Sandy Hook Truther Dr. Tom Ready (R. CO)
Oh my god:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who is running to unseat Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), and former Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.), who is challenging Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), attended an Aug. 24 Republican Party steak fry at the home of Dr. Tom Ready, a candidate for Pueblo County Commissioner. Photos of the event were shared on Facebook.
In a Sept. 10 debate, Ready's Democratic opponent asked him why he had shared an article on Facebook claiming that the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 26 people was actually a hoax arranged by the federal government to advance gun control policies.
"There is some question whether it really happened," Ready responded.
As the crowd booed, Ready explained his theory.
"Some people in the videos, thank you very much, if you recall, there was a picture of a man walking in whose daughter had died. He was smiling and joking. When he walked into the room he turned and all of a sudden had tears in his eyes. Why? I question that."
“I don’t think [the Sandy Hook shootings have] been proven," he added. "And what’s wrong with open discussion?” - Huffington Post, 9/11/14
I've written a lot about how extreme Gardner really is and how he's been trying to hide it but I don't think I've really highlighted how extreme Beauprez really is:
http://www.coloradoindependent.com/...
But in the eight years since his last bid to govern the state, Beauprez wandered away from the mainstream. Far away. He spent much of his time in private life pushing ultra-conservative causes. He wrote a book calling for a revolution to shift the Republican Party far to the right. And in several interviews over several years, he espoused extremist conspiracy theories, including one that Americans – whom he likened to sheep – eagerly would let the government implant microchips in their bodies.
In a 2010 interview Beauprez asserted that we’re living under a “one world order.” (His comment is at 2:49 minutes.)
“When they can start tracking us with a little microchip, and the technology certainly exists, and you watch the people who would line up voluntarily so that gee if you forgot your driver’s license, no problem, you’ve got the RFID implanted in you. If you’ve got to get through the airport, no problem, you’ve got RFID. ‘Well, sure, I want one of those, I want one of those.’ And you watch like sheep how they would line up behind some kind of a dopey system like that without ever realizing how much freedom they just forfeited,” he said.
Later in that interview with online radio host Clayton Douglas — a militia proponent known for his anti-Semitic views — Beauprez said Americans are blindly succumbing to totalitarianism.
“We’re living through what was a while ago was fantasy, Orwell’s ‘1984.’ And it is among us,” he said. “You know a lot of people think that we’re kind of out there along the fringe for even talking like this.” - Colorado Independent, 9/3/14
Not to mention he also has an unethical history:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Beauprez's Long History of Unethical Misconduct:
In 2006, it was revealed that Beauprez co-sponsored legislation to help Beauprez's own bank:
A 2006 report from the Denver Post stated, "Records show [Beauprez] accepted more in contributions -- $163,371 -- from commercial banks in 2004 than all but two other members of Congress. In 2005, he co-sponsored a bill that gave regulatory relief and tax reductions to community banks such as his own Heritage Bank. Among other provisions, the bill would limit regulatory audits of his and other banks and exempt them from disclosure reports that protect consumers.
In 2006, it was revealed that Beauprez had misused his Congressional office to help donors to his campaign:
From 2002-2006, Beauprez directed $11.5 million in earmarks to Baber-Nichols Corporation, whose employees had made campaign contributions to Beauprez. Beauprez even used his time on the floor of the House of Representatives to publicly praise contractors in his district who make frequent campaign contributions. In May of 2005, Bob Beauprez gave a speech on the House floor praising Barber Nichols, a defense contractor in his district. A few months earlier, this corporation's employees made thousands of dollars in contributions to Beauprez,
In 2006, Beauprez voted against initiating an investigation into Congressional connections to convicted felon Jack Abramoff.
In 2006, Beauprez voted for the Boehner, R-OH, motion to table the Pelosi, D-CA, privileged resolution that asked the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to begin an investigation of the misconduct by members of Congress and their staff implicated in the scandals associated with lobbyist Jack Abramoff's criminal activity.
In 2005, Beauprez would not return money he received from Tom Delay who was also indicted and then convicted of felony.
