“AGGRESSIVELY GAY”: On The Chuck Hagel Nomination, Who Do Bennet & Udall Stand By: Tim Gill Or Barack Obama?

Published on January 28, 2013 by

12:45PM UPDATE: Former Republican State Representative, BJ Nikkel, who flipped her vote to support civil unions last year, comes out strongly against the Hagel nomination in today’s Denver Post. You can read the whole piece here.

Last year, I created something of a national firestorm when I cast a gridlock-breaking vote on civil union legislation over the objection of leaders in my party. If Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet are serious about equality, and if they are serious about protecting America’s national security interests, on this one nomination they will stand up to the president and vote against Hagel’s confirmation.

If, on the other hand, the Democrat-controlled Senate votes to confirm Hagel, it will send a very different message: Bigotry and discrimination are just fine, as long as you’re one of the president’s men.

With former US Senator Chuck Hagel’s nomination hearing for Secretary of Defense coming up on Thursday, it’s notable that neither US Senator from Colorado has offered their public support for the president’s pick. Last week Senators Udall and Bennet told The Denver Post‘s Allison Sherry they were undecided.

As neither politician has apparently made up their mind, we want to know: who will they stand by? Tim Gill or Barack Obama?

Tim Gill, the infamous funder of all things Colorado Democrat and liberal, originally got involved in heavily financing Colorado politics after a bill in the Colorado House attempted to ban teachers from discussing homosexuality in school, outside of STDs, according to the must-read Blueprint by former Rep Rob Witwer and journalist Adam Schrager.

It’s notable then that Chuck Hagel, as a US Senator, opposed an ambassador for not only being “aggressively gay” but for helping fund a documentary on how to teach children about homosexuality.

Uncovers BuzzFeed‘s Andrew Kaczynski:

But there was actually more to Hagel’s comment than was previously reported. In a 1998 Omaha World Herald article recently published online, Hagel detailed his objection to Hormel’s nomination, saying he was concerned that Hormel had aligned himself with a group he considered “anti-Catholic,” and asserted that being gay was “beyond common sense.”

In the interview, Hagel referred to a documentary, filmed with money that Hormel donated, that was meant to show teachers how to teach children about homosexuality. Hagel said he had seen another video clip that showed Hormel at an event which Hagel said was “anti-Catholic” in San Francisco, featuring a group of male drag queens called “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”

“It is very clear on this tape that he’s laughing and enjoying the antics of an anti – Catholic gay group in this gay parade,” Hagel said. “I think it’s wise for the president not to go forward with this nomination.”

If what Tim Gill got involved in politics for, only a few years before the Colorado House bill that spurred his involvement, is something that Senator Hagel did, then it seems reasonable to assume he must oppose Hagel’s nomination.

When Chuck Hagel’s nomination comes up for a vote, how will Senators Udall and Bennet vote? In support of their major benefactor and financier of their home state’s political party, Tim Gill, or will they push a partisan agenda and follow in lock-step behind President Obama’s pick?

 

COUNTERFEIT CAMPAIGNING: BuzzFeed Catches Ed Perlmutter Using Campaign Staff As Constituents In Recent Spot

Published on September 20, 2012 by

9/24 UPDATE: The Coors campaign has put together a great spoof ad using all of Perlmutter’s outtakes from his counterfeited constituent interactions:

Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter’s campaign ads this cycle have been beset by revelations that the actors in them are not what they necessarily claim to be. Yesterday, BuzzFeed reported on the latest faked Perlmutter spot, where he uses a campaign volunteer pretending to be a constituent he meets on the street.

This follows on revelations that Perlmutter’s first ad was shot using two constituents who claim to be Republicans, but who have given almost $4400 to Democrat candidates in Colorado, and only a single $250 donation to a Republican. Not exactly what most people would deem “Republicans.”

Reports BuzzFeed’s John Stanton:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Voters across the country are being flooded this month with campaign ads, extolling the deep local roots of members of Congress…

Take Permutter’s ad, “Ed is Walking the Extra Mile,” which features footage of the lawmaker climbing out his car, knocking on doors, chatting with folks on the street and generally doing the classic legwork of any good retail politics operation.

The video even includes the disclaimer “NOT AN ACTOR: This is actually Congressman Permutter.” Which is true.

But the seemingly spontaneous interactions in the ad are anything but, as the excerpts from the video shoot show, with Permutter and constituents doing multiple takes….

But in at least one case, shown at the 1:05 mark of the ad, the person the lawmaker seems to spontaneously meet on the street isn’t just a constituent – but a campaign volunteer, [Perlmutter campaign spokeswoman Leslie] Oliver acknowledged.

“These outtakes reveal the truth about Rep. Perlmutter’s record: He needs to play a part to cover up his failed job in Congress,” said Michelle Yi, the communications director for Permutter’s opponent Joe Coors.

Fake ads are in this year. Obama used two fake Colorado “Republican” women in an ad. Congressional candidate Sal Pace was caught using a fake house that he portrays as being his Dad’s in an ad.

And now this — the second time Perlmutter has been caught counterfeiting his campaign spots.

Check out the full BuzzFeed article for all of Perlmutter’s outtakes that his campaign forgot to mark as “private” on YouTube. Someone’s getting their knuckles rapped over at campaign headquarters today.

 

COLORADANS TO OBAMA: We’re Just Not That Into You Anymore

Published on June 12, 2012 by

A report by Buzzfeed this morning found that Colorado is among the top states in the nation where donations to Obama's campaign have drastically dropped since 2008. It seems Colorado Democrats just aren't that into Obama anymore.

