October 21, 2011 07:44 PM UTC

No On 300 Slams Opponents for...an Attack Puppet?

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• by: Colorado Pols

For a laundry list of reasons, local elections are really great at getting people incensed about what’s going on in their communities. Electing a president may be the most personal vote electors cast, but when people do hold feelings about something as esoteric as paid sick leave, for example, they hold really strong feelings.

So strong, in fact, that you may even demand an apology from…an attack puppet?

From the No on 300 Campaign:

Local Denver businesses demand apology from out-of-state group for “Rick” the small-business-attack puppet

‘Shameful’ campaign tactic tries to scare customers away from Denver small businesses in latest stunt

DENVER: Local businesses demanded an apology from the out-of-state special interest group behind Initiative 300 Sunday after the group actively tried to scare customers away from shops and restaurants using a puppet they created to attack small businesses.

The group used “Rick,” the proponents’ small-business-attack puppet, to try to harm the reputation of shops and restaurants by actively scaring away customers.

“It is shameful that some group from out of state thinks it’s ok to try to scare customers away from our local businesses and actively hurt our local economy,” said Tami Door, President and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership. “It has never been more clear: if you support Denver’s local economy, you cannot support Initiative 300 and their unbelievably tone-deaf tactics.”

This is ridiculous. We’re sure that the No On 300 team could easily find some other way to label the “Yes” effort as dirty. But to attack a puppet? What is this press release trying to accomplish? First of all, we’ve never seen a puppet attack anything, let alone a small business. But if we give the press release the benefit of the doubt and there really is some sort of dastardly puppet haranguing small businesses, is it really the best political strategy to point it out in a lengthy press release?

Folks, it’s hard to make people get angry about a puppet. Sure, groups like Focus on the Family might oppose Bert and Ernie’s lifestyle choices, but nobody can attack a puppet without looking sophomoric.

How are people supposed to react to this press release? “Oh, that dirty sick leave campaign is up to its no-good tricks again! Someone has to put a stop to their perversion of puppets! Jim Henson must be rolling around in his grave!”

Fine, we get it. The Yes on 300 campaign shouldn’t be using an attack puppet to harass small businesses, or whatever. But the No on 300 campaign shouldn’t ask for an apology over a puppet and expect that voters or the media are going to take them seriously.

If the only criticism you can make against moving forward with paid sick leave for Denver workers is that its proponents are misusing a puppet, we gotta say, it makes your case look pretty weak indeed.