by Jim Shults
Folks across the Nation have been asking us what happened to Colorado regarding a rash of new highly- restrictive firearm laws and with the promise of legislators of more to come in 2014. Here is how it really happened.
Sniveling first: This white paper comes from firsthand knowledge. We know personally, have met with and gathered facts with, from, and about many of the players in this mess. We have lived in Colorado for decades and have been directly involved in fighting against previous and recent anti-Second Amendment actions by our newly elected democrat majority Colorado State Legislature and governor. This paper is limited to firearm issues not the other controversial Colorado majority legislature plans, regulations, bills, and laws that cover a myriad of other seriously transformative issues we are also becoming famous for doing in our now threatened progressive state.
We worked to keep this work unbiased-it may not look that way but we tried. SO IF you are anti-gun, want citizen firearm restrictions, a critic of the Constitution, a critic of the 2nd Amendment, a loyal Californian regardless, a hard core “left wing” Democrat, liberal or a Progressive, this document will just anger or frustrate you. That is NOT the purpose and we simply suggest you not read it. The facts and how they politically align are just that –the facts.
LET’S BEGIN
About 45-years ago Colorado was relatively conservative, had a balanced budget and money in the bank, then Governor Dick Lamm (D) got elected (1975-1987) and things changed. Spending kicked in and in less than a few short years the state owed money. Back when Lamm was 49 years old he became famous for aggressively advancing his idea that “older people have a responsibility to die.” We wonder now that he is 77 if he holds that same view. And while Lamm was not a believer in citizen firearm ownership he and his family took private and actual gun fighting lessons–we personally know, and he proved to be a very good shot with a 9mm semi-auto.
THEN CAME THE CALIFORNIANS
Learning about Colorado firsthand thanks to advertising, promotion, and word of mouth, in the 1980s tourists from California poured into Colorado–their license plates were seen everywhere and in big numbers. Colorado is a great tourist state and a nice place to live–back when it was free. About 1995 the Colorado Tourist Commission began whining that California tourism was down, they could not figure out why. We told them in no uncertain terms–the reason for the drop in tourism is because the Californian tourists now live here.
Tens of thousands of Californians fled and are still fleeing their state and they gave one or more of the following reasons for leaving their state: Crime, illegals, destruction of the state’s once great infrastructure (hospitals and schools), high taxes, massive over regulation, weird politics, crack down on many freedoms and much more.
But when it comes time to pull that voting lever the majority of these folks simply cannot recognize that the policies, politics and circumstances that made them escape from California will make California happen to Colorado and other states they are fleeing to. Their political thinking is mentally hardwired regardless of outcome. So via the voting booth they have turned Colorado, Washington State and Oregon into California over the last 20 years.
There are exceptions to this of course and while 30 percent of those exceptions may believe differently, 70 percent don’t and it is and was they who changed the Colorado’s political balance via the voting booth. When you take a state like Colorado with a smaller voting age population and add a couple hundred thousand or so new voting age arrivals they can easily shift the political balance-and they did and will continue to do so wherever they relocate to.
Utah is next! Recently a radio host related a story about Utah and what some folks who recently moved there from California told him. The new Utah residents remarked how clean, proper, friendly, family oriented, and law abiding, and how well run Utah was run as a state.. Their only “complaint”…there are so many Mormons there! Hummm!
BIG MONEY, GREAT TIMING AND A REASON TO LEAVE
Between 1980 and 2007 a 1,000 sq. foot dump of a house most anywhere in California would bring enough money in a sale to purchase a really nice 3,000 sq. ft. house almost anywhere in Colorado and leave enough change to furnish the new digs. Now if your California house was a nice 2,500 sq. foot house in most any middle class area, the Colorado market was pure gold. In fact many folks could sell their “nice” California house and buy a house twice the size in Colorado and retire for a few years with the change after buying a new car or two–and they did too, and Colorado is now full of liberal Californians.
HOW COLORADO ELECTED A SERIOUS ANTI-2ND AMENDMENT GOVERNOR
The 2010 Colorado state election is when Colorado politics seriously and radically changed. It was the 2010 State gubernatorial run that caused Colorado Republican delegates to select Dan Maes, a politically naive nobody with a questionable business background, to represent them in a run against a Democrat powered wood chipper.
