McInnis, scott Rep

McInnis, <a href="http://www.hhlaw.com/smcinnis/" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none;">an attorney for a Denver law firm</a> that does extensive work for the oil and gas industry, has been <a href="http://coloradoindependent.com/45720/even-as-hickenlooper-sets-to-announce-candidacy-mcinnis-continues-campaign-against-ritter-drilling-regs" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none;">campaigning on a platform</a> that would roll back Gov. Bill Ritter’s more environmentally stringent oil and gas drilling regulations. He also has provided lip service to the renewable sector, but, like Penry and Gardner, is a staunch opponent of Ritter’s “New Energy Economy.”

=stark fruitcakehttp://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/07/18/house.disarray/index.html?iref=newssearchdefunct ran for gov, plagiarismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_McInnis<hgroup style="line-height: 18px;"><h1 class="entry-title" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; font-weight: normal; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Long-Simmering Campaign Funds Scandal Explodes on McInnis</h1><div class="comments-link" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 7px; right: 7px; text-align: center; min-width: 16px; box-shadow: rgb(250, 234, 158) 0px 0px 1px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">
<div class="comments-background" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 7px; height: 8px; position: absolute; bottom: -8px; left: 5px; background-image: url("images/comments-background.png"); background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat;" /></div></hgroup><div class="entry-meta" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 7px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; min-height: 35px; line-height: 18px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">  <span class="author vcard" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">by: <a class="url fn n" href="http://coloradopols.com/diary/author/colorado-pols" title="View all posts by Colorado Pols" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Colorado Pols</a><span class="onDate" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; float: right; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span class="entry-date" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">August 12, 2009 <span class="entry-time" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">at 5:47 PM MDT</div><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 10px 10px; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; line-height: 18px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><div class="social_sharing" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block; float: right; text-align: center; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><div class="social_twitter" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;" /><div class="social_facebook" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;" /><div class="social_google" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;" /></div><p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Not good, folks, as the <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_13041207" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Denver Post</a> reports:
<blockquote style="border: 0px; margin: 0px auto 10px; padding: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; float: none; border-radius: 5px; box-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 0px 3px inset; max-width: 80%; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Just before leaving Congress in 2004, Scott Mc Innis’ staff said the exiting Republican wanted to use part of the $1.3 million left in his campaign fund to launch a nonprofit political organization that would address education, breast-cancer research and conservation.<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Five years later, no such organization exists. Instead, the largest charitable donation McInnis made from his campaign funds was to a wilderness area named for McInnis as he was leaving Congress…<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Most of the money that has been spent from McInnis’ congressional campaign fund went not to charity but to like-minded candidates and to promote Republican ideals, <b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">which McInnis said was always his intent. [Pols emphasis] He decided direct giving would be more efficient than the bureaucracy of a nonprofit, he said…<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">McInnis instead created the Western Way Political Action Committee and estimates he’s given more than $250,000 through that fund to about 40 candidates over the years.<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">About $96,000 has been given to charities through Western Way. But despite his staff’s singling out of breast cancer as a focus, health groups received relatively little of the money in the past five years. The total was compiled from Federal Elections Commission disclosures.<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">McInnis gave $51,500 from the PAC to McInnis Canyons, the Grand Junction-area wilderness named for him…</blockquote><p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">As the stories began to <a href="http://coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10004" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">circulate last week</a> about <b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Scott McInnis’ heavy use of Western Way PAC in the last few months, clearly as a vehicle to build name recognition in advance of his gubernatorial campaign, one of many questions being asked was “what about the charity?” Liberals had <a href="http://coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2530" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">attacked McInnis back in 2007</a> over the same issue, after all, but nobody paid much attention to his leftover money in the 2008 cycle since it went basically unused after McInnis <a href="http://coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=7945" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">aborted his Senate run</a> early on (unless you lived in <a href="http://www.postindependent.com/article/20081027/VALLEYNEWS/110279991/1083" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Garfield County</a>, apparently).<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Now that the facts of the matter are out, there’s really nothing about this situation that makes McInnis look in any way good. The simple fact is, he told the press in no uncertain terms in 2004 that he would give this money to charity and he didn’t. Any personal relationship he may have had to the cause he said he would give the money to is irrelevant, or if anything <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">worse for him now that he’s reneged on his pledge. Bottom line: he used the money he said he would spend on a health care charity to <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">fund Republican candidates, $50,000 for Ego-ponymous Canyons, and a good amount in the last few months to operate his <a href="http://coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9448" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">much-criticized</a> “shadow campaign.”<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">And let’s not forget the $5,000 to <b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Tom DeLay’s <a href="http://coloradopols.com/diary/9155/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">legal defense fund</a>.<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Seriously, folks–anybody want to tell us how the optics on this are not absolutely disastrous? How does this not paint a picture of <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">exactly the kind of dishonest, irresponsible “Tom DeLay Republican” opponent <b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Josh Penry rails against in his <a href="http://coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9539" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">stump speeches</a>?</div>- See more at: http://coloradopols.com/diary/10052/longsimmering-campaign-funds-scandal-explodes-on-mcinnis#sthash.9BZMJEtJ.dpuf

