After she cast her vote in favor of civil unions two weeks ago, Nikkel was shouted down by religious protestors at her church in Loveland the following Sunday; and the next week, as the bill continued to move through the legislative process, a rickety old pickup truck circled the Capitol carrying homemade billboards advising "Nikkkel" - yes, it was spelled with three "k's" - that she was going to hell for her vote.
Mind you, this is the party so averse to "political correctness." Maybe it's time to redefine that term. After all, most things to which the phrase currently refers--gender neutral language, avoiding hate speech, etc.--are simply "correctness," with nothing especially political about it. A counter-proposal follows:
I'd like to begin by offering genuine thanks fro Mario Nicolais, Kelly Maher, and the other Republicans who formed Coloradans for Freedom for the purpose of providing a "conservative case" for passing civil unions legislation. I believe that their efforts were sincere, and that they really did want civil unions to pass this year with GOP support.
But civil unions did not pass. The GOP killed it again. Coloradans for Freedom did not succeed.
Today in the Denver paper, Mario Nicolais wrote a post mortem of the battle over civil unions from his perspective. I see no reason to link to the Denver paper; you can find his guest column in the Perspectives section. While he pledges to continue supporting civil unions next year, the point of his op-ed is to cover for fellow Republicans despite the killing of civil unions at Republican hands. While I respect Nicolais for his personal support, that's simply not acceptable.
Republicans are the reason civil unions died, and they will pay for it in November.
No matter what you thought of Dusty Saunders during his 54 years at the Rocky Mountain News, it's hard not to love him after reading his memoir, which came out late last year.
The book, Heeere's Dusty: Life in the TV and Newspaper World, is perfectly timed to chronicle an era that already seems like ancient history, even though Saunders ended his career at the Rocky just five years ago.
State Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin surrendered to authorities this afternoon to face nine criminal counts pertaining to her alleged use of state resources for campaign purposes. [...] Justice Melvin was identified as a target of the grand jury in December. The charges include three counts of theft of services, two counts of criminal conspiracy to commit tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, two counts of official oppression and one count each of criminal conspiracy to commit theft of services and misapplication of entrusted property of government.
"It now appears that not only was Justice Orie Melvin directly and knowingly involved in using state paid staffers from both the judicial and legislative branches of the Pennsylvania government in her political campaign activities, but it also appears that she was aided in those endeavors by two accomplices, co-conspirator and siblings -- Janine Mary Orie and [State Sen.] Jane Clare Orie," according to the presentment.
Her sister, State Senator Jane Orie, was convicted in March on 14 counts for her own misuse of state resources (and apparently the cover-up that followed).
A press release today from the Colorado Democratic Party highlights the significant and quite possibly lasting trouble Rep. Mike Coffman created for himself with his recent recorded statement that President Barack Obama is "not an American."
Following troubling reports that Congressman Mike Coffman echoed the wild accusations of the birther movement and attacked President Obama's basic credibility as Commander in Chief, Colorado Democratic Party First Vice-Chair Beverly Benvidez Ryken offered the following response:
"As a proud retired member of the U.S. Air Force, I know the value every active duty service member and veteran places on the leadership of our Commander in Chief. No matter what political party our President belongs to, our military takes pride in respecting the office and following orders. It is the core of our duty.
"The fact that Mike Coffman would hide behind his status as a veteran while making a half-apology shows just how little regard he has for the institutions and traditions that make our nation and our military the greatest on earth. His statements are unworthy of the uniform he once wore and show how extreme Mike Coffman really is."
We quoted yesterday from an open letter from veterans advocacy group VoteVets.org, blasting Coffman for invoking his status as a veteran Marine officer as an defense for his comments about President Obama's citizenship and national identity. One of our astute readers who frequently comments on veterans and military affairs points to an Army Times article that outlines acceptable limits to political activity by a member of the military:
My favorite UCMJ provision is Article 88, which makes it a crime for an officer to use contemptuous words against the president, the vice president, Congress, the secretary of defense, the secretary of a military department, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, or the governor or legislature of any state, territory, commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present.
In 1999, Army Lieutenant Colonel Michael Davidson explained in a law review article that contemptuous "means insulting, rude, disdainful or otherwise disrespectfully attributing to another qualities of meanness, disreputableness, or worthlessness."
