ProgressNow Colorado political director Alan Franklin bids bon voyage and recalls auld lang syne for Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler.
It’s the thought that counts.
Each year Alan Franklin, the personable political director of the leading liberal group ProgressNow Colorado, keeps Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler in his thoughts during the holidays. In each of the last three years, he’s penned his special wishes on a card he sends to Gessler, a former private practice lawyer who usually represented Republican interests. Gessler ran for governor this year instead of re-election, and in January he will back in the private sector.
So Franklin signed his Christmas card citing Gessler’s nickname: “Buh-Bye, Honey Badger!” Then he extended the courtesy to Gessler’s deputy secretary of state, Suzanne Staiert, as well.
Last year Gessler was planning to run for governor, but in June he finished third in the GOP primary. Franklin wrote, “Sending next year’s card to the Governor’s Mansion.” Ah, that’s nice. But wait for it. “Hopefully they’ll forward it to you.” Dang.
ProgressNow was making plans for this year’s holiday card for Scott Gessler 12 months ago.
And in 2012, when Gessler was under investigation by the state ethics commission and the Denver District Attorney’s Office for using office funds, $1,278, to pay for a trip to a Republican lawyers seminar, Franklin suggested jail might be a ghost of Gessler’s Christmases Yet to Come.
“I think orange will be a good color for you,” he wished
Gessler instead , even though he had already paid back the disputed money, and the DA’s office never found a crime.
The tradition of annual jabs appear to be a source of amusement and annoyance among Gessler’s staff. Gessler himself just let’s it slide.
“It really shows their true colors for this group to use a holiday card to deliver such spiteful and petty attacks,” Staiert said.
Franklin responded: lighten up. “I send funny Christmas cards to most of the our friends on the right in Colorado every year,” he said.
“All of my Christmas cards are meant in the most jovial Christmas spirit. Doesn’t Gessler revel in being called Honey Badger? It’s flattering that he has kept all of my cards.”
Then Franklin brought up some past beefs with the secretary for context.
“He kept much better track of them then site lost in 2012, or in 2011 but never managed to track down.”
In 2012, when Franklin made the “orange” prediction, the Netflix show “Orange is the New Black” had not yet debuted. The show came about in July 2013.
“So I do expect points for originality,” he said.
In 2012, when Secretary of State Scott Gessler was facing an ethics complaint and an investigation by the Denver District Attorney’s Office, ProgressNow predicted jail time.
