Oops: 'Disenfranchised' Colorado Trump 'Delegate' Who Burned Voter Card...Was Neither

Townhall.com ^ | April 12, 2016 | Guy Benson

[Kaslin]

As Donald Trump attempts to distract from his campaign's myriad failures in Colorado by cynically stirring the "rigged corrupt game" pot, one of the public faces of this phony outrage is a gentleman who earned himself prime Drudge real estate when he dramatically burned his voter registration card on camera -- claiming that he was wrongfully turned away from the state party convention because he's a Trump fan. It's a disenfranchisement conspiracy cooked up by the elites, he argued, torching his Republican documentation in protest.  The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway was skeptical of the man's version of events and dug into the back story.  She discovered that rather than being the victim of shadowy subterfuge, Douglas County resident Larry Wayne Lindsey didn't understand the rules, shirked his own responsibilities, and leapt to inaccurate conclusions:

According to a series of conversations with party officials, while Lindsey did show up to his precinct caucus and was elected as a delegate to the county assembly, he never showed up to the county assembly, or, at the very least, never signed in for his credentials. On Facebook, he erroneously claimed he’d been elected as a delegate to the state assembly from his precinct caucus, something that is not possible under the rules in Douglas County. “Since Mr. Lindsey did not attend the County District Assembly he was not elected to be a delegate to the State Assembly, nor could he have been, so there is no way that he would have been listed as a delegate to the State Convention when he tried to check in on Saturday morning,” Tanne Blackburn, chairman of the Douglas County Republican Party, explained in a press release. He’s blaming his own comprehension failures on the Colorado Republican Party and claiming the party targeted him for being a Trump voter. In truth, he wasn’t even a delegate to the state assembly to begin with. Nevertheless, he promises that he “will raise holy hell” and is “sick to death” of Douglas County Republicans and “ashamed” of being a Republican.

In other words, he was elected as a delegate to his county convention, not the state convention, which is where presidential delegates were selected (resulting in a Cruz sweep). Furthermore, party officials say Mr. Lindsey was a no-show at the county gathering. What gives? Back to Hemingway, who's followed up on the story today.  She details how this individual has admitted to missing the key county meeting in question, blaming his absence on a variety of shifting explanations -- including that he was actively misled by a mysterious 'establishment' figure. Allahpundit explains why Lindsey's half-cocked conspiracy claims make almost zero sense logically, but Hemingway goes a step further. She discovers that given his role as a county delegate, Lindsey was contacted by a public official seeking his backing at the gathering Lindsey ended up skipping. That (very conservative) State Representative, a man by the name of Patrick Neville, says he personally spoke with Lindsey to solicit his support and to underscore the importance of attending the county convention. Hemingway's conclusion, after gathering the facts that most media organizations ignored in favor of credulously highlighting Lindsey's theatrics:

Lindsey’s story is a great anecdote for helping explain why Trump’s operation was not up to snuff in the delegate game for Colorado, but it’s not the story of disenfranchisement that national media are running with...Not showing up to an event that other delegates had no problem getting to — among them quite a few Trump supporters — isn’t disenfranchisement. Particularly when elected officials have had detailed phone conversations with you about the importance of the event. Perhaps the media should consider the prudence of running with a story that is false.

None of this information will even remotely dissuade Trump, who is intentionally casting aspersions upon the legitimacy of the process in order to tide the media's appetite for controversy and storylines over into next week, when the celebrity mogul is expected to notch a strong victory in New York.  Once the news cycle becomes more favorable, this sound and fury will recede.  Until it's needed again, of course.  As we mentioned earlier, this is a pattern of behavior with Trump, who blurts out nonsense allegations of fraud and malfeasance as a means of misdirection.  He distracts the press (look at this new thing Trump is screaming about!) while giving his followers a shiny object to rage over, so they don't have to think too hard about questions like this:

If you cannot navigate the @cologop convention what is your plan for Putin? #copolitics— Cory Gardner (@CoryGardner) April 12, 2016

That was one piece of a tweet storm from Colorado Republican US Senator Cory Gardner last night, who pointed out that his state's rules were well known by all campaigns for months in advance. Gardner asked a series of questions that undermined central premises of Trump's campaign: All I do is win because I pick the smartest, most competent people, and make the greatest deals -- unlike all the moron slobs who hold elective office in this country today.  In Colorado, all Trump did was lose because he picked clueless incompetents who proved incapable of getting basic information correct, let alone pulling off savvy deals.  And he was soundly defeated by one of the supposedly clueless politicians over whom he routinely claims superiority.  The author of 'The Art of the Deal' keeps getting fleeced because he can't handle basic campaign blocking and tackling.  Please ponder what that might portend about a mythical Trump presidency.  I'll leave you with our discussion about this "controversy" from today's Outnumbered, which features Cruz aptly accusing Trump of whining as a jumping off point. Via Right Sightings:

Controversy Over Republican Nomination Process Intensifies - Guy Benson

As I say, I agree with Trump that the system Colorado Republicans have instituted is unpalatable.  An electorate that's broader than a few thousand activists at a party convention should have a say in the presidential nominating process.  But if Trump really had a beef with that course of action on principle, he could and should have spoken up when it was first determined, said his piece, then adapted to the rules in order to win.  He did none of those things, and only began whinging about the process after he lost.

