RETRIBUTION: Why Did Bennet Specifically Mention Karl Rove in His IRS Request Press Release?

Published on May 22, 2013 by

Did Senator Bennet pressure the IRS to target Karl Rove’s 501(c)4 because it invested in advertisements against him in the 2010 election?  Early in the IRS investigation scandal, View From a Height blogger Joshua Sharf dusted off a Michael Bennet press release that was issued the same day Bennet co-signed the now-infamous letter to the IRS commissioner requesting investigation of certain 501(c)4 groups.  This press release mentioned one, and only one participant in the entire population of 501(c)4 groups, and that was Karl Rove.

Perhaps Bennet’s mention wasn’t simply targeting the largest or most well-known C4 on the block. Rove’s American Crossroads group invested nearly $6 million in advocacy advertising against Bennet during his 2010 campaign against Republican Ken Buck. Given these statistics, it’s clear why Bennet single out Karl Rove in a press release issued the same day that the contacted the IRS Commissioner on the identical topic.

This is an area of great concern, given the chilling effect that real and potential IRS investigations have on free speech, and our nation’s checkered past when it comes to these issues.  The parallels between Nixon’s tactics and Bennet’s actions are worth noting.  From the Second Article of Impeachment drawn up against President Richard Nixon:

“He has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, endeavored to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, confidential information contained in income tax returns for purposed not authorized by law, and to cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigations to be initiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner.” (Peak emphasis)

Bennet’s attempts to sweep this under the rug and simply shrug off the consequences of his intimidation are disturbing.

 

LONG TIME, NO TALK: Ritter’s Revisionist Recitations

Published on May 21, 2013 by

Just when we thought Democratic Sen. Bennet was the clown of the week with his faux outrage over the IRS scandal that he, himself, caused, former Colorado Governor and (we presume) current Democrat Bill Ritter steps in with a trite and totally inaccurate assessment of the current state of affairs here in Colorado.  Here is the rubbish that froths from his pen Sunday in the Pueblo Chieftain:

“Here in Colorado, we are ahead of the curve on many public policy issues that other parts of the country call intractable. There’s a pragmatic optimism in Colorado that leads us to find sensible solutions and compromises on tough issues, and move forward when others dig in their heels, putting ideology over progress.”

Initially, we thought he was planning to chastise his own party and we settled in to read the rest of the piece.  But, no.  Is Ritter living in an entirely different Colorado than the rest of… Colorado?  In the “real” Colorado, the Democrats killed bills that would have saved children from pedophiles, worked overtime to strip citizens of Second Amendment rights, penalized small businesses with extra burdens and regulations, and just generally made life miserable for Colorado’s middle class all in the name of liberalism.  (Or, perhaps, all in the name of their radical leftist patron saint, Tim Gill, who bought this year’s legislature and it’s bassackwards legislation.)

The ideas he expressed throughout his op-ed aren’t new, nor are they disagreeable – “let’s work together to get things done”.  It’s just that he’s so detached from reality.  And, it’s not just about the state of Colorado.  He even seems to have rose-colored glasses when it comes to his own administration.

He claims he “balanced the budget” – doesn’t every Governor have to do so because of TABOR?  That’s kind of like a criminal taking credit for serving his time.  And, then there’s the Medicare fee that he passed, which contributed heartily to the national debt.  Since he’s so worried about our debt.

By putting such a rosy spin on his and other Democrats’ actions, we can’t help but wonder if the lady doth protest too much.

 

CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS: Bennet Can’t Claim Concern Over A Partisan Witch Hunt He Called For

Published on May 20, 2013 by

It seems that Senator Michael Bennet is still a little wet behind the ears when it comes to Washington, D.C. and the role of a sitting United States Senator.

The rules of D.C. engagement are pretty simple: you can be a partisan pitbull and use your political energy to attack the other side, or you can be the politician that seeks compromise and consensus.

What you cannot do is be both. That. Does. Not. Work.

Bennet has fancied himself as the reluctant businessman who entered politics to “make things right.” With his business background, Bennet still has strong allies among the GOP donorati in Colorado, but he pretty much left the position of “bipartisan dealmaker” when he decided to run the Senate Democrats’ slash and burn campaign machine as head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

And he hasn’t looked back. 

