Perhaps the grip of the political far right on Colorado Republican politics is weakening. It would be a welcome change to return to a Republican leadership reminiscent of the late Governor John Love and former State Senator Dottie Wham. The moderate Republican politics they advocated focused on fiscal responsibility, personal privacy and choice, and tolerance for the views of others.

In stark contrast is Colorado's Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave who, in the midst of grave financial and security crises facing our country, chooses to focus her energy on fighting gay marriage rather than solving real problems. Here in Colorado, we have Representative Shawn Mitchell and Senate President John Andrews, also facing massive state budget problems, spending their time trying to stifle free speech on our college campuses with their so-called "Student's Bill of Rights," which only applied to students and faculty who agree with their brand of conservatism.

But, something strange happened to this extreme agenda. And, it came from within the Republican Party itself. When some in the state Legislature tried to pass a resolution supporting Representative Musgrave's anti-gay marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution, there was a revolt among Republicans. State Representative Mark Larson, who personally opposes gay marriage, said, "I'd like nothing more than to send a message to Congresswoman Musgrave that her own state doesn't support her effort." He added, "The Constitution gives freedoms. It doesn't take them away."

Representative Larson's comment says it all. The conservative agenda espoused by some Republican politicians, an agenda that seeks to undermine our civil liberties and impose a particular philosophy on the rest of us, doesn't reflect American values. It doesn't reflect Republican values either, as our Republican legislators are making clear. Most of them are conservatives in the tradition of protecting our liberties, not taking them away.

When education gadfly David Horowitz tried to get Colorado Republicans to muzzle free speech and force hiring quotas for professors of his political persuasion on Colorado's higher education institutions, he found a warm reception from Senator Andrews and Representative Mitchell. But, after spurious hearings sponsored by Senate President Andrews, in which only students who shared his particular views were invited to speak, legislators from both parties backed away. Ultimately, Representative Mitchell gutted his bill, presumably realizing that colleges and universities take freedom of expression very seriously, no matter what a student or professor's point of view may be.

The Legislature also killed a resolution by Republican Representative David Schultheis that condemned mandatory diversity training on college campuses. Respecting diversity, after all, is a subject that should matter to all of us, since it applies equally to conservative and liberal opinions and lifestyles. In Colorado's Legislature, dominated by Republicans, it takes only one party to pass legislation, but both parties to scuttle it. Republicans are defeating legislation they consider extreme, unfair, or just plain silly even when their colleagues have proposed it.

Another measure that failed, also sponsored by Representative Shawn Mitchell, would have prohibited school districts from discussing homosexuality in sex education classes. Colorado law currently allows parents to keep their children out of sex education classes. This bill would have dictated what could or could not be taught in those classes, which is up to local school boards, not the State Legislature. Parents have a right to know what is being taught and to make their own decisions about what is best for their children. Legislators should not be forcing their personal beliefs on parents and school boards. In this instance, a large outcry from parents who want their children to have full information forced Representative Mitchell, once again, to back off his radical position for one that reflected the views of most of the people.

Colorado's Legislature has enough real problems to deal with, given the state's dismal fiscal and economic situation. Fortunately, a number of Republican legislators, who have the votes to control the political agenda, are backing a message that is very American. They are voting to ensure our liberties, not take them away. Coloradans can be thankful for this return to moderation in our state's politics.