R-Colo., who discussed his legitimate crusade, as chairman of the House

Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health,<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> against actual<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" />

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[extremists] in<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> distain,<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">" said McInnis, who compared the extremists to abortion<br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" />

Like any politician, McInnis hurried off after speaking. That left Nichols free

to blur the distinction between legitimate greens and those who use violence, a

blurring that he achieved with considerable deft.

<div class="gsc-thumbnail-inside" style="padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; position: static; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="gs-title" style="position: static; height: 1.25em; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); text-decoration: underline;"><a class="gs-title" href="https://cei.org/news-releases/free-market-advocates-confront-eco-terrorism" target="_top" dir="ltr" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://cei.org/news-releases/free-market-advocates-confront-eco-terrorism&sa=U&ved=0CAgQFjABahUKEwjWjaysi_zHAhXDUKYKHQ-TA_g&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNGU7xomg9a62nmQF6wTAWSYhAcdZQ" data-ctorig="https://cei.org/news-releases/free-market-advocates-confront-eco-terrorism" style="cursor: pointer; height: 1.25em; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 204);">Free Market Advocates Confront Eco-Terrorism | Competitive ...</a></div></div><div class="gsc-url-top" style="padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; position: static; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="gs-bidi-start-align gs-visibleUrl gs-visibleUrl-long" dir="ltr" style="position: static; color: rgb(0, 128, 0); padding-bottom: 2px; overflow: hidden; word-break: break-all;">https://cei.org/news.../free-market-advocates-confront-eco-terrorism</div></div><table class="gsc-table-result" style="border-spacing: 0px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; width: 530px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><tbody><tr><td class="gsc-table-cell-snippet-close" style="vertical-align: top; width: 530px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px;"><div style="position: static;"><div class="gs-bidi-start-align gs-snippet" dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 1px; position: static;">Mar 6, 2002 ... Groups such as the Earth Liberation Front, the Animal Liberation Front, and Earth First! have intimidated researchers and destroyed ...</div><div class="gs-bidi-start-align gs-snippet" dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 1px; position: static;">
</div><div class="gs-bidi-start-align gs-snippet" dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 1px; position: static;">Washington, D.C., March 7, 2002 — In a Capitol Hill conference today, several experts in security, politics, and communications revealed the troubling rise in acts of violence and destruction being committed by environmental and animal rights activists.  The event, “Stopping Eco-Extremism: A Conference on Legislative, Legal, and Communications Strategies to Protect Free Enterprise, Private Property, and American Business,” was sponsored by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the crisis communications firm Nichols–Dezenhall. “Environmental extremists have been successful in the part because opposition to their ideology and tactics was not coordinated,” said conference organizer Gregory Conko, director of food safety policy at CEI.  “Today’s conference is the beginning of an effort to inform those in business and academia to the threat such organizations pose.  Anyone who works in an environmentally unfashionable industry should be concerned.” Speakers included Rep. Scott McInnis (R-CO), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, who spoke on the danger from groups like the Earth Liberation Front, whose members burnt down a ski lodge in his district in 1998 to protest commercial development in the Rocky Mountains.  James Jarobe, the FBI’s Section Chief of Domestic Terrorism/Counterterrorism Planning, described radical environmental groups as the largest and most active U.S.-based terrorist organizations, causing $43 million worth of damage since 1996 alone.  Groups such as the Earth Liberation Front, the Animal Liberation Front, and Earth First! have intimidated researchers and destroyed laboratories, businesses, and private property using arson, burglary, assault, and vandalism. Nichols–Dezenhall CEO and author Nick Nichols also gave a warning about two trends he has tracked in recent years: first, a tendency of fringe environmental groups to rely increasingly on violent, destructive tactics, and second, the failure of corporations, universities, and other subjects of attack to defend themselves and their reputations.  Nichols especially condemned the instinct of many executives in affected companies to try to placate activists groups with donations or public gestures. CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government.  For more information about CEI, visit our website at <a href="https://c/Documents%20and%20Settings/jclarke/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK4/www.cei.org" style="color: rgb(102, 153, 0); text-decoration: none; background: transparent;">www.cei.org</a> or email the communications department at <a href="mailto:pr@cei.org" style="color: rgb(102, 153, 0); text-decoration: none; background: transparent;">pr@cei.org</a>.</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table>