WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Senate Democrats Attack Sheriffs As Supporting Criminals, Buck Stops At Morse

Published on May 21, 2013 by

The recall against Senate President John Morse has angered the notoriously thin-skinned Senator from Colorado Springs, with accusations being thrown at his opponents of being sexual predators and criminals.

On Friday, the Twitter account for Morse’s State Senate Democrats went even further, accusing the 55 Sheriffs, both Democrat and Republican, who are suing to overturn overreaching gun control legislation, of standing with criminals.

Reports The Colorado Observer‘s Valerie Richardson:

DENVER–Locked in a fight for his political life, Senate President John Morse is showing that he’s not afraid to deliver a few low blows.

The Colorado Senate Democrats, which he leads, issued a Twitter message Friday accusing 55 county sheriffs of siding with “criminals.” A week earlier, the Morse campaign launched radio ads claiming that those gathering signatures to place him on the recall ballot were “criminals convicted of forgery, fraud and even sexual assault.”

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, one of the sheriffs accused by Democrats of backing criminals by filing a lawsuit against the state’s new gun-control laws, said such political tactics have become par for the course.

“I’m not at all surprised,” said Maketa. “This is their typical way of deflecting having to engage in a true debate. I would challenge the Senate Democrats to respond to the issues instead of making these childish claims and accusations.”

There are two options here: either Morse directed that this attack be made by his caucus’s communications arm, or a staff member went rogue and made this accusation themselves.

Either way, as taxpayer money is used to run the Twitter account, an answer is needed: who is responsible for accusing the Sheriffs of standing with criminals?

Does Morse stand by the attack? If not, will he fire the staff member responsible?

 

PLAN B (VERIFIED): Eli Stokols Confirms Former Bloomberg Gun Control Director Merrifield Will Likely Be On Ballot

Published on May 20, 2013 by

OUR VIEW: In a recall that is quickly becoming a referendum on Mayor Bloomberg’s undue influence in Colorado, having Bloomberg’s for-hire henchman on the ballot as Plan B is a dream come true for conservatives.

Earlier today we reported that Mike Merrifield, the one-time State Rep who was forced to leave a committee in disgrace, would be the Democrats’ Plan B if a recall against Senate President John Morse succeeds.

Did we mention that Merrifield used to be on NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s payroll? Yes, we did. Today Fox 31′s Eli Stokols confirmed that Bloomberg’s Plan B is indeed his former employee Mike Merrifield.

The real news in Stokols’ reporting was the spin from Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio, who claimed that Merrifield replacing Morse isn’t something conservatives planned for:

“It just shows that the people pushing the recall didn’t really think this through,” Palacio said. “If they really gamed this out, they’d have realized that this is a possibility.”

Didn’t think this through? Try again.

In a recall that is fast becoming a referendum on Bloomberg’s undue influence in Colorado, having Bloomberg’s for-hire henchman on the ballot as Plan B is a dream come true for conservatives. It is a stroke of luck so fortuitous that it almost seems as if God doesn’t hate Republicans in Colorado anymore. (Ok, almost.)

Anyways, nice try Palacio. Let the debate on Bloomberg’s undue influence in Colorado begin!

 

BLOOMBERG’S PLAN B: If Morse Is Forced Out, State Director Of Bloomberg Front Group Poised To Be Democrat Candidate

Published on May 20, 2013 by

UPDATE: KDVR‘s Eli Stokols gets Morse denying he’ll step down, but Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio acknowledges Merrifield being on the ballot is a distinct possibility:

DENVER — Senate President John Morse, who may be facing a recall election in Colorado Springs later this year, says he will not resign his seat early.

“I am in now until the bitter end,” Morse told FOX31 Denver Tuesday.

Conservative blogs have been suggesting that, should a recall election be set, that Morse would resign in order to avoid it, enabling a vacancy committee to install former Democratic state Rep. Michael Merrifield to finish out the final year of Morse’s term…

Palacio did acknowledge that the two-part recall election could involve Merrifield.

If an election is set, the first question would be whether or not to recall Morse; the second question would be who to replace him with.

Merrifield, who has already filed papers to run for Morse’s seat next year, would likely be listed as a possible replacement on that recall ballot.

———–

Wondering exactly how large a role New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is playing in the recall of Colorado Springs Senate President John Morse?

About this big — If the recall against Morse goes ahead, liberal gun grabbers Plan B is to appoint the Bloomberg gun group’s Colorado State Director to run for Morse’s seat, Michael Merrifield.

Merrifield was previously a State Representative known for saying supporters of charter schools “deserve a special place in hell.” That comment forced him to resign his chairmanship of the House Education Committee.

In the time since, Merrifield has unsuccessfully run for a number of political offices and held the position of state director for none other than Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG).

Bloomberg Plan A…spend enough cash convincing people sex offenders are trying to steal their identities to protect John Morse from recall. 

Bloomberg Plan B…promote Bloomberg’s director of gun control to the office of Colorado State Senator. 

