It's inevitable these days. A politician does something to upset the voters and before you can say "integrity of the Democratic process" recall petitions start circulating. What's more, powerful outside interests are bound to get involved in many recall efforts because of the potential for national headlines.

So some Colorado Democratic politicians are in trouble because they voted like, well, Democrats and passed some gun restrictions that incensed gun owners, leading to a recall effort. Just like Scott Walker and the GOP state senators acted like, well, Republicans, and passed measures that incensed unions, leading to their recall.

In Colorado, the NRA and their allies are targeting the president of the state senate.

Associated Press:

In Colorado, gun-rights activists wasted no time seeking recalls to oust state Senate President John Morse and three other Democratic lawmakers. The targeted lawmakers weren't necessarily the main advocates for ratcheting back gun rights, but all come from districts with enough Republicans to give opponents hope they can boot out the Democrats and replace them with lawmakers friendlier to guns. Colorado is the only state outside the East Coast to have adopted significant statewide gun controls this year.

"Colorado seems to be the testing ground for some of the gun measures, so this has national implications," said Victor Head, a plumber from Pueblo who is organizing a recall attempt against a Democratic senator.

Two of four recall efforts in Colorado already have evaporated from lack of support. But in Colorado Springs, Morse opponents are piling up signatures in gun shops and outside libraries and grocery stores. The National Rifle Association sent a political mailer saying it was coordinating the recall effort with local groups, though the local recall petitioners have denied that. The NRA did not return calls for comment on their involvement in the Colorado Springs effort.

Morse has mounted a campaign to urge voters not to sign petitions. In an indication of the national stakes, that push is largely funded by a $20,000 contribution from a national progressive group called America Votes. The Morse campaign said the donation came through the group's local Colorado office.

The recall group's main funding comes from a $14,000 contribution from a nonprofit run by a local conservative consultant, Laura Carno. She said that contribution was made possible by some out-of-state donors.

When did this inability to accept delayed gratification with politicians get started? We can't wait a year and a half to toss them out of office in a regular election? I should point out in a time of very tight budgets, spending millions of dollars of taxpayer money to satisfy an itch to dump a few sad sack Democrats is a waste. Besides, recall elections never get much of a turnout - only those mad enough to go out and vote on a nice, summer day bother.

Recalls should be reserved for crooks and moral reprobates who break the public trust by their actions. Playing politics with the people's legitimate choice for office hurts the very idea of democracy and turns the democratic process into a circus.

Enough already.