A fundraising email sent to supporters of GOP U.S. Senate primary candidate and freshman Colorado Sen. Owen Hill is raising eyebrows today:
Stalking and harassment have begun.
As a loyal ally, you deserve to be in-the-know about the sleazy tactics my opponents are using in their desperate attempts to slow our momentum.
My neighbor caught this operative on camera as he was prowling around our home after I went to work and Emily and the kids were alone inside.
The corrupt political elitists know their reign is about to end, and they're growing desperate. But I refuse to shrug off anyone threatening the safety of my family.
We shouldn't be surprised by these tactics, but it makes them no less frightening. Still, I mark is as a partial victory that they're taking notice of my success in bringing genuine conservative reform back to government. Please, donate $5 right now to help us build on our momentum…
Will you stand with me again today? Please, donate $5 today, right now, so we are able to rebuff the attacks and defeat Udall.
Now first of all, obviously, we don't condone anyone "stalking" U.S. Senate candidates. If there's any truth to this allegation, we hope whoever did this is caught and prosecuted for whatever law they might have broken.
With that said, this seems awfully fishy. This photo (above) doesn't show anything except a man standing on a sidewalk–what looks like public property to us. And although incumbent Sen. Mark Udall is the only "opponent" Hill mentions by name, how do we know this isn't an "operative" of one of his Republican primary opponents?
It's more likely, of course, that this was just a guy selling frozen steaks or magazines. As a relatively minor candidate in a large primary field, we just don't believe that Hill is worth "stalking"–at least not by Democrats. We'll be happy to retract that assertion if we see evidence that Hill immediately reported this alleged instance of "stalking and harassment" to the proper authorities. Because when somebody is actually stalking your wife and children while you're away at work, the first thing you think of is probably not "this would make a great fundraising email."
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Owen Hill is not minor.
http://www.mcmillanforcolorado.com/ is minor.
It's all relative. 🙂
I wonder if anybody told Sparky that harassment and stalking are both distinct crimes under Colorado law?
http://www.lawinfoboulder.com/colorado_statutes/harassment.html
He should be careful slinging allegations like that. Words mean things.
Looks completely like a stalker to me. Caught in a surveillance video facing away from the camera, probably texting. I don't suppose, in the real world, the video had a single frame that might be more identifying. Or that the neighbor might have possessed a camera or smartphone with better resolution than a crappy surveillance camera.
And the Guvs have it exactly right on the analysis, too: the first thing I'd do is send out a fundraising campaign. The police will figure it out when they get the request for donations.
This appears to be a new tactic in the "Innocent Conservatives as victims of Dastardly Liberal Thugs" meme. The recallhudaktoo website was full of these.
There was one where a short person ( I don't know the PC term) was "standing with Evie", and someone was standing next to him with a gigantic flag larger than the protester. When the protester got tired of being whipped in the face with the flag, he seized it, and tried to rip it away from the flag holder. Of course, it was videotaped, and the caption read: "radical leftist Evie Hudak supporter ripping a volunteer's flag from his hands."
Then there's the infamous one of someone standing next to a car near a petition signing location. Standing! next to a car! Talking! with someone in the car! Can you believe it? This was spun as: "Gun-grabbing liberal protestors literally blocked the driver of this car from getting out to sign the Recall Evie Hudak petition earlier today. "
Every time a Hudak supporter took a picture or video, it was "stalking", or harassment", although, of course, the reverse was not true.
If one's entire political stance is "I am a victim. To prove that they pick on me, I'm going to provoke them until they do," then of course one has to take pictures of innocent people having normal reactions and spin them in the worst possible light.
And then of course, the media sharks need blood, and so the over-the-top rhetoric gets dragged in, and before you know it, both the short person, the person standing next to a car, and the guy stopping to check his cell phone are all brown-shirted Nazi thugs.
Now, I heard that there was "minor misbehavior" on both sides of the Hudak recall. But the Arvada police certainly stopped believing them after being called out on bogus crises too many times. Owen Hill should remember the old fable about the boy who cried "Wolf!"
