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.

 

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.

 

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….

 

CARNO Q&A: 8 Questions For Conservative Women’s Group Leader Backing Morse Recall Effort

Published on May 7, 2013 by

Last week we covered the entrance of prominent Colorado Springs political operative Laura Carno and her conservative women’s group, I Am Created Equal, into the John Morse recall campaign.

Carno has been appearing in news reports and gathering support in the Springs to oust the Senate President who attempted to make gun owners, sellers and manufacturers legally liable for all gun violence by guns connected to them, even if the guns had been stolen or sold.

We caught up with her yesterday for a quick interview.

Peak: Why did you start I Am Created Equal?

Carno: I started I Am Created Equal last July as a way to communicate with people who don’t like or pay much attention to politics. 

Peak: Why did you decide to back the Morse recall effort?

Carno: I have been weighing in on the gun bills being offered in the state legislature this year since March, with my radio ad called “Don’t You Dare“. Senator Morse was the architect of this legislative agenda. He also orchestrated how these bills went through committee: 7 bills when through 2 committees in one day, stifling the public process. Thousands of people were there to testify who were not able to be heard. That is not acceptable behavior from an elected official.

Peak: Can the Morse recall effort succeed?

continue…

 

BLOOMBERG’S BUCKS FLOW TO MORSE: Gun Grabbing Mayor Donated Heavily To #1 Backer Of Senate President Front Group

Published on May 7, 2013 by

The group that is organizing to defend Senate President John Morse is semi-humorously named “A Whole Lot of People For John Morse.”

Wanna guess which of the whole lotta people who like John Morse like him most?

Three words…Mayor. Bloom. Berg.

A campaign finance report filed yesterday for the Morse front group shows that it’s being pretty much single-handedly funded by a national liberal organization — America Votes. The organization, which gave at least $20,000, is a collective of pretty much every left-wing special interest group in the country, from enviros to Big Labor to trial lawyers.

And Bloomberg has given big to those partner organizations.

Last year he gave $250,000 to Planned Parenthood. He’s also funded a bevy of other America Votes partners such as the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the Sierra Club Independent Action.

It’s impossible to tell how much Bloomberg might have given directly to America Votes, as it’s a 501(c)4 organization that doesn’t have to disclose its donors, but it’s undeniable Bloomberg has given big bucks to the groups that form the backbone of America Votes.

Between A Whole Lot of People for John Morse’s filing agent calling Colorado Springs a “right-wing, religious whack-job stronghold” and the Bloomberg cash pouring into the state, it’s becoming clear that it’s not John Morse’s constituents that are coming to his rescue, but special interest gun grabbers intent on protecting those that did their bidding.

 

CONSERVATIVE WOMEN’S GROUP BACKS MORSE RECALL: Prominent Springs Operative Gives Lift To Grassroots Bid To Oust Senate President

Published on May 2, 2013 by

The grassroots push to recall Senate President John Morse is getting reinforcements from a group started by a long-time Colorado Springs political operative who ran Mayor Steve Bach’s winning campaign.

Yesterday, Laura Carno, founder of the conservative women’s group, I Am Created Equal, tore into Morse and endorsed his recall, putting a sunny-side-up face on Morse’s awful record on guns. From Carno’s email:

When are political leaders on the hook for their terrible decisions? When we hold them accountable. That’s why I’m getting behind the effort to recall Senator John Morse, President of the Colorado State Senate.

Not only has Senator Morse’s strategy been behind all the terrible legislation this year, but he has refused to listen to his constituents and the sheriffs in Colorado. Law enforcement has overwhelmingly opposed the gun bills, saying they will have a negative effect on public safety. And to back up their opposition, a majority of the sheriffs in Colorado are signing on to a lawsuit against the State to overturn some of these laws.

A source told the Peak to expect more help from Carno and other conservative groups, a growing number of whom are eager to lend a hand to the insurgent push to oust Morse. The source tells the Peak that the volunteer-based grassroots effort has been so successful in building a base of support for the recall that many conservative thought leaders are starting to see the Senate President’s recall as entirely plausible.

Carno’s Morse thumping comes on the heels of a scathing editorial from the Colorado Springs Gazette, blasting him for SB252, the bill that would jack up rural electric rates by raising the renewable energy mandate:

We’ve learned to expect this kind of tone-deafness from Morse. His disregard for the best interests of his own community is well-established. So, it’s hardly surprising to see him thumb rural Coloradans in the eye on the premise that it’s for their own good.

