Some food for thought on conservatism, common sense and political identity

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project

Some food for thought…

One pattern I see in math and physics is how fruitful it can be to test and inquire into basic assumptions we all have. A look at what it means to count things alongside a look at infinity leads one to the intriguing idea that there is more than one kind of infinity, for example.

The Rocky Mountain Voice piece linked below was also intriguing to me, and for that same reason.

I’ll leave it to you to read it, but some interesting (if not entirely new) themes are there. Is common sense common? Is a self-evident truth self-evident to us all? What does it mean to be conservative? Is that changing?

I wrote in the past about being liberty minded though not a party adherent (see the second link below). I would say questions like the above, as well as the author’s discussion of why political parties have fallen out of favor, are important ones for us in Colorado to consider because we need to examine things down to the foundations of our beliefs if conservatives are going to have any power in this state going forward, if we hope to have some sort of centrist sanity and power sharing.

There are too many now who see the word “conservative” and get mental images that you, as a member of that group, would not have associated with yourself or your beliefs. Communicating effectively and persuading people to your point of view (or at least to compromise) will mean we have to first define ourselves before we try to share with others.

Give the below a look and then think some. If you feel moved to, please feel free to add your thoughts to the comments.

Presented as some food for thought.

**Terms like conservative and liberal have definitely shifted with time, especially with regard to what issues one supports and what specific things one believes.

https://rockymountainvoice.com/2026/04/30/common-sense-conservatism-parties-and-other-meaningless-words/

https://coloradoaccountabilityproject.substack.com/p/where-do-you-go-if-youre-liberty?utm_source=publication-search

Related:
An interesting discussion between Mandy Connell and Senator Barb Kirkmeyer.

I have written in the past (in the context of a puzzling committee vote by my own State Senator Byron Pelton) about the strategy of working with the folks from the other party to get what compromises you can as opposed to a stance of complete, unyielding defiance.

Senator Kirkmeyer addresses her thoughts on this with regard to some of her own votes in the discussion.

https://koacolorado.iheart.com/featured/mandy-connell/content/2026-05-01-88-the-mandy-connell-podcast-05-01-26-interview-barb-kirkmeyer/

Related #2:

Again on the topic of working within what is basically a Democrat-controlled system. See the below re. the TAMALE bill and the compromises required to get it through the House but which were fixed later in the Senate.

https://completecolorado.com/2026/05/08/house-amendments-tamale-bill-unwound-colorado-senate/

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And still I ask: is it about affordable housing or is it about government control?

The more I’ve dug into “affordable housing” in Colorado, and some of the fixes I see, the more a nagging question pops up in my brain.

What are we doing here: are we trying to make housing more affordable or are we trying to incrementally increase the government’s footprint in the housing market?

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COLORADO ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.