In 2005, it was reported that "Watchdog groups are calling on Colorado Congressman Bob Beauprez to return $30,000 in campaign contributions he received from indicted GOP strongman Tom DeLay -- and to ask for a refund of the $1,000 that he kicked into a fund to offset DeLay's legal expenses. DeLay [was] ... charged with conspiracy to use corporate donations to aid political campaigns in his home state of Texas." Just a few months ago, while running for Governor, Beauprez decided to join a right-wing Board with Tom Delay.
In 2004, Beauprez voted to table an investigation of Tom Delay:
In 2004, Beauprez voted to table an investigative subcommittee to determine whether there is substantial reason to believe that Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-TX, had violated the House's Code of Official Conduct or other relevant laws, rules or regulations.
In 2003, Beauprez's start in Congress was by weakening the Congressional Gift Ban:
In 2003, Beauprez voted for H Res 5. The legislation set the rules for the 108th Congress, in effect easing the stringent congressional gift ban. The changes allowed lobbyists to cater meals in the House and permitted charitable groups to pay for members to attend celebrity golf tournaments or similar fundraising functions. Over the objections of the House Ethics Committee chair, Joel Hefley, R-CO. - Huffington Post, 9/2/14
And the DGA is hitting Beauprez on this:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/...
On the campaign trail Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob Beauprez is proud to tell the story of how he and his wife bought a struggling bank with $4 million in assets and grew them to more than $400 million. He sold Heritage Bank and its 13 branches in 2006 for $72 million — coincidentally during his first run for governor. Now the bank is back, and Beauprez isn’t going to like the way the 527 political committee Making Colorado Great tells the story.
The group that has the sole mission of keeping Beauprez out of the governor’s seat — unconnected, by law, to the seat’s current occupant, John Hickenlooper — has reserved more than $1.1 million in television advertising and will spend six figures on its first message: Beauprez made politics his business and business his politics, sponsoring or supporting bills that profited bankers, like him.
The ad debuts today, and you’re bound to see it dozens of times if you’re near a TV set during the next two months. It further connects Beauprez’s business and political banking record to the housing crisis and the economic collapse of 2008 and 2009. Making Colorado Great characterizes his congressional work as making “it easier for banks like his to get away with risky practices, which were a major factor in the economic recession.”
“Coloradans are still hurting from the recession that was significantly fueled by a lack of regulation of our banking system. The simple fact is that in Congress, Bob Beauprez voted to reduce regulations on banks — new rules that made it easier for banks to foreclose homes, which helped lead to the financial crisis,” Michael Huttner, the liberal political heavyweight and frontman for Making Colorado Great.
“In Congress, Beauprez repeatedly fought for the wealthiest and the well-connected, preventing hard-working Colorado families from getting their fair shot at success. Beauprez will try to use the double-talk he mastered as a Washington politician to hide his record, but Coloradans know he can’t be trusted him with Colorado’s economy.”
The Denver Post reported in 2006 on the bill Beauprez co-sponsored in 2005 that would have cut regulations, granted tax reductions, limited regulatory audits and exempted community banks from some disclosure reports about lending practices. The Post also reported that the law could have lifted provisions that consumer advocates said protected home borrowers from abusive loans. - Denver Post, 9/4/14
So yeah, he's pretty crazy. The RGA has been gunning for Governor John Hickenlooper (D. CO) hitting him on the death penalty but Hickenlooper has hit back:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/...
The governor likes to talk about playing pool, too, it would appear. He released a video Thursday in which he respins the GOP narrative. Hickenlooper compares navigating the obstacles on the table to choosing the right angles to move the state past obstacles such as an economic recession and the state’s landslide of natural disasters during his first term.
Hickenlooper provides warm narration to the video shot in soft amber tones.
“Coloradans know better than to take their cues from attack ads,” he concludes.
The campaign summed it up for reporters this way: “The video recognizes the hard work and success that Coloradans have had in overcoming tough economic conditions and 13 federally declared disasters to create an economy that was just ranked #1 in the country by Business Insider.” - Denver Post, 8/28/14
Hick also had a great fundraising month:
http://kdvr.com/...