Initially, two Republicans fought for the 2010 Republican Party primary state ticket; Scott McInnis and Dan Maes. So how did the incredibly unqualified Maes get on the Republican ballot to run against former Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper? He did it by beating out popular seriously Democrat feared former U.S. Congressman, and conservative pro-gun guy Scott McInnis at the Republican State Convention. But how could that be?
Jane Norton, former Lieutenant Governor to Colorado Governor Bill Owens (R) was the State Republican Party honcho at the time. Norton figured it would not be necessary for so many Western Colorado convention delegates (where McInnis is from) to make the trip to Denver for the state convention due to cost, etc. besides McInnis would be a guaranteed shoe in for the run. This was all at the edge of the National economic bust that was just taking hold in Colorado. So, many delegates for McInnis stayed home because it really was very obvious to all that the much more qualified McInnis was going to win anyway (true at the time). But, here is the rest of the story.
During the run for the party nomination McInnis was the primary target of the State’s liberal major media, primarily the Denver Post. The Post put together a fact twisted and hugely-hyped plagiarism accusation regarding a water rights project McInnis was working on as a fellow in a fellowship run by a private family foundation in Colorado. McInnis was to conducted research, write papers, speak to business and professional groups educating them to the use of water especially in (dry) Western Colorado. McInnis, a lifelong Colorado native and lawyer was employed by the fellowship for nearly two years prior to his run for governor and was paid a wage of $150,000 per year.
Part of the work was to write a series of papers regarding water rights for dissemination to whomever the foundation wished. McInnis subcontracted some of the research to a highly-qualified and trusted water expert and friend; a normal legal procedure when extra expertise is needed in most any matter. McInnis gave his researcher specific written and verbal instructions to provide source cites to any information in the series. About 20 papers were completed and delivered by McInnis to the foundation. But unknown to McInnis, his researcher friend plagiarized some research from a previous research paper done by a Colorado Supreme Court Justice, also a water law expert. However, none of the papers were ever released or published by the foundation or saw any public light.
During highly-detailed Democrat (and news media) opposition research on McInnis and through tax records foolishly supplied by McInnis to the Denver Post, the fellowship was found and “coincidentally” Democrat Party contacts shortly learned of it too. The paper and Democrats followed the information (that’s the job of any good political party opposition research) to the foundation. Either (you guess) the paper or Democrats ran the papers through special software to detect plagiarism. It was they who discovered the researcher’s plagiarism which McInnis was still not aware of until it was exposed as big news in the politically hostile paper and by Democrats.
The media positioned the non-published foundation papers as intentional plagiarism by McInnis.*1 Worse appearing McInnis paid the 80+ year old researcher $10,000.00 for his part. But the media did not report all the other services and work McInnis was involved in for the foundation to earn that money over two years. Regardless, his researcher friend in a media driven frenzy defense of his part in the mess claimed he did not know*1 the work he copied was to be used by others (sure) and dumped on McInnis, and the hostile media piled on that newsy morsel big time.
THROWING YOURSELF ON A GRENADE FOR NO GOOD REASON
But, worse yet, it was poorly handled by McInnis’ staff and McInnis’ own personal conservative bent for self-mutilation. After learning of the plagiarism, McInnis bravely and foolishly said “The buck stopped with him.” Watching this disaster unfold, one must ask (and we did) why his advisors allowed McInnis to commit political suicide immediately prior to the state nominating convention? Because unlike liberals, conservatives eat their own!
McInnis’ stubborn (he is a Scot) near suicidal quest to accept blame for another’s plagiarism which when amplified constantly every day by the hostile major media was like fighting a fire with gasoline. And with his conservative bent for self-destruction at the convention, delegate’s eyes turned to no nothing alternate candidate Dan Maes.
Now it gets interesting because one rich ultra-liberal Democrat activist was secretly supporting Republican Maes in ads and other methods to the tune of $1.5 million just prior to and during the State Convention (at the time unknown to everyone, even Maes himself). The activist simply wanted Maes, the weakest candidate on the Republican ticket. Pretty smart tactic we think. With the help of the hostile state media, big (Democrat) money for Maes the McInnis plagiarism charge, know nothing Maes, the weakest candidate got the Republican state ticket for governor.
