UPDATE: Slate's Dave Weigel:
I emailed Kerns to find out the origins of the "Chicago ballots" rumor. "I went down to Pueblo yesterday (the site of the other recall), and lo and behold there in this small town is an operative from OFA in Chicago," she wrote. "In this town of Pueblo! Parked right out front of the Democrat Party headquarters is his car, with (Chicago) Illinios license plates. There is another gentleman with him, also from OFA, also from Chicago. I took photos and video and talked to them. Now what in the world is someone from OFA in Chicago doing in the small town of Pueblo, Colorado?"
Got that, folks? Organizing for America employee at Pueblo Democratic HQ="ballots mailed from Chicago!" Jennifer Kerns, thick-resumed Morse recall spokesperson, actually sent this bubbleheaded nonsense to a real reporter.
Can they just bring back the spokesman who called Democrats "c-words?" He may have been better at this.
—–
Check out Media Matters' recap of a recent interview with Jennifer Kerns, the California Americans for Prosperity operative and Proposition 8 spokesperson turned recall media relations flack, on NRA News radio yesterday:
A spokesperson for the Basic Freedom Defense Fund, the NRA-backed group behind an effort to recall two Colorado Democratic state senators over their votes for stronger gun laws, baselessly claimed on NRA News that the campaign of recall-targeted Senate President John Morse was plotting to commit "massive amounts of voter fraud including ballots possibly even being mailed in from Chicago." [Pols emphasis]
Reacting to an August 12 court decision which will necessitate that the recall election be conducted with polling centers instead of solely through mail-in ballots, BFDF spokesperson Jennifer Kerns said the change could stymie what she described as a plot by Chicago-based groups hired by Morse's campaign to commit voter fraud by sending in fraudulent ballots from out of state…
Kerns added, "I think it's much harder for the Democrats to cheat if they have to do it in person. They have to spend their time and treasure busing people in to try to commit fraud."
Ballots "mailed in from Chicago?" We don't think even in the wildest speculative GOP fretting about House Bill 1303, the Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act, that something this ridiculous was ever suggested. It's just laughable, folks. It wouldn't even merit a response if it wasn't coming from the spokesperson for the biggest show in Colorado politics today–the campaign to recall Senate President John Morse.
We suppose we should not be surprised by this, but we are. There's simply no justification for this. We, along with the legitimate press and the voting public, need to come to grips with the depth of ludicrous prattle these recalls are descending to–fully detached from reality. And as for California-imported recall spokesperson Jennifer Kerns, no reputable journalist should consider her a credible source of information ever again.
That's how it used to be before crazy went "mainstream."
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So first the CS Indy exposes the recall proponents' old flack Nick "C-word" Andrasik as a sexist jerk.Then it nails their "hired gun" replacement for being the anti-gay Prop 8 hatemonger. Following that she goes into hiding in Colorado, but pops up on NRA radio. With performances like this, wonder how long they'll let her keep talking? Oh, and nice work Chet Hardin & JA Stanley…
Local media needs to take note of her crazy bullshit. They'll pull her if she becomes a liability in SD-11 only; national media can laugh all they want. The people who own Kerns assume voters in podunk SD-11 are too stupid to read Slate or something.
Thou shalt not bear false witness…unless it furthers your political ends.
What a shocker! A Koch operative and AFP employee full of BS.
What the hell is NRA News and who the hell listens to them?
I really feel for the folks at Media Matters and their daily grind having to sift through all this shit and expose it for the baseless bullshit it is.
What in the world is a
California political operative with the twitter handle @CApartygirl doing in this tiny little place locals pronounce funny but is spelleddemocratic staffer doing in Pueblo???Kerns really does think we're all stupid in Pueblo. We don't know how to use Google or Twitter to look up where she's from (California), instead of taking her word from it that she "lives here". We're so fricking provincial, Kerns beleives, that we're prejudiced against people who are from other places in the US. We're so paranoid and gullible that we'll believe outlandish conspiracy theories she puts out there to keep her name in the news cycle.
As for these supposed scary Chicago operatives, they are the usual young, smart, ambitious poly sci and urban studies interns working very hard and doing an extraordinary job for minimal money, fighting the massive recall debacle in Dems HQ in Pueblo.
We do kid them about the "Chicago thug" thing, and so far, they seem to have a sense of humor about it. Mike and Chris, you guys are awesome.
