FAKE FOLLOWERS: The New York Times Turns On Polis

Published on April 26, 2013 by

In August 2012, the Peak posted about the high prevalence of Democratic legislators, including Jared Polis, who “bought friends” on Twitter (approximately 82%).  The original story cited The Hill.  Yesterday, the New York Times also has called out Polis for his fake friends. H/T to Chuck Murphy for noticing the latest incidence of blue on blue violence.  From the New York Times:

“In a follow-up to their earlier report, two Italian security researchers, Andrea Stroppa and Carlo De Micheli, call out Twitter accounts that added or lost a large number of followers in one day. Their list includes brands like Pepsi, Mercedes-Benz and Louis Vuitton; politicians like Newt Gingrich, Representative Jared Polis (the Peak emphasis) and Dmitri Medvedev, the Russian prime minister; and the rappers 50 Cent and Sean Combs, known as Diddy.”

In fact, Polis’ followers were so obviously fake that his account was used as a prime example:

“For example, Mr. Polis, a Democrat from Colorado with 22,140 Twitter followers on his personal @jaredpolis Twitter account, gained, on average, 15 new followers a day for two years. Then, last July, he added 19,705 new Twitter followers. A few months later, he lost 13,332 Twitter followers in one day.

A representative for Mr. Polis denied he had purchased fake followers and said one explanation for the sudden gains and subsequent losses was a ‘follow-back’ campaign. Last July, Mr. Polis said he followed a large number of new people from his personal account and asked them to follow him back. In March, he said he stopped following those accounts because he was becoming frustrated by the lack of relevant content in his Twitter feed. He now follows only 2,200 people. He surmised that a large number of followers may have stopped following him, too.

But Mr. De Micheli said that reasoning does not justify the sudden 19,705 jump in Mr. Polis’s followers in one day. Twitter’s own policy prevents users from following over 1,000 new people a day: ‘Every Twitter account is technically unable to follow more than 1,000 users per day,’ Twitter says on its Web site. ‘Please note that this is just a technical limit to prevent egregious abuse from spam accounts.’”

While Polis may be cited as the member of Congress with the highest percentage of fakes, he’s certainly not the only liberal guilty of this type of astroturfing.  The Hill also noted that it was estimated that 70% of President Obama’s followers also were bought.

While a few (thousand or million) fake followers on Twitter may not seem like a big deal, does this further call into question other stats that Democrats love to tout?

 

SCOTT TIPTON, REST EASY: Gun Grabbing Democrats Eyeing Run For Conservative 3rd Congressional District

Published on March 27, 2013 by

With Republican Congressman Scott Tipton’s larger-than-expected trouncing of Sal Pace (D-Urination) in 2012, we thought Democrats had given up all hope at ever making a spirited challenge for that seat in the near future.

Turns out there are a few high profile Democrats with ambitions bigger than their political brains.

Reports National Journal’s Hotline on Call:

At least two Democrats are considering running against Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., next year: state Sen. Gail Schwartz and Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia. Multiple state Democrats confirmed Schwartz and Garcia are being recruited to run in the state’s 3rd Congressional District.

Schwartz, a two-term senator and the majority whip in Colorado’s upper legislative chamber, cannot run for her seat again in 2014 due to term limits. Multiple state Democrats hailed her as a potentially strong fundraiser.

…Garcia has never run for elected office in his own right — Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper selected Garcia as a running mate in 2010 — but the motorcycle-riding LG’s biography and experience have some fellow Democrats excited about his prospects.

As we noted after the election, not only did Pace lose last year, but he got less votes than Kevin Lundberg did against Congressman Jared Polis in CD2. And no one even called CD2 competitive.

If the 3rd Congressional District was safe territory for Tipton in 2012 despite the 84,930 OFA offices the Obama campaign had littered across the state, it’s most certainly safe terrain in 2014.

Oh and then there is this:

With both Schwartz and Garcia tied to gun control legislation that has sparked massive protests across CD3 from Durango to Grand Junction, we think it’s safe to say Scott Tipton ain’t got a race on his hands.

