According to the Secretary of State’s TRACER, Common Cause has donated nearly $100,000 to the Coloradans Get Big Money Out of Politics issue committee via direct donations and staff time. This proposed amendment seems hypocritical because Common Cause doesn’t disclose its donors either, according to the Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin:

“It’s hard to figure out Common Cause’s finances since it doesn’t reveal all its donors. In fact, under an Orwellian-named “Donor Transparency Policy” it makes clear that it keeps some donors anonymous. Still, you can glean some information. The Web site Capital Research Center lists OSI and other left-wing funders (OSI, the Joyce Foundation, Arca Foundation) among those who’ve given hefty gifts over multiple years.”

Further evidence that this committee is simply a front group for Common Cause can be found in its TRACER information, which shows that the registered agents are Common Cause employees.

Another group that has donated heftily to promote Amendment 65 is the Communications Workers of America, which donated $25,000 in June 2012 to Coloradans Get Big Money Out of Politics.  In 2012, Communications Workers of America also gave to the Committee to Elect Eva Henry, a Democratic candidate for an Adams County Commissioner race.  In 2008, the bulk of its donations went to Coalition for Colorado’s Future.  Readers may remember the Coalition for Colorado’s Future from its ugly and untrue hit piece on Ken Summers.  It’s worth noting that Julie Wells, Coalition for Colorado’s Future’s registered agent, also serves as the registered agent for other left wing funding groups, such as Colorado Accountable Government Alliance, Community Information Project, Save Jeffco Schools, Public Employees for Colorado, and New Era Colorado, among several others.

Her involvement should be no surprise given the robust collection of left wing groups that have endorsed this ballot initiative.  A few of the better known “Blueprint” organizations include: CleanSlateNow.org, Colorado Conservation Voters, Colorado Progressive Coalition, Denver Area Labor Federation, MoveOn.org, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, New Era Colorado, Planned Parenthood of the Rockies Votes, and ProgressNow Colorado.

If Common Cause wants to run a ballot initiative, that’s perfect legal, but let’s not pretend that this is a nonpartisan “good government” effort.  As the Denver Post‘s “anti-endorsement” of the initiative noted, “A ‘yes’ vote might be a way to send a political message. But the measure, which carries no force of law, won’t do anything in the near term — if ever — to address the proliferation of money in politics.”

The Post is right, particularly when the groups backing this initiative are responsible for the “big money in politics” problem in the first place.

@ttancredo It was a bad edit by an editor that had no journalistic merit. We had full story, video online, corrected in the paper, ran today

— Dan Petty (@danielpetty) August 16, 2012

UPDATE: Breitbart reported today that the Denver Post not only buried the Biden/"chains" AP story, but actually removed Biden's "chains" quote from the version in its print newspaper.  Technically, newspapers are allowed to edit AP stories for length, but why remove the entire reason for the article in the first place?

Earlier this week Democratic Vice President Joe Biden told a group of supporters in Danville, Va. that Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney wanted to "put y'all back in chains".  See the video below.  Last year, about this time, U.S. Congressman Doug Lamborn made a racially-insensitive remark ("tar baby") and had to apologize over and over again, and we're just wondering where the outrage over Biden's inflammatory comment is?

Not only did the Obama campaign not apologize, these so-called leaders went a step further and reiterated the statement.  Obama apologist Stephanie Cutter went further saying:

"For months, Speaker Boehner, Congressman Ryan, and other Republicans have called for the ‘unshackling’ of the private sector from regulations that protect Americans from risky financial deals and other reckless behavior that crashed our economy…. We find the Romney campaign’s outrage over the Vice President’s comments today hypocritical, particularly in light of their own candidate’s stump speech questioning the President’s patriotism. Now, let’s return to that ‘substantive’ debate Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan promised 72 hours ago, but quickly abandoned."

Um, Ms. Cutter, nobody on the Republican side is threatening anyone with slavery.  In fact, Republicans (if anything) are simply offering freedom.  And further, if the media did its job, maybe Romney wouldn't have to even address the situation.

Again, where is the outrage?

During last year's racial faux pas, even the Denver Post noted "though the term is often defined as a sticky situation, it carries some historic usages that are racially insensitive."

Kjersten Forseth, executive director of Progress Now, offered last year, "it sounds like he's calling the president a tar baby, and I find that really offensive."

Where is the Kjersten's same outrage this year?  MoveOn.org organized a rally in protest – where is the MoveOn.org rally this year?  NAACP Colorado Springs Chapter President, RoseMary Harris Lytle wrote this in a letter in response to Lamborn's "tar baby" comment:

"As your constituents, we are profoundly troubled by the interview in which you so inappropriately used the term "tar baby" in speaking about President Barack Obama and his policies. Other than media reports and the three sentences posted on your website, we your constituents-have heard nothing."

Where is the NAACP when Democrats apply racism – where is the NAACP outrage over the Rep. Allen West racist ad showing him punching an old white lady and this issue?

Earlier this summer, Denver Post editorial page editor Curtis Hubbard wrote a piece enumerating the challenges that this Congressman had since he took office.

Where is the same piece on Vice President Joe Biden?  He surely has plenty of gaffes from which to select?  The Post could have written a robust post on Biden's gaffes, but it didn't.  We aren't going to accuse the Post editorial staff of bias; however, we will say it's a missed opportunity.

The left wing is so out of touch with everday Americans that a tax policy analyst at the Liberal Loon's Fiscal Policy Center wrote a Denver Post Op-Ed today saying she is "happy to pay taxes today."

Funny, that's the exact same sentiment we heard yesterday at our tax advisor's office.

Everywhere we look people are skipping down the street, overjoyed about the government taking their hard earned money.

There's even a hashtag on Twitter to share your joy about paying taxes. A collection mostly of left wing activists and liberal special interest organizations are tweeting up a storm bragging about how they are #proudtopay.

Go ahead, liberals, let your freak flags fly. Swing voters, the ones who actually decide elections, think you're nuts.

If common sense didn't deter groups like MoveOn.org, Colorado Progressive Coalition and public sector unions from protesting in support of taxes, especially tax "fairness," one might think polls showing "fairness" being a lock stock loser would.

A recent poll by Third Way, a centrist think tank, found that swing voters prefer the concept of "opportunity" to that of "fairness" by staggering 85-15 gap.  

Yet Obama and the Left keep repeating the mantra about fairness and paying your fair share.

We say again, don't let our sarcasm deter you.