Based on that definition, we have to say that Coffman's recent statements about President Obama probably would qualify as a violation of UCMJ Article 88. Our understanding is that Coffman retired from the Marine Corps following his last tour of duty in 2006, though, so we don't think he can actually be prosecuted for this--we'll leave that to lawyers to decide.
The real trouble for Coffman coming out of this embarrassment is the way these statements pollute his strongest asset as a candidate, his lengthy military record. It links his otherwise inoffensive boilerplate on duty and "exceptionalism" with discredited fringe conspiracy theories. Combined with the particular offense it could provoke in Coffman's newly diverse swing district, this was really one of the most injurious things he could possibly have done to himself.
We can't call this a game-ender in CD-6, but we may look back on it as a game-changer.
(Nice investigative blogging. - promoted by ProgressiveCowgirl)
I paid $1.25 to obtain a copy of the actual police report. Apologies to Jennifer Bailey. Nobody phoned the police. Someone physically walked into the police department to report an incident. The case status is inactive. After reading the actual police report, I stand by my original comment: The GOP needs anger management therapy.
Names have been redacted from the report, but this is the text:
(If it starts with "Do KLZ radio hosts know..." the answer is generally predictable. - promoted by ProgressiveCowgirl)
I spend a lot of time criticizing conservative talk-radio hosts, and some people think I'm beating my head against the keyboard.
Too bad for me. Here I go again.
I can't accept that KLZ host's Ken Clark and Jason Worley agree with Sen. Ted Harvey when he says, on the radio, that Rep. Morgan Carroll's bill requiring hospitals to post a list of services that they do not provide is like "putting yellow stars on the door of religious hospitals."
Even if you disagree with her bill, proposed legislation like Carroll's and Nazi Germany have zero in common with one another.
Today, Congressman Doug Lamborn received the endorsement of Congressman Allen West (FL-22) in his bid for re-election in Colorado's 5th Congressional District.
"I strongly endorse and support Doug Lamborn for re-election to Congress. Doug Lamborn is a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform, and for those who have faithfully served in the past.
Doug is also a warrior himself for the Constitutional conservative values that make America great.
I am honored to have Doug as a colleague, working with him shoulder to shoulder, and look forward to continuing the battle with him for the future and legacy of our Republic." -Congressman Allen West
By all rights a fine endorsement to score in Rep. Doug Lamborn's primary contest against businessman Robert Blaha in the ultra-conservative 5th congressional district--Rep. Allen West is a darling of the "Tea Party," and a fine way to bulk up Lamborn's right wing primary-voter credentials in the face of Blaha's unexpectedly stout challenge.
With one little caveat, Lamborn's staff toldAllison Sherry of the Denver paper today after her inquiry that despite Rep. West's endorsement, Lamborn does not share West's view that "78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party are members of the Communist Party!"
Depending on who you ask, this either makes Lamborn slightly less nutty or a total sellout.
As ably retold by the Washington Post'sfact-checkerGlenn Kessler:
"We were able to help create over 100,000 jobs. On the president's watch, about 100,000 jobs were lost in the auto industry and auto dealers and auto manufacturers, so he's hardly one to point a finger."
- Mitt Romney, interview on Hot Air, May 16, 2011
The 100,000 jobs is back! The presumptive GOP nominee all but stopped mentioning he created 100,000 in the private sector after we declared in January that claim was untenable and unproven. The biggest problem is that Romney is counting all the jobs added by companies long after he had left the leadership of Bain Capital - and even after Bain's investment in the companies had ended.
In the Hot Air interview, Romney even made this claim while at the same time arguing that a recent Obama campaign commercial slamming the job losses at a particular Bain investment was unfair because "the steel factory closed down two years after I left Bain Capital. I was no longer there, so that's hardly something which is on my watch." (Technically, Romney had not completely extricated himself from Bain but that's another story.)
The logic there escapes us. Romney appears to be saying it is okay to count jobs created after he left Bain, but it's not okay to count jobs lost after he left Bain... [Pols emphasis]
You'll recall that the main defense from Mitt Romney's campaign against the Obama camp's GST Steel ads this week was Romney had "left" Bain Capital by the time that Kansas City plant was closed--kind of problematic if Romney is taking credit for jobs created by Bain Capital investments after he left too! As for the claim that Barack Obama presided over the loss of "100,000 jobs in the auto industry," according to Kessler, it "does not add up."
