Ed Perlmutter’s supporters are out in force today, rebuking claims made yesterday by his primary opponent, Peggy Lamm, in Congressional District 7. As reported by Colorado Confidential yesterday, Peggy Lamm released an advertisement dubbed “Get Over”, attacking Perlmutter for a 2001 vote he made in the Colorado Legislature.“People who know Ed Perlmutter, know that he has supported victims of crime every step of his career and Peggy Lamm should be ashamed to run this type of ad in the final week of the campaign,” said Denver City Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriguez in a Perlmutter press release.
Perlmutter also points out the fact he has three daughters, which he says shows he has a personal understanding of the fears related to sexual assault. He also received a 100 percent rating from the Colorado Women’s Agenda in both 2000 and 2001.
Specifically, the bill Perlmutter voted against would have extended the statute of limitations on sexual assault crimes when new DNA evidence comes to light. Perlmutter was one of only three legislators to vote against the measure that eventually became law. Sources within the Perlmutter campaign said his vote against the law dealt with the possible unconstitutionality of the law, since it may lead to some sort of “ex post facto” convictions.
This ad has caused quite the stir across the blogs. (See here, here, and here)
Meanwhile, Team Lamm is continuing its assault on Perlmutter’s voting record. Today, they released more criticism of Perlmutter’s votes. The Lamm claim: Back in 1996, Perlmutter voted twice against legislation that the Denver Post said would “spare child sexual-assault victims the trauma of facing their alleged abusers.” The bill would have allow victims under 12 to testify via closed circuit cameras, instead of in person, and eventually became law.
Finally, Peggy Lamm tries to distance herself from ex-governor Dick Lamm in today’s Rocky Mountain News. Peggy is a Lamm because she was married to Dick Lamm’s brother for over twenty years. Though she has been divorced for some two years now, Peggy keeps the name because she had been a “Lamm” for over half her life.
My favorite quote of the day is from this article:
“I passionately believe that my name is Peggy Lamm, and I’m running on my accomplishments,” [Peggy Lamm] said.
And people say politicans don’t take principled stands.
