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July 30, 2012 04:28 PM UTC

Canadians For Prosperity, Anyone?

  • 47 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

The Grand Junction Sentinel’s Charles Ashby:

The man who has been the Mesa County director of Americans for Prosperity since 2009 is Canadian, has benefited from government-issued food stamps and has an undetermined residency status.

That’s ironic even to Kelly Sloan, the Grand Junction resident who, until recently, wrote a newspaper column touting the group’s ideals of smaller government and legal immigration, and its opposition to such government programs as food stamps…

[AFP state director Jeff] Crank said he’s asked Kelly for documents that show his residency status but has yet to see anything.

Still, Crank said his group would never hire a Canadian or anyone else who isn’t a citizen of the United States.

This story takes some amusing twists. Canadian citizen Kelly Sloan has been the “volunteer” director of the Mesa chapter of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, but when it comes time to actually pay a director, that won’t do–even though according to Sloan he can legally work in the U.S. But if Jeff Crank wouldn’t “hire” somebody to work for AFP who’s not an American citizen, why would he let a noncitizen be the “volunteer” director for three years?

Apparently this came to a head after Mr. Sloan’s wife posted remarks on Facebook indicating that Sloan was “dragging his feet” on his citizenship paperwork. A July 13 post claimed the family was also relying on food stamps. Needless to say, the thought of a noncitizen on food stamps is enough to set the blood of Mesa County conservatives (and AFP members generally) to boil.

Despite all of this hubbub, Jeff Crank says of Sloan, “as a volunteer, we’ll support anyone who supports our mission.” The possibility of a flood of illegal immigrants showing up at Crank’s office to volunteer for Americans for Prosperity, you’ve got to admit, is kind of intriguing!

Comments

47 thoughts on “Canadians For Prosperity, Anyone?

  1. Kelly Sloan is a former Western Slope Conservative Alliance board of director’s member where he received special dispensation in the form of a re-write of that group’s bylaws to remove the citizenship requirement for board members (draft and final bylaws available on request from GJResult.Tea Party (http://gjresult.com/forum/index.php ).  

    On May 4 this year, Western Slope Conservative Alliance co-sponsored with American’s for Prosperity and the Mesa County GOP a rally in which Western Slope Conservative Alliance declared itself to be a Tea Party.  Although it appears they are having some problem in finding a suitable name for their Tea Party group.  It seems all the really good ones are already taken.

    Kelly Sloan was present at the 2010 GOP assembly held in Palisade and exchanged heated words with some GJResult.Tea Party members prior to bogus criminal allegations being filed against GJResult.Tea Party leadership by the then President of Western Slope Conservative Alliance.  

    The fact that AFP has been subsidizing the Western Slope Conservative Alliance group has been common knowledge in Mesa County for several years as has been Kelly Sloan’s Canadian citizenship.  It looks like the newspaper is playing catch up.  

      1. IIRC,

        last week you posted that small biz owners really didn’t build their businesses, that the government – through roads, fire protection, etc. – built them.  

        1. You know perfectly well that the full context was that nobody builds a small business with no help from anyone or reliance on publicly funded infrastructure, educated workers, and often tax breaks, credits, loans as well. Even the supposed exemplars of rugged individualism, American ranchers are no such thing, having enjoyed dirt cheap public grazing all their lives.

          Why can’t you people just admit that we are and always have been a community of connected individuals relying on one another, not independent islands.

          1)We all need a healthy prosperous community in which to thrive

          2) The government isn’t some external entity imposing on us.  In our system it is an expression of our community.  We are the government through our elected representatives. There  is nothing wrong with someone in need receiving food stamps but there is something very sick and twisted about railing against the government that provides this assistance for being to large and spending too much and handing out too much welfare while you avail yourself of it.

          Old news or not, this is hardly a shining hour for you supposed libertarians and patriots.

    1. This is the epitome of hypocrisy and as stupid as all those Tea Party signs proclaiming “Keep your Government Hands off My Medicare”.  

