Naturally, American Thinker editor Rick Moran is against the idea — he believes recall elections are costly, and besides, they should only be attempted in the event of gross misconduct by lawmakers, not over “policy differences,” an assault on our second amendment that disallows government the power to infringe on a natural right evidently not evidence of such a violation of their oath, but instead just one more minor partisan policy quibble in the age of pragmatic electioneering (recall, Moran has insisted for years now that the TEA Party is something of a joke, and that we Visigoths have unconscionably and disingenuously cast Obama as a socialist, a Marxist, a liberal fascist, and a power-mad, narcissistic would-be despot instead of what he really is, a well-meaning, garden-variety liberal Democrat), one that is likely in the long-term to turn off impressionable, on-the-fence moderates and independents and cost the GOP future elections.  We have new elections to fix bad elections, Moran reminds us.  So the proper, decorous thing to do is wait the 2 or 6 years, affect a stiff upper lip in the face of democratic tyranny, then use the ballot box to regain the power necessary to wrench away from prior lawmakers the ability to molest the Constitutions, both state and federal.  Which has worked out swimmingly in the US House after 2010 and 2012.

So, bad play all around for these impetuous, ideological-driven fringe wingnuts, Moran soberly concludes — in which their attempts to protect the Constitution will likewise be construed as inflammatory and unhelpful to the process of unseating Democrats, the final calculus of which, should Moran ever stop to look at the larger picture, being that his counsel, such as it is,  amounts to something like this:  to elect Republicans, we need to convince moderates and independents that they’re really just like Democrats.  Only, you know, sometimes for lower taxes.   And then once they’re elected, they can try to reverse bad law.  Which they can do.  Until they lose once more (for being in favor of slaughtering children), at which point it’s right back to the Democrats’ policies, should they have a big enough majority to force them through.

And of course, that violations of the Constitution are mere policy disagreements — elections being a fair and democratic way to determine the fate of our Constitutional protections, with each election cycle opening up the hoary document to revisions and refinements by way of majoritarian politics and populist demagoguing, with the media aiding in that endeavor when progressives take off, then actively working to quell any such movement when Republicans seek to re-establish lost rights and a proper ratio of federal to state powers — is just the way things are. Inevitable. Like a force of nature. Or a Rick Moran piece sneering at conservatives and small-government libertarians.

But all that is beside the point.  Mostly because Rick Moran, in his quest to be taken seriously by his “peers” in the media, has become the John McCain of bloggers.  A kind of spectacle.  A clown.  Only without the history of torture, or having raised an embarrassment for a daughter.

At least, so far as I know.

Enough editorializing, though.  The title of the post promised you a glimpse into the recall elections, which Jim Geraghty distilled this morning in a nice, succinct fashion, whereas thus far all I’ve done is proven which I’m an outcast:

If you’re a fan of the Second Amendment, and you feel that a whole bunch of lawmakers — mostly Democrats — reacted to the horror of Newtown by rushing to pass a bunch of ill-thought gun control laws that would have done nothing to prevent that tragedy, then you need to pay a lot of attention to the recall efforts against two Colorado state lawmakers.

Second Amendment advocates aim to replace Democratic senators John Morse of Colorado Springs and Angela Giron of Pueblo. (They also tried to recall Senator Evie Hudak of Westminster and Representative Mike McLachlan of Durango, but failed to collect enough signatures.)  Back in 2010, Morse won, 48.1 percent to 47.2 percent, with about 250 votes separating him from his opponent (and Libertarian Douglas Randall collected 1,258 votes). Giron won more solidly, 54.8 percent to 45.1 percent, a margin of about 4,000 votes. In that November midterm election, about 28,000 votes were cast in Morse’s race, about 40,000 votes in Giron’s. Of course, in a special recall election, turnout may be much lower.

The local Republican parties selected former Colorado Springs city councilman Bernie Herpin to take on John Morse and George Rivera, former deputy chief of the Pueblo police force, to take on Giron.
Here’s how it works:
The ballot will include the original statement from the petitioners as to why the official in question should be recalled, as well as a no more than 300 word rebuttal from the official, if the official submits a statement.

The ballot will have two boxes, marked “Yes” approving the recall and “No” disapproving the recall. There will also be a list of candidates for whom those that voted for the recall may vote for to replace the official. In this sense, the recall election is held simultaneously with the election of the new official.