We’ve spent a good deal of time calling Bennet out for his involvement in the current IRS scandal that has been widely condemned by Republicans and Democrats alike. Since then, Bennet has been trying desperately to distance himself from the growing IRS mushroom cloud suffocating the Obama administration. 

In Friday’s Denver Post, Bennet’s press flack Adam Bozzi is quoted as saying about the Bennet letter, “This is exactly the kind of distraction and overreach that prevents us from getting to the bottom of what is a very serious issue and punishing the people responsible.”

Mr. Bozzi, we couldn’t agree more. The problem you and Sen. Bennet are currently experiencing is this: Bennet is responsible, Bennet is the problem. Bennet signed and sent his letter to the IRS admonishing them to attack non-profits and highlighted only a conservative group in his press release trumpeting the letter.

Herein lies the rub.

Bennet is in no place to condemn a partisan witch hunt that he himself called for.

Much like his misunderstanding of the rules of combat in DC, Bennet doesn’t seem to understand that you can’t pretend to be concerned about a partisan attack when you called for it in the first place.

 

EVEN-HANDED: Will Sen. Bennet Scrutinize Liberal 501(c)(4)s?

Published on May 17, 2013 by

Earlier this week, we reported that Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet was one of six signers to a letter urging the Internal Revenue Service to crack down on non-profit groups with a potentially political side.  He even went so far in his press release to suggest that the IRS take a look at groups like Karl Rove’s conservative group.  Now, critics are calling for Bennet to treat liberal groups with the same scrutiny, but will he?

Our view – probably not.

Bennet’s job as the head of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee is, simply, to elect Democratic candidates.  C4s and the other nonprofit operations that give advantages to Democrats have been part of their playbook for nearly a decade, particularly here in Colorado.

Let’s put this in perspective.  One of the left’s most generous C4s is the League of Conservation voters.  Does anyone doubt they are a liberal front group?  In case you’re doubting, take a look at their spending habits in the 2012 election:

Out of the nearly $11 million that LCV spent nationwide in the 2012 election, not one penny went toward Republican candidates.  We would bet that the $500,000+ that went against Democrats was the group playing in primaries.  Further, why would Bennet bite the hand that feeds him?  That’s right, Bennet, himself, was the recipient of help from a C4 to the tune of over $850,000 in his scorched earth campaign against Republican Ken Buck.

Again, from Open Secrets:

 

Of course, the most recognizable “social welfare organization” would be OFA – once Obama for America, turned into Organizing for Action – which some believe will be filed as a C4.  According to U.S. News and World Reports, OFA’s web site claims:  “In carrying its work, OFA will operate as a ‘social welfare’ organization within the meaning of section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.”

Seems like a pretty clear indication that the group plans to file for C4 status.

So, again, will Bennet – who has been helped tremendously by liberal C4s and is the head of the DSCC – denounce both conservative and liberal C4s?  Of course not, that doesn’t benefit him or his party.  His letter was simply about trying to crush the competition, and his protests are hollow.

 

INTERNAL RETRIBUTION SERVICE: Conservative Colorado-Based 501c4 Targeted By IRS, Had Private Info Leaked

Published on May 15, 2013 by

The Nixonian scandal consuming the nation’s capitol has come to Colorado, with news that a conservative organization based here was targeted by the IRS and had its private information leaked to a liberal online news site.

CBS4‘s Shaun Boyd reports:

Colorado’s Citizen Awareness Project, founded by Charlie Smith, says the IRS admitted it released its confidential records. As an attorney whose areas of expertise include tax law, Smith would seem an unlikely target of an illegal IRS probe, which makes his story all the more compelling.

“This is about trusting government,” Smith said.

Last summer Smith launched the Citizen Awareness Project, a nonprofit advocating conservative policies, and applied for tax exempt status.

“Then in November I got a call from the IRS, from their tax-exempt organization’s division, telling me that, well admitting that an IRS employee had illegally disclosed our application to someone, but they refused to tell me who or when or why,” Smith said.

The IRS leaked the Citizen Awareness Project’s private application to ProPublica, a liberal online news site, which the website has readily admitted:

The IRS also sent ProPublica the applications of three small conservative groups that told the agency that they would spend some money on politics: Citizen Awareness Project, the YG Network and SecureAmericaNow.org. (No unapproved applications from liberal groups were sent to ProPublica.)

