Colorado tax plan getting Republicans heat

DENVER, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- It's Republicans versus Republicans in a debate over government spending in Colorado, The New York Times reports.

Two-term Governor Bill Owens is spearheading a ballot measure that would temporarily suspend a cap on state spending in order to stave off a fiscal crisis.

Owens said unless the state can spend an extra $3.7 billion, he'll move to repeal the cap altogether.

Proponents of the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights, passed in 1992, say Owens is stabbing the limited government movement in the back.

The Wall Street Journal has criticized him on its editorial page.

A former Texas congressman and House majority leader, Dick Armey, has visited Denver to stop the proposal and super-lobbyist Grover Norquist has called Owens a cheerleader for the other side.

Owens countered by that the federal budget ballooned by billions under Armey's watch and that Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, "never lets the facts get in the way."