By Laura Chapin, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

DENVER—There was an old hippy saying in the '60s: "If the government figured out a way to tax it, marijuana would become legal." As of last week, Colorado has apparently crossed that Rubicon—at least for the prescribed version.

John Suthers, the state's Republican attorney general, issued an opinion on Nov. 16 that yes, the state of Colorado does have the authority to tax medical marijuana. The opinion was in response to a request for legal clarification from Colorado's Democratic Governor (and former Denver District Attorney) Bill Ritter. The governor's office hasn't indicated whether they support taxing medical marijuana, they simply wanted an official opinion on the state's authority to do so.

Still, Conservatives clapped their hands over a new revenue stream. Liberals are happy that people who are sick and need help will get it. And a cash-strapped state may have found a way to relieve a bit of its budget crunch.

By Laura Chapin, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

The Congressional Busybody Caucus has struck again. On Monday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told the Washington Post that leadership was negotiating feverishly with a group of Democrats threatening to deep-six healthcare reform over the issue of abortion. Joined by a larger block of anti-choice Republicans, this group is afraid that a woman who receives federally-funded healthcare coverage might therefore be able to buy private health insurance coverage that includes abortion.

With all respect due to members of Congress, this officially falls into the None of Your Damn Business category. Like it or not, abortion is a legal medical procedure and is included in private health insurance plans just like any other legal medical procedure. Would this contingent have a problem with federal funds going to subsidize a kidney transplant?

By Laura Chapin, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Last week, Colorado's Department of Labor and Employment announced that the state jobless rate had dropped to 7 percent, almost three points below the national average.

"The worst may be behind us," said Don Mares, the department's executive director.

If the trend holds, the same could be said of pessimistic predictions for Democrats in Colorado in 2010 and the view they've hit a political ceiling. Republicans are putting all their political eggs in the economic basket—they have finally abandoned the diminishing returns of social issues and are doubling down on the economy.

According to an October 6 survey by Colorado pollster Floyd Ciruli, Colorado voters rank the economy as the top issue, beating out the hot-button social issue of immigration.

So if the state and national economy continue to recover—and overall the economy has shown signs of life in the third quarter of 2009—the electoral prospects for the Democrats for the U.S. Senate, governor's mansion, and state legislature may perk up as well. It lessens the ability of the Republicans to tie state Democrats to President Obama's economic policies, and there would be plenty of ad fodder for Republicans courtesy of the president's signing of the economic stimulus bill in Denver in February.