(Promoted by Colorado Pols)
CLARIFICATION 11-10-2013: The Colorado Statesman’s Peter Marcus originally reported that Recall Hudak Too hired two young staffers who are involved in the signature-gathering effort, but Marcus found no evidence at the time (Marcus’ article was published Oct. 28.) that Kennedy Enterprises was on the payroll. He also reported that RMGO promised financial support.
————
The tone of the Hudak-recall organizers was one of forced optimism this morning, as they told KNUS' Peter Boyles that they're "just over half way" to their target goal of signatures, and they blamed Colorado GOP Chair Ryan Call and Colorado Republican leaders for obstructing their efforts and turning fellow Republicans against them.
Recall leader Mike McAlpine said Call is "impeding" and "obstructing" the recall, and doing so "to intimidate [Republican] supporters into not supporting a winning issue."
Sounding hurt, fellow recall organizer Laura Waters said that, thanks to Ryan Call's comments, "at certain doors and in certain phone calls, we're even fighting against our own party."
In numerous morning appearances on KNUS, McAlpine and Waters have avoided attacking fellow Republicans, but on air today, the anger in their voices was deeper and more explosive when they talked about Republicans than it was when they discussed recall target Sen. Evie Hudak.
Listen to McAlpine and Waters on KNUS 11-8-13
Waters got particularly angry when she talked about receiving a fundraising call Monday from the Republican Party telling her that maybe the State GOP would be organizing recall campaigns.
Waters: "[The GOP phone caller] told me that maybe they would be doing some recalls. But what I think is, they were throwing that word [recall] out there. It's a buzz word that they know will help raise money."
McAlpine added that he received an email from the Colorado GOP and Ryan Call "saying by insinuation. 'Pueblo recall was us; Colorado Springs recall was us; grassroots efforts are us.' It could not be farther from the truth."
"Here's the problem we have," said Waters. "It seems like it's just us. It's us. It's RMGO."
Yesterday, I pointed out that the Colorado Statesman and The Denver Post published conflicting information about whether paid staff has been hired to gather signatures for the Hudak recall effort, with the Colorado Statesmen's Peter Marcus reporting McAlpine as saying that "his group has not paid a petition-gathering firm." The Denver Post's Kurtis Lee, citing anonymous sources, reported that Kennedy Enterprises is on the payroll.
Statesman reporter Peter Marcus defended his reporting in an email to me yesterday, writing that he asked McAlpine if "Kennedy or any other paid gatherers were collecting signatures at all, and that's when [McAlpine] told me about the two paid staffers. But they're teenagers, if I remember correctly, so nothing significant."
Marcus wrote:
I also asked what RMGO has done for them, and they said pledged financial support.
[Recall organizers] also said that paid petition gatherers isn't off the table. But this was a few weeks ago.
I've been pretty hands on. I've been to the house they're organizing at, I've been on the street corners with them — there has not seemed to be a paid petition effort. I also live in the district, and I haven't seen anything but what looks like volunteers on the street. But it's been a couple weeks now since I've really paid attention. Maybe they've hired someone at this point.
I don't know where Kurtis got his info, but it didn't match what I was told at the time I was writing my story. I'm not sure if he's actually been down on the street like I have, but I just have had no indication that they're paying for signatures. I saw how they were organizing at the house they're working out of in Arvada, and these guys were volunteers. Granted, many of them are not from the district, but there's nothing illegal there. These recalls have become more than just district issues, I think everyone knows that. If the Democrats can raise millions from Bloomberg and D.C., then I don't see why recall proponents should be criticized for utilizing help outside the district.
I just checked out their disclosures on TRACER, and they've raised about $23,000, with only $358 in non-monetary items. There's nothing in their expenditures that shows paying for petition gathering. I also don't see any contributions from RMGO, or any organizations like that. Their effort looks a lot like the one down in Pueblo, which was mostly grassroots.
I also don't see any expenditures in the RMGO PAC to the recall effort.