Yes, there were some painful cuts in the auto industry at the start of Obama's presidency, largely because tough choices had to be made. One could argue whether those choices were necessary or effective, but the bottom line is clear: No matter how you slice it, jobs overall have grown substantially in the auto industry under Obama. In fact, it is one of the bright spots of today's economy.
In summary, Kessler gave this latest excursion into factually-challenged territory from Romney the maximum "Four Pinocchios" on their rating scale, but for local readers who have been with us long enough to remember, a picture is truly worth a thousand words (above, right).
Neither Romney nor "Both Ways Bob" Beapurez were harmed in the making of this picture.
"You force insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions we're not talking insurance anymore. We're talking welfare. It's not insurance. People don't want to hear this I know. What are the Republicans afraid of?"
(You knew this would happen, didn't you? - promoted by Colorado Pols)
KHOW talk-radio host Peter Boyles spent the morning saying that, despite his apology, Coffman really does believe that Obama, "in his heart," is "not an American."
"Tragically, or luckily, whatever way it goes, I've spent almost five years listening and reading, and there's more holes in [Obama's] story than you can drive a truck through. What if Coffman had said, as a U.S. Congressman, we know more about the life of George Washington than we know about Barack Obama. That would have been a bombshell...
If [Coffman] had schooled himself on all the right questions, when Channel 9 came to him and said, hey, we have this recording of you, he could have said, yeah, and plus, let me add to that."
Boyles continued:
"Coffman writes an apology letter to Channel 9. It's weenie. Dude, you could have said, by the way, what about that social security number, how about that draft number. ... [Coffman] says, 'I misspoke.' Come on."
(Bumped into Thursday for self-evident reasons - promoted by Colorado Pols)
THURSDAY UPDATE #2: Veterans' advocacy group VoteVets.org has launched an online petition, calling on signers to tell Rep. Mike Coffman that "Veterans don't use their service as an excuse to smear the Commander-in-Chief." From their open letter:
American exceptionalism means holding our country to a higher standard. Without a doubt, President Obama's policies and actions reflect a belief that, as Americans, we must lead the world by example. That includes showing respect for other countries, cultures and religions, building alliances when we can, but also striking at those who do us harm - like Osama bin Laden.
What undermines American exceptionalism is comments such as yours, Congressman Coffman. You have undermined our politics and our democracy - the very foundation of what makes American great. What is worse, you used your service in the Marine Corps as an excuse to make those attacks on the Commander-in-Chief. Such statements are a disgrace to those who have worn the uniform.
Congressman Coffman, stop using your Veteran status to smear the patriotism of the President who ordered the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, took thousands of troops out of harms way and has nearly doubled the Veterans budget. If you truly believe in American exceptionalism, start by leading by example when it comes to our democracy and political debate.
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THURSDAY UPDATE: FOX 31's Eli Stokols with reactions today:
State Rep. Joe Miklosi, the Democrat challenging Coffman, issued a statement blasting Coffman's "extremism."
"These outrageous comments once again make clear that Mike Coffman is Colorado's version of Rush Limbaugh," Miklosi said. "This kind of extremism is why Washington doesn't work."
"Mike Coffman has shown an offensive lack of respect for the Office of the President and has done so simply to score political points," Miklosi continued. "This kind of rhetoric is beneath his office and has no place in politics.
"Disagreeing with the President is one thing but to accuse the Commander in Chief of being un-American is simply shameful. Its this kind of behavior that causes so much dysfunction in Washington and it needs to stop."
At a May 12 fundraiser at the Elbert County Fairgrounds, [Rep. Mike] Coffman wrapped up a 12-minute speech to donors with an unprompted discussion of President Obama's citizenship and national identification.
"I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don't know that," Coffman said. "But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American." [Pols emphasis]
After a short pause, which Elbert County Republican Chairman Scott Wills recalled as "deafening silence," Coffman was met with applause, tentative at first...
Coffman issued a written apology Tuesday evening.
