Will fractivists stay home this fall to punish Democrats who have taken them for granted and betrayed them repeatedly on this issue? PeakNation™, you know fractivists have little to no say when it comes to the Democratic Party if a man as liberal as Rep. Jared Polis is willing to betray them to further his own ambitions. But, Polis was only the last straw of a long line of Democrats giving fractivists the cold shoulder. Gov. John Hickenlooper has long been at odds with them, while Sen. Mark Udall and Congressional Candidate Andrew Romanoff couldn’t unequivocally state their opposition to fractivists fast enough when they realized they had to take a side on the issue.
Not only are fractivists in Colorado minimized, but they have been largely shut out of the conversation on fracking, the one issue that they think is the most important for the future of Colorado.
If, you believe like they believe, the evils of fracking will eventually poison our ground water, and with water being such a precious commodity out here in the west, then the fight against fracking is not just some fringe issue that can be shuttered aside at the earliest political convenience. Rather, this issue is so vital, should fractivists lose, the state will be lost.
When put in such context, fractivists surely view that the Democratic Party’s betrayal of them is much worse than Republican’s long-stated opposition. At least the latter has the willingness to confront them head on, rather than underhandedly feign friendship only to stab fractivists in the back when it is politically expedient. As Valerie Richardson writes at Complete Colorado:
Colorado fractivists were furious after Democratic Rep. Jared Polis agreed Monday to pull his anti-fracking initiatives in exchange for a series of concessions, denouncing the Democrat-brokered deal and unleashing calls to resume the ballot fight for the 2015 election.
Within hours of Monday’s press conference, Shane Davis, who goes by “The Fractivist,” posted a petition on change.org accusing Polis of “betrayal” and insisting, “What you and the Democratic Party have done in this state is hijack our democratic process.”
“Your actions prove that we not only have an environmental crisis, but also a democracy crisis,” said the petition. “We are not bargaining chips in some sort of game of Chicken with the Democratic Party and Governor [John] Hickenlooper.” [the Peak’s]
Right now, the Democratic Party feels free to ignore fractivists because they know they have all the power in the relationship. It’s not like fractivists will jump over and start voting for Republicans. The only card fractivists have left to play if they ever want to be taken seriously again is to sit out this election, and demonstrate to Colorado Democrats that they will not be taken advantage of anymore.
If fracktivists don’t have the courage to punish Democrats for betraying them, then they’ve just demonstrated exactly why it was so easy for Polis to betray to begin with.
"Sitting out" this election is not a productive option for anyone, as the stakes are too high this November. Vote for a paradigm shift and not incremental change. Vote for local control of fracking. Vote for a Governor and Lt. Governor who are committed to moving forward to remove State roadblocks to marijuana commercialization. Vote for Women being in control of their bodies. Vote for equality in marriage. Vote for liberty and common sense. Vote for getting the money out of politics. Vote to tell the parties that their betrayal has consequences. Vote for Mike Dunafon for Governor. But whatever you do, Vote, and don't retreat! http://www.dunafonforgovernor.com
Don't worry about politicians losing….the public sector just lost in clean water and clean air.
They don't have to sit out to teach the Democrats a lesson and they don't have to vote Republican either. They can vote for Mike Dunafon, the independent candidate that has local control as part of his platform. They can teach both Democrats and Republicans that votes are earned, not assumed #Dunafon4GOV