 

BIG MONEY IN POLITICS? Romanoff Knows All About It…Until He Runs For Office Opposing It

Published on March 25, 2013 by

Andrew Romanoff, the likely Democratic nominee for the 6th Congressional District, and failed U.S. Senate primary contender in 2010, talked to Denver Westword on Friday about his upcoming campaign and had some interesting things to say. In particular it was his bloviating about special interests that caught our attention, as we thought that trope had been trampled pretty effectively last go-round.

 “I see folks in Washington forgot the people who sent them there…

“…Special interests have enough politicians on their payroll already…

“I don’t think you should have to sell your house to serve in the House… There’s something wrong about a system that says, ‘Only millionaires need apply.”

OK, maybe Andrew Romanoff (D-Renting) got a bulk rate discount on campaign clichés. Maybe he’s really a starry-eyed amateur who thinks he can raise money for his campaign by ringing a bell outside a Whole Foods Market. Or, just maybe he’s picked a really ironic campaign platform to challenge Rep. Mike Coffman. Why is it ironic?

Hmmm, let us count the ways:

(1) Four millionaires bought Romanoff a really nice gavel in 2005. The Gang of Four (Tim Gill, Pat Stryker, Jared Polis, Rutt Bridges) weren’t exactly average lefties who dropped some coins in Romanoff’s campaign jar after he spoke at their Common Cause chapter meeting. They dropped millions and bought him the Legislature.

He can’t pretend he wasn’t there.

According to Rob Witwer/Adam Schrager’s The Blueprint, Romanoff accompanied Rep. Alice Madden on a fundraising pitch to Pat Stryker and Al Yates in October 2003. Did he oppose big money in politics at that meeting? Who “sent him” to the Speaker’s chair, and does he remember them?

(2) Only millionaires need apply to run for Congress? Maybe if you’re a Democrat. It worked for Jared Polis. It worked for whats-his-name…ahem, Michael Bennet [clearly Romanoff is still sore about that one]. But can you bang the class warfare drum against Mike Coffman — a lifelong military grunt who served in both Iraq wars?

In fact, let’s compare Romanoff’s race to become Speaker of the House to Coffman’s last Congressional race and see who is really a man of the people. According to OpenSecrets.org: 

• Average individual contribution to Coffman for Congress in 2012: $1,100

• Average individual contribution to Romanoff’s State House 527, Alliance for Colorado Families, in 2004: $42,888.

(3) It’s likely Andrew would have needed to sell his house to run for CD 6 anyway, as his former Denver domain didn’t reside in CD6.

(4) No one said it better than Romanoff’s former Democrat opponent, Michael Bennet, in 2010, with this ad pointing out that not only has Romanoff taken gobs of money from special interest Political Action Committees (PACs), but he was running his own PAC until four months after he entered the U.S. Senate race. There’s a word that comes to mind here…

 

CO WHO? Bennet Votes with Constituents, Udall Votes with Party

Published on January 2, 2013 by

Last night, as legislators voted on the fiscal cliff deal, a curious thing happened. Colorado’s Democratic U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall voted opposite each other.  Bennet was one of just eight senators who voted “no” to the deal, while Udall voted yes.  In his statement following the vote, Bennet said:

“Coloradans have told me they want a plan that materially reduces the deficit. This proposal does not meet that standard and does not put in place a real process to reduce the debt down the road.  While I do support many of the items in this proposal — for example, extending unemployment insurance, the wind production tax credit and tax cuts for most Americans — I believe they should have come in the context of a comprehensive deficit reduction package.”

Bennet and Udall have the same constituents, so it’s puzzling that Udall would vote no.  It’s also worth noting that Democratic U.S. Reps Degette (Dean of the Delegation), Polis, and Perlmutter also voted for the deal while Republican Reps. Coffman, Lamborn, Tipton, and Gardner all voted against the deal.