"I misspoke and I apologize," the statement began. "I have confidence in President Obama's citizenship and legitimacy as President of the United States."
Folks, we honestly don't know how you're supposed to walk this back. This isn't some merely unfortunate turn of phrase like "hugging the tar baby," this is a sitting member of Congress flat-out saying the President of the United States is "just not an American." Whether or not he was born in America, and for good "birther" measure, Mike Coffman makes it clear he wasn't present at Kapi'olani Hospital on August 4, 1961 to know if Barack Obama was born there.
Okay? Coffman didn't "misspeak." Like Jessica Peck's vow to "help" Coffman's election with her nonprofit, it's just a case of dropping one's filter with a recording device rolling.
It should go without saying that this is politically very bad, except perhaps for somebody running in Tom Tancredo's old district. Which, as we've tried to warn Coffman, doesn't exist anymore.
This may be the moment Coffman finally learns that lesson.
From the Clean Water Fund's (related to better-known Clean Water Action) release yesterday:
Clean Water Fund, a Colorado citizen group, launched a $100,000 TV buy in Pueblo that highlights Congressman Scott Tipton's support for tax breaks and subsidies for Big Oil companies. Rep. Tipton has supported tax breaks for Big Oil companies 6 times (see chart), subsidizing their $137 billion in profits while drivers in Pueblo and across Colorado are paying nearly $4/gallon for gas.
"Congressman Tipton's support for tax breaks for Big Oil companies is just plain wrong," said Gary Wockner of Clean Water Fund. "Big Oil made $137 billion in profits last year - Big Oil doesn't need Tipton's help to get even richer off the backs of drivers in Colorado who are struggling in this tough economy."
The ad will air for 10 days throughout Southern Colorado.
A recent Wall Street Journal poll found that 74% of Americans want to stop giving tax breaks to Big Oil companies . At the same time, Big Oil companies spent $65.7 million lobbying Congress in 2011 to maintain the tax breaks and other industry friendly regulations.
Here's yet another ad hitting back squarely on a supposed strong point for the GOP, energy policy--we've said that this is a smart thing for Democrats and their allies to be doing, for as long as Republicans keep up their "low-information" attacks on the issue.
While $100,000 seems like an insignificant number in the era of multimillion-dollar Super PAC buys, focused on the relatively cheap Southern Colorado market, it can go a long way.
Remember, Scott Tipton needs to win big on the West Slope, but also not lose too much here.
Yesterday, right-wing news site Breitbart.com released a new video from conservative "gotcha" artist James O'Keefe, purportedly showing how easy it is for "non-citizens" to vote:
In the video, William Romero, an apparent non-citizen, is shown to be registered to vote in North Carolina. According to jury refusal records obtained by Project Veritas, Romero was recused for being a non-citizen. Yet when a researcher from Project Veritas went into the polling station, he found that not only was Romero still on the voting rolls but the poll workers were also more than willing to give him Romero's ballot.
The video finds that another alleged non-citizen in Durham County, North Carolina, was on the voter rolls--and apparently voted in 2008 and 2010--even though he had been categorized as "code 7" in jury recusal forms, which means he had been excused as a non-citizen.
In another crucial swing state, Florida, elections officials fear as many as 180,000 non-citizens may be registered to vote. In Colorado, during the 2010 midterm elections, 5,000 non-citizens may have voted...
As you know, we (and others) have repeatedly debunked this persistent claim that "5,000 noncitizens may have voted" in the 2010 elections in Colorado. The claim originates with Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who used this figure in congressional testimony, but it doesn't stand up to even casual scrutiny. As we noted and local media outlets realized last year, over thirty thousand Colorado residents became citizens during the period Gessler "analyzed," enough to easily account for the 5,000 "noncitizens" who "may" have voted in 2010.
As liberal blog Think Progressreports, O'Keefe appears to have made exactly the same error.
ThinkProgress spoke with [Zbigniew] Gorzkowski this morning. He verified that this information was indeed correct and he had been an American citizen since the late 1980s. Therefore, his votes in the 2008 and 2010 elections were not only perfectly legal, but encouraged as a civic duty.
In other words, the one instance in the video where O'Keefe purports to show that a non-citizen had actually voted, in fact shows that a citizen voted.
