Last week, the Grand Junction Sentinel's Charles Ashby reported that Republican state Sen. Steve King, who has been indicted on multiple felony counts related to alleged theft of public funds, has been quietly removed from his post as chairman of the powerful joint Legislative Audit Committee by GOP Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman. To briefly recap, King is accused of improperly receiving pay from several government entities, including the Mesa County Sheriff and Colorado Mesa University, claiming hours worked that conflict with one another and King's time spent in the Colorado Senate.
In short, embezzlement and falsification of official records.
For reasons we don't understand clearly, there has been no pressure on term-limited Sen. King to resign from fellow Republicans in the Colorado Senate. The most prominent call for King to step down has come from nonpartisan (but disliked by Republicans generally) Colorado Ethics Watch. The relative lack of scandal over Sen. King's continued presence at the Colorado Capitol makes very little sense to us.
Today, Sen. King was in attendance for a meeting of the Transportation Legislation Review Committee (photo above). This would presumably entitle Sen. King to the maximum per diem reimbursement for showing up as an out-of-metro legislator. It's possible that, with King's other sources of income cut off, showing up as a lame duck to committees he's still allowed to serve on may be the only way to pay his bills.
Once again, if Sen. King had a (D) after his name…wouldn't Republicans be screaming bloody murder? Shouldn't Chuck Plunkett be detailing a reporter for a multi-day series? A lawmaker accused of felony embezzlement continuing to collect the same taxpayer dollars he's accused of stealing?
We don't get it, folks.
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IOKIYAR. Don't do as I do, do as I SAY. Typical GOTP bald-faced, shameless, tow-faced hypocrisy.
I'm STILL waiting for Teabaggers to punish married LA Teabag Senator (and announced LA gubernatorial candidate) "Diaper Dave" Vitter for being caught cavorting with hookers while wearing Huggies.
Plunkett's double standard is glaring.
No comment. Just checking for dead horsie.
That's just for the Gardner birth control crap. And I'll stop using it if it's giving you headaches. The point has been made.
That you're an ignoramus? Who, pray tell, did you think that point had been lost on (. . . maybe, besides the other ippy twin . . .)?
But, hell, if you're not going to post that anymore out of some concern for BC, well then, at least you're not the biggest ignoramus posting here. Thanks for that.
I appreciate it, modster. It really is painful every time I click on a thread and run into that annoying graphic unawares. Thank you.
Did I (still) miss the Colorado Peak Politics, Complete Colorado, Revealing Politics, etc. etc. etc. breathless blog entry about another politician stealing (alledgedly) public tax monies?
No, because they are two faced cretins.
Lot's of Pols make a living sucking from the government teat . . .
. . . King is one of those special few who appears to have managed getting his mouth around all of them at the very same time!
Plus that look never goes out of style. Or maybe its in.
He resembles a "Ken doll" I once had (Barbie's plastic soulmate). I wonder if there are any other resemblances.
I'm not sure what went wrong with my post–I've had a lot of trouble even accessing this site for the past few days. Instead of duplicating your story, I was trying to comment that Steve King was not term limited from his Senate seat, although his term should be limited. He chose to run for Mesa County Sheriff, rather than seek reelection as a Senator. I, for one, am not clammoring for him to resign his Senate seat, although I do hope he has been removed from all leadership roles. If he were to resign, my opponent would be sworn in as his replacement, making him an incumbent instead of a tounge tied wanna-be. Be careful what you wish for. (If you want to know what I'm talking about, google YouTube Konola/King Club 20 debate.)
Oh come now Ms Konola, is wishing in one hand the best you can do? You've had well over a year to come to terms with the fact that your opponent Ray Scott would be the anointed and appointed state senator incumbent by the time the election rolls around. That was the will and the plan of the Mesa County GOP. A plot which was exposed to the public in an email blast by GJResult.Tea Party on July 10, 2013 entitled “A Peek Behind the Political Curtain”.
The entire plot by the GOP to bypass western slope voters was laid out in detail right down to the part where Ray Scott's appointment to the senate would be triggered by Steve King's resignation from the senate followed by his appointment to replace Stan Hilkey as Mesa County Sheriff, who would resign early to take an eastern slope job. And just in case you missed that July 10, 2013 email blast, what did you think was happening when the only thing that stopped Mesa County commissioners from appointing King as sheriff was “an overwhelming number of emails, texts and phone calls” according to Mesa County commissioner Rose Pugliese, (mainly from the Tea Party). If it hadn't been for that public outcry, Ray Scott would already be a sitting state senator and the incumbent. And Steve King would not be facing three felony and multiple misdemeanor charges. Exposing, and then throwing a monkey wrench into the Mesa County GOP's musical chairs (screw the voters) plot was so easy, even a Tea Party could do it.
And now comes Claudette Konola who wants to represent the people of District 7 and is willing to go up against the big red machine to get there. Here's an idea that no doubt would attract some state wide attention to your campaign. Why not start with the truth? Lay it all out just like it happened (on your campaign webpage) and then ask the voters if they wish to continue the corrupt legacy of absolute power enjoyed on the western slope by the GOP ruling elite. You might even refer to the obvious that absolute power corrupts, absolutely. What do you have to lose, in view of the fact that there may be even as many as a half dozen people in your district that don't already know about the plot.
Shouldn't our goal be to elect honest government first and worry about the partisan politics later? And to that greater good, why not post the entire plot on your campaign website for all the world to see. (I am forwarding that July 10, 2013 plot publication to you along with the information about the Tea Party pool established to guess the exact date when Ray Scott will become the “appointed” incumbent. Five bucks gets you in…..and winner takes all.
We had a similar pool as to when Steve King would be appointed to sit in the Sheriff's office, but that one fell apart because the rules didn't specify whether his presence would be voluntary or involuntary. Win, lose or draw, there is something you can do to serve the people of your district. Tell them the truth and then let the chips fall where they may. That's what true leadership is all about. Are you a leader?
American Patriot,
Co-Founder, GJResult.Tea Party
I noticed,as did many others a less than usually abundant Republican crowd. The Dems turned out a good crowd, but that couldn”t have been the sole reason for the difference in the crowd.
at the Club 19 debates, I mean….
I accept your challenge, American Patriot, to post what I knew and when I knew it, although it seems I got a few of the details wrong. I had the part about Stan Hilkey going to work for our Governor wrong, and I had the part about Scott McInnis running for County Commissioner wrong, and I had the circumstances around Steve King's departure from the Senate wrong. Most of my readers already know the predictions I made about the musical chairs in Mesa County because I wrote about it at the time–a few details changed, but corruption remains prevalent in the county; the people who gave us the embarrassments of Steve King, Jared Wright, Rex Tibbits, Rick Brainard, Scott McInnis, and Laura Bradford are still trying to call the shots–and they are following the script you laid out in your E-mail blast. I know that a lot of Mesa County's voters are beginning to question the decisions made by a handful of local power brokers. It IS time to try something different. How about electing an honest and ethical Senator for a change?
I think a few of these folks are starting to sense there are sharks in the water…
Watch closely…this is when they begin to turn on each other….