Judging by their column inches of campaign text in the Prairie Times this week, Lark, Jill, Robert, and Larry want to be commissioner real bad.  They all have an ability to interpret random public events in a light most favorable to their candidacy.   They all appear to need power.  They all appear greatly disturbed that democratic processes have allocated power to people other than themselves.

I’m still working on figuring out why those qualifications that spring from deep reservoirs of naked ambition would make them better commissioners than the ones we currently have. [Read more…]

Robert Rowland campaign finance

Larry Ross campaign finance

Del Schwab campaign finance

John Shipper campaign finance

Jill Duvall campaign finance

Lark Fogel campaign finance

B_Imperial

The Amateur (Klein, Edward)
– Your Highlight Location 2649-2677 | Added on Saturday, June 2, 2012 11:37:24 PM

“To win reelection in 2012, Barack Obama must divert the country’s attention from his record of incompetence and amateurism.

• He doesn’t want to remind people that America lost its triple-A credit rating on his watch—a downgrade that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called a firing offense. Republicans will have to remind them.
• Obama doesn’t want to remind people that he increased the national debt by nearly $5 trillion—the most rapid increase in debt under any president. Republicans will have to remind them.
• Obama doesn’t want to remind people that he pushed through a bill that includes more than a trillion dollars in new healthcare spending and contains a 4.5 percent tax increase. Republicans will have to remind them.
• Obama doesn’t want to remind people that Jon Corzine’s bankrupt financial company, MF Global, which is under investigation by a grand jury for misusing clients’ money, was one of the top sources of contributions to Obama’s reelection campaign. Republicans will have to remind them.
• Obama doesn’t want to remind people of his erratic stand on illegal immigration, which has swung wildly between fast-paced deportations—removing nearly 400,000 illegal foreigners in each of the last three years—to a policy of virtual amnesty. Republicans will have to remind them.
• Obama doesn’t want to remind people of his inconsistency on environmental regulation—first pushing through burdensome, anti-business rules to toughen air-quality standards, then suddenly scrapping those rules to win over campaign supporters in the business community. Republicans will have to remind them.
• Obama doesn’t want to remind people that he was for lower taxes before he was for higher taxes; that he was for forcing Catholic-affiliated institutions to provide contraceptive and abortion insurance before he was against forcing them to go against their religious principles; that he was for removing terrorists from Guantanamo before he was against it; that he was for bringing the country together before he was for dividing it; that he was for a grand bargain with the Republicans over the debt ceiling before he was against it; that he was for energy independence before he rejected the Keystone Pipeline; that he was in favor of extending an olive branch to the mullahs in Iran before he was against it….

Republicans will have to remind America that Barack Obama is The Amateur.”

First, I want to thank Brooks for sharing his Elbert County Forum with me.  I am honored to post some facts — from my perspective —  about how some Elbert County Democrats are trying to “hijack” the local GOP with the intention of creating havoc.

Now I’ll introduce myself.  I am Karen Shipper, a member of the Elbert County Republican Central Committee  — specifically a Committeeperson for Precinct 5, which includes Simla.  As a student in the ’60’s, I was not “a flower child”. Instead, I was a Republican .

For insight as to what’s really going on politically in Elbert County, I’ll start with some facts about our 2012 County Commissioner Candidates. [Read more…]

• Tea Party Central Important Story Developing in Elbert
• Teaparty Update on the Commissioners Rubbish Program
• Jill Duvall’s Budget Meeting Turned Into a Rubbish Ordinance
• New Plains Anonymous’ Why You Should Be Vewy Vewy Afwaid
• William Thomas’s New Plains Editorial

Lots of garbage this week. [Read more…]

Leadership gets to the heart of the question.  3 syllables, easy enough to say, but elusive and even fleeting to find in practice.  Saturday morning, people came to find it, to see it in the flesh.  As one Republican put it to me later that day, in hearing the candidates dialog he was expecting to find a compelling reason to change commissioners.  He expected the challengers to make a passionate case that something with the current commission had gone horribly wrong.  He wanted to hear the compelling reason the commissioners should be ridden out of town on a rail, perhaps trailing tar and feathers.  You know, a reason akin to the situation facing us with Obama in the presidential race. [Read more…]

Commissioner candidates answer questions at an Elbert County Republican Breakfast on Saturday, 5/12/12.

