Michelle Smith

UPDATE: After the left went nuts attacking Michelle Smith, who was featured in the ad, we asked her to respond.  Here’s what she had to say:

Some who don’t agree with my position on energy development used an ad that I appeared in to attack me – and my family.  I am proud of my family’s organic-based farm.  My husband and I have been passionate about high-quality nutrition since I was diagnosed with, and survived, cancer in my early 20s.  Since then, our family has made whole and organic food a top priority.

In addition, our grandson was born with spina bifida and is confined to a wheelchair. He has, until recently, been unable to eat anything but soft foods, making our goat’s milk of supreme importance to his health, development, and well-being.

I am also proud of my work in the energy industry.  My husband was laid off from his job in 2010 due to the downturn in the economy.  I feel blessed to have my job because it not only enabled my husband to focus his time and energy on the farm, but to also implement organic-based farming techniques. My work in this sector also has allowed me to gain a holistic view of the energy industry, giving me confidence that organic farming and fracking can co-exist.  I know the facts about fracking and I know it’s safe.

I’ve also seen the benefits and pitfalls of mineral ownership and energy development.  It has better qualified me to lead the National Association of Royalty Owners Colorado Chapter in our work to educate mineral owners on managing their minerals and to help the industry foster positive relationships with mineral owners.

As with any relationship, things aren’t always smooth sailing between producers and mineral owners, but we all win when we can come together to develop energy in Colorado.

______________________

Just because the election season is over (for now) doesn’t mean political ads will completely stop showing up on our TVs.  In the newest ad from Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development (CRED), organic farmer and mineral rights holder Michelle Smith touts the financial benefits to her and her farm that come from her leasing her mineral rights to fracking operations.  She’s hardly alone.  In just Colorado, there are more than 630,000 mineral rights holders, and should fractivisits get their way and make fracking all but impossible to do, those 630,000+ people would have their property taken from them.

CBS4’s Shaun Boyd runs a reality check on the ad.  The verdict?  Unverifiable.  Like your favorite sports teams ending a game in a tie, the “unverifiable” verdict from Boyd is unsatisfying.  Then again, we would hardly blame Smith for not wanting to make CBS4 has complete access to all her financial statements (“Would you like my PIN as well?  How about my mother’s maiden name? Or, the name of my childhood pet?”).  Frankly, many people believe it is just rude to talk money, whether it be with relative, friends, or neighbors.  No need to sow discord with neighbors, or make yourself a target for fraud, not to mention how those on the far Left believe it is their God-given right to harass those who make any money on things the Left believe is evil.

Naturally, Colorado’s Left blogosphere is blowing up over the fact that Smith has any ties to the oil and gas industry whatsoever.  They seemed absolutely shocked that someone who cares about organic farming can also be someone who thinks fracking can be done safely.  This speaks more loudly about the kind of group-think the far left enforces on its disciples, that everyone must think the same or be shunned from the group.  Here on the right we’re driving much more by common sense and trusting each other to make up our own minds.  While certain people of us on the Right may not fancy organic food doesn’t mean there is any reason they would belittle Smith for liking it.

While fractivists will be upset about this ad, they are even more upset that people like Smith exist at all.  The diversity of the 630,000+ mineral rights holders throws a wrench into the fractivists’ narrative that all fracking is perpertrated by puppy-punting, unicorn-tipping, evil corporations who care little for Colorado.  When the reality is it’s the fractivists who care little about Colorado jobs and the Colorado economy who would do the most harm to our beloved state.