Kind of reminds me of that legislative candidate from Jeffco who claimed he had received two ballots and tried to make it sound nefarious when in reality he was supposed to receive two ballots. Hope that guy got fired.
If you are going to stalk, then you need data:
Owen J Hill 30-34 years old WhitePages Member
Address
212 E Madison St Colorado Springs, CO 80907-6821
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/212-E-Madison-St-Colorado-Springs-CO-80907/13604886_zpid/
Sorry – horrible aside. Did they take this picture to help them place a family of stickers on their car?
Kind of looks lie they're homeless and up against the wall at the homeless shelter. No offense to the homeless.
If you go to Google Street View, you will notice that there is NO lamp post near his house.
There is one at the corner across the street from THE HOSPITAL.
You're right. This photo was not taken at Hill's house if that address is right. Looks like a busy street corner too. What a joke…
Except it's not a joke. Sen. Hill is accusing someone of stalking and harassment. Stalking is a felony in Colorado. Either he's already gotten the cops involved investigating this crime, or he's throwing around very serious accusations with no evidence. To raise money.
I think it's pretty serious either way, and the press should look into it.
And False Reporting is a Class 3 misdemeanor, which probably explains why he put out a fundraising letter instead of calling the cops. See CRS 18-8-111.
My guess is that he didn't report it to the police, and besides which, the DA and Police and Sheriff are so right-wing down there that they wouldn't take any action anyway.
I love you guys. No wonder the Republicans hate the internet. It's not as easy to tell lies as it used to be.
Was the person simply waiting for a bus?
Not likely. Penrose Hospital is between Cascade and Nevada. The #9 bus runs on Cascade at that point.
Heh. I looked that up this morning thinking the same thing. But it is still on a busy intersection near a hospital. It's not like the guy was standing at the bottom of my driveway in my little mountain neighborhood – he was at a corner, looking like he was texting, facing the hospital and serveral doors down from Hills' house, if DB's post is correct.
Owen Hill should read 5280 magazine about what all the Democratic female legislators had to put up with this session (from his Rocky Mt. Gun-Owners and friends crowd) before he gives the teensiest whine.
http://www.5280.com/magazine/2013/11/colorado-woman?page=0,14
Receiving vile threats like those mentioned in the article should NOT be a required part of the job of a state legislator.
Right. I think only Rhonda Fields got police involved, and they eventually arrested a man who had threatened to rape and kill her.
Congratulations, Guvs – you're the only site carrying this story. You'd think if a candidate for U.S. Senate was serious about putting the pressure on, he'd have contacted a news organization before his donor list…
Anyone with serious image-searching skills know if there's a "search for images like this one" search out there?
You would think he would be peddling it to the papers for the free publicity. Isn't this the guy who said Udall viewed him as the only serious Republican threat. A wannabe important person trying to victim his way to more donations.
Where's Elliot to defend his beloved politician? Elliot! Come out come out where ever you are.
The press needs to ask Mr. Hill the following questions:
1. What is the name of your neighbor who took the photograph? (If he won't answer that question, then the editorial board need to get involved.)
2. What specific evidence do you have that this man is stalking your family? And by evidence, we need more than a photo of the backside of a man walking down a street. We specific, verifiable evidence, that this is happening. Lay the evidence on the table.
3. What specific evidence do you have that any of your opponents are having your family stalked? Again, we need a lot more than a photograph. We need specific, verifiable evidence, that one of your opponents has authorized the alleged stalking.
4. When did you report this allegation to law enforcement? If not, why not?
5. Contact the neighbor who took the photograph and ask him/her the following questions:
– On what date did you take the photograph?
– What is the address of the street corner where this photo was taken?
– What suspicious conduct, besides walking down the street, did this individual exhibit? What made the person's conduct suspicious in your eyes?
– What evidence do you have that this individual was stalking Mr. Hill's family?
– What evidence do you have the man in the photograph was allegingly stalking Mr.Hill's family on behalf of one of his political opponents?
– Did you report this incident tot he Coloraod springs Police Department or any other law enforcement agency? If so, when did you do that?