Reminds me of the pot calling the kettle black. Republican California organizer can come in to a local race but if Democratic Chicago organizers come in too then it is mail fraud. What probably scares the bejeebus out of Ms. Kerns is based on the 2012 elections, the Democratic organizers know how to win with grass roots organizing. They we're awesome in the presidential election.
@mj55
OFA is no longer a political organization that supports candidate…Obama changed that to an issue orientated organization that is taxexmpt because it does NOT endorse candidates…(.BTW, I think that was a gigiantic mistake on the part of Obama et.al.)…..however, I wonder how involved OFA can get in the recall election w/o compromising its taxexmpt status? Legal opinion, anyone??
Well its high profile so they have to be careful. I'm not sure of its tax exempt status, c3 or c4? c3, can spend no monies on any candidate support/opposition but it can train citizens how to be candidates and it can work to hold elected officials accountable to its membership base (less so the general public at large). Up to about 20% (nutshell) of its two year budget can go toward lobbying, which would include initiatives as the electorate is acting as the legislative function in that case. C4s can spend something less than the majority (i.e up to half) of their money supporting/opposing candidates. They are tax exempt but contributions to them are not tax deductible (as they are to c3s). Been a while since I sat thru those classes but that's how I recall it. info here -> http://www.afj.org/
My guess, but I don't know although I hope so, OFA is a c4.
I just wrote a long comment explaining it that disapperaed into the fancy new WordPress site. Good info here: http://www.afj.org/
If its a c3 not at all, c4 up to something under 50% of funds over two year period.
Hey now it appeared. Like WordPress magic or something…
OFA isn't involved in the recall election. Kerns makes stuff up. (Shocker, I know). Those 2 staff do just happen to come from Chicago, but there are also people from California, Oregon, Texas, all over the country at the Dem HQ. Mostly, though, people are from Pueblo.
Also, just because I know this fact drives righties nuts, Bloomberg's organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is not involved financially, although it wouldn't be a terrible thing if it was.
Finances for the issue committee, "Pueblo United for Angela" are a matter of public record, available through the Secretary of State's office by doing a committee search. There are many individuals donating, also some democratic and progressive 527s such as Mainstream Colorado, Six Thirty Group, America votes, etc. I'm not going to put all the details out there, but it's pretty easy to look up if you're curious.
Candidate campaign finances and "issue" committees have to be separate, and I know that people are pretty darn careful about money. At any given time, there are paid staff, volunteers, interns, all managing to communicate and coordinate and keep a lot of operations moving at the same time. It works because people are dedicated to smalll d democracy. People understand that if this recall succeeds, local elections won't mean much anymore, and legislators will be afraid to take tough stands.
Kerns understands that. It is, after all, why her salary is paid as a propagandist in this proxy war. When she lies and exaggerates and makes stuff up, she's just doing her job.
@MJ55 and CT
Thanks for the clarification.
What is totally outstanding and upsetting is that the official spokesperson for the recall effort has made totally unsubstantiated charges of fraudulent (and criminal) activity on the part of her opponents. Ms. Kerns needs to attend Sunday School classes more regularly.
This isn't a serious claim. It's a bunch of horse shit. Like Pols says, there's no justification for it, and she should never be taken seriously again.
But of course she will. There's no amount of bullshit the Colorado media won't swallow to crate false equivalency.
NOT MADE UP. You're just not on the right listserv to get the real™ story.
Care to elaborate…?
Real story.? …do tell…
does Kerns have future writing books? might she be the next Ann Coulter? what an ambition
Or the next Jaxine Bubis…
I'd say that Jaxine Bubis is one of a kind, but then there would be a decent chance I'd have to eat my words.
yes someone should let the fake rumor started know that Organizing for Action a non profit group, non partisan, issue based organization that because of their 501 status can have nothing to do with the Democratic Party and visa versa by FEC rules. There is no group called OFA that is connected to the "recall" election. Sorry you need to do your research before you plant fake stories and send them to the media. Oh and in Colorado we have a very good ballot tracing data base and voter registration system used by our County Clerks and Recorders and County Elections called SCORE Seriously outside groups fanning the hysteria of an agenda based recall. Gee like we didn't know. VOTE NO ON THE RECALL It's one box !!!
Kerns apparently blogs on the Colorado Observer, so there's at least one mainstream outlet that takes her seriously. She's got some lying-ass crap on Breitbart, too…not going to dignify it with a link.
Ellen Dumm publicly called Kerns a "hot mess", and I'll leave it at that.