  2. When I opened my E-mail this morning there was an E-mail from a facebook friend informing me of an article in the Sentinel about Kelly Sloan. I knew the story was coming because of a recent brief conversation with the author, Charles Ashby.

    I also know there is more to the story. Someone should ask why he is no longer writing for the Free Press. I know the answer, but I promised the source of my information not to reveal what I know. There are hints to the answer in the Ashby story.

    I feel sorry for Kelly Sloan. He has carried the water for the Koch Brothers and conservatives on the Western Slope for years, but now that he is in financial trouble he is left out in the cold. He’s been replaced as the spokesperson for Americans for Prosperity. His wife says they are on food stamps. His column at the Free Press has been cancelled.

    Kelly is a decent enough fellow, even though his politics are misguided. I met him when I ran against Senator Steve King. When King was hiding in the bathroom at debate events, Kelly was chatting up my campaign entourage. We even briefly flirted with the idea of pitching a political commentary show to local TV stations. It seems that everywhere I go Kelly is there with his video camera. He’s always friendly on those occasions, although he may be waiting for me to say something colorful that he can use against Democrats.

    As a human being, I am sorry for Kelly’s troubles. I do find it ironic that the man who railed against any kind of social safety net is reduced to accepting food stamps to keep his family fed.

  3. Why is it when someone associated with the Western Slope Conservative Alliance GOP shill group gets themselves in trouble they suddenly become “conservative”?  These are the same people that endorsed Tipton and McInnis.  Their board of director’s reads like a who’s who in the Republican Party.  They’re the same people who have been attacking the Tea Party for over three years now.  Conservative?  Not in this lifetime.  

    1. make that distinction, in the future…just for you. There are, I would guess, at least a few very conflicted conservatives left in the GOP.  Is that fair to say?  

      1. that there are a great many conservatives still clinging to the hope that the GOP will at some point recognize if they continue to purge the conservative voice from their party they will end up losing elections and become a minority party.  That almost happened last year in Colorado.  

        The Republicans want our votes but the idea of caucusing with conservative Tea Party people is absolutely repulsive to the GOP elitists and they generally become conservative only when they’re thrown under the bus in an effort to keep from getting any of that on the GOP brand name, or when they desperately need our votes.  

        You may recall that just a few short weeks ago Western Slope Conservative Alliance co-sponsored a rally with American’s for Prosperity and the Mesa County Republicans which they billed as a Tea Party.  That effort fell flat on its face when none of the Tea Party members or conservatives showed up because we were well aware of the masquerade.  Much of the info in today’s Kelly Sloan article has been known for over two years to GJResult.Tea Party members who have been taking the rap for GOP and Western Slope Conservative Alliance bad behavior for a long time now.  They had the game and we had the name and it looks like the newspapers are finally getting wise.  And it’s about time.

        The irony of this situation is that Kelly Sloan and Western Slope Conservative Alliance were enthusiastic supporters of third party candidate and border enforcement activist Tom Tancredo in the last election.  Now you can ask; where is Tancredo when he is really needed.  

        1. the impression I have that the “corporatists” within your (ex?)party, say, Dick Armey f’rinstance, are the ones who have been behing all this manipulation of conservatives.

          “Dixiecrats” to the “Silent Majority” to the “Reagan Republicans” to ” the Christian Conservatives”  to “the Tea Party”…

          quite a transformation. You see..apart from the social issues, upon which we all agree we can always disagree, I think we CAN agree that the average “folk” of this nation, liberal, moderate, and conservative, are being shoved into neo-feudalism by the corporate aristocracy, the 1%. The return of the “Law of Kings” to replace “the Law is King” is afoot.

          Mitt Romney… “Dubya II” . Be very afraid.  

          1. on who’s pulling the strings nationally because I do not know that for a fact but I do know what’s happening locally and I know the same thing is happening nationwide.  