They could funnel donations through a C4, but if Recall Hudak Too takes the contributions, they would at least have to list the C4 on their disclosures. So, if RMGO makes a contribution for petition gathering, or any other organization, then it would be listed on the disclosure as a non-monetary contribution, as was the case in Colorado Springs for the recall effort there. I Am Created Equal donated for Kennedy and it was listed as a non-monetary contribution of like $64,000, or something like that.
If Marcus is right, and he makes a convincing case here that paid signature gatherers are not a factor now, you begin to understand the desperation in the voices of Hudak-recall organizers on the radio this morning.
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The fact that Mcalpine is lashing out against fellow republicans shows me that this recall is in trouble and it will likely fail. If the recall was going pretty good, Mcalpine wouldn't be blaming other republicans.
The Kennedy firm is definitely on someone's payroll. I received a telephone call a couple of weeks ago from them asking if I would be interested in a paid petition collector position for the Hudak recall.
I declined.
These Colorado recalls — for the purposes articulated by its proponents — are just plain subversive of our small 'r' republican form of government. They are being organized by gun radicals with the intent of subverting the results of our regular, orderly general elections.
We need to call these subversives what they are: recall radicals.
I've seen them recruiting paid signature gatherers on Facebook and even Reddit, too. I've seen $12/hr or $3/signature thrown around. Maybe they haven't paid the firm yet, which would explain why it doesn't show on their disclosures. That being said, in all fairness, every time I've run across them in person, they've been retired people who seem to be doing this for fun — I don't think I've seen a paid gatherer in the wild yet.
I'll look around, but can you a get screen shot, or maybe click through and get othert info?
Here's a some evidence that McAlpine's organization, Recall Hudak Too, has money for signature gathering. It might be gearing up in case money comes in, of course. But signs point to a paid effort.
http://recallhudaktoo.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=aab9bd9c5914a5ca6088b21d7&id=625e644f53
Yes, I've posted that link several times in various contexts.
If the Hudak recall doesn't succeed, I won't shed a tear. The people's outrage over Democrat overreach has been proven over and over, from the two successful recalls we've aready had to Amendment 66's shellacking. Republicans are on the way to taking back power at every level in 2014. We don't need the recall, we can do it the old fashioned way next November much more cost effectively.
Just my 0.02.
You mean the republican's outrage. If VA is any indication, you republicans are not taking anything back. You republicans are going to lose. Virginia was just the tip of the iceberg.
The republican's overreach in VA cost them the governor's race. Expect 2014 to be no different.
Translation of "the maderatus" post:
"Shit………………….the recall failed to even get half the signatures needed. How do I put a smiling face on this turd?"
Well, "maderatus", ya don't. There are about 9,336 goobered up, liquored up, pissed off anti-"evil guvbmint" hayseed racist teabaggers in the district. What killed the "recall" in SD19 is pretty simple………lack of enough actual idiots dumb enough to fall for the firearms manufacturers/RMGO bullshit and support a hideously expensive recall for a term limited Senator and……………..
Great efforts by activist citizens brave and unselfish time wise enough to get out and counter the paid staffers and goons manning the recall stations.
Add to that the wonderfull job Democracy Defense Fund has done with calls, flyers, and specifically highlighting the history of fraud and forgery the recall for hire group, kennedy enterprises,has engaged in in this as well as past petition gathering efforts here in Colorado.
Just warning SD19 residents of the risks associated with giving felons and pedophililes working for kennedy thier personal information was and is a public service by Democracy Defense Fund.
So……….about 28 days left to gather 9900 signatures means the hard working employees of kennedy need about 353 signatures a day, every day to hit minimum standard.
No wonder "maderatus" is coming up with his new attitude re: how to explain the recall that got away.
You'e "winning"? How?
Wouldn't rejoice too soon. They still have until December 3rd to get enough signatures. But, let it be very clear: this entire effort is the work of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. Considering how they have treated incumbent Republican officeholders who just weren't far enough to the right for them, it is not totally surprising that the Republican party isn't out there carrying their water. If I understand the campaign rules correctly, RMGO money should be showing up in the campaign reports. If it's doesn't show eventually, then there should be an investigation as to why.
uh-huh and Magpul has moved to Texas.