The episode does speak to a larger underlying problem with most accusations of voter fraud. It's what I call the "Scooby Doo routine". People like O'Keefe make wild voter fraud accusations like non-citizens voting, only to discover a much simpler explanation for the situation...
[William] Romero's family told ThinkProgress he became a naturalized citizen in early 2011.
What's more, Romero's family told ThinkProgress that they had began receiving harassing telephone calls two weeks before the incident in the video asking if Romero was a citizen. They confirmed to the caller - it's unclear whether they were speaking with O'Keefe himself or another individual - that Romero is indeed a citizen. Nevertheless, O'Keefe proceeded to ambush the family at their home and publish this video claiming he's not a citizen.
One member of his family, who was confronted in O'Keefe's video as he came home to care for his sick son, was incensed by the charge, calling it "completely absurd."
Bottom line: this story should help explain why, although Secretary of State Gessler has repeatedly thrown around accusations suggesting that "thousands" of non-citizens "may have voted," including spreading the 5,000 figure used in the Breitbart.com story above, he has never produced a documented example of this actually having happened.
Because Gessler would most likely end up looking like James O'Keefe.
(It ain't over 'til it's over, then started again, then over again. - promoted by ProgressiveCowgirl)
Gov. John Hickenlooper's full statement on the end of today's special session.
DENVER Â- Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - Gov. John Hickenlooper today thanked the General Assembly for using the special session to successfully address unfinished business that died last week without debate or consideration by the House of Representatives.
Lawmakers this week passed a water projects bill that will create jobs in communities across Colorado and an Unemployment Insurance bill that will assist business in saving money and improving the program. Lawmakers also passed a law to cut red tape for businesses, and they appropriately had the opportunity to fully consider other important legislation.
"It was important for the General Assembly to finish consideration of important bills that died last week when the House recessed to avoid voting on civil unions," Hickenlooper said. "With the exception of civil unions, each of the bills we put on the special session call received an open debate and a final vote just like they deserved."
If you've ever fancied yourself as a member of Gov. John Hickenlooper's cabinet and you know a thing or two about energy, you might be in luck.
The Governor's office announced today that Tanuj "TJ" Deora has resigned as Director of the Colorado Energy Office in order to accept a position in the private sector with IHS in Englewood. Full press release after the jump.
POLS NOTE: *Yeah, we know the title is cheesy, but would you rather see another "Bain of His Existence" pun?
Presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has been taking some hard shots (again) from his time as CEO at Bain Capital, and information is now leaking out about how Colorado was negatively impacted by Bain's business model.
You might recall that prominent Republicans were growing concerned in January that the Bain Capital attacks - coming from GOP Presidential contenders Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry -- could severely damage Romney in the General Election. From The Hill on Jan. 11:
Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) warned that Republican candidates "ought not cannibalize" themselves and denounced a commercial funded by a pro-Gingrich political action committee that has been critical of Romney's record at Bain...
...Rush Limbaugh, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Michelle Malkin and the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal are among the other figures on the right to have lambasted the attacks as going too far.
Republicans were acutely aware of the harm that these attacks will cause Romney, and Democrats certainly aren't going to pull any punches as the Bain stuff gets more state-specific. Here in Colorado, two of the emerging Bain connections involve AMF Bowling and Alliance Entertainment - deals that led to both job losses and bankruptcies.
AMF Bowling In 1998 AMF closed its Colorado manufacturing plant in Golden, and 40-45 employees lost their jobs. Two years earlier Bain Capital had invested $22 million in AMF as part of a leveraged buyout. As the Baltimore Sun reported in October 2008:
AMF Bowling Inc., the world's largest operator of bowling centers, plans to close a Colorado plant and fire 40 to 45 employees to cut costs as Asia's economic turmoil reduces its revenue. AMF said it will move its AMF Century bowling-lane making and supplies business from Golden, Colo., and combine it with its main plant in Richmond, Va. AMF Century will keep five to 10 managers from the plant, which has 50 employees.
Just a few years later, in 2001, AMF filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. You don't need a Ouija board to see how this is going to be played out in TV ads: Bain Capital invests in AMF, Colorado jobs are lost, and AMF soon goes bankrupt.
