The coalition of House R's and the executive are struggling with the passage of HB5, or the tax relief compromise.  So much so, Speaker Sales is apparently threatening to pass on the budget and a couple of house tax bills and adjourn.

Then in a different meeting, House Speaker Scott Sales told Senate Democrats it’s possible he may move the Republican version of the budget along with the new tax bills and adjourn as early as the end of the day

Then in a different meeting, House Speaker Scott Sales told Senate Democrats it’s possible he may move the Republican version of the budget along with the new tax bills and adjourn as early as the end of the day

If there is any honor left at all in this body, the 13 House republicans that led the compromise cannot let that happen. They must work together again and stop any of those motions, including a motion to adjourn until the tax issues are agreed upon.  With the way the tax bill seems to be traveling, little if any political cover has been given to those House R's.  Now is the time to do so. 

It certainly looked as if the democrats in the legislature were left out of the compromise discussions prior to the call of the special session.  Now is the time for Legislative leadership.  The entire democratic caucus should reach out to the moderate republicans in both the Senate and the House, as well as the republican leadership (including Sales and Stapleton) and develop a Legislative package on the tax issues.  Provide the cover, develop a tax proposal that looks a bit more like the 3rd floor of the Capital than the 2nd.