With Bennet citing Coloradans preferences for his vote, one has to wonder who inspired Udall’s vote.  Since Udall hasn’t had a townhall since August 2012, according to his web site (see below), it’s understandable that he wouldn’t have a clue about the preferences of Coloradans.  But, the truth is that it’s Senator Udall’s job to know what  Coloradans sent him to Washington, D.C. to accomplish.  Coloradans didn’t send him to Washington, D.C. to vote with everyone else.  We sent him to D.C. to vote in our best interests.  It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t understand that concept and didn’t bother to ask Coloradans how they would like him to vote.

 

ALL THAT GLITTERS: Hollywood Donates to Colorado Democrats

Published on December 20, 2012 by

A favorite line among Democratic politicians is that they’re representing the middle class. But, Colorado’s liberals might also have another constituency – Hollywood.  The Hollywood Reporter recently released its list of “20 Biggest Political Players in Hollywood”.  While the vast majority of those listed gave money to PACs, SuperPACs, and the Democratic Party, they also gave to candidates and not just candidates in California or New York.

Several of Colorado’s federal candidates on the left have benefited from Hollywood’s riches.

Senator Michael Bennet is by far the greatest beneficiary of Hollywood’s political activism. Over the past few years, he’s received nearly $10,000 in campaign contributions from individuals on this “Power List”. His donors from this list have included: Sony CEO Michael Lynton ($2,400 in 2010), DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg ($2,400 in 2010), Director JJ Abrams ($1,500 in 2010) and his wife Katie McGrath ($1,000 in 2009), and media mogul Haim Saban ($2,400 in 2010). continue…

 

DENIED AGAIN: Degette’s Quest for Leadership Shut Down

Published on November 19, 2012 by

We almost have to feel bad for Colorado Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette.  She seems to have hit the glass ceiling in her own party.  Rumor has it that DeGette, the self-proclaimed “dean” of the Colorado delegation, had plans to run for Minority Whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she currently serves as the Chief Assistant of the Assistant of the Assistant Minority Whip (or something like that) with nine other Democratic henchmen vote counters.  Her plans were put on ice; however, when Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi froze leadership positions within the Democratic hierarchy late last week.

It just seems that Degette can’t catch a break.  First, in 2008, it was pretty apparent that DeGette was salivating over the possibility of taking over Salazar’s abandoned Senate seat.  She was the first (and possibly only?) candidate to fill out a questionnaire about her personal finances and information, according to the Post.  But naysayers at the time found her statewide appeal to be lacking:

“[Winning a statewide race is] not something most Democrats believe could be accomplished by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver, who, along with former state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, is the woman most often mentioned as a possible contender for the Senate seat. DeGette’s political profile is more liberal than the party’s successful recent statewide candidates and her image too associated with Denver, they say.”

She fought back with identity politics in the Post, which noted that “the longest-serving member of Colorado’s congressional delegation considers herself a natural pick, but she has fought speculation from politicos that she’s too liberal for statewide office.”  DeGette herself contributed the following:

continue…

 

DENIED: Polis’s Leadership Hopes Dashed Again

Published on November 16, 2012 by

CD2, this is your Congressman.

When Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced that Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) would again chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, sources told Roll Call that he was “surprised”.  He might not have been the only Congressman to be surprised by the unexpected announcement.  Democratic Colorado Congressman Jared Polis was considered a possible successor to Israel, who, prior to the election, wasn’t expected to return prior to the post.