Alliance Entertainment The other Colorado connection that has emerged is about Alliance Entertainment. Bain invested in Alliance in 1995 and doubled its investment after just six months. By 1997 Bain held a 7.35% stake in Alliance, the same year that the company closed facilities in Denver, Connecticut, California, New Jersey and Dallas as part of a "consolidation plan." Alliance Entertainment acknowledged that 851 people lost their jobs. You can probably guess what happened next...in July 1997, Alliance filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
These stories aren't quite as jarring as some of the others that are circulating, such as this note from today's Tampa Bay Times about Bain seeking millions of dollars in tax breaks for creating jobs in Puerto Rico - just before closing the Florida facilities and putting 850 people out of work (Bain, meanwhile, walked away with an 800 percent return on its "investment," a cool $242 million). But the severity of each individual story is less important than the overall narrative that is being spun: Coloradans lost jobs so Bain Capital, and Romney, could make more money.
The more examples that pop up around the country, the more that this storyline will stick in the minds of voters - all of which makes it much harder for Romney to campaign as the better "business" candidate.
Rep. Don Coram, who cast the deciding vote Monday to kill the revived civil unions bill during this week's special legislative session, told FOX 31 Denver Wednesday that he stands behind his vote, despite criticism from his gay son...
"If you're going to lead, you need to sometimes set aside your personal preferences and do what you were sent here to do," Coram continued. "This situation in my district is very, very clear from the calls I had coming in that this was an issue my district didn't support."
But some Democrats have taken issue with his "voting my district" defense, noting that Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, who represents many of the same constituents as Coram, voted in favor of civil unions when it cleared the Senate near the end of the regular legislative session.
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9NEWS' Kevin Torresreports, though most following the story of the killing of civil unions legislation at the hands of Colorado House Republicans are already well aware of this sidebar:
When a Republican representative from Montrose voted against the bill to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples on Monday evening, many people dubbed him the "man who killed it." After his vote, Rep. Don Coram acknowledged he has a gay son, which prompted his son to question his father's decision...
For most of his life, Dee Coram ignored his father's politics and kept his distance. But when the civil unions bill popped up, Dee Coram decided to have a heart-to-heart with his father.
"He did say at that time if it goes to the floor, I will vote no. But at that time his stance was the committee should send it and let the House vote on it," Dee Coram said... [Pols emphasis]
"He was given an opportunity here to actually be a leader and I guess he didn't take that leadership role. It's disappointing to see something like this that he said should have gone to a house floor for a vote. Essentially, he prevented that from happening," Dee Coram said.
The story from 9NEWS' Kevin Torres makes it clear that Rep. Don Coram and his openly gay son Dee Coram are still close even after this vote, and that Dee never expected his father to be a "yes" vote on final passage of civil unions. We can see where, under less politically volatile circumstances, Rep. Coram might indeed have agreed with his son that the bill deserved a vote in the full House. But with the issue exploding in the face of Republican House leadership and national media coverage, "politically volatile" became a quaint understatement.
To us, this story once again illustrates the terrible pressure that was put on "reliable" Republicans by their leadership to fall in line and ensure that the civil unions bill died by whatever means necessary. After what happened at the end of the regular session, there was no need for niceties--it's not like Republicans could look any worse. There's little question GOP Speaker Frank McNulty had conferred with the Republican members of the House State Affairs Committee prior to assigning the bill there, to ensure that they wouldn't give him any surprises like Rep. B.J. Nikkeldid during the regular session. The reason one is appointed to the State Affairs Committee to begin with is that leadership is confident of their loyalty.
So when the time came, Rep. Coram "did his duty"--when in different circumstances, we can't help but think in his defense, he might have acted differently? Obviously we don't know he would have, but the story as told by his son obligates us to leave a small window of doubt.
And if that's how it all went down, you have to feel kind of sorry for both of them.
(Like the Taiwan legislature, except with cowboy hats - promoted by Colorado Pols)
I've been reading about fights breaking out at GOP conventions and thinking that the GOP needs to sign up for anger management therapy.
