A pending, last-ditch attempt by Gov. Bill Ritter to head off four economically ruinous, union-backed ballot issues--reportedly costing business millions of dollars to seal the deal--reflects the governor's desperation as well as his poor judgment all along, the Senate's top Republican said today.

The negotiated agreement to get unions to withdraw the initiatives from the November ballot could be announced as early as this morning and will result in some key business leaders agreeing to provide upwards of $4 million to the campaign against three other ballot issues that organized labor opposes. Senate GOP chief Andy McElhany, of Colorado Springs, said that amounts to forcing employers into a "deal with the devil" that would have been unthinkable if it weren't for Ritter's controversial executive orders in 2007 allowing collective bargaining by unions on behalf of state government employees as well as the deduction of union dues from state paychecks.

"As everyone knows by now, that set off a chain reaction that got us into this mess. Frankly, this is all his fault," McElhany said. "Now, the governor wants the business community to drag him out of the quicksand. And he is shaking them down to the tune of at least $4 million.

"That's some deal," he said. "I'll bet no union ever did that well for itself at the collective-bargaining table."

Added McElhany, "Without a doubt, the four ballot issues that Big Labor wants all would be disastrous for Colorado's economy, scaring off potential new employers and even some already operating in our state. Anyone who care about Colorado's ability to create jobs doesn't want to see those measures become law. Yet, this backroom deal that we keep hearing about really makes you want to hold your nose."

Legislative Republicans rapped ruling Democrats today for a "runaway train of spending" following the release of a new economic forecast that points to a $100 million shortfall--and likely cuts--in this year's state budget.

The troubling report from the legislature's nonpartisan office of Legislative Council also notes that some $230 million that was anticipated for highways when the budget was adopted by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly last spring has since evaporated. Given the ongoing economic downturn, that source of highway revenue is zeroed out in the latest forecast, with only about $28 million in leftover funding from last year that now is expected to spill over from the operating budget to highways.

"We tried and tried to get them to not spend every dime that was forecast," said Senate GOP leader Andy McElhany, of Colorado Springs. "We saw the gathering storm of recession, but they didn't see a cloud on the horizon."

Sen. Josh Penry, the GOP's Senate member on the Capital Development Committee, said there is no excuse for not trying to anticipate the nation's, and Colorado's, economic woes and the effect it all would have on state revenue.

"These forecasts must feel like the morning after a drinking binge for (Gov.) Bill Ritter and the legislative Democrats,"  said Penry, of Grand Junction.  "The Democrats showed zero fiscal discipline when they passed this budget and now they've got a budget covered in red ink to show for it."