Del Schwab
Larry Ross
Robert Rowland
John Shipper

A couple things in Candidate Ross’s recently published campaign statements raise concerns.  He said, “Elbert county government should not be in the business of facilitating the export of this precious water.”  Fair enough as a political sentiment, but Elbert County really only has a legitimate authority over water properties underneath land it holds in the name of Elbert County.  In Colorado, water is not the community’s property.  It doesn’t sound like a Commissioner Ross would limit the scope of his water reach to county owned properties.  This raises a concern of government overreach from aggressive water zoning and other county approvals and licensing that could become politicized.  That’s just not a conservative, rule of law orientation.

Candidate Ross goes on to say, “Decisions regarding any development project must make economic sense and be of true benefit to Elbert County.”  Hold on there.  Since when is it government’s role to decide winners and losers in the market?  In a free country private citizens take economic risks with their property and capital.  What’s the constitutional basis for county government deciding beforehand what the prospective economics of a private project will be – and predicating licensing on that decision?  Oh that’s right, there isn’t one.  So, this is another big problem.

Turning to Candidate Rowland’s recent statements – which requires the turn of a page in this weeks’ Prairie Times, thank you to the Bishops – more effluvia from the tea-drinking upholder of “conservative values and principles” rises to the surface.

Skimming off the top layer, Candidate Rowland’s position appears to be that commissioners Schwab and Shipper intended to bankrupt the county, sell vast amounts of Elbert County water, pollute the pristine water they didn’t sell with dirty Arkansas River water, deny citizens a place to dump their garbage locally, and wrongly direct business to a struggling local employer.  Then they succeeded in shutting out a clamoring mob from a non-policy making commissioner business meeting, and wrongly supported county employees in a harassment case.

I don’t see it that way at all.  The commissioners I know have no such malice, short sightedness, or incompetence in their direction of Elbert County government.

On the contrary, people who exacerbate circumstances in favor of their personal political ambitions are a big problem in this Elbert County political season.  These meeting occupants grab the limelight every other week to sling innuendo and mudballs at decent public servants doing a fine job for the county.

Someone asked me yesterday what I thought the biggest problem in the county was.  I said jobs, but a close second would be political self-aggrandizement because it clouds everything and makes reality based decision making much more difficult.

The circus sideshow of public sharing at BOCC meetings does nothing to elevate discussions or add information that could be used to solve a real problem — which was the commissioner’s intent in giving them a microphone.  Instead, they self-aggrandize with impunity and permit their lust for power to overcome all shame.  As difficult as it is to witness these occupant monkey shines, I’m glad the commissioners put them on the web so we can see what our government is up against.

Republican committeepeople are expected to find unaffiliated voters to sign up as Republicans.  Apparently it’s what we do.  Except, what we’ve been doing has brought a heavy contingent of RINOs into the Elbert County Republican Party.  And now we’ve got this hybrid party working that’s half liberal and half conservative.  And I don’t mean just a little bit liberal.  There are committed leftists calling themselves Republicans around here.  I’ve been writing about this for years.  Rather than potentially bring more RINO voters into the party before the primary election, I thought it would be best to focus on conservative people to try to bring into the party.  So I wrote the Are You A Republican? blog item yesterday.  The blog is an effective way to reach people since it gets about a thousand hits a day.

I really didn’t expect that the post would drive the New-Plains boys over the edge.  But it did.  Click on their editorial below.

Anyway, science, I love it!  Now we have evidence that Republicans don’t have to be progressive-light to effectively campaign against the left.  If Republicans just speak the basic messages and values they stand for, the left melts down.  This stuff is like droplets of water landing on the Wicked Witch of the West, or a puff of air on a hillside of quaking aspen leaves.  Simple truth has a mysterious power over them.

