November could be sworn in – Republican leadership in the Senate failed to cooperate in obtaining this delay. Instead of doing all they could to stall out so that Republicans could at least win key concessions and lower the outrageous spending, 18 Republican senators joined the Democrat majority to pass the Omnibus.

That’s shameful, and voters should be asking these senators some hard questions.

What Republicans need to realize is that voting with the Democrats doesn’t just accept the inevitable. Instead, it forces outrageous spending, insurmountable debt, and a high level of incompetence on the backs of taxpayers.

A perfect example of taxing people even beyond the limits of the law due to incompetence can be found right here in Colorado. In 2020, voters approved a Family and Medical Leave Tax. The Democrats in charge have had two years to get the details right before putting this tax on working families. Two entire years.

But do you think they have all the details ironed out? Absolutely not. CPR’s Andy Kenney reported that even though the actual law says you don’t have to pay this new tax if your company already offers leave, the state – conveniently – “hasn’t set up the process to grant those exemptions yet. So, even if you have a paid leave program, you have to pay… and hope to get refunded later.”

This is outrageous incompetence, but it’s exactly what we have to expect with liberals in control. They’re all too happy to waste our money and order us to “hope” for a refund.

Of course, it’s no surprise when we see Democrats acting like Democrats – or really, more like socialists. But we must demand more from Republicans. There’s no excuse for Republicans taxing our nation into oblivion, just to fund their own pet projects. While Colorado’s elected Republicans were on the right side of the Omnibus – opposed – nationally, we must demand better from a party who claims to represent the people. If Republicans really are the party of the working family, it’s high time we act like it.

Kristi Burton Brown is a constitutional attorney and chairwoman of the Colorado Republican Party.