            As I’m sure you’re aware I am not afraid to name names when I have the facts to back it up, and when I get them you’ll know it.  

            1. The fact that AFP has been subsidizing the Western Slope Conservative Alliance group has been common knowledge in Mesa County for several years

              by: American Patriot @ Mon Jul 30, 2012 at 07:49:04 AM MDT

              Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a group fronting special interests started by oil billionaire David Koch and Richard Fink (a member of the board of directors of Koch Industries). AFP has been accused of funding astroturf operations but also has been fueling the “Tea Party” efforts. [1] AFP’s messages are in sync with those of other groups funded by the Koch Family Foundations and the Koch’s other special interest groups that work against progressive or Democratic initiatives and protections for workers and the environment. Accordingly, AFP opposes labor unions, health care reform, stimulus spending, and cap-and-trade legislation, which is aimed at making industries pay for the air pollution that they create.

              http://www.sourcewatch.org/ind

              1. that David Koch in his bio is in favor of Gay marriage.  Did you really think you were telling us something we didn’t know or did you feel you just needed to put the info up?  David Koch or AFP, the Republican Party, the Democrats nor any other special interest group funds our Tea Party nor do we take political patronage jobs and we only ask one thing of the candidates that we endorse and support and that is for them to help he next Tea Party candidate in any way they feel comfortable helping.  Some keep that promise; some don’t.  The other thing you forgot to mention was the special interest money from labor unions that is funneled to Democrat candidates and liberal organizations.  All same, same!  

                Want to stop it?  Partisan politics won’t get that job done.  That has to come from the people who are damned tired of having their individual vote devalued and that will only come when we stop arguing about which special interest group is funding which party and who does it the most and when we stop defending the political parties for doing it.  But that epiphany comes to people one at a time, although it is accelerating.  

                1. Koch doesn’t give a damn about gay marriage personally because it doesn’t cost him a penny.  Religious fundamentalist rubes do give a damn, and if appealing to their hatred helps him elect a more corporate-friendly government then so be it.

                  I’m not the one pretending to be a grass-roots activist.  The tea party does.

                  You’re missing the main point which is coporatism passing as populism.

                  1. which is there are a vast number of people who really are grass root activists who become involved in the cash race that goes on between the two parties because they have nowhere else to go.  Do the Democrats represent conservatives?  You see, real conservatives know damn well that the Republicans don’t.  But every time someone comes along and starts trying to find out if there’s any common ground they get set upon and forced into a position of defending Republicans simply because they agree with some of the Republican planks.  

                    Now I’m not going to pretend that I’m anything.  I’m too damned old for that.  What you see is what you get.  Likewise, I’m not over here to bash Democrats.  That wouldn’t be too bright would it?  Do you think there might be other blogs where a conservative would be more welcome?  Then exactly what do you think I’m doing over here?  Could it be that I’m trying to climb over some barriers that have been constructed by partisan rhetoric and by the vanity of those who want to argue for the sake of argument?  What does it gain any of us to make the same partisan arguments and points that are being made on a thousand other blogs as we speak?  

                    The special interests from both political ideologies own our country.  They just pass the power back and forth every four years.  How’s that working out for you?  Personally I think it sucks and I think the people are capable of governing themselves if they’re given a choice.  And that’s what the Tea Party I belong to is all about?  PRESERVATION OF CHOICE!.  That’s why we endorse and why we support.  We’re not trying to tell anyone who to vote for.  We’re simply trying to make sure that they have a choice.  The Republican’s hate us for it because they see their job as eliminating all the other choices except theirs and ditto for the Democrats and somewhere in the middle are the people who just want to raise their kids and live their lives.  But they can’t because every four years and every year in between they don’t have a government.  

