Posted on 06/05/2013 8:21:01 PM PDT by Red Steel
Senate President John Morse has brought in $123,302 since March in his effort to stay in office, with a large chunk of the funds coming from individual disclosed donors and three less-transparent political groups.
In comparison, the group attempting to unseat Morse, in part because of gun legislation he supported this year, has raised $71,483.
El Paso Freedom Defense Fund turned in more than 16,000 signatures this week to put Morse on the ballot for recall, and of those almost 7,200 must be from valid registered voters in Senate District 11 in Colorado Springs.
Morse's fundraising may be gearing up for a protracted legal battle as he contests the validity of signatures in court, but also for a political campaign if voters are asked if he should be recalled and if so, who should replace him.
The Democrat whose term ends in 2014 said Monday he will not resign his position to allow his party to appoint a replacement and avoid taking the recall to ballot.
Gov. John Hickenlooper said Wednesday he would support Morse in the battle.
Hickenlooper signed bills into law that are central points in the Morse recall, including mandating background checks on all gun sales, a ban on magazines that hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition and renewable energy standards for rural electric cooperatives.
"On things like universal background checks, I have an obligation to push back and make sure people hear the facts," Hickenlooper said, adding recalls aren't his favorite form of Democracy because of their focus on a narrow interest group.
A large chunk of the funds raised by the political action committee A Whole Lot of People for John Morse were spent on out-of-state consulting firms including $25,000 to Adelstein Liston in Chicago, which worked on President Barack Obama's re-election.
Thousands of dollars rolled in from individual Colorado donors and others from across the nation in $3 to $2,500 increments.
"We raised over $15,000 just locally last month," said Christy LeLait, executive director of the El Paso Democratic Party who is also paid to run Morse's campaign.
But three large political donors make up a significant chunk of the revenue for the group.
Because of the way the donors have structured their organizations, it's nearly impossible to tell who exactly is behind the large donations.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit under the 501(c)(4) designation of "social welfare organizations" gave the committee $35,000. Reached by phone the managers of the non-profit from Arbella Advisors declined to comment about their donors or donations.
Federal tax filings show the group has steadily declined over the years in financial activity but in 2009 declared $4.8 million in revenue that was then donated to a variety of interests including religious, environmental, and union groups plus smaller donations to Planned Parenthood groups and Akorn.
Citizens for Integrity, a Denver-based non-profit, gave $25,000 to Morse's campaign. Mainstream Colorado, a Denver-based political action committee, donated $15,000.
Mainstream is registered to the liberal front-person Julie Wells and the latest financial report said Wells' group took in $25,000 from Riviera Black Hawk Casino and another $25,000 from Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Action Fund. The group has a variety of funding sources however, according to the April 15, report.
Those same three organizations - Sixteen Thirty Fund, Citizens for Integrity and Mainstream Colorado - donated the same amounts to Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, who is facing a recall attempt by a similar gun rights group. The 11,500 valid signatures needed to put Giron's recall on the ballot are due Monday.
Not going to happen DUmmies. You got to invalidate about 9,000 signatures. Good luck with that LoL. The Morse recall effort got more than 222% of the required amount of signatures.
soros...bloomie...anyone?
He’s gone. The local businesses in Colo Springs really stepped up to support his recall.
Money from DC and Denver and probably Chicago. Soros and Dooomberg $$ likely to follow.
So, an incumbent politician has about twice the money the grassroots effort has? That’s good news, it’s usually lopsided 10:1.
No doubt. Gloomberg will pour millions into this, the likes of which we’ve never seen.
BS chickenlooper. The name "universal background check" is a misnomer. CO has universal background checks, has for years. You cannot buy a firearm from a licensed dealer without one.
Yes, you can buy a firearm through a private sale without one. Big whoop. The new law requires even private sales have a background check. Now, where to begin with the problems... First, you'll have to find a licensed dealer to perform the check. They by law only get a $10 fee for this. Yet they assume a fair amount of risk/responsibility, it takes time and resources. Normally they don't mind 'cause their getting the economic benefit of the sale. Not so here. It is going to be very, very hard to find FFL dealers willing to conduct background checks for third parties.
But suppose you do. So what? All you've done is inconvenience law abiding citizens. How many criminal transactions do you think are going to go through a FFL dealer? {snort} Yeah, you might as well pass a law requiring all private drug transactions to be conducted at a licensed pharmacy with a prescription from a licensed doctor. I'm sure the meth and coke types would do that just about as often as other criminals will get background checks on each other through FFLs. If you really think this background check law will in any way impact criminal gun purchases, I've got this bridge I need to unload quick...
Oh, but the background check requirement will impact other things not just sales. You see, it covers any "transfer" of a firearm for a period of more than 72 hours. So, going on vacation for a week, want to leave your weapons with a friend rather than in a vacant house where they might get stolen? Nope, not without a background check of the friend. Ok, just have the friend act as a house sitter. Oh, I'm sorry, he/she has access to your weapons in your house? Must have a background check. Want to loan a firearm to a friend to take a class over the weekend? Well, if you give it to him on Friday, you had better get it back before that time Monday or else...
You see chickenlooper the fact is, your idiotic law will do nothing to impact criminal activity nor make anyone in Colorado any safer. It will soak up time and resources from law abiding citizens. It will make criminals out of people who are otherwise law abiding citizens. It is a bad law, a waste of time, effort, and resources. Those are the facts. But chickenlooper wanted to be a good little lapdog for the money and political influences out east, so he bent over and took it, while pushing an anti-gun agenda that is far far removed from what real Colorado residents want.
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