Colorado Governors Race Enters the Alinsky Twilight Zone

“Imagine for a moment if you will… You're travelling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination—next stop, the Twilight Zone!”
Rod Serling

We know that Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel once said, “Never let a crisis go to waste”. It is my belief that some on the left truly understand the crisis to the liberal goal, of a progressive amerika, which is the grassroots teaparty.

We also know that as early as 1969 the concept of “strategic voting under the qualified majority rule” was being considered and developed. The concept is basically this. If you have “Qualified Majority Parties” and you pull enough votes away from one of those parties, they will loose their qualified status. This could effectively diminish the opposition party to the point that they became irrelevant. Traditionally, it has been considered extremely difficult, because different parties with their own agendas cannot garner enough votes from the other qualified majority parties, or build a large enough coalition from the minor parties for this strategy to be effective. http://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/economics/papers/2000/w7/qualified.pdf

Saul Alinsky believed and taught some people (the “Haves”) can direct their money to be politically advantaged, while others (the “Have-Nots”) can organize or create the illusion of a greater number of people, creating a populist movement. How interesting would it have been if Alinsky could have built a coalition of “Haves” and “Have-Nots”? He would be able to elect a black man to be President.

Some Alinsky strategies have been tried and include ridiculing or demonizing your opposition, to drive voters away from them. A great example is the ads from “independent” 527s used effectively in Colorado in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Remember the phrase “TOO EXTREME FOR COLORADO”. These ads were effective in costing good candidates their campaigns. They were not only used in statewide national races but also in the regional state and local races. (They are again being used in this election cycle.)

I wonder who paid for those ads in Colorado? Could it be the "Gang of Four"? Patricia (Pat) Stryker, Jared Polis, Tim Gill, and Rutt Bridges are known in Colorado political circles as the "Gang of Four". Significant political contributions from this group in 2006 and 2008 to favored Democratic candidates played a role in electing a Democratic majority in Colorado's house and senate.

The "Gang of Four" are an interesting group. According to New York Times reporter Matt Bai, Stryker attended the April 2005 meeting of the Democracy Alliance. “The Democracy Alliance, founded in 2005, is a partnership of change-makers who seek to strengthen democracy by partnering with, making human and financial investments in, and fostering collaboration among leaders and institutions committed to realizing a vision of a more progressive America.” It has strong ties to union groups, like the astro-turfing Service Employees International Union (SEIU), who bussed in groups of people to Democrat Town hall meetings in the summer of 2009 and more recent events. Democracy Alliance was founded with major funding from Tim Gill and George Soros. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Alliance

It has been suggested that Alinsky’s strategy of infiltration has been used in teaparty groups. http://alinskydefeater.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/infiltration-of-the-tea-party-is-an-alinsky-tactic/

What would happen if an infiltrator became a teaparty candidate? Sneaky Dems Plant Phony Tea Party Candidate in NJ Congressional Race
http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2010/07/sneaky-dems-plant-phony-tea-party.html )

Jumping back into the Twilight Zone of the Colorado’s Governors race… What if a great number of Democrat Infiltrators became first time delegates to the republican state assembly? What if Dan Maes, the populist candidate, was a Democrat Infiltrator, or a group of Democrat “Haves” like our “Gang of Four” saw him as a weaker candidate than the other GOP candidates? Could they have exploited their financial power to see that he won his primary? A 527 known as the Freedom Fund ran a number of negative ads against GOP Candidate Scott McInnis just prior to the state primary. “(Colorado) Secretary of State records list Julie Wells as the registered agent on eight 527 or political committees, all featuring large contributions from philanthropists Pat Stryker of Fort Collins and Tim Gill of Denver.” http://tinyurl.com/27j4o3e (Isn’t Hickenlooper a “philanthropist”?)

Since Dan Maes won the GOP Primary, he has continued to torpedo his own canoe, and by doing so is sinking the Colorado GOP to the bottom of the South Platte. His most recent faux pas seems to be an endorsement of his opponent’s economic plan. “We’ve seen several major Republican businessmen back John Hickenlooper, so I would absolutely trust the Mayor when it comes to the economic health of our state and the business community…”, said Maes. http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2010/10/11/maes-backs-hickenloopers-economic-policies/16133/ If the most important issue in the race is the economy, why would any candidate endorse his opponent’s plan?

Was this the grand old plan of the progressives? Infiltrate the Republican Party to insure their guy (Hick) wins. (possibly) How about a bigger more risky step to create a situation where the party self destructs and loses its “Qualified Majority” Status. Could the “vast left wing” conspirators be that clever? (I think not.) It is interesting to see that if you can put up a bad enough candidate you can force party loyalists to demand that voters put the interest of the party’s “Qualified Majority” status over the party’s own principles.

In the end, for principled Colorado conservatives there is only one choice for Governor. That choice is Tancredo. The long term damage from four more years of the progressive agenda is too great for the people of the Great State of Colorado.

DL