These people have some serious chutzpah. Dig with us a little deeper… 

Long before Morse faced a recall, Merrifield had been posturing to take Morse’s place when the Senate President is term limited.

From our friends at Rocky Mountain Right:
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BIG GUNS ARRIVE FOR RECALL: NRA Joining Effort To Oust Senate President John Morse

Published on May 17, 2013 by

CNN’s Jake Tapper is reporting that the NRA has decided to throw its considerable heft into the recall effort against Senate President John Morse.

This is not a good sign for Morse.

In a mailer obtained by CNN, the NRA Political Victory fund wrote to a “Second Amendment Supporter” in Colorado that “your NRA is coordinating a recall effort with the Basic Freedom Defense Fund to put Senator Morse on the ballot for a special election and vote him out of office.” (Emphasis theirs.)

You can see both sides of the mailer here and here.

Writes the NRA: “State Senator Morse led the charge to pass extreme and onerous anti-gun state legislation in Denver earlier this year. Responsible gun owners and sportsmen will be forever burdened by his misguided leadership in the Colorado Senate.”

The NRA mailing sends recipients to the website of the Basic Freedom Defense Fund and urges them to find a local petition signing location where, it’s suggested, they go to sign the petition to hold a recall election. The petition drive has a June 3 deadline; 7,178 signatures are needed to mandate a recall election.

Morse was on CNN this afternoon, telling the cable news channel that he thinks the recall campaign will be going ahead. What was once derided as a doomed-to-fail-effort at gathering signatures is very much in the realm of the possible and probable at this point.

With a recent poll showing a majority support for recalling the Senate President once voters become aware of the “crazy…absolutely nuts” gun manufacturer liability bill he authored, the prospect of a political powerhouse like the NRA getting involved has got to make Morse sweat bullets.

 

PeakFeed: A Budding Bromance Between Senate President John Morse And NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg?

Published on May 17, 2013 by

Revealing Politics spoofs the relationship between Senate President John Morse, who is being recalled for his “crazy…absolutely nuts” gun legislation, and anti-gun New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

As KDVR‘s Eli Stokols reported yesterday about the funding of the pro-Morse front group:

Much of the group’s funding is also coming from an outside group, America Votes, which is funded largely with contributions from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose group Mayors Against Illegal Guns lobbied hard to pass the gun control bills in Colorado.

 

CHICAGO COMES TO COLORADO: National Liberal Media Group Places Ad Buy For Pro-Morse Group

Published on May 16, 2013 by

A Chicago-based liberal media group has placed $15,000 worth of ads on the Colorado Springs-area TV station KOAA on behalf of the pro-Senate President John Morse front group, a media tracking source tells the Peak.

The ads were placed for the group “A Whole Lot of People for John Morse” by Chicago-based Adelstein Liston, and are running from May 3-19.

Adelstein Liston’s client list reads like a who’s who of left-wing politicians and special interest groups including President Obama, Senator Harry Reid and America Votes partners such as Emily’s List and the AFL-CIO.

They’ve also done work for Senator Michael Bennet on behalf of the public employee union AFSCME.

It’s a client list that doesn’t seem to line up with the values of conservative-leaning Colorado Springs residents — you know, the ones that a leader of the pro-Morse group called “right-wing, religious whack-jobs” on his bio on the Denver Democratic Party’s website.

The fact that media buys are coming out of Chicago further underscores the role of out-of-state actors in the pro-Morse effort. On Tuesday, The Denver Post reported most of the pro-Morse money was coming from a national liberal group, America Votes, while the anti-Morse cash came from local Colorado Springs-based I Am Created Equal.

Despite the crush of national cash flooding the pro-Morse group’s coffers, it’s the votes from Senate District 11 residents that will ultimately make the biggest difference. And, as we reported earlier today, they seem apt to chuck him from office.

 

MORSE IN TROUBLE: New Poll Finds Majority Want To Chuck The Senate President In A Recall

Published on May 16, 2013 by

When you accuse your opponents of being sex offenders seeking to steal people’s identities, it’s not usually a sign of confidence in your own political position. A new poll by Public Opinion Strategies in Senate President John Morse’s Senate District 11 demonstrates why Morse’s people are going scorched earth against his impending recall campaign organizers.

Morse, to put it simply, is in serious trouble.

Reports The Colorado Observer:

DENVER – The effort to recall embattled Senate President John Morse (D-Colorado Springs) is gaining steam, according to the results of a new survey. The poll, released today by the women’s group I Am Created Equal, also revealed widespread voter discontent with the Democrat-controlled legislature.

“The voters in Senate District 11 are clearly leaning toward recalling Senator Morse,” said Laura Carno who heads the non-partisan group. “They are paying attention to the gun bill debate, they don’t have a highly favorable image of Senator Morse, and are more sharply in favor of the recall when they hear of proposed legislation.”