All these developments portend bad things for Morse. The grassroots push to chuck him from office is drawing big help from prominent places. Better cancel those summer vacation plans, Johnny.

 

SWEATING BULLETS: Are Colorado Democrats Worried About Gun Control Recall Campaigns?

Published on April 30, 2013 by

With the frequency of flailing attacks left-wing Colorado Pols has been throwing out lately against the impending recall campaigns of Democratic Senators Hudak and Morse and Representative McLachlan, you might begin to wonder if they doth protest too much.

(Note to Michele Bachmann — it’s not “protestest too much“)

It makes you wonder if some on the left have polled the issue and are beginning to worry that a low-turnout recall election is more than just a minor annoyance.

Should any of the petition drives succeed, a recall election would likely be very low turnout, which would favor the highly motivated voter — something that gun rights supporters pretty much personify.

Of all the targets worrying about the recall drives, we’re betting Senate President John Morse is the one most concerned. There are a couple of reasons for this:

  • The threshold for signatures is the lowest in his district of all the recalls, as the threshold is 25% of the votes cast in the politician’s last election. For Morse, that was the the low turnout, off-year of 2010.
  • Morse’s Colorado Springs district is compact enough that gathering the signatures is considerably easier than, say, the rural Southwest Colorado district of Rep. Mike McLachlan.
  • As Senate President, Morse has more responsibilities at the Capitol than other targets. That means the drainage of time and treasure that combating a recall campaign takes will do greater damage regardless of whether Morse survives. Should be interesting to see how much per diem Morse claims for the days he’s playing politics to defend his seat.

At the outset of the recall campaigns, Colorado Pols and liberals wrote them off as hopeless exercises in futility.

With the amount of ink spilled on the recalls recently, it seems safe to say the left is starting to take the possibility of losing their Senate President before next session starts pretty seriously.

 

FUN WITH GOOGLE: 5 Legislative Democrats Who Need Some SEO Help

Published on April 29, 2013 by

This year’s legislative session has been a bruising, burn down your reputation party for Democrats. Their over-reach and confidence to the point of arrogance has started to cost them — in Hickenlooper’s polling numbers, brutal press coverage of offensive remarks about rape…and now it’s showing up in Google searches.

A brief review of a few of the more high profile names under the Gold Dome turns up some alarming results for politicians who care about their public image.

Here are five legislative Democrats who direly need some help with their Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

1) First up, Rep. Joe Salazar (D-Box of Rocks), who infamously said that women on college campuses should not be allowed to carry a concealed weapon for fear of them mistakenly thinking they were about to be raped and “popping off” a round at an innocent bystander/would-be rapist.

We’re assuming that third result is for people looking for ways to contact Salazar and give him a piece of their mind.  

continue…

 

MCLACHLAN RECALL: Two-Thirds Want to Boot Him, According to Hometown Paper Online Poll

Published on March 7, 2013 by

UPDATE: Following our email to McLaughlin, he tweeted asking for help with the poll.  He quickly deleted the tweet.  Currently, as the online poll stands, 71% think he should be recalled.  Please, Rep. McLaughlin, continue asking for help.  It only bolsters your recall numbers.

A reader poll conducted by the Durango Herald shows that Democrat Rep. Mike McLachlan’s constituents are none too pleased with their representation at the Colorado State Capitol.  Currently, the poll has received over 400 votes and nearly two-thirds of respondents affirmed that they’d like him recalled.  Here’s the breakdown (as of 10am):

  • 62% say “Absolutely – I’ll be first in line to sign the petition”
  • 2% say “Depends on his next votes”
  • 29% say “No way – he’s doing a great job”
  • 6% say “Who is Mike McLachlan?”

Unfortunately, it looks like the damage is done for Mike “One-Term” McLachlan.  With the possible answer of “depends on his next votes” only garnering 2% of the respondents, it would seem that his previous votes and willingness to sponsor an amendment to ban magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds were enough to kill any affection his constituents may have once held for him.

We’ve reached out to Rep. McLachlan for comment, but have not yet heard back.

Feel free Peak Nation™ to let your thoughts be heard on McLachlan’s representation in this poll.  Maybe you’ll be more sympathetic to McLachlan’s dilemma than his constituents have been, but we highly doubt it.  That’s what happens when you’re elected from Durango, but only represent the interests of your big money buddies from Denver and the East Coast.

 
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