The national press has been following Colorado’s election closely on Referendums C and D. Today the New York Times has an editorial, How Colorado Got Its Government Back.

The vote clearly has to do with the pain of a permanently underfinanced government. Middle-class and low-income residents were getting burned by ever deepening spending cuts in education, health care and transportation.

….Voters and legislators in nearly half the states are currently considering tax and spending limits, some of them quite severe, like Proposition 76 in California. Coloradans, who have the most experience with extreme budget constraints, have said “time out” and telegraphed their displeasure to elected officials. Taxpayers and politicians, including those in Washington, should take heed. This vote was a thumbs down on “starving the beast” — the Republican strategy of excessive tax cuts to force government to shrink.