If a majority of participants vote “No” in the recall, the official whom the recall was filed against will remain in their position. If there is a majority of “Yes” votes, then the new official will be the candidate on the list with the most votes.

The election will be conducted by mail, and even more so than in regular elections, the details count in this one:

All active, registered voters in Senate district 11 will receive a mail-in ballot. Ballots will be mailed to military and overseas voters by August 9. Ballots will be mailed to local voters starting August 19.

There will be two sections on the ballot. One will ask whether or not Senator John Morse should be recalled. The second section will allow voters to choose a successor candidate.

Voters MUST answer the recall question to have their vote counted. The County Clerk and Recorder’s Office says if a voter skips the recall question their ballot will be voided, even if they voted for a successor candidate.

Ballots have to be received by the Clerk and Recorder’s Office by 7:00 p.m. September 10 in order to be counted. Voters can verify that their ballot was received by visiting the Go Vote Colorado website.

Herpin’s pitch:

I’m running to defend our Constitutional rights and promote an environment where small businesses are free to create jobs and improve our local community.

For too long, John Morse has been more interested in doing the bidding of Big Government interests in Denver and Washington and less interested in the economic concerns and well-being of our community.

We have the opportunity to remove the president of the senate and send a strong message that we will not tolerate elected officials who disrespect our Constitutional rights and ignore their constituents.

Many in our community know about my long standing vocal and public support of our Constitutional rights.  I also have a history of serving our city and have always prided myself on being responsive to the people of Colorado Springs.

Rivera is pointing out that, separate from Giron’s gun vote, she’s also voted for a slew of bills he deems bad for the district:

A bill that makes it easier for water to be taken from the Arkansas River basin to be moved to Aurora and other northern Colorado cities, the bill calling for higher renewable energy standards that will make the cost of electricity rise by up to 20% for those living in the rural electric areas like Pueblo West, the bill that makes it easier for an employee that has been terminated to sue small business owners like my wife and I and to ask for punitive damages for things like “mental anguish”, “inconvenience” or “loss of enjoyment of life”, and the bill that completely changes our voting process to an all mail in ballot which greatly increases the risk of voter fraud.

These two state-senate districts will, in the coming six weeks, get a taste of what Wisconsin “enjoyed” recently, having lots and lots of people from outside the state taking an intense interest in their local elections:

Richard Bamberg’s phone has been ringing off the hook – not literally – but three calls last week and then four Thursday have made him a little jaded by the Senate District 11 recall effort.

It’s just the beginning of what may be hectic days until the Sept. 10 recall election for Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs.

“I asked to talk to their supervisor. I asked them to leave me alone,” Bamberg said of the most recent caller who asked a few questions and then spoke for several minutes about positive things Morse has done as a lawmaker. “The thing I don’t get is I’m not in Morse’s district.”

Christy Le Lait, campaign manager for A Whole Lot of People for John Morse, said the calls aren’t coming from its campaign.

I happen to think that a violation to uphold the Constitution, while simultaneously disregarding the will of Coloradans as a whole and instead answering to Bloomberg lobbyists and Joe Biden’s carrot/stick “nudging,” is grounds to have office holders removed.

And since progressive partisans control the state legislature, no effort to impeach these officials has a chance of taking root — all behavior being relative these days, and progressives having been schooled in the importance of circling the wagons.

So what recourse do the people of Colorado have left?  Grin and take it — even though the elected officials never ran as gun-grabbers or (in Morse’s case) a politician who literally wanted to open up gun manufacturers and ammo manufactures to criminal and civil liability, akin to blaming McDonalds for making hot coffee and then spilling it on yourself (oh, wait!), which is really not a moral decision but one that is meant to garner support of lawyers groups.

Cynical, unethical, unconstitutional.  But hey — fighting it just makes us look, you know, gauche.  And that’s a crime that far exceeds maybe trampling on an old document that, let’s just admit it, should be construed as living and breathing and subject to refinements and adjustments that don’t require an onerous amendment process.

Because seriously. Who has that kind of time when children and progress are at stake?

Racists and Visigoths with stubborn, Hobbity, True Believer mindsets.  Who are the contingency of the GOP Big Tent that, were he able, one suspects Moran would keep locked in the attic like Bertha Mason.

Which didn’t end well for that particular “tent” either.

(h/t Kevin B)h.h.h.h/t