Free Republic

Six months ago, Bernie Herpin assumed his best political days were behind him. He had lost his reelection bid for Colorado Springs city council and he was approaching his 70th birthday. “I just figured I was done with politics,” said Herpin. It turns out he was wrong. On Thursday, Republicans Herpin and George Rivera were sworn in as the newest members of the Colorado state Senate, replacing the two Democrats ousted in last month’s historic recall elections. ... Pro-Democrat groups outspent the recallers by at least 6 to 1, which resulted in a few tense moments for the GOP campaigns....

Democrat Senate President John Morse, who is battling a recall, took another hit Tuesday when Republican Bernie Herpin vowed to take a leadership role in passing legislation to protect children from sexual predators. It was a thinly veiled attack on Morse’s voting record. “As a father of three daughters and the grandfather of six young grandchildren, the safety of our children is an important issue for me,” declared Herpin. The Colorado Springs Police Protective Association hammered Morse earlier this month for claiming he passed laws to protect children from being victimized by sex offenders. Not so, declared CSPPA, referring to...

Senate President John Morse is under fire from local Colorado Springs leaders, from the police association to the City Council President, for his ethical improprieties and votes against harsher penalties for child predators. Yesterday, the Colorado Springs Police Protective Association sent out a robocall to 17,000 households in Colorado Springs, laying into Morse over his opposition to tougher laws against “violent sexual predators who prey on children.” ... Adding to the assault, Morse’s Republican challenger Bernie Herpin is piling on today with attacks on Morse’s ethical problems – which coincide with a TV ad running on Morse’s ethics investigation. Even...

Battling a recall election, Senate President John Morse has boasted that police support him and his impassioned push for gun-control laws. But in his own backyard, a police association want Morse booted out of office. The Colorado Springs Police Protective Association, which represents more than 800 city law enforcement members, held a press conference Wednesday to encourage voters to vote “yes” to recall Morse. They also endorsed Republican Bernie Herpin to replace Morse. “We are asking the citizens of Senate District 11 to vote yes to recall John Morse and replace him with Bernie Herpin to give us an actual...

After nearly two decades of continual victories in state legislatures, gun-rights proponents have suddenly hit some turbulence. Despite paralysis on the issue in Washington, mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado, Sandy Hook, Connecticut, and elsewhere have led five states to tighten their gun laws. Four of those states are liberal bastions, but the fifth is the formerly red state of Colorado, home of not only Aurora but also the Columbine massacre. Unsurprisingly, the Centennial State is also where the gun lobby is looking to make a statement in return – with recalls set to take place September 10 against two state...