Most of the fighting seems to be between Ron Paul supporters and Mitt Romney supporters. According to the Daily Paul website, "In Oklahoma, in a scene that has been called "contention at the convention", a Romney supporter (believed to be almost 80-years-old) punched a Ron Paul supporter in the head. Police were called after the punch was thrown over a disagreement on a vote."
Grand Junction isn't immune. I was told that a fight broke out at a recent Grand Junction Republican meeting (May 9.) Evidently two factions of the party were fighting over who would be the spokesperson for the Romney campaign locally. According to my source, Grand Junction police were called to break up a fist fight between Jerry Huntsinger (author and civil war re-enactor) and Garry Brewer (husband of Barbara Brewer, Mesa County Assessor). Evidently Marjorie Haun and Jennifer Baily were witnesses to the fisticuffs.
As the Obama campaign this week began a concerted attack on the presumptive GOP nominee for his tenure at the private equity firm he managed, strategists in both parties say the Republican has yet to give a confident, detailed explanation of his Bain Capital tenure that silences questions about his biography as a businessman. So far in 2012, Romney - who is centering his presidential campaign on economic leadership - has rarely if ever managed to speak about Bain in any but the most defensive of terms.
The anti-Bain message is an attack Romney has faced in every race of his political career, sometimes managing to control the damage - and other times, like his 1994 Senate bid, watching his campaign go up in smoke as a result...
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a top Romney endorser and potential running mate, argued at a Bloomberg View event in New York City that the GST Steel attack is unfair because "that's capitalism."
The story of the closing of the GST Steel mill in Kansas City following its acquisition by Bain Capital is being pushed today by both the Barack Obama campaign (video above), as well as Priorities USA Action, with ad buys including here in Colorado. Like Politico says, Mitt Romney has yet to produce a coherent narrative for his time at Bain Capital, which the Obama campaign promises includes many more examples like that of GST Steel. Since this is one of Romney's principal weaknesses, they're going to want a better answer than "that's capitalism."
Because that kind of feeds the Obama campaign's stereotype.
UPDATE: FOX 31's Eli Stokols begins to tally the damage:
On Monday morning, as supporters of civil unions rallied on the Capitol's west steps, Dan Ritchie and Greg Stevinson, two reliable, deep-pocketed GOP donors, stood with them.
Sources have told FOX 31 that Stevinson, along with Charlie Gallagher, another big GOP donor, are so upset with McNulty's handling of the civil unions bill they may not donate to his GOP Majority fund this fall [Pols emphasis] - this as the Democrats' main money man, Tim Gill, who made a point of showing up for Monday's hearing in person, is likely to write even larger checks to help Democrats win back a House majority.
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Last night House Speaker Frank McNulty used a "kill committee" to end the hopes of civil unions legislation in the 2012 Colorado legislative session. We continue to be baffled by McNulty's political rationale behind this move; while McNulty's maneuvering to prevent the bill from reaching the House floor may galvanize a portion of the GOP base, he also handed Democrats a ginormous stick with which to pummel Republican candidates in the fall.
We were reminded of a telling statement from Public Policy Polling in April when they released new survey results showing that a whopping 62% of Colorado voters support civil unions (compared to 32% opposition). As PPP noted in their April memo:
We already see Colorado shading bluer and bluer at the Presidential level and this is one of the issues where Republicans seem to be stuck behind while the electorate is moving forward.
There was no way that McNulty and friends were going to come out of the Special Session looking good after last week's end-run around the House floor to prevent a vote on civil unions, but there was a way to reduce the damage. McNulty should have let the bill go to the floor and let any Republican 'YES' vote become available for the public record.
What happened instead is that McNulty turned a single issue -- civil unions -- into a broader narrative of Republicans refusing to even give legislation a fair up or down vote. While that 62% of Colorado voters who support civil unions will no doubt be reminded again and again of McNulty's tactics as we approach November, the GOP is also going to lose a lot of votes from people who may have been indifferent to the issue but really don't like seeing the Democratic process being tossed in the trash. A loss of votes in November from opposition to civil unions was probably inevitable. Losing voters because McNulty's maneuvering was altogether avoidable.
It was this kind of behavior that ultimately led to Republicans losing control of the legislature in 2004, and it's a good bet that history will repeat itself come November.
As ably retold by the Washington Post's 
