David, Goliath and Colorado's Next Gun-Rights Recall

COLORADO SPRINGS — Author Malcolm Gladwell has a new bestseller that turns conventional wisdom about the Biblical David vs. Goliath battle on its head: "David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants." In short, it's Goliath who really had the odds stacked against him from the get-go. The overconfident giant with poor eyesight, weighted down with heavy armor and multiple swords, never had a chance against lean, nimble, sharp-shooting expert David.

The new Colorado gun-rights recall campaign against arrogant state Sen. Evie Hudak and myopic Democrats may well be a perfect update to Gladwell's book.

Refresher: In September, grassroots Second Amendment activists ousted two top Democratic state senators for their promotion of radical, job-destroying gun-control measures backed by New York and D.C. special interests. Vice President Joe Biden himself personally lobbied state Democrats to adopt the new gun-rights restrictions. Billionaire gun-grabber Michael Bloomberg dumped gobs of cash and lobbying expertise into the state.

But bigger coffers and bully pulpits weren't enough. National pundits called the historic recalls of Democratic state Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs and state Sen. Angela Giron of Pueblo "stunning," a "surprise" and a "shocker." Indeed, there was no such precedent in Colorado history. The gun-rights activists were outspent by at least a 7-to-1 margin. Giron's district went for Obama by 20 points; yet she lost by 12.

Via: CNS News

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Third Colorado state senator may face recall

Energized by historic recalls of two Colorado state senators last month, activists have begun collecting signatures to oust state Democratic Sen. Evie Hudak from office.

Hudak, who represents Westminster, a suburb northwest of Denver, is a favorite target of the GOP for her liberal voting record and a propensity to attract bad PR for herself.

Under Colorado election law, those wishing to prompt a recall election must collect 18,900 signatures from district residents – 25 percent of the total votes cast in the last election. Hudak was initially elected to the state Senate in 2008 after two terms on the state Board of Education.

In both senate elections, Hudak has won by narrow margins; in 2008 she topped Republican Libby Szabo with 51 percent of the vote. In 2012, she won with only 47 percent, narrowly edging out Republican Lang Sias by 0.7 percent. Sias’ defeat was blamed in Republican circles on the presence of Libertarian Lloyd A. Sweeny, who garnered nearly 7 percent of the vote. GOP analysts believe a majority of those Libertarian votes would have otherwise gone to Sias.

This is the second effort at recalling Hudak this year; the successful September recalls of Democrats John Morse and Angela Giron were the result of an original campaign that targeted them as well as Hudak and state Representative Mike McLachlan.

The recall petition cites strict new gun restrictions passed by the Colorado legislature as a reason for recalling Hudak. “She has infringed upon our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. She has voted to make all citizens less safe and to drive hundreds of jobs from Colorado,” the petition reads.

“A small group is seeking to undo the will of voters, who re-elected me to the Senate last November. Unable to defeat me then, they are now attempting a political power grab using a low-voter-turnout, no-mail-ballot recall election strategy,” Hudak told The Denver Post in a statement.

Voter turnout was indeed low in last month’s elections in Colorado Springs and Pueblo; in Morse’s Colorado Springs district only 21 percent of voters participated.

Via: Daily Caller

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