[boycott]

So he must be the one that twitted #NeverTrump ..... and then deleted it ..... and then said their site was hacked?

[DoughtyOne]

Ted (Have I Got An Excuse for You) sure has lots of excusers.

[Tzimisce]

Oh.

Well that makes what’s going on in Colorado okay then. :)

[DannyTN]

“I agree with Trump that the system Colorado Republicans have instituted is unpalatable.” - Author

[AndyJackson]

Wow. That is as clear as mud. Based on that muddled mess I guess I am supposed to be ok with a process which sounds more arcane than partnership filings with the IRS. The explanation only makes one more outraged. First that they would do it this way, and then attempt to explain it away as just Okey Dokey.

[Theo]

Who cares about the truth?

It’s the seriousness of the accusation that really matters.

Damn Cruz, even if you have to lie to do it.

[Jane Long]

As confusing as the GOPe apparatchiks have made finding out info about ANY of the delegate meetings, I am not surprised that this guy did not find/sign in to his meeting.

In my county....delegate caucuses/meetings have ALWAYS been held, immediately following the end/closing of the election, at your designated precinct location.

This year, they changed it....combined all of the precincts and you had to go through hoops to find out just when/where the meeting was going to be. Then, on the day of the meeting....they were sending folks away and telling them to go to other meeting locations (30 mins away).

This has NEVER happened before, in my precinct, until this year.

[JediJones]

No, I think it was a lowly intern that tweeted that. Or was it, “How stupid are the people of Colorado?”

[Jane Long]

“I agree with Trump that the system Colorado Republicans have instituted is unpalatable.” - Author

---

That’s the bottom line.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

You can tell the flaws in this GOPe hit piece just by reading the man's facebook page responding to the slander, which the author deceptively links to as an example of him coming up with "different stories," with no links to any other stories he's allegedly told. From his facebook page: "And, the character assassination has begun! The GOP has put out a hit piece that makes me out to be a liar. Christa Huff, the author of the article, was a FB friend at the time, who turned out to be part of the GOP cabal. There are several outright lies in her article, which intentionally leads readers to think that I have maliciously and unfairly slandered the totally guiltless GOP. Call me what you will, Christa, I really don't care. The truth will win out, and I have fought way tougher battles than this! The last 3 years of fighting stage 4 terminal cancer has taught me that I have nothing to fear from malicious little people like you. In reality, it matters not whether I was mislead out of incompetence, or maliciously lied to, the result is the same. I was disenfranchised, and so was every voter in Colorado whom I would have represented! The fact is, I was elected as a County Delegate, and it is verifiable through witnesses. I also filled out a form that expressed my interest and intent to run for National Delegate. On this date, I also filled out the form for my credentials, and paid with a check, only because the man in charge of the meeting said he could not take a credit card. I don't know any of these people, by name or by sight, because this is the first time I have ever been involved in the Colorado Caucus. The person who approached me at the initial Caucus meeting at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, said her name was Jan Morgan, and that she was my precinct captain. I took her at her word. In hindsight, perhaps I should have asked to see her Driver's License. I met this person only once, but spoke with her twice more over the phone. I did find out just today, that I missed a precinct meeting, but only because this person had called me and told me that the meeting had been cancelled. She told me not to worry, because she said I was already a delegate and all I had to do was to show up at the State Convention. The point is, after all, that the rules of the GOP, and the Caucus in particular, are archaic, confusing and misleading. The person who led our meeting was an attorney, and he apologized for being so confused about the rules. Apparently, there was no lack of knowledgeable counsel available for Cruz supporters, since it seems only Trump supporters had problems with the rules. Since I don't believe in coincidence, it reeks of something more. I've been around enough cows to know when someone is shoveling bullshit!" Reading the links, I don't even see where the author is getting any quotations from the man in the video outside of this. They don't even quote a Cruzer properly, they just name some first-name only anonmyous source, who, after explaining that he went to one meeting, then another meeting, sent an email, paid a fee, then showed up at another meeting, is allegedly quoted with the following:

"I initially thought a primary would be better. Now when I look at it, the people who really care about it and think about it, they’re going to be more involved. The caucus is a pretty good system. It promotes people who are engaged and understand what they’re voting for,” Trey said."

