Grassroots Radio Colorado, Marijo Tinlin, March 18, 2014
Station: KLZ, 560 AM
Show: Grassroots Radio Colorado
Guests: Tinlin
Link: http://grrc.podomatic.com/profile?p=1
Date: March 18, 2014
Topics: Common Core, Liberty Movement, Dave Pigott, Diane Primavera, Obamacare, Constituents, Regulations, Laws, SB-200, “Amycare”, State Healthcare Exchanges, Repeal, Jill Vecchio, Molly Vogt, Kim Munson, Randy Corporon, Leadership Program of the Rockies, Secretary of State Reports, Fundraising, Licensing, Fees, Education, Vicki Marble, Lori Saine, Greg Brophy, Libby Szabo, SB-40, Moms’ Bill, Second Amendment (2nd Amendment), Tenth Amendment (10th), Article V convention, Constitutional Convention, Portability of Insurance, State Lines, Self Defense, Role of Government.
HOST KEN CLARK: I want to welcome into studio somebody that we’ve been talking about a bit on Grassroots Radio – just a little bit – a classmate of mine from Leadership Program of the Rockies 2012, the one and only Marijo Tinlin, candidate for House District 33. Welcome!
CANDIDATE FOR HOUSE DISTRICT 33, MARIJO TINLIN: Thank you so much for having me on the show.
CLARK: Now, I’ve got to ask you this question, 2012– the class of 2012, it was the best class ever.
TINLIN: Absolutely.
CLARK: There hasn’t been one since that can match up to it, and there hasn’t been one –there wasn’t one previously.
TINLIN: Well, we’re a little biased, aren’t we?
CLARK: Of course we are! That was our class! We’ve got Jill Vecchio, Molly Vogt, Kim Munson, you, me. We’ve got Randy Corporon. I mean, we’ve got a lot.
TINLIN: Mm-hmm.
CLARK: So,–
TINLIN: Absolutely.
CLARK: Yeah, we’ve got a lot to boast about. All right, so you’re going to run for House District 33. You and I have spent some time talking about this. What made you to decide to throw down?
TINLIN: Well, you know, it’s something that’s been on my heart for almost a year, talking to people, and getting an idea of what it would be like and specifically working with people that have actually had the job. I actually even spoke to my competitor — my now-competitor–about this. And you know, it just got into my heart to do that. But what really sort of pushed me over was after looking at what had not been raised in terms of funds by the SOS reports – the Secretary of State reports, — we saw that the race really wasn’t being run like we thought it was. And I had stepped back because I thought we were going to have a good candidate and we were going to make it, and we were going to get the seat back. And I just saw that that momentum was not happening. You know, like Jon Kaiser’s race, he’s already raised thirty or forty thousand dollars. And so I was inspired by that, to see that it could be done. And so, that’s why I jumped in before we got to caucus, before we got to Assembly, to try to establish myself as the candidate that really can get that done and get that seat back for us.
CLARK: Yeah, and you know, Jason and I have talked about this and so it’s no secret, really, where we stand on this particular race. But, Dave Pigott ran before. And you know, I like Dave. I do. I think he’s a great man. I like him very much. I don’t think he’s the prop– right candidate. I think you are. Okay? And so, I—you know, we interviewed him when he ran last time. He made some comments on Grassroots Radio supporting SB-200. I mean, that’s a fatal flaw, in my book. And for those of you that don’t remember, that’s the bill that gave us the healthcare exchanges in the state of Colorado, and we’ll be talking about that in the 6:30 hour, because it’s just a wreck. But anyway, there were just some things I didn’t like. He ran. He lost. Okay? So, let’s get some fresh blood in there. Let’s get somebody who really does have the fire in the belly, and let’s go to it!
TINLIN: Right. The thing that I think I can bring to the race is the fact that I’m 100% dedicated to this. I, you know, pretty much put away everything except the ‘mom’ part, to be able to walk and meet people and appear where I need to be and talk to people and raise money, and just a hundred percent dedicated to doing what we need to do to get this seat back. Because it is a fight, and it’s a swing district. It’s very close in terms of voter registration. We have a lot of unaffiliateds in the district. And so, we really have to put our all into this, and I hope that, you know, we’re going to come out on top this time.
CLARK: Well, we do. And so, who’s your opponent in [HD] 33, the Democrat?
TINLIN: [chuckles] Diane Primavera.
CLARK: Ugh, jeez. Yeah, all right, so this is a ‘must win’. This is a ‘must win’ for the Republicans. […] We have to net gain 5 [seats] in the House of Representatives. So, Diane Primavera, yeah! I would really much—I would very much like to see her go. The idea that we have you running against her would be good. So what – would – how are you going to highlight the differences?
