Galindo Recall Organizers Admit It's Not About Oil and Gas

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by: Colorado Pols

Rep. Rochelle Galindo (D-Greeley).

Another must-read story from the Greeley Tribune’s Tyler Silvy this weekend digs into the central question around the nascent recall campaign against freshman Rep. Rochelle Galindo of Greeley–why is this happening? Is it because Rep. Galindo is a “homosexual pervert” trying to indoctrinate the children like Pastor Steve Grant, one of the original organizers of the recall campaign says? Or it it the oil and gas local control bill now awaiting Gov. Jared Polis’ signature?

Treasurer Dave Young, who preceded Rep. Galindo in HD-50, doesn’t get it–unless the answer is as simple as it seems:

A Tribune review of Young’s votes from the 2013 legislative session reveal Young’s support for limits on high-capacity magazines and for background checks for gun sales between private parties. It revealed a “yes” vote on a controversial renewable energy mandate for rural electric cooperatives that served as another basis for the failed 51st State initiative that year.

And it revealed “yes” votes on bills that increased oil and gas spill reporting requirements, monitoring requirements, increased fines for oil and gas violations and sought to change the mission and makeup of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, including forcing the commission to prioritize health and safety…

“In many, many ways, the votes I’ve taken and the policy stances I’ve had are pretty much the same (as Galindo),” Young said. “The question is, ‘Why her and not me?’ What is it about her that they’re really attacking here? I think that raises some pretty serious questions.” [Pols emphasis]

What’s the difference, asks Treasurer Dave Young? And when you look at Young’s record in the House, including plenty of votes that should by the reasoning applied to Rep. Galindo have provoked the same degree of anger against Young, it just doesn’t make sense. This includes votes in 2013, the last year recall elections were attempted and (not coincidentally) the last time Democrats were in full control of the legislature. What’s the difference, other than Rep. Young is a straight white guy and Rep. Galindo is not?

The response to this very reasonable question, not from the previously identified haters like Pastor Grant but from the “mainstream” Weld County Republicans who are trying to convince you this is not a campaign of wedge issue haters, more or less confirms Young’s suspicion.

Former Weld County GOP Chairwoman Stacey Kjeldgaard, who is leading the recall effort, in a phone interview Sunday went further when it comes to oil and gas — and the potential negative economic impact of SB 181 — being the reason for the recall.

“That’s our big thing; that’s our only thing,” Kjeldgaard said.

But then there’s this: When asked whether she would be working to recall Galindo if she had voted “no” on SB 181, Kjeldgaard said, “Absolutely.” [Pols emphasis]

Full stop. If the “negative impact” of Senate Bill 19-181 is the “only thing” driving the recall of Rep. Galindo, why would they recall her regardless of her vote on Senate Bill 19-181?

After blowing this extremely important question, Stacey Kjeldgaard threw out some empty platitudes about how Rep. Young “had connections to the community”–as if Galindo didn’t grow up in Greeley, or serve on the City Council before running for the legislature. But it doesn’t matter–by admitting that the “only thing” allegedly pertinent to recalling Rep. Galindo wouldn’t have affected their decision even if Galindo had voted against the bill, they’ve conceded the reality of the situation.

Just like Ken Buck comparing gay people to Nazis, sometimes you just have to take people at their word.

15 thoughts on “Galindo Recall Organizers Admit It’s Not About Oil and Gas”

unnamed says:

April 8, 2019 at 10:34 am

One of many diaries making it clear that recall proponents from Kjeldgaard, the Nevilles, Dudley Brown, and the wealthy landowners bankrolling this on down to the rubes buying in, are simply entitled, sore losers who can't stand the fact that they cannot win real elections. To quote the great Poddy Mouth:

Fuck off Sore losers!!!

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1. Diogenesdemar says:
  
  April 8, 2019 at 10:57 am
  
  Yep. It’s tangentially about 181 — in that the big money oily boyz are pushing their pocket change to the evangelical homophobes and gunnutz, who can always be counted upon to be as exploitable as they are gullible and hateful . . .
  