Hickenlooper’s campaign announced Wednesday that it raised $545,791 in the last four-week reporting period, doubling up Republican Bob Beauprez’s haul of $223,510 over that same span.
That puts Hickenlooper’s reelection effort over the $4 million mark in overall campaign contributions.
The campaign now has $760,427 in cash on hand and has already locked up roughly $2 million in fall TV air time. - KDVR, 9/3/14
And he's going to need every penny because he's in a tight race:
http://www.denverpost.com/...
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's race against Republican Bob Beauprez was too close to call in a new Denver Post poll in which voters indicated they were still getting familiar with the challenger.
Forty-five percent supported Hickenlooper and 43 percent supported Beauprez among likely voters polled this week by SurveyUSA. The result is within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
The results make clear that the Democratic governor — who has faced controversy over gun control, the death penalty and his unconventional leadership style — is mostly a known quantity, and a polarizing figure, as he seeks re-election. Forty-six percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of him, while 47 percent had an unfavorable opinion, a one-point deficit.
Beauprez's figures had a positive spread: 38 percent favorable to 34 percent unfavorable.
But 28 percent said they needed to know more about Beauprez, a former congressman who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006, to form an opinion. Only 7 percent had no opinion about Hickenlooper.
But opinions among some of those surveyed were mixed.
"He doesn't have a very strong backing from me, other than he's done a pretty good job in creating jobs for Colorado," said Chris Delaney, 29, a Denver resident who told SurveyUSA he planned to vote for Hickenlooper despite disapproving of his performance. "But that's not the only thing a governor's supposed to do. He just doesn't seem to represent my views and things that are important to me."
The registered Democrat, who considered Hickenlooper "an amazing mayor" of Denver, now sees him as too friendly to oil and gas companies and unable to make a decision on Chuck E. Cheese killer Nathan Dunlap's execution.
Those same views were cited by another respondent, Keith Reagan, 77, of Colorado Springs, who also disliked Hickenlooper's signing of gun control measures last year. He plans to vote for Beauprez.
"I don't know much about Beauprez except he lost his last election," said Reagan, a registered Republican. "And Hickenlooper, I just don't like the way he does things."
The pollsters noted that Hickenlooper led by 20 percentage points among moderates, and more narrowly by 4 percentage points among independent, or unaffiliated, voters. But 14 percent of that latter group supported third-party candidates in the poll.
"Where these disaffected independents go on Election Day may well determine the outcome," the pollster's analysis says.
The statewide survey of 664 likely voters, conducted Sept. 8 to 10, is the first of three planned by The Post before the Nov. 4 election. Clerks will send mail ballots to voters beginning Oct. 14. - Denver Post, 9/11/14
But he's staying positive with his campaign ads:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/...
The first ad is titled “Restaurant,” but he doesn’t serve up any trash talk toward his Republican challenger, Bob Beauprez, despite the close polls that would normally engender some critical verbage. Hickenlooper has promised not to go on the attack and stay positive.
The new ad, instead, is about the governor’s experience running a business, “his entrepreneurial approach and Colorado’s economic momentum,” his campaign said in announcing the ad Tuesday afternoon.
“There’s no profit in making enemies,” Hickenlooper says in the narration over scenes of him tending customers, including Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, in the brewpub he hasn’t owned since 2007. “That’s why I don’t do negative ads.”
The 30-second spot cites favorable numbers on the state’s job growth.
40th to 4th in the nation for job growth, which has been the thrust of Hickenlooper’s pitch for a second term. Beauprez has cited other figures to say the economy isn’t so great, and Hickenlooper is driving away jobs, especially in the energy sector by supporting too many regulations.
The ad is airing statewide, on both broadcast and cable channels, so you should be seeing it a lot — along with other positive pitches for Hickenlooper. The incumbent has reserved more than $2 million of airtime before now and Election Day. - Denver Post, 9/9/14
We can defeat these extremists, we just have to make sure the base comes out to defeat them. Click here to donate and get involved with Hickenlooper and Senator Mark Udall's (D. CO) re-election campaigns:
http://www.hickenlooperforcolorado.com/...
http://markudall.com/