So these idiots actually think that the system they just described is "better" than a Primary? How many normal human beings even have the time to attend several meetings, pay fees just to be involved, and then claim that this is a "good" system? The author of this piece even uses the fact that this man was not listed as a delegate-- when that is exactly what he is accusing the GOPe of doing to him-- as evidence, somehow, of him being a liar. What it really looks like to me is that Cruzers on the local level were deliberately using the complexity of the process to insure Trump delegates were disqualified or not listed at all as delegates.

[goodwithagun]

Don’t we zot for tagging articles with mean spirited keywords?

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

You can tell the flaws in this GOPe hit piece just by reading the man's facebook page responding to the slander, which the author deceptively links to as an example of him coming up with "different stories," with no links to any other stories he's allegedly told. From his facebook page:

"And, the character assassination has begun! The GOP has put out a hit piece that makes me out to be a liar. Christa Huff, the author of the article, was a FB friend at the time, who turned out to be part of the GOP cabal. There are several outright lies in her article, which intentionally leads readers to think that I have maliciously and unfairly slandered the totally guiltless GOP.

Call me what you will, Christa, I really don't care. The truth will win out, and I have fought way tougher battles than this! The last 3 years of fighting stage 4 terminal cancer has taught me that I have nothing to fear from malicious little people like you. In reality, it matters not whether I was mislead out of incompetence, or maliciously lied to, the result is the same. I was disenfranchised, and so was every voter in Colorado whom I would have represented!

The fact is, I was elected as a County Delegate, and it is verifiable through witnesses. I also filled out a form that expressed my interest and intent to run for National Delegate. On this date, I also filled out the form for my credentials, and paid with a check, only because the man in charge of the meeting said he could not take a credit card.

I don't know any of these people, by name or by sight, because this is the first time I have ever been involved in the Colorado Caucus. The person who approached me at the initial Caucus meeting at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, said her name was Jan Morgan, and that she was my precinct captain. I took her at her word. In hindsight, perhaps I should have asked to see her Driver's License. I met this person only once, but spoke with her twice more over the phone.

I did find out just today, that I missed a precinct meeting, but only because this person had called me and told me that the meeting had been cancelled. She told me not to worry, because she said I was already a delegate and all I had to do was to show up at the State Convention.

The point is, after all, that the rules of the GOP, and the Caucus in particular, are archaic, confusing and misleading. The person who led our meeting was an attorney, and he apologized for being so confused about the rules.

Apparently, there was no lack of knowledgeable counsel available for Cruz supporters, since it seems only Trump supporters had problems with the rules. Since I don't believe in coincidence, it reeks of something more. I've been around enough cows to know when someone is shoveling bullshit!"

Reading the links, I don't even see where the author is getting any quotations from the man in the video outside of this. They don't even quote a Cruzer properly, they just name some first-name only anonmyous source, who, after explaining that he went to one meeting, then another meeting, sent an email, paid a fee, then showed up at another meeting, is allegedly quoted with the following:

"I initially thought a primary would be better. Now when I look at it, the people who really care about it and think about it, they’re going to be more involved. The caucus is a pretty good system. It promotes people who are engaged and understand what they’re voting for,” Trey said."

So these idiots actually think that the system they just described is "better" than a Primary? How many normal human beings even have the time to attend several meetings, pay fees just to be involved, and then claim that this is a "good" system? The author of this piece even uses the fact that this man was not listed as a delegate-- when that is exactly what he is accusing the GOPe of doing to him-- as evidence, somehow, of him being a liar. What it really looks like to me is that Cruzers on the local level were deliberately using the complexity of the process to insure Trump delegates were disqualified or not listed at all as delegates.

[Lance Romance]

Shhhh. Don't post anti-Trump facts.

The Trumpsters will post you home address and have people threaten to kill you.

Oh yeah, another fact is that the Trumpster conspiracy theory regarding Paul Ryan was completely false as well.

Oh yeah, another fact is that Colorado has been conduction primaries this way since 2004 and Trump knew as the rules were posted last summer. He just didn't have the ground game.

Readying myself for personal smears and threats from the Trump crowd.

https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/04/yes-donald-colorado-did-vote-on-march-1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-36029685

[Donglalinger]

You can’t read their explanation without getting a headache

[CA Conservative]

As confusing as the GOPe apparatchiks have made finding out info about ANY of the delegate meetings, I am not surprised that this guy did not find/sign in to his meeting.

Apparently you didn't read the story. A local politician called this guy a couple of days before the meeting to be sure he would be there, because he wanted his support for another position. So he had no excuse for not being there.

[Kaslin]

Yeah I know, they sure are in denial

[Mercat]

The whole Cruz/Colorado thing is sort of like the Cruzites saying, “neener neener neener.” Generally people don’t like people who say, “neener, neener, neener.” I never did.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

A local politician called this guy a couple of days before the meeting to be sure he would be there

The man claims he was indeed called, or made a call, but told "not to worry" since "he was a delegate." Of course, we all know local politicians are really honest.

[Kaslin]

Obviously not you trump cultists