Wheels within Wheels

Evie Hudak is my representative in the Colorado Senate. I’ve voted against her in every election since I moved here. Her campaign literature always seems to be depend on scare tactics and misleading information about her opponents. Unfortunately, it’s worked for her.

She made news earlier this year when she blew off a rape victim’s testimony in opposition to a gun control bill (one of several that were passed this year).

There was an attempt to recall her earlier, but it didn’t succeed. Recalls against two other legislators were successful. There’s now a second recall effort against her. I signed the petition both times, and talked with one of the signature gatherers this time around. He said that they’d learned from the successful recall efforts, in that they were gathering phone numbers or emails as well as name and address this time, and they had liquid-proof cover sheets on the clipboards this time. Apparently, without contact information the first time, they were unable to verify a large number of signatures challenged by Hudak’s people, and the cover sheets were to prevent people from walking up and “accidentally” spilling coffee on the signature sheets.

Tonight, I came home to find a flyer hung on my doorknob. It doesn’t mention Hudak by name, but it’s the sort of scare tactic I associate with her.

Here’s the text of the flyer (any commentary I have will be in italics):

PUBLIC AWARENESS ALERT

Signature gatherers who have not gone through background checks could be in our neighborhood – as soon as tomorrow – asking us to sign a recall petition.

DO NOT SIGN THE PETITION

The petition gatherer at your door, asking for your personal information, could have a criminal record.

And, if you sign the petition, your signature and personal information will become public record, available for anyone to access. Because they have to be filed with the Colorado Secretary of State. If you own real property, your personal information is already public record.

Don’t Give This Company Your Personal Information. Don’t Sign The Recall Petition. I like how they characterize the recall effort as a company. Makes it sound like an evil big business. They do this more than once.

TO REPORT ANY CASES OF FRAUD, PLEASE CALL 720-588-8496 Here, they’re characterizing signing a recall petition as being defrauded.

(End of that side of the flyer)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY BEHIND THE RECALL PETITIONS

* History of hiring petition gatherers with a criminal history, including sexual assault on a child

* History of fraud and forgery allegations in other petition gathering efforts in Colorado Anyone can allege fraud and forgery, and I understand it’s not unheard-of for people to try to disqualify signatures on petitions by challenging them in this manner.

* History of paying people who leave the state after they have your personal information Democrats have been known to use hired petition gatherers, also. If they’re from out of state, as they sometimes are, of course they’ll leave once the petition drive is over. This makes it sound as though the petition gatherers themselves will be taking your personal information with them when they leave.

Don’t Give This Company Your Personal Information. Don’t Sign The Recall Petition. Again, implying that the recall effort is a “company” that will retain your personal information.

TO REPORT ANY CASES OF FRAUD, PLEASE CALL 720-588-8496

That’s most of the text from the flyer. The rest is the “fine print”: on the first side, it says “Paid for by the Democracy Defense Fund,” which has no web presence I can find, and when I search on the phone number, I’m told that it is not an assigned number. The Denver Post (in the article I linked earlier) says that there was no answer when they called them. On the second side, it has five media references (newpaper name and date or radio station call sign and date). There are no article titles or links to websites on the flyer.

I’ve searched the Denver Post’s archives, and found either a political article or a letter to the editor on three of the four dates, but only one actual article appeared to reference a recall effort, and I’m not willing to sign up for a Denver Post account and pay $2.95 per article to examine these articles, so I don’t know what they’re referencing in those articles.

I hope the recall effort gets enough signatures to go through, but tactics like this work, and they’re what I expect from Evie Hudak.

Once again, it is the anniversary of the attacks on the US at the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. This is also the first anniversary of the death in Benghazi of our ambassador and several other people abandoned by the Obama administration. There were at least two further attacks in Benghazi today.

I don’t know what to say at this point that hasn’t been covered already (and better) by others. Our response to 9/11/2001 started as an example of Category Error. Rather than going after the nation and/or culture which produced the attackers, we declared war on their chosen tactic.

And now, we’re providing weapons to the enemies who attacked us. What is it the Constitution says?

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.

Are the Syrian rebels really our enemy? Well, they’re associated with Al Qaeda, and Al Qaeda are our enemies, so I don’t see how providing them with weaponry and assistance can be considered anything other than treason.

Then again, as a well-known “American patriot” once asked, “What difference, at this point, does it make?” I know what difference it makes to me. It’s confirmation that the administration was lying about Benghazi from the start. What difference does it make to you?