The move could have helped Polis’s climb to Democratic leadership, according to Roll Call‘s background on the position:

“…the position has produced party superstars, including former Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), who went on to be Caucus chairman and White House chief of staff under President Barack Obama and is now Chicago’s mayor. House Budget ranking member Chris Van Hollen (Md.) directed the DCCC during the 2008 and 2010 election cycles and is a top Obama surrogate.”

continue…

 

SHAFFTED & OUT-PACED: Brandon Shaffer and Sal Pace Receive Fewer Votes Than Kevin Lundberg

Published on November 8, 2012 by

Colorado’s Sad Clowns, Brandon Shaffer and Sal Pace

Amidst the Republican Party wound-licking, there was one ray of sunshine that warmed our hearts and made us smile just a little brighter.  CD4 loser and Colorado Democrats’ “rising star” Brandon Shaffted Shaffer and CD3 Democratic felon Sal Pace (D-Urination) received fewer votes than Republican whipping boy Kevin Lundberg, who ran unsuccessfully against Congressman Jared Polis.  In fact, Lundberg’s over 158,000 votes equated to nearly 40,000 more votes than Shaffer and about 24,000 more than Pace. (H/T to Sen. Brophy for pointing out Pace’s, ahem, shortcomings.)

Ouch.

To put that into perspective, it would be like if the entire city of Littleton (pop. 41,000) didn’t vote for Shaffer or the entire city of Lafayette (pop. 24,000) didn’t vote for  Pace.  Yes, we realize that these towns aren’t in either of these candidates’ districts, but we’re going for size not geography. continue…

 

IT WAS POLITICAL: Abound Solar DOE Emails Prove Obama Lied

Published on October 29, 2012 by

Abound: When “infinity” translates to 18 months

The 9News interview between Kyle Clark and President Obama is one of the “emperor has no clothes” moments in which the President has found himself embroiled over the past month or so.  In addition to grilling the President on whether or not consulate staff in Libya was denied help during the Benghazi attack, Clark also asked him about the political favors he may have granted Abound.  Revealing Politics has released a new video highlighting the truth gap between what Obama told Kyle Clark and what Complete Colorado investigative reporter Todd Shepherd discovered in Department of Energy emails.

In the clip above, Obama tells Kyle Clark:

“Well, Kyle, I think that if you look at our record that these loans that are given out by the Department of Energy for clean energy have created jobs all across the country and only about four percent of these loans were going to some very cutting-edge industries that are going to allow us to figure out how to produce energy in a clean, renewable way in the future and create jobs in Colorado and all around the country. And some of them have failed but the vast majority of them are pushing us forward into a clean energy direction. And that’s good for Colorado and good for the country. And these are decisions, by the way, that are made by the Department of Energy, they have nothing to do with politics.” (Peak emphasis)

Unfortunately, the emails uncovered by Shepherd directly contradict this.  Here is a timeline of the emails and the approvals process.

continue…

 

BIG SPENDERS: Which Party Is the Party of the Rich Again?

Published on October 9, 2012 by

Despite the left’s insistance that the Republican Party is the party of the rich, a newly released tool by I-News Network (a theoretically nonpartisan organization) shows that’s simply not accurate in Colorado.  In fact, Republican donors did not even break the top five donors according to this list of top donors who have given from 2007 through 2012.  As liberal CU professor Sandra Fish noted in her Daily Camera article:

“Corporations and billionaires — and their extravagant contributions to the presidential campaigns — have drawn the most national attention this year in terms of campaign financing. But in Colorado it is the same handful of wealthy Democrats and the labor unions continuing to play a steady hand.”

In case you were wondering who the top donors in Colorado might be, here are the top five, and few are surprising:

  1. Rep. Jared Polis has given an unbelievable $8,420,886 in 644 donations (533 candidates and 111 committees).
  2. Tim Gill has given $3,683,894 in 358 donations (256 candidates and 102 committees).
  3. Pat Stryker has given $3,016,722 in 266 donations (196 candidates and 70 committees).
  4. Rep. Ed Perlmutter has given $1,065,772 in 202 donations (104 candidates and 98 committees).
  5. Rep. Diana DeGette (dean of our delegation, in case you’ve forgotten) has given $967,062 in 152 donations (71 candidates and 81 committees).

We would have liked to create a chart for this, but it’s fairly pointless since there is not one single Republican donor in the top five.  Here is what the top five donors have spent in Colorado (keep in mind, this all goes to the left): $17,154,336.

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