If the neighbor orMr. Hill reported it to law enforcement, follow-up with that agency?
Mr. Hill, just because you assert something has happened doesn't mean it is true. We need evidence, specific verifiable facts that support your assertion.
We're waiting for your response.
The press needs to figure out that Hill did this in the first place, get a copy of the email, and follow up with as many of your excellent question suggestions as is necessary to validate this story (or embarrass Hill for Making Shit Up, as the case may be…).
+100
Excellent questions 36. Getting the press to be more than stenographers is a pretty tall order nowdays.
That's just it – there's no press on this. Hill bypassed the press in favor of his donor list.
If davebarnes is right, he might have at least used a local picture – which is a step up from the average fake fundraising ploy. But no press so far. This diary is IT.
Isn't "filing a false report" a criminal offense? That would be why Hill didn't contact authorities. You can get into serious trouble for yanking the chain of the local police…not so much if your just blowing smoke up the collective arse of your Republican base.
if "you're"…not "your"
It's "it's" not if. Now I sould like Bill Clinton. Stop the grammar lesson. Who cares?
Yup, you nailed it, Duke.
Another case of owen in a "you really didn't think this through, did you?" scenario.
I remember back in the gun legislation process, hill had to be reminded of procedure more than once. He doesn't process before jumping way more than either a legislator OR an officer in the United States military does or should.
But this is an opposition research campaign worker's dream come true.
Truth is not a strong point with the GOP in Colorado…same with the national GOP…Paranoia, fear, hate is all the GOP has to offer….and the Low info people vote for it…
Absolutely.
Another thing that caught my attention was hill's "wording" in the fundraiser.
"Operative", "corrupt political elitists", and "genuine conservative reform back to Government".
The overall "theme" and message of "ominous threats" hill used reminds me of the cynical messaging the republicans ran for the remainder of the past decade after 9/11.
caplis used a lot of this verbage up untill his dismissal from KHOW. His was the constant comparison of Democratic ideas to the Al Qaeda and Taliban ideologies. For his listeners it was mother's milk. hill's demographic is that demographic.
caplis regularly regaled listeners with stories that couldn't be proven or disproven about his battles with "liberal thugs", "dem elites", and "un-American unionists". Allways he was the initial victim, but he'd emerge victorious, upholding conservative principles, by the end of the story.
I wonder what old dan's doing in his off time these days. He never appealed as a redleg candidate, but he was the state republican party's conduit through his show. I'll say one thing, the whole thing smells like caplis. It's definately his M.O. It's how he rolls.
What is the address of the street corner where this photo was taken?
Corner of Madison and North Nevada. The man is facing west towards Penrose Hospital and away from Owen's house. Which is two houses away.
Right now, owen's muttering "I'd a gottaway with it if it hadn't been for those meddlin' kids".
Great work Dave.
Don't minimize this outrage, you left-wing apologists.
Without doubt, somebody somewhere took a picture of a guy on a public sidewalk.
The horror, the horror!
Send your money right now to your local right-wing fruitcake or soon guys will be walking on public sidewalks in your neighborhood too!
Owen is not very bright if he doesn't want people checking out his house. He is in a walkable neighborhood, and it looks like he is on an alley. There are a lot of people walking in that neighborhood all the time. There is a bus stop two blocks straight ahead of that guy, and a small neighborhood shopping center with a Safeway just a few minutes in the opposite direction. If he doesn't have one, perhaps he might consider getting a dog.
This was an incredibly dumb thing to do. I just took a tour of his house on the link so thoughtfully provided by davebarnes. Creepy. This whole thing is creepy, including the thought that he graduated from the Air Force Academy. I guess that explains a lot.
Oops, he's not on an alley. That's a plus.
Seriously, what was he thinking? It's a good thing we are nice people here, for the most part. Elliot should think about having a talk with him.
Stand by for the Fladenesque defense, which will probably be; "What if the neighbor was being smart, and didn't feel safe taking a picture of the stalker until he was away from Owen's defenseless wife and kids?"