IT GOT WORSE
After the State Republican Convention picked Maes, in came Republican, former U.S. Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo. Tom Terrific *2 recognized the conservative fiasco and figured he would weasel his way on the Republican ticket at the last minute and would heroically save Colorado from itself. But it was too late to get on the ticket as a Republican. Tancredo then sniveled to Maes to give up his hard fought place on the party ticket so he could heroically take over as a replacement candidate–nope, no way weasel! Maes stayed.
Now, with the weakest 2010 Colorado gubernatorial candidate on the Republican ticket (probably in state history), Maes, was easy pickings for savvy and super-funded former Denver mayor and ANTI-2nd Amendment John Hickenlooper. Unable to poach his way on the Republican ticket Tom Terrific sniveled to his Colorado support base and got on the final ballot under the American Constitutional Party. The effect of this jive effort was to simply further dilute and divide the state conservative and Republican voters, and yes, Tancredo knew that too!
And, it was reliably rumored and the National Republican Party reasoned (correctly so) that Maes and Tancredo were both drop dead guaranteed losers so they and most state Republican Party folks wrote both off for any serious financial support. Hickenlooper went on to win the election and will be up for incumbent reelection in 2014.*2
BIG BUCKS, SMART PEOPLE, NEW TACTICS; HOW IT HAPPENED IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
During Hickenlooper’s run and especially two years later (2012 midterm election period) in came a ton of liberal money and smart new tactics aimed at loading the Colorado State Legislature with a group of politicians that included some rabid liberal and progressives with a seriously demonstrated disdain for that damned 2nd Amendment.
When you combine smart special new election tactics, a ton of activist money, huge bunch of newly-arrived liberal voters you get where Colorado is today. Hostile to business, marijuana friendly, freedom controlling, over regulated, over taxed, budget in the tank, voter fraud friendly, anti-2nd Amendment, so much more and getting worse fast.
The background for Colorado’s 2012 midterm elections actually began around 2003 when some very progressive politically active really rich liberal folks formed a team to fight for their side of politics. For our purpose here we will fast forward to 2007 or so. Tim Gil (sold his 50% of Quark) joined with former Democrat Congressman Jared Polis, Patricia Stryker and Rutt Bridges to form Colorado’s “Gang of Four” (you can Internet search all these folks).
By pooling many likeminded and activist minions the four set out on a blitzkrieg plan using dozens of 501 (c) (3)s and (4)s and a slug of 527 organizations to raise and legally run money and influence to state Democrats; however, this was not limited to Colorado, the blueprint was used nationally against various Gang of Four targeted politicians.
Regardless, the plan the Gang used (legally accomplished) was written about in a book titled The Blueprint: How Democrats Won Colorado. Since this was such a successful proven plan it and other forward thinking political techniques, tactics and methods are probably coming to your state (if not already there).
The Gang financed and worked with other moneyed activists and seriously smart techie people nationally to devise a set of highly-advanced political tactics. Combine big money, youthful tech., sharp people and activism and they blindsided Colorado politics like Little Boy did to Hiroshima. In a flash Colorado politics changed almost instantly.
Colorado was an experiment for the blueprint. In the 2008 National and Colorado state elections the blueprint was used to good advantage and more so in the 2010 Colorado state elections and proved unreal in the 2012 elections by winning the Democrats a complete state legislative and gubernatorial majority now busy creating a unstoppable liberal barrage of strange and invasive laws and a serious anti-2nd Amendment domination of Colorado.
Gang of Four Member, Tim Gil, is openly homosexual, as was then Colorado Senate president, John Morse, a super anti-2ndAmendment politician. Morse, now recalled and replaced in a precedence setting special election Morse was celebrated by the ultra-liberal Democrat Legislature–which elected him in their majority euphoria, as the first gay Colorado State Senate President. Read on as there is a legitimate reason for this information.
It is reliably rumored that Tim Gil was disappointed that wishy-washy former Republican Governor Owens (R) and others in power at the time did not advance certain lifestyle platforms at the time (rejected in state elections but enacted by the 2013 new liberal Democrat dominated legislature). Anyway, revenge is sweet and the 2010 state election we got Governor Hickenlooper and then came the really big change in 2012, a complete Democrat dominated progressive state legislature headed by aggressive anti-Second Amendment Senator Morse who said in a macho Denver television interview said –“This (anti-gun) is a political hill in my view that’s worth dying for.