(click to enlarge)

• Do you think people should try to help themselves first before they ask for help from others?
• Do you think it’s wrong to game the public treasury for your own personal advantage?
• Do you think government entitlements discourage individual initiative?
• Do you think as taxes go up, charitable giving goes down?
• Do you think death should be tax exempt?
• Do you think business taxation is just another way to tax consumers through higher prices?
• Do you think everyone should pay the same tax rate?
• Do you think unfunded government mandates should be eliminated?
• Do you think private enterprise based on the opportunity for profit is the fairest way to allocate scarce resources?
• Do you think government force is a negative power that leads to corruption when used to control private enterprise?
• Do you think it’s wrong for government bureaucrats to use law to force private property owners to use their property in certain approved ways?
• Do you think zoning laws and regulatory laws should be proven with demonstrated outcomes before they are allowed to become law?
• Do you think that government codes, regulations, statutes, and zoning have choked off way too much creativity from the private sector in a vain attempt to achieve utopia?
• Do you think the earth is far more vast and resilient than environmentalists have shown?
• Do you think private property owners are the best stewards of the environment?
• Do you think there’s too much government in America?
• Do you think government is the least desirable place to look to find a real solution to a problem?
• Do you think the ends do not justify the means?

There are a million ways to ask these questions; this is no official list.  It’s just a few things that come to mind as I think about expressing some Republican values.  Republicans hold values like these because they lead to a robust, creative, evolving, sound, reality based, equitable, and peaceful society where everyone benefits.  Ironically, the beneficiary model the Left promotes benefits precious few beneficiaries and a whole bunch of bureaucrats.

If you answered yes to the above questions, then you believe in fairness, freedom, individual responsibility, non-socialist solutions for successful living, and you’d make a good Republican.  You can register as a Republican before May 29th to participate in the Republican primary election.  Do it online, just Google it.

I went to the Schlegel v Pippin permanent protective order hearing today, 4-27-2012.  The Denver Post’s immediate coverage of the hearing seems to be scripted to a narrative the Post is comfortable with.  I have some different take-aways. [Read more…]

In today’s BOCC webcast, Commissioner Schwab once again admonished that the BOCC’s open mic segment was not to be used for political campaign purposes.  Shortly thereafter candidate Rowland led off with a little campaign number that could have been titled, “I’m Transparent And You’re Not.” [Read more…]

Democrats caucused this evening at Kiowa Middle School for precincts 2, 3 and 13.  Once upon a time the Dems were thick as thieves in these parts.  I went down to KMS tonight hoping to catch a glimpse of a few of the old guard from those times perhaps showing off a bit of their old leftist activism.  I had my note pad and pen ready.  I had a recorder in my pocket in case the debate got hot and heavy and I couldn’t keep up with handwritten notes.

I arrived moments before the scheduled start at 7:00 p.m.  I had expected to slip in the door at the last moment as an observer, perhaps even go unnoticed as I took a seat in the corner while sliding my recorder out, turning it on, adjusting the input volume, and hoping no one would be alarmed by the blinking red recording light that would indicate the unit was capturing a form of speech it had never before captured.

I was hoping against hope that I might glean some insight, some clue about this weird sect of humanity that has given me so much consternation through the years while providing me with an unfathomably deep pool of sophisms to rebut, refute and report.  In the spirit of Dian Fossey, I was about to mingle with the gorillas in their native environment.  Perhaps I would find out something about my own distant genetic past before a couple of large union goons rose to escort me out of the room.  I was ready to deliver my plea about the 1st. Am., political speech and public meetings, and to have it fall on deaf ears as they manhandled me into the cold night, away from the secret knowledge of their enclave.  I was emotionally prepared for the arbiters of transparency to pull the curtains shut on me as they cast me out.

To say the evening was anti-climactic probably raises the bar for an anti-climax to a new height.  I was definitely not prepared to be the first attendee to show up.  Nor was I prepared for a very pleasant Patty Sward to greet me and welcome me to stay.  This was at 7:00!  Patty and I.  And Patty’s not even a resident of one of the subject precincts.  She had volunteered to conduct this caucus because there was no one else to do it.

