Last April, near the end of the Legislature's 2004 session, I wrote a column suggesting the far right's grip on Colorado politics might be weakening. Even Republican lawmakers seemed fed up with their party's focus on a narrow social agenda that had little to do with solving the state's real problems.

Now, it appears that Colorado voters have sent a message to the crowd that thought constitutionally banning gay marriage, stifling free speech on college campuses, and dictating what sex education classes would teach was more important than dealing with our massive fiscal crisis. Voters took the legislative leadership away from right wing ideologues and handed it to Democrats for the first time in 44 years. In a heavily Republican state that voted to reelect George Bush, that means Republicans as well as Democrats wanted new leadership in our state.

Colorado has often been cited as a bellwether state politically and culturally. It set a tone for religious conservatism long before that movement swept across America's political landscape. It was at the forefront of environmental activism decades ago. For many years, it has had a larger percentage of elected women than most other states. Perhaps, in this most recent election, it has pointed the way towards a future political sea change, one that focuses on pragmatic problem solving rather than imposing a specific moral agenda on the country.

Like our nation, Colorado has cut taxes so severely that we can't sustain our valued lifestyle. That's why metro area voters approved new taxes for a light rail system to ease transportation gridlock and continued a tax to support cultural institutions. Unlike the federal government, our budget must be balanced, so we won't strangle on huge deficits, but we have mangled the budgets for, among many other things, higher education and prenatal care for poor pregnant women. By electing new political leaders, voters told Colorado's politicians that fixing the state's real problems should be their priority, not nosing around in our personal lives.

As America faces up to such threats as an intractable war in Iraq, a shadowy and growing global terrorism infrastructure, continued budget deficits, and unaffordable health care, voters across the country may begin to move as Colorado just did. They may begin to look for political leaders who care about the issues that matter most in our lives rather than their own social or religious agendas. Arizona Senator John McCain said on election night that there might be a few moderates left in the Republican Party, but that, after electing extremely conservative new Senators in the South, the far right now has a firm grip on the Party. But, if those conservatives don't solve America's problems, Senator McCain may once again find himself in the heart of his Party, rather than on its moderate fringe.

Of course, once new leadership gains political power, it must prove that it can, indeed, lead. That is the challenge for Senate President-elect Joan FitzGerald, whose vision and energy engineered the Democratic takeover of the state Senate, and Speaker of the House-elect, Andrew Romanoff, who steadfastly believed Democrats could win control of the state House. They have the difficult task of building a coalition not only within government, but also among the state's voters, to reform the draconian TABOR amendment, which severely limits Colorado's ability to deal with fiscal crises. They must determine how to restore funding to higher education while not undermining K-12 schools. At the same time, they have to fund prisons, health care for poor Coloradans, and transportation.

While the task at hand is daunting, Coloradans seem to be in a mood to fix our problems, even if it costs more in taxes. They have told our political leaders in clear terms that they will hold them accountable for managing the state effectively. They have rejected personal legislative agendas in favor of focusing on the tough issues that affect us all. They may be making Colorado a bellwether state once again by saying firmly to government, "Solve our real problems-or we'll find someone else who will."