NEW YORK INTERFERENCE AND INFLUENCE
Early in 2013Michael Bloomberg the insanely anti-2nd Amendment ultra-liberal billionaire mayor of New York and a man who personally seems to want to limit individual and constitutional freedoms wherever he can find them, financed a team of lawyers and political mercenaries into Colorado. Additionally, he hired the Colorado consulting firm of Headwaters Strategies, Inc. to lobby for the various 2013 legislative session Democrat sponsored anti-firearm bills; it all worked and they passed easily through the new very liberal Democrat majority State legislature!
Watching this at the Capitol and though our contacts we can tell you that the outnumbered Republicans, NRA, Colorado’s sheriffs, and seriously huge numbers of involved citizens including us, fought this to the bitter end using every social, legal, political and procedural tool one could find, but to no avail against the Democrat state majority which can pass most anything it wants into law at this time in Colorado and again in 2014; the real year to watch!
CONCLUSION and the GOAL
The ACTUAL overall national strategic by anti-Second Amendment, anti-freedom state politicians and Bloomberg is to demonstrate that if highly-restrictive anti-firearm laws can be passed in wild ass, good ole boy, conservative, firearm loving, deer hunting, outdoor, rancher, cowboy, western gee wiz Colorado then it can and should and will be done in other states so as to protect the people from themselves!
Look out Utah, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho you are next and it won’t take too many newly arrived outside voters and big money tactics to overcome your small populations to gain those valuable U.S. Senate and Congressional seats and repopulate your state capitols with like-minded forward leaning left wing legislators! Texas of course is the ultimate trophy for all of this extremely dangerous activism and Californians at this time are pouring in to Texas like Niagara Falls for the jobs and solid economics and freedom; until they begin to vote.
Anyway, now you know the rest of the story.
Written in June of 2013–some information updated in February 2014
—- End —-
*1 After the election was all over and in a typical liberal, progressive, or worse (not necessarily Democrat Party) vengeful effort to punish conservative republican McInnis for his work as a U.S. Congressman and for running for governor an extreme left wing legal so-called “watchdog” group filed charges against McInnis with the Colorado Supreme Court in the hope of destroying his reputation in the state as well as his ability to remain a lawyer.
A through and involved investigation was conducted by the Colorado Supreme Court and McInnis was fully vindicated and found to have indeed told his researcher NOT to write or take anything from any other source without properly footnoting the source. Additionally it was also found that indeed McInnis had informed his client that he had a researcher subcontracted to research water laws. It was also shown that the other assertions published by the newspapers and other media at the time were also blatantly incorrect or flat out lies.
McInnis was found clean by the Colorado Supreme Court, notified of such on May 20, 2011 to have fully, accurately, truthful and properly disclosed facts of the research to everyone involved in the research project and the Court found that indeed his researcher had copied information and had NOT informed McInnis. But this was a year or so after the election and Colorado’s liberal and progressive media did not report these facts in any detail, if at all.
*2 Tancredo is currently positioning himself to try to save the state again with a run for the 2014 Governorship. He may get the Republican nomination (the top state dogs are not too smart) but in his case due to his actions in the previous election and other vulnerabilities he will have no chance to win the office. Conservatives must do better!
*3 Morse is now out of office due to the recall and election. Governor Hickenlooper will be rewarded for his work in this bell weather state for his leadership and is under consideration for the 2016 Democrat Vice President shot.
Additional background: In 1986 Colorado elected Roy Romer (D) governor for 3 terms. Why mention Romer? He had a lifetime political involvement in Colorado as a state rep. state senator, and introduced and signed off on many budget busting plans.
After leaving office in Colorado he became Chairman of the Democrat National Committee (and more). When that gig was over he went to, guess where? Come on guess. Okay, he went to California to be the superintendent of the
nation’s largest school district–the LA District. But why would a lifelong Colorado native and a former state and national Democrat honcho want that? It’s a smart political strategy for a hardcore liberal zealot like Romer and the extremists leading the Democrat Party. The school superintendent sets the curriculum, hiring, and policies for the schools. The idea is (was) create massive numbers of new voters to their side of politics for decades to come–those then children are now California voters.