Statesman reporter Peter Marcus didn't look very hard, if he's not seeing any RMGO contributions to the hudak recall effort. There are 50 pages there in the contributions as of Oct 22 – one has to click on the … link after the first 10 to see all of them, The columns are sortable by name. If one sorts by "contributor", one comes up with:
10/15/2013
Non-Monetary (Itemized)
DUDLEY BROWN
PO BOX 27
WINDSOR, CO 80550
ROCKY MOUNTAIN GUN OWNERS
Consultant
$61.00
$358.00
No
LIST OF GUNOWNERS
10/10/2013
Non-Monetary (Itemized)
DUDLEY BROWN
PO BOX 27
WINDSOR, CO 80550
ROCKY MOUNTAIN GUN OWNERS
Consultant
$23.00
$297.00
No
LIST OF GUNOWNERS
10/8/2013
Non-Monetary (Itemized)
DUDLEY BROWN
PO BOX 27
WINDSOR, CO 80550
ROCKY MOUNTAIN GUN OWNERS
Consultant
$62.00
$274.00
No
LIST OF GUNOWNERS
10/4/2013
Non-Monetary (Itemized)
DUDLEY BROWN
PO BOX 27
WINDSOR, CO 80550
ROCKY MOUNTAIN GUN OWNERS
Consultant
$212.00
$212.00
No
LIST OF GUNOWNERS
That would be $1141 contributed by RMGO for this reporting period alone. OK, I was wrong about $2000, but $1100 is a significant contribution, especially considering all of the "in kind" help and free sign waving Dudley Brown of RMGO has gotten out of his bought-off legislators, specifically Neville and Brophy ($5000 for Brophy, $2000 for Neville, and sundry other legislators. From the "expenditures" report of RMGO dated Oct 15:
Expenditures Included on Report
Date
Disbursement Type
Expenditure Type
Payee
Address
Employer/Occupation
Amount
Elec Comm
Explanation
9/26/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Contributions
GREG FOR GOVERNOR
320 EAST 6TH ST
WRAY, CO 80758
$5,000.00
No
9/26/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Contributions
NEVILLE FOR COLORADO
6344 S CHASE ST
LITTLETON, CO 80123
$2,000.00
No
9/26/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Consultant & Professional Services
ON IMPACT STRATEGIES LLC
110-D DAVIS DRIVE
DANVILLE, VA 24540
$557.97
No
9/7/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Contributions
COMMITTEE TO ELECT COOKE FOR COLORADO SD13
1930 PROSPECT PLACE
GREELEY, CO 80631
$500.00
No
9/7/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Contributions
COMMITTEE TO ELECT LORI SAINE TO HD 63
905 GLEN HEATHER COURT
DACONO, CO 80514
$500.00
No
8/22/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Contributions
COMMITTEE TO ELECT JARED WRIGHT
202 NORTH AVE
GRAND JUNCTION, CO 81501
$1,000.00
No
8/22/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Contributions
STEVE HUMPHREY FOR HOUSE
506 ASPEN GROVE WAY
SEVERANCE, CO 80546
$1,000.00
No
8/22/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Contributions
THE COMMITTEE FOR THE ELECTION OF ISAIA
2434 C ST NW
GREELEY, CO 80631
$2,000.00
No
8/1/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Contributions
TONY FOR COLORADO
8234 W KEN CARYL PLACE #F
LITTLETON, CO 80128
$2,000.00
No
7/24/2013
Monetary (Itemized)
Contributions
CHRIS HOLBERT FOR SENATE
10138 SEVERN LANE
PARKER, CO 80134
$1,000.00
No
DONATION
If one is going to "follow the money", one must follow it persistently. recallhudaktoo is paying petitioners. There are numerous links on their website to sign up. They also have many volunteers. It's typical to have a mix of both.
I rejoice in that neither has been enough to get them halfway to their signature goal, yet.
Pols, can you fix that formatting? On the preview, it showed as the tables, WSIWYG the way TRACER shows them. Then when I posted, it looked like the long list you see above.
Thank you for the great work, MJ55.