Well, it was about to be a very strange caucus between a non-voting volunteer and an observer from the other party when a couple of nice ladies showed up, Janine and Lark I think.  Ahhhh!  Real local Democrats had arrived!

Well, the whole thing was over almost as soon as it began with the 2 Democrats, 1 volunteer, and 1 conservative blogger observer.  No goon squad, no activism, and not a single note on my pad.  When it became clear that nothing political would be discussed I offered to leave the caucus because I didn’t want my presence to chill their political speech.  But they assured me that was not the case and that I was welcome to stay.  And that was about it.  They filled out some delegate paperwork, the ladies took their leave, Patty and I shared some parting thoughts, and the Precinct 13 Democrat Caucus was over.

You know, it wasn’t my place to confront them with opposing views at their caucus, nor was it even my place to speak at their caucus, so I did not confront them.  Nor did they seem too interested in airing out any prototypical issues from their side.  I could speculate about reasons for this but it would be pure speculation. They were very nice, you know, people I would be happy to call friends.

And I respect that they represented without guile their political preference, even though they didn’t care to get into it in much detail.

Perhaps more importantly, I have to conclude that everything I’ve said in the past about the Republican Party in Elbert County being used as a flag of convenience for the great majority of local leftists has been proved correct.  There may only be a handful of Democrats in Elbert County, but it’s simply not plausible that there are so few leftists in Elbert County.

This points to a glaring problem with the Elbert County Republican Central Committee Bylaws which are framed from the perspective that all local Republicans are bona fide Republican.  Now I have proof this is not true.  Still, ECR executive members are bound to support without prejudice all Republican candidates, notwithstanding the real nature of those candidates.

This is a thorny problem.  The current system tolerates, even encourages this gaming.  To those of us who’ve had a few years to observe the game, it’s fairly obvious.  My guess, however, is that many if not most county assembly delegates — the people who will place the next commissioner candidates on the primary ballot — may not appreciate the full spectrum of political preferences represented by their Republican candidates.

In this game, the labels “Republican” and “Tea Party” cannot be counted on to mean conservative.  Perhaps the Republican Party Bylaws can be amended before the next election so that the local GOP can no longer be abused as a flag of convenience.  Solving this problem, while preserving the power of the delegates’ voting franchise through the county assembly, should be a priority for the ECR Central Committee.

Elbert County has a perfectly viable Democrat Party and it should be used as such.  Political questions are meant for resolution in the public square, not the stealthy back channels that Robert Rowland advises.

“Hoist with his own petard; and ‘t shall go hard” –  Shakespeare

~

Robert Rowland co-hosted a radio talk show on a station in the Springs the evening of Feb 9th, and it just came to my [Brooks Imperial] attention yesterday.  He trashed me personally, our Precinct 13 Caucus, the Chair of the ECR, Republicans in general, the Chair of the State Party, and a variety of other people, issues and events.

I thought our caucus went very well, and though I’m sure I don’t agree with some of our delegates on some things, I came away from the night feeling very confident that our delegation will represent the major sentiments of our caucus fairly at the county assembly on the local candidates and big issues.  What more could one ask of a delegation?

Roland was wrong to use the Precinct 13 Caucus for his warped political and entertainment purposes, and I responded accordingly below.  More could and probably should be said to defend against his misrepresentations, however this is a start.

Audio clips of Robert Roland and radio co-hosts have been excerpted from the following Grass Roots Radio Colorado podcasts from February 9, 2012: Hour 1 Permalink   Hour 2 Permalink

Audio clips of Brooks Imperial from Precinct 13, 2/7/2012 Caucus, recorded that evening.

~

ECR Bylaws Misrepresented

The ECRCC Bylaws contain no such language.