Reports Buzzfeed:

As Mitt Romney's campaign fundraising gathers steam, boosted by huge contributions to allied groups, President Barack Obama is unexpectedly struggling to keep pace — and he may be having the hardest time in the mountainous west, where moderate Democrats have made deep inroads in recent years.  

As BuzzFeed reported last week, 88% of donors who gave $200 or more to Obama in 2008 have yet to give that amount to his campaign this cycle.  

A deeper analysis of campaign finance data shows that the west has seen an especially high level of drop off in Obama donors. Oregon topped the list with a 91% decrease in donors giving at least $200—the amount required for contributions to be individually reported—and Colorado, Nevada, and Idaho were close behind. [Peak emphasis]

Those are some striking statistics. Buzzfeed even has a county-by-county breakdown of the liberal love lost:

The darkness of the shading represents the degree of donation drop-off. Looking at the pivotal Denver metro area, it's looking pretty grim. Particularly interesting is the degree of drop-off in the swingiest of swing counties — Jefferson and Arapahoe. If you can't win JeffCo, you can't win Colorado. 

At this point in the campaign, people vote with their wallets. By that measure, Obama is losing in a landslide. 

(Photo Credit: Buzzfeed)


 

OBAMA’S ECONOMY: In The President’s Mind It’s “Doing Fine”

Published on June 8, 2012 by

In the latest episode of “Obama Doesn’t Know Anything About The Private Sector,” we catch up with our economic superhero at a press conference this morning. Here’s what he had to say about the state of our economy:  

“The truth of the matter is that… we’ve created 4.3 million jobs over the past 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine.”

Maybe he should tell that to the 23 million Americans who are out of work. Or, perhaps it’s the fault of the 215,961 unemployed Coloradans that they can’t find work?
No, this is Obama’s fault, and this will be Obama’s “the fundamentals of the economy are strong” moment. In case you’ve forgotten, that’s what John McCain said on “Black Monday” during the 2008 election – when the financial and job markets were in a death spiral and financial titan Lehman Brothers had just filed for bankruptcy. Obama ran just a few ads with that quote.

Unfortunately, for Coloradans, it’s not just Obama who doesn’t have a clue – it seems to be the Democratic leadership at all levels. Remember this Senate Majority Leader John Morse gem?

Senator Morse: Raising taxes will slow the Colorado economy. And we heard public testimony that whether it's Keynesian or monetary, or whatever, taking tax dollars out of the private economy slows the private economy. Okay. What about the government economy?

Let’s do an EKG on the economy, shall we? Just a few facts and figures from earlier this year about the economy since President Obama has taken office: 

  • The number of unemployed has increased by 709,000
  • The number of marginally unemployed has increased 679,000
  • The number of those forced to be part-time has risen 174,000
  • The number of average weeks unemployed has doubled from 19.3 in 2009 to 40.1 in 2012
  • The price of gas has risen an unbelievable 86.2% College tuition has increased 25.1% Health insurance (which was supposed to decrease with Obamacare) has increased 12.7%
  • The number of Americans on food stamps has increased 44.2%      

Need we go on? The statistics on the economy were borne out in Bloomberg article just yesterday that noted:  

“The dwindling dynamism of the U.S. labor market also shows up in the willingness of Americans to strike out on their own. The nation’s business start-up rate — the number of new firms as a proportion of all companies — fell to a record low of around 8 percent in 2010, according to the latest data available from the Census Bureau. That’s down from about 11 percent in 2006, before the economic slump, and a high of 13 percent in the 1980s.”  


Clearly, the private sector is not doing fine. Unemployment is up nationally and up in Colorado. The only thing not going up at this point is Obama’s re-election chances.  

 

SWIFTBOATING, PART II: New Ad By Veterans Group Attacks Obama For Spiking The Football On Bin Laden

Published on May 3, 2012 by

A hard-hitting new ad was recently launched by a group calling themselves "Veterans for a Strong America" that attacks Obama for trying to take all the credit for killing Bin Laden. Just as John Kerry tried to hype his military service in 2004 ("I'm John Kerry & I'm reporting for duty"), only to have "Swift Boat Veterans For Truth" tarnish his reputation, Obama may find that his over-hyping of the Bin Laden raid could blow up in his face.

Check out the ad here:


Karl Rove gave the ad, and the group behind it, an endorsement of sorts today, tweeting that it was a "powerful ad." Ben Smith of BuzzFeed predicts Rove's words will help it raise money and give a strong boost to the organization behind the ad. 

If "Veterans for a Strong America" does end up having an effect on Obama's campaign, Obama has no one to blame but himself.

From the minute he announced the death of Bin Laden, Obama made it all about himself, as the ad notes, with constant references to himself when discussing the raid. In comparison, when President Bush announced the capture of Saddam Hussein, the constant references Obama makes to me, myself and I are almost totally absent. 

Then, last week, Obama's campaign released an ad talking about how great Obama was for greenlighting the mission and asking whether Mitt Romney would have done the same, trying to score some cheap political points.

The mistake Obama has made with Bin Laden is overplaying his hand. He should have been more deferential to the soldiers who actually risked their lives, and not only their approval ratings, when announcing Bin Laden's demise. And he could have easily celebrated the anniversary of Bin Laden's death, soaking up all the positive press that would have come with it, without resorting to making it a tagline in a campaign ad. 

Obama politicized the raid, but with groups like "Veterans for a Strong America," he may wish he hadn't.


 
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