This blatant abuse of governmental power has riled up Colorado Congressman Cory Gardner, who has asked Coloradans to step forward who feel they were unfairly targeted by the IRS for political reasons:
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QUESTION: Will “Privacy Watchdog” Mark Udall Demand Heads Roll For The IRS Attack On Conservatives?

Published on May 14, 2013 by

The Denver Post‘s liberal blogger Allison Sherry called Senator Mark Udall a “privacy watchdog” in a glowing press release-turned-news story last week. 

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mark Udall has worked to carve out a reputation on Capitol Hill as the Senate watchdog to the Obama administration on intelligence gathering and privacy issues.

He successfully fought to prohibit the IRS from reading Americans’ e-mails without a warrant. He pushed last year to amend federal law to better protect Americans from having their communications collected. He opposed the reauthorization of the 2011 Patriot Act because it gave the federal government extensive access to private records and the power to wiretap individuals. 

With a Nixonian-scale privacy scandal exploding in the White House’s face, we had to ask (and hope Sherry will too)…will Udall call for heads to roll over the outrageous abuse of power by the IRS?

Or did Udall, like Bennet, push the IRS to engage in the fundamental political privacy violations that a “privacy watchdog” should decry? 

Just asking.

 

IRS SCANDAL HITS CO: Did Sen. Bennet in 2012 Request IRS Target of Conservative Orgs?

Published on May 14, 2013 by

10/16 UPDATE: The Colorado Republican Party has called on Senator Bennet to recuse himself from any IRS investigation.

“Sen. Bennet played a role in pressuring the IRS to investigate conservative groups. Now, the Democratic Senatorial Committee Chairman is pretending he is surprised the IRS targeted conservatives and wants to investigate why the IRS targeted these groups. It’s outrageous,” Colorado Republican Committee Chairman Ryan Call said.

“Sen. Bennet would like us to believe that this is just a coincidence,” Call continued. “The fact is that he pressured the IRS to investigate conservative groups, and that is exactly what the IRS did. It is inappropriate for Sen. Bennet to investigate the very scandal in which it appears he had a role.

We need to get to the bottom of this scandal, but there is no we can if Sen. Bennet—who publicly pressured the IRS to investigate these groups—is playing judge.”

——

Did Sen. Michael Bennet, current chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), ask the Internal Revenue Service to investigate conservative groups?  Was the IRS to read between the lines of his request?

A keen observation by View from a Height blogger Joshua Sharf may have tied Colorado’s Democratic U.S. Senator Bennet, who now chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, to the most recent Internal Revenue Service scandal.  Late last week, the IRS came under scrutiny for targeting conservative groups, such as the Richmond Tea Party, for inappropriate intrusion into their business dealings.

According to the DailyMail, the Richmond Tea Party received a letter in January 2012 asking that they complete a 55-question document that requested such information as donors, contributors, and grantors from every year the organization had existed.  It also asked for the names of volunteers with the organization.

The timing of the requests from the IRS, some in the early months of 2012, was particularly interesting in light of Sen. Bennet’s call for additional scrutiny of tax exempt organizations.

In February 2012, Sen. Bennet, along with several of his Senate colleagues, sent a letter to the Commissioner of the IRS, Douglas Shulman requesting additional scrutiny be given to 501(c)(4) organizations.  Here is an excerpt of the letter from Sen. Bennet’s Senate web site:
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OBAMA’S WAR ON COLORADO WATER RIGHTS: Quick, Somebody Ask Udall, Bennet, and Hickenlooper To Quit Hiding

Published on April 26, 2013 by

There is nothing more mom and apple pie in Colorado than skiing and water. Everyone loves skiing right? Every politicians respects Colorado water law, right?

Wrong.

The Colorado Observer‘s DC correspondent, Mark Stricherz reports:

WASHINGTON — A Colorado House Republican accused the federal government of using a little-known directive to wrest water rights away from Western states and private-property owners.

Rep. Scott Tipton of Cortez said U.S. Interior Department officials have seized on a 2012 order called the National Blueways Initiative to usurp private water rights. “I’m concerned about federal overreach of the Blueways program,” Tipton said at a hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources Thursday.

His comment came during an exchange with a municipal water district official from a Western state who testified before the Water subcommittee. “Could a New Jersey resident who has used a raft on a Colorado river be considered a stakeholder under the law? It’s a little vague,” Tipton said.