See Elbert County Republican Central Committee Bylaws

ECR Bylaws Misrepresented again

The ECRCC Bylaws constrain executive members of the Central Committee from endorsing candidates.  Precinct Committee Persons, however, are only constrained from endorsing non-Republican candidates.  In all other matters Precinct Committee Persons may express political viewpoints at will.

Principled Republican Like I Am

“Although he is running as a Republican, Rowland does not believe Party should matter at the County level.”

See Robert Rowland Wants To Be Commissioner…

~

Rowland defines permissible political speech

Über defender of the Constitution, Candidate Rowland, should know that the 1st Am. protects political speech above all other kinds of speech, yet Rowland would dictate the terms of our free speech at caucus.

Rowland advises stealth

Über defender of transparency and accountability in government, Candidate Rowland, wants delegates to act as free agents without any accountability to the caucuses they represent at assembly.

Rowland falsely describes Brooks Imperial’s comment to prospective delegates

The above three Rowland comments are emblematic of past corruptions in the caucus process.  This notion that a representative process – the selection of delegates to represent a caucus at a higher assembly – should be a secretive and “stealthy” process offends me, and I have every right under the 1st Am. to express just why.

Precinct 13 – Brooks Imperial’s comment to prospective delegates

The statement speaks for itself.

~

Rowland describes attempted bribe

Candidate Rowland neglected to mention that what he’s referring to is one of the gift bags that he and Candidate Ross offered to each of the Precinct Committee People at the February 1, 2012 Elbert County Republican Central Committee Meeting.  I thought the practice repugnant, I had no idea what their decorated gift bags contained, and wanted no part of it.

~

Rowland misrepresents Brooks Imperial’s tea party comment to delegates

Listen to what I actually said: Brooks Imperial’s comments after nomination to alternate

The comment speaks for itself.  I’ve published extensively through the years on this subject of the “mixed use” of the Elbert County Republican Party as a flag of convenience for all sorts of candidates in this county.

~

Rowland misrepresents Precinct 13 Committee Person

I, Brooks Imperial, was appointed by the ECR Executive Committee to fill a vacancy in Precinct 13.  I was then elected at the 2/7/2012 caucus to continue in that role.  I was not “demoted” or in any way disenfranchised from this role.

I am honored to serve in the capacity of Precinct Committee Person for Precinct 13 and only wish that candidates like Robert Rowland did not make analysis such as the above necessary.

…in Elbert County

First of all, forget the labels.  Republican, Democrat and Tea Party mean nothing out here.  They’re all nominally Republican.

————————————————————————————————————————-

On the right you have  Limited Government, Personal Responsibility, Protection of Private Property Rights, and Fiscal Responsibility.

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On the left you have New-Plains and Elbert-Grab.

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Candidates promoted on New-Plains: Larry Ross * Robert Rowland * Steve Valdez

Rowland “is running as a Republican” but “does not believe Party should matter at the County level.”  Valdez says, “Republican or Democrat-it doesn’t matter.”  Ross believes in government regulation and is active in trying to shut down oil and gas development in the county.

The three have made statements indicating openness to increasing taxes, increasing debt, favoring zoning control of private property and private resources, and growing government.

————————————————————————————————————————-

Against these three candidates, real Republicans have opportunities to defend the actual conservative principles enumerated on their Lincoln Day Dinner advertisement above.

Now would be a good time to start.

Elbert County Republican Central Committee Bylaws

“[R]esolutions introduced by registered Elbert County Republican participants at the precinct caucus are eligible for action by each precinct caucus.  A majority vote by the caucus shall advance that resolution for consideration of the Resolutions Committee, and must include name, address, phone and if available email of the person submitting the proposal.

The Resolutions Committee shall meet after the precinct caucus and prior to the county assembly for the purpose of confirming the precinct caucus action and to determine if the resolution conforms to the requirement of expounding a fundamental principle of the Republican Party.  A two-thirds majority vote by the committee shall advance that resolution for consideration of the county assembly.”

Caucuses are February 7, 2012.

Note: The Resolutions Committee has 5 people on it.  That means it will take 4 out 5 affirming committee votes to pass a precinct caucus resolution on to the the county assembly.