9/20 UPDATE: It was brought to our attention yesterday that Deanne Stodden gave $250 to Republican Cory Gardner in 2009. When we did a fuller check of her federal candidate donations, we also turned up a maximum donation of $2300 to Democrat Joan Fitz-Gerald, bringing Stodden’s total donations to $4300 for Democrats and $250 to a single Republican in an  easy race. Yes, a typical Republican if we’ve ever met one.

UPDATE: A reader provides an incisive bit of context.  “Wow.  She gave to Ritter in ’09?  By that point Democrats weren’t even supporting him.  They must be Democrats who forgot to change their registration.”

———

Ed Perlmutter released his first campaign ad yesterday, using two “Republicans” — Chad and Deanne Stodden — who support him because he did his job as a Congressman, helping line up a passport for a military wife. The problem is a review of these “Republicans” donation records reveal them to be anything but.

According to the Secretary of State’s website, Deanne Stodden has made three donations to Colorado candidates — all Democrats. She donated $500 to Bill Ritter in 2009 and a total of $1500 to Tom Mowle in two donations in 2010, who was a Democrat public trustee candidate  Clerk and Recorder candidate in Colorado Springs, while also serving as the El Paso Public Trustee. Not a single donation to a Republican.

It makes sense why Deanne would donate to a public trustee, as she happens to be a managing partner at Castle Stawiarski, a law firm The Denver Post reports ”dominates the foreclosure business in Colorado.” Public trustees are in charge of managing the foreclosure process and The Denver Post has reported on the shady financial connections between public trustees and Castle Stawiarski.

The firm also happens to be the third largest donor to Perlmutter’s entire Congressional career, giving almost $100,000 to his campaigns since 2006, according to OpenSecrets.org.

We’re not saying Perlmutter wouldn’t have helped another military wife, but maybe he returned the call just a bit quicker to a managing partner at one of his biggest donor companies in Colorado?

Deanne’s husband, Chad, also has a history of political donations — to a Democrat and a union. Secretary of State records reveal that in 2004, Chad donated to Peter Mazula, a Democrat running for State House. Then in 2006 he donated to “Citizens for Fire Safety” — a union group. Not a penny to a Republican.

None of this is meant to diminish the great service and sacrifice of Chad Stodden, or his wife Deanne. They have given much to this country. What is true, however, is that these fine folks can scarcely claim to be the kind of people who are loathe to cross party lines to support big government liberals — like Ed Perlmutter. In truth, they have no record of supporting anyone other than liberals, party registration notwithstanding.

Is Perlmutter so hard up to find Republican supporters that the only people he can feature are a managing partner at one of his top donor companies and their spouse? Is it fair to call them Republicans if they’ve only ever donated to Democrats?

It’s become a common tactic this cycle for Democrats to claim the support of “Republicans” in their campaign ads. Barack Obama did it with two Colorado women who turned out to not have been registered as Republicans and whose Facebook pages were chock full of liberal leanings.

Maybe before the press dutifully reports on this bipartisan BS they should check the facts. Republicans these folks are not.