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  1. unnamed says:
    
    April 8, 2019 at 11:16 am
    
    Yep. In reality it's all about Republican sore losers and the entitlement they feel to be in power and getting angry that it is becoming progressively harder for them to win legitimate elections in Colorado.
    
    BTW, thank you Ms. Kjeldgaard for making it clear that this recall attempt is about nothing but a Republican power grab.
    
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    1. Curmudgeon says:
      
      April 8, 2019 at 11:24 am
      
      Time is running out for all parties pushing this recall effort; they're being backed in to a corner. The more people that vote, the less power these groups have.
      
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      1. unnamed says:
        
        April 8, 2019 at 12:44 pm
        
        Time is running out for all parties pushing this recall effort; they're being backed in to a corner.
        
        How so?
        
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        Curmudgeon says:
        
        April 8, 2019 at 2:10 pm
        
        https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/17/next-generation-voters-are-more-liberal-more-inclusive-believe-government/
        
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  2. mamajama55 says:
    
    April 8, 2019 at 4:39 pm
    
    Yep.
    
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RepealAndReplace says:

April 8, 2019 at 11:18 am

Steve Grant is channeling Anita Bryant circa 1978.

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JohnInDenver says:

April 8, 2019 at 12:15 pm

I think Sen. John Cooke ought to be asked for his opinion on the recall. Ask him if the oil vote is "the only thing" justifying it.

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PodestaEmails says:

April 8, 2019 at 3:38 pm

Dipshits, it's about all of it.

She's terrible representative for Greeley. She should run in Capitol Hill if she wants to destroy the oil and gas industry and indoctrinate children to be gay.

You're going to have to accept someday that there are people who disagree with your liberals and we're not going to go away quietly to the slaughter.

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1. unnamed says:
  
  April 8, 2019 at 3:45 pm
  
  Poddy Mouth. You guys lost fair and square and the only reason you want a do over is you want to rig the game in your favor with a lower turnout election, when the people have spoken last November.
  
  To quote you:
  
  PodestaEmails says:
  
  March 25, 2019 at 12:46 PM MDT
  
  Fuck off sore losers!!
  
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2. Curmudgeon says:
  
  April 8, 2019 at 3:58 pm
  
  Oh, no one's asking you to "go away quietly to the slaughter".
  
  On the contrary….I rather like hearing the desperate bleating.
  
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  1. unnamed says:
    
    April 8, 2019 at 4:06 pm
    
    The desperate bleating of a true victim, for whom nothing is ever the fault of him, or those on his side.
    
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3. mamajama55 says:
  
  April 8, 2019 at 5:14 pm
  
  You don't know Greeley well, do you? It's one of the most diverse cities in America, especially after your boy Ken Buck started the trend of importing African and Asian refugees to work the meat plants after he deported 1300 Mexicans and Central Americans.
  
  Many of those refugee folks have been here long enough to become citizens (it takes at least 10 years). I know, I taught the adults English at Cargill last summer, and their children in schools 2 years before that. And there's also a diverse and liberal university population, with some of the best teaching, ag science, and music programs in Colorado.
  
  Greeley has been home to organized grassroots protests by grassroots groups since day 1 of $rump's presidency.
  
  Rochelle Galindo is actually a perfect fit for her district, as shown by her strong turnout and margin in her last election.
  
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4. MichaelBowman says:
  
  April 8, 2019 at 6:28 pm
  
  PoddyMouth – are you typing this on your government computer again during working hours? I get that your federal employees union would probably find a way to protect even you, but…
  
  Didn't they teach you in sheeple school what happens to sheep? That sheep go to slaughter? It's biblical, and we all know you're a God-fearin' man. There's nothing the baby Jesus wants more than for his flock to protect oil and gas interests and the gun-nutters – all wrapped in the flag and the constitution while spewing the F word and biblical phrases.
  
  Onward, brave Christian soldier!!
  
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