…Nearly six in ten poll respondents – 58 percent – said that gun control legislation Morse helped to enact represents the “wrong approach and should not be passed” or “has good intentions but goes too far.”

That may explain why a plurality of those surveyed – 34 percent – say they support recalling Morse while just 29 percent said they opposed the effort. Another 33 percent remain undecided.

However, just 38 percent of respondents said they had heard about the recall effort — one reason why support for removing Morse isn’t higher, given broad voter unease with the gun control measures themselves.

“Given the relatively low awareness, it is not surprising to see a significant number of undecided voters,” said Nicole McCleskey of Public Opinion Strategies, the firm that conducted the poll.

But McCleskey noted that the public opinion needle moved significantly when respondents were told about Morse’s controversial bill to subject gun owners and makers to lawsuits.

“After hearing about Morse’s proposed legislation to hold gun makers liable for crimes committed with guns they manufactured, voters move sharply in favor of the recall,” said McCleskey. “With new information, 56 percent of voters in the district support Morse’s recall.”

Our sources say the recall campaign is going to happen. Organizers have until June 3 to turn in 7,178 signatures — something imminently attainable in an urban area district.

The fact that a plurality support recalling Morse must worry the Senate President, but the bigger problem for Morse is the fact that support for recalling him skyrockets when people hear about the bills he pushed this past session.

Morse’s gun liability bill, dubbed “crazy…absolutely nuts” by Democratic Rep. Ed Vigil, might end up being the anchor that brings down his political career. Too bad for him he couldn’t even get it passed.

 

GOLD DOME DEADBEATS: Losers Of The 2013 Legislative Session

Published on May 15, 2013 by

Out of the worst legislative session we can remember there are more than a few losers to list. From gun control to driver’s licences for illegal immigrants, left-wing special interests drove an agenda that has been dubbed the ”most liberal ever” by The Durango Herald‘s Joe Hanel.

Jobs legislation? House Speaker Mark Ferrandino told the Denver Business Journal‘s Ed Sealover there wasn’t any. Or rather, everything was a jobs bill, as the joke inside the Democratic caucus went.

We can’t think of a better way to encapsulate the legislative train wreck that the 2013 session was for the people of Colorado. Jobs were a joke and you have many of the losers below to thank for that.

You can see our Winners list here and Sister Kissers here.

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LOCAL VS NATIONAL: Denver Post Exposes Wide Gap In Funding Sources For Morse Recall Effort

Published on May 14, 2013 by

Despite liberals attempt to paint the Senate President John Morse recall effort as coming from “out-of-state”, a review of the funding of each side by The Denver Post exposes the pro-Morse forces as the ones dropping dollars into the campaign from outside Colorado.

Where is the money coming from for the anti-Morse side? A local group based right in Morse’s hometown of Colorado Springs.

Reports The Denver Post‘s Kurtis Lee:

An influx of out-of-state and local cash from private donors has flowed into the recall effort of Colorado Senate President John Morse, as petitioners race to gather enough signatures ahead of a June 3 deadline.

And if the notion that money wins elections can be applied to a recall effort, then, for now, Morse resides in a good position with a substantial amount of national money having poured in on his behalf…

Finance reports filed with the secretary of state’s office show that one group, A Whole Lot of People for John Morse, has received about $25,500 in financial contributions. Most of that money — about $20,000 — has come from the national liberal firm, America Votes, a nonprofit organization that coordinates issue advocacy and election campaigns.

“We have a lot of local people working to keep Sen. Morse in office despite this insane and ridiculous recall effort,” said Christy Le Lait, campaign manager of A Whole Lot of People for John Morse.

In contrast to Le Lait’s group, the El Paso County Freedom Defense Fund — a group seeking a recall of Morse — has raised about $16,400 . About $14,000 came from the local group I Am Created Equal.

With this report it’s clear why the pro-Morse side made a concerted effort right out of the gate to hypocritically brand the local grassroots effort to oust Morse as somehow not locally connected.

When you’re flush with national cash, it’s best to convince people the other side is too.

While we’re on the subject…about that national cash….

 

WORST SESSION EVER: Fallout From Morse’s Fumbling Session Grows

Published on May 10, 2013 by

Credit: Denver Post’s Matt Milner (full cartoon)

When Senate President John Morse referenced a car wreck in his odd opening day speech, little did any of us know that it would also be a metaphor for his handling of the session ahead. 

More on this when we list our losers (check back on Monday). But we couldn’t wait to tell you who else called Morse a big fat L.

From The Denver Post‘s Winners and Losers:

Senate President John Morse.

He sponsored an ill-defined liability-for-guns bill that couldn’t muster support from his own Democratic caucus, and pushed a bill to grant tax credits to low-income Coloradans that was greatly watered down in the House. Morse also backed a telecommunications regulation bill and legislation allowing for the repeal of marijuana legalization that he couldn’t find enough votes for. Meanwhile, his outspoken support of gun control prompted a recall effort against him — unlikely though it may be.

 
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