Romer was a crafty and smart liberal, but Colorado has had conservative dummies too; Bill Owens was the first Republican governor in the state for 24 years. Owens after his first term was almost up and running for his second term signed off on anti-firearm registration legislation with the aggressive support of the nastiest Republican in the U.S. Senate, John McCain. McCain is a dangerous anti-gun progressive everywhere else but in his own state of Arizona–he understands that all politics is local and leaving Arizona guns alone will keep them reelecting him.
Think about this, around 2001 McCain flew in from Arizona to Colorado to actively promote a state anti-gun law registration scheme (which does NOT exist in his state). MaCain even appeared in Colorado television ads, lobbied and did interviews in OUR STATE of Colorado to pass gun show registration and more (it passed–California was now living and voting here). Owens, when running for a second term was told by gun owners of their dislike of his and McCain’s anti-gun measures. Owens said–“If they (gun owners) don’t like it, what will they do, vote for the Democrats?” Incredible arrogance! He got reelected.
The 2013 battle in Colorado continues into 2014. Fifty-five Colorado county sheriffs have signed on to a court action to reject the crazy anti-2nd Amendment laws passed by the Democrat majority in Colorado. Additionally county commissioners in Colorado are presenting resolutions supporting the sheriffs, the lawsuit and citizens’ rights against these anti-constitutional and unenforceable laws.
Mike Coker
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Great article, well done…
Whatever happens in California never stays in California.
Washington State has not only turned blue but now has rainbow colors flying high throughout the western part of the state. Very sad!
Seattle has a homosexual mayor and a true “Socialist” on the city council. Oregon
isn’t doing any better. Of course the east side of both states run true red
conservative, but that doesn’t make a difference- Seattle and Portland run the
show’s. I choose to move Montana way. Had looked at Idaho and
Wyoming as well. I could very easily be in any of the three. Montana has a
group pushing hard to become the “New Montana”. I’m hoping I can help and make sure that doesn’t happen. It appears the republican senatorial candidate “Daines” has a very good chance of taking Montana. His opponent is a nut case teacher from the Bozeman area that wants Montana to be the new California. Antigun, atheist and true green- or should I say socialist red. If indeed Daines takes the seat, it will help insure that the republicans can take the senate and the “Commander and Chief” won’t be able to throw whomever he pleases into the Supreme Court. Something that is very important as to the direction of America future. I just heard recently that in the San Francisco area they’re signs advertising Montana. Someone is really pulling hard to get those California transplants to Montana.
What’s happened to Colorado has a great deal more to do with Mexico than California.
.Colorado is now 21-22% Latino. Fully 75% of Latinos self identify as welfare state Democrats. I don’t know what percentage of Colorado residents moved from California, but it sure as hell isn’t 22%. I don’t know what percentage of Colorado residents who fled California identify as welfare state Democrats, but it sure as hell isn’t 75%.
Nothing like ignoring the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
Unfortunately your tale of the Californication of Colorado makes it difficult for those patriots left behind enemy lines in Kommiefornia. Those of us trying to get out will now have to contend with the pre-bias where ever we go that ALL Californians are liberal nut jobs. Taint so.
We too are trying to escape the liberal behemoth that has taken control here. So outnumbered are we that our voices at the polls are a weak cry in a howling blizzard. Any measure we do manage to get passed is sure to meet a legal challenge and wind up in the 9th circus court of appeals where it will be mercilessly crushed.
hbbill
Somewhere behind enemy lines,
Peoples Republik of Kommiefornia
Ho Hum. Boring answer. There are relatively few native Californians in California, so where did the problem really come from? Liberals are a product of academia, not location. Look at the “most educated” labels, and you’ll have a better idea of the nature of the problem.
Your biases show.
You also forgot to mention the invasion of the Texicans and how they bought Pike’s Peak and all the cheap land in the state.
I lived in Colorado from 1956 to 1974, during the Golden Age. The Californication was just getting started as I left.
I had the opportunity to move back to Colorado in 1979, and it took all of two seconds to decide against it.
Good luck to all current natives and residents. I hope you don’t get crushed by the California Carpetbaggers.
Excellent & well researched article. As a transplant to Wyoming from a place behind the iron curtain called Illinois, I find it interesting. The ski resorts in the Tetons/Jackson Hole have turned the county very blue. The rest of the state not so much though….