                    What they do have is paralysis, oppressive taxation and regulation.  Government is just not affordable to the people any more.  And that’s what I would like to fix.  That’s why I’m here.  I have no desire to take over the Republican or the Democrat parties.  I don’t want to argue their power points or play word games.  And if you feel the same way, then I’m here to let you know you are not alone.  There are people on both sides of this constructed partisan barrier who feel the same way.  And the political party’s worst nightmare is that we’ll find some reason to start talking to each other.  End of rant.  I just happen to be conservative in the process.

                    1. What they do have is paralysis, oppressive taxation and regulation.  Government is just not affordable to the people any more.

                      Insert Koch Industries for “they” and “the people”, and your agenda is clear whether you realize it or not.

                      in the middle are the people who just want to raise their kids and live their lives

                      Their kids won’t grow up well if the corporate production fills their air and water with toxins, but somehow eroding the tax base should make it all work out..

                    2.  

                      the Democrat parties.

                      is a word game, AP. It is the “Democratic” party. And you know it.

                2. and if corporations are people then we should get one of our gay members to marry Koch industries and spend all their $$$$$$$$$.

                  Myself, I want to marry Victoria’s Secret 😉

                3. So what? Is it supposed to be a big surprise that the corporatists running the show don’t care about social issues? But it’s fine with them if their water carriers use the guns, god, gays and abortion formula to get elected and whatever crappy social conservative legislation gets passed as a result is not their problem. As long as they can keep squeezing every possible drop of wealth and power out of the masses and into their own gaping maws.  

                  For the Kochs, in the top .001%, merely making it into the top .1% or .01% is nothing. Riff raff. They need a bigger gap between themselves and the lower end of the elite to feel secure and in complete control.  

                  It never even occurred to me that people like the Kochs were overly concerned about that kind of screwing. It’s another kind that’s on their minds and they want to make sure that they remain the screwers and the 99+% remain the screwees. And so many poor schlubs are willing to cooperate at the drop of a single wedge issue.

        2. I must have missed the part where the Republican Party is purging conservatives. Over the past decades, I’ve noticed that moderate Republicans have been driven out of the Party, and that the Party is firmly in the hands of religious conservatives, except where you have right-wing anarchists (Libertarians) taking over.

          Opinion polling shows that Republicans are very, very conservative, and hold increasingly extreme opinions on a range of issues from anti-Science, disbelief in Global Warming, antagonism to Women’s health issues, Regressive Taxation, making holes in the Social Safety net, privatizing and cutting Social Security.

          Where are the lines in the Republican Party between conservative religious values, Corporate welfare and Tax policies favoring the super-SUPER wealthy?

          1. you’re not partisan and you know so much more about the Republican Party than I do.  They’re all conservative and evil.  Well I won’t pretend to judge you because I don’t know your life’s experience and you’re welcome to ignore what I say.  After all, I must have some ulterior motive.  It couldn’t be that I actually believe what I’m writing.  But just out of curiosity, would you say I’m a conservative or a Republican or both?  There’s absolutely no doubt that your part of the solution while I’m just part of the problem.  Has it ever occurred to you; that is just the kind of rhetoric that is responsible for driving conservatives deeper into the GOP camp or was that your intent, or do you just have a closed mind?  

            1. support continuing the current unfunded tax cuts for the 1-2% they are not interested in the future of this nation. a true conservative would have stood up and demanded that our 2 wars be funded, that the prescription drug plan be funded

              1. a true conservative would be standing up screaming trying to get his credit card back from the government.  I don’t want the crap funded.  What I want is for the government to live within its means and stop trying to be everything for everybody. We’re playing Santa Claus and cop to the whole world and all we get from the political parties is their agendas and their ability to spend other people’s money.  But that situation is self limiting and we’re almost there.  Greece is already in the early stages and we’re only about a year and a half behind Greece.  But what the hell, that’s not important.  

                Let’s argue the subtleties of Obamacare vs Romneycare or whether we should buy more drones or maybe the finer points of how many rounds we should allow an ammunition magazine to hold.  Then we can go into foreign aid, agenda 21, welfare and hell we could even argue about the Boy Scouts.  We could also fiddle while Rome burns. You’ont to?  