“As I read it, yes,” said Russell Boardman, supervisor of the Shoshone Conservation District in Frannie, Wyoming. 

…Rep. Grace Napolitano, an influential California Democrat on the Natural Resources panel, said she did not know the specifics of the Blueways program and expressed sympathy for critics, but trusts Salazar’s intentions for the initiative. “He’s a farmer, so he knows a lot about agriculture. He protects the land,” she said in an interview after the hearing.

…Tipton said he spoke with Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, about the Blueways order, but did not get a commitment from them to support legislation on the issue. A Udall spokesman did not return comment.

In 2008, remember that Senator Barry Obama used Western water issues as a parochial issue to wedge his opponent John McCain in Colorado.

DENVER – The water compact that Colorado and other upper basin states have with California and Arizona should be renegotiated, U.S. Sen. John McCain said Thursday.

…”Senator McCain’s position on opening up the Colorado River Compact is absolutely wrong and would only happen over my dead body,” [Senator Ken] Salazar said. “It’s an anathema to the fundamental principles of Colorado’s water rights and our compacts.”

In an interesting twist, the same Ken Salazar who was trotted out to attack McCain is the one who instituted the program as Obama’s Interior Secretary which threatens Western water rights.

When a candidate against Mark Udall emerges…yes ColoradoPols, there will be an opponent…water may well be part of the case against Mark Udall. 

While Obama declared a war on the state’s water rights and ski areas, Udall did nothing.

 

HICK HUNG OUT TO DRY: U.S. Senate Democrats Shoot Down Gun Control Package

Published on April 17, 2013 by

Gun rights supporters flooded Senator Angela Giron’s town hall. Today, Bennet & Udall voted to avoid a similar fate.

The Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate shot down two gun control bills today, offering a sharp reminder to Governor Hickenlooper and Colorado’s State Senate Democrats of how far out on a limb they went on gun control.

The assault-weapons ban went down 60-40, with even Senators Bennet and Udall voting against it.

Reports The Colorado Observer‘s Mark Stricherz:

WASHINGTON — Four months after hinting they would support a ban on semi-automatic weapons, Colorado’s two Democratic senators voted no on a legislative proposal designed to do just that.

“(I)t went too far because it would also have banned certain hunting rifles and even some shotguns,” Sen. Mark Udall said in a press release. “If this bill had been more carefully crafted to only ban weapons designed for the battlefields and keep them out of the hands of the criminals and the mentally ill, I would have supported it.”

(Read more here)

After watching the political thrashing Democrats took at the Colorado Capitol for their own poorly crafted legislation, most especially on the magazine ban, Colorado’s U.S. Senators appear to have heard the public, backing themselves away from the issue.

The so-called “Toomey-Manchin” registration/background check bill also failed, garnering significant bipartisan opposition.

Can Colorado political observers remember any issue at the Legislature that generated as much ground-level heat as the gun issue has this session?

If a state-level fight got that hot, can you really blame national Democrats for staying out of the kitchen?

 

BULLSH*T ORG: Democratic Front Group for Hunters

Published on April 8, 2013 by

This organization has bull in it alright, but probably not the intended.  The Bull Moose Sportsmen recently was cited by Politico in an article about hunting groups that are advocating for background checks.  In a full dress down of the “bull” article, The Washington Times exposed the group’s astroturfing ways, and its connection to none other than Colorado’s Democratic U.S. Senators. Here’s what the Times noted about Bull Moose Sportsmen’s financial ties to Sen. Michael Bennet:

“According to some public filings, the ‘non-partisan nonprofit organization’ gave $17,000 in the 2012 federal election, and all of it went to Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado. It spent $117,540 in support of Mr. Bennet in the 2010 cycle. The group raised $354,228 in 2011 and spent $295,863.”

Perricone also served as the former regional political director of Democratic Senator Mark Udall.
From LinkedIn:

Interestingly enough, Perricone’s Bull Moose partner in crime, Tim Mauck, also served as finance director for Udall in 2012.  Not to be left out, Democratic Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper also has ties to Perricone as Hickenlooper appointed Perricone to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission earlier this year.  Perricone’s term is up in 2015.

If the BullShit Moose Sportsmen organization wants to provide an outlet for Democrat sportsmen, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.  But, when an organization portends to be a “nonpartisan” group that represents the “complete” sportsmen’s agenda, we have to call BS.

 
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