Independence Institute and Tax fraud.

[coloradodem2005]

Independence Institute president John Caldara solicits tax-deductable donations for partisan political hackery. Where's the investigation?
On December 8th of last year Jon Caldara sent a fundraising letter to Independence Institute supporters asking, "Do you think you could make a special contribution of $1,000, $5,000, or even $10,000 to help the Independence Institute again?"

Things were tough in Conservativeville according to Caldara. Although George Bush had won Colorado's electoral vote, "Coloradans decided to vote for just about every tax increase they could, give both sides of the state leislature to Democrats for the first time since 1960, and elect a U.S. Senator who will no doubt vote against President Bush far more often than not."

Of particular concern to Caldara was what the "liberal majority in the State House and Senate" might to with respect to TABOR, Colorado's budget-busting tax amendment.

"Speaking of TABOR," wrote Caldara, "the Independence Institute had a role in making this happen. The Independence Institute provided much of the idea generation and analysis necessary to bring to reality."
<snip>
http://colorado.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10685/index.php

[Democrats_win]

1. I was wondering where they got their money. He even had an ad in Westword

[leftofthedial]

2. how I would love to put these assholes out of business

and in jail where they belong

[Democrats_win]

3. Just think, John Caldera was elected to the RTD board because he wanted to

destroy it. That's the mentality of these people. They aren't looking out for the public's good, they blindly go where their hate takes them. They should have zero credibility in this state.

[leftofthedial]

4. one side effect--Coors is in the business of creating drunk drivers

through their products and through their support of drinking events

they also fund and founded the Independence Institute and systematically prevent us from having the mass transit that would help to keep drunk drivers off the road.

[Democrats_win]

5. That's well stated! Didn't know Coors supported them.

Makes sense, since the II is in Golden.

[leftofthedial]

6. coors founded this band of criminals

originally to create some psuedo intellectual mumbo jumbo to justify our imperial central american policies in the 80's.

Board of Trustees
Jon Caldara, President
Catherine Shopneck, Chairman
Katherine Whitcomb, Vice-Chairman
Joe Ignat, Secretary / Treasurer
Tim Brown
Jeff Coors
James MacDougald
William Pearse
Joseph Smith
Greg Stevinson

Alumni
Gale Norton. Secretary of the Interior. Former Senior Fellow and Board Member of the Independence Institute.
Donald Hodel. Secretary of the Interior, 1985-1989. Former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Independence Institute.
United States Representative Tom Tancredo. Sixth Congressional District of Colorado. Former President of the Independence Institute.
Colorado State Senate Minority Leader John Andrews. Founder of the Independence Institute.
Colorado House Republican Caucus Chair Rob Fairbank. Third-ranking Republican in the Colorado House. Former Office Director.
Colorado State Representative Shawn Mitchell. Chair, House Information and Technology Committee. Former Senior Fellow.
Colorado State Representative Ted Harvey. Former Office Director.
Rick Grice, Director Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation. Former Senior Fellow
Regional Transportation District Director Jack McCroskey. Former Senior Fellow.
Boulder County Commissioner Paul Danish. Former Senior Fellow.
Bruce Benson. Republican nominee for Governor of Colorado, 1994. Former Board member.
Mike Rosen, News Radio 850 KOA talk show host and newspaper columnist. Former Board Member.
Greg Bledsoe. Colorado Counties. Legislative Liaison for agricultural, wildlife and rural affairs issues and public lands issues. Former intern.

[Democrats_win]

7. Quite a bunch indeed.

Stevenson and Coors are both Jefco people and Golden is the county seat. Jefco is having all kinds of trouble like the Pinky-T scandal and the county treasurer. Maybe they should fix what's in their own backyard before trying to ruin the rest of the state.

[leftofthedial]

8. I live in Jeffco (Lakewood, practically Golden)

And I own property in Golden

Stevinson just did a sweetheart deal with Jeffco and Lakewood that traded some of his land for a bunch of other land as well as zoning and tax breaks that will make him even stinking richer. We got Colorado Mills (half empty), doing zippo retail business, and Lakewood can't pay its bills so they plan to turn off all the streetlights, close parks, stop watering public spaces, lay off a boatload of employees , , ,

"republican": a euphemism for "amoral criminal thief bastard asshole."

[Democrats_win]

9. That's the epithet we'll put on their tombstone in 2006.