                1. because it is meaningless. If you allow yourself to fear agenda 21 then you have really lost focus on the real world.

                  I disagree about what a onservative would have done and would do in any instance. I also don’t think we are overtaxed. But, if we agree that what we want we have to pay for then perhaps we don’t go to war. If, on the other hand, we have Republicans and Democrats so in love with tax cuts and afraid to say “no” to war mongers, then we go to war. Bin Laden said his goal was to economically destroy us and he succeeded.

                  Greece does not fund their fun either. That is why they have the issues they have.

                  If we want to put folks back to work, and I do, then we have to realize that the filthy rich are NOT job creators, middle class consumers and, yes, the govt, are job creators. The middle class can not support the new jobs because it is now too small and too strapped. A small business, or a large one, will not hire another person until demand is so high that they must. We need a giant stimulus which focuses on our infrastructure needs. That would put hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million, people to work for several years and produce consumer demand

                  6-enough for any magazine

                  Write a diary beginning the conversation about Obamacare and I’ll play

                  1. stimulate yourself.  You’re just one of those partisan people who like to argue and obviously feel like I’m intruding in your space.  So I won’t intrude into your space.  It really must be boring covering the same ground over and over with no resolutions, just the drone of the figure eight.  So enjoy.  

                    1. intruding, just wrong.  

                      Stay and you might learn something; don’t go away hurt . . .

        3. The most conservative GOP in history is in trouble because it isn’t truly conservative. It’s the conservatives, not the liberal and moderate Rs who have been purged.  By your standards Reagan was a commie. I think the problem may be you are not operating with a correct definition of “conservative”.  

          1. but you have a definition that you’re willing to share.  Oh lucky me.  What do you people do all day?  Sit around and think this stuff up?   Now I know there are people on this site that do have some idea of what they’re talking about so I’ll just wait.  Why don’t you start a conversation with Gray in the Mountains?  There’s a stalemate just waiting to happen.  

            1. I’ve been waiting for a self-proclaimed conservative to diary exactly that on this site since….ever.

              Likewise a more useful piece about wha’t wrong with American politics than they all suck.

              Taxes are low, combat forces are out of Iraq and getting out of Af/Pak and the Yankees are the best team in baseball.  

              I’m voting for Obama – and said why.  You?

                1. at the moment I’m fielding questions and comments on our website, on the phone and from emails re our Tea Party endorsement of Timothy Menger, Libertarian candidate for House Dist 54.  Duke, you’re from Mesa County so maybe you can explain to these guys what’s going on with the GOP pic Jared Wright under investigation by Fruita PD.  It’s just a little hectic right now.  I didn’t go away hurt, I’m busy.  

                  Half of our Tea Party board is on vacation and I’m having to hunt them down to obtain a couple of votes on issues that are coming up.  We’re doing the research work on our two and one half hour Rep Ray Scott interview and it seems like everyone in town is calling me personally to find out what’s going on.  So sorry people, I’ll get back to you later.  

                  1. We need to come together on what we are working for and on. There may be worthwhile convergences.

                    From Neruda:

                    Give me water, silence, hope

                    Give me struggle, iron, volcanoes.

                    There is no joy without effort, as my wife always says (    🙂    ).

                    1. a worthwhile endeavor. It’s not really a work ethic, it’s a way of life.  I had a vacation eight years ago so what’s not to like 🙂

            2. definition that included themselves and hardly any of them would be accepted as conservative now by the definition your kind has come up with.

              1. This should be interesting?  Is this free or do you charge for your critiques? And of course you won’t mind if I do an assessment of my own which is actually just a few easy questions?  The first one is; will you take a check?  

                1. the words you type and the way you seem to believe you have some corner on the true American patriotism market. Incidentally, you do know that nothing in your responses to my comments make any objective sense. Not a surprise.

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