TINLIN: Right. Well, I like to think of myself as the ‘liberty candidate’. I’m the one that really promotes freedom for the people of the district. And I’m also the constitutional candidate in this race, because I really believe that we absolutely have to preserve the protections that we have in our Constitution for everyone in Colorado and in the United States, obviously. And so I just really want to fight for the freedom for people to get out from underneath the oppression that we have as – in terms of the government now. You know, the government is the boss for so many people, and I think that there are some people who are comfortable with that and we’re not going to be able to reach those folks. But when we can point out to people how overbearing the invasion of the government is in their lives, they will see that they can have a change, and they can have a voice, actually, down there at the Assembly. You know, when we look at Diane’s voting record, she votes almost 100% of the time with her party, even though only 30% of the people in her district are registered Democrats. I just can’t imagine that that represents the people that she has been voted in—you know, into the district by, that that represents their voices properly. And I’m going to do that when I become the lawmaker there.
CLARK: So the district basically is made up a third, a third, a third, right?
TINLIN: Yeah [hesitating]. Actually, yeah, more like—
CLARK: Roughly, I mean –
TINLIN: It’s kind of – yeah, it’s 30, 30, 40 –unaffiliated.
CLARK: Okay. Forty percent unaffiliated.
TINLIN: It’s a big piece unaffiliated, yes.
CLARK: All right. So, how do you plan to message to those folks?
TINLIN: Mm-hmm.
CLARK: Because that’s obviously going to be the key.
TINLIN: Yeah. Right. Well, I mean, you know, my big issues, I think, are the fact that we have made the political climate so unfriendly to families, here in Colorado. You know, with all the regulation we have, all the licensing and fees, and just the – and even this minimum wage bill that has just – the resolution just came down to support the increase in the minimum wage. I know that just a small number of jobs in total, though. But that is a job killer. You know, now we have Obamacare that’s going to create a part-time job force. Now we have the executive order that allows for paying salaried employees overtime, that’s going to create an hourly work force. I mean, we’re just killing jobs over and over and over. And that kills jobs for everybody. And whatever party you’re in. It doesn’t matter what letter is behind your name, that kills it for everybody and it hurts families. So, we’ve got to loosen up the regulations and be able to give people their individual liberties and opportunities back so that they can provide for their families. And then the other piece of it that I think we absolutely have to preserve and that’s a huge issue for me because we have kids, is this education—what’s going on with education and the changes with Common Core, having a standardized curriculum across the whole country, makes no sense. It is the way to simplify education, and it takes freedom away – freedom of choice for parent, and their kids, but it also takes choice away from teachers and how they teach and what they get to teach. And we have such great educators that are, you know, actually being hurt by that curriculum. I just — I really would have liked to have seen Lori Saine and Vicki Marble’s bill go through that would have allowed fo that delay so that we could have taken some time to make sure and see what the real effect would be. I was sad that that got defeated.
CLARK: Yeah, I was too. And you know, I really like the way that whole thing came together, because that was a group of Moms.
TINLIN: Right.
CLARK: It was Democrats, Independents, and Republican Moms, that care about the education of their children. They got together–Vicki—or Senator Marble put them with a bill writer, they came up with it. This was not Senator Marble’s bill. It was the mom’s bill. That’s why it’s been called that, because it actually was. What did the Democrats do? [They] sent it to the ‘kill committee’ and they killed it.
[…]
CLARK: Okay, let’s move on. Obviously, I know you are a 2nd amendment enthusiast, because you and I have actually been shooting together.
TINLIN: Yes, we have.
CLARK: And so, we went down to a place outside of Longmont, popped off a bunch of rounds, had a great afternoon.
TINLIN: Absolutely.
CLARK: So, you’re very, very skilled. Do you have an instructor’s certifications?
TINLIN: I don’t. No.
CLARK: Okay.
TINLIN: But I, uh, —
CLARK: I wasn’t sure. That’s why I wanted to ask.
TINLIN: Yep. But, you know, that’s one of those issues that I’ve changed on from over time. You know, I didn’t grow up around firearms at all. I didn’t know anything about it. And so, once I started to learn about it, I really, really – I think it’s fun, first of all. But it also truly underscores the need to preserve our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. And also to have people have a choice. I mean, when we were in here last time, talking about our business we used to be a part of, just understanding that people have choices in how they defend themselves. They can use a firearm if they wish to. There’s also several other ways to defend yourself. But, as a woman, we have to be able to protect ourselves. And, you know, we talk about this — there’s a phrase out there called “the disparity of force”, right? And so, when we are attacked by a person who is bigger and by a man, it’s much harder to defend yourself. And so, I believe that women, if they chose, they should be able to have whatever defense weapon or defense means that they have – that they want to have for themselves.
CLARK: Well, it’s my personal belief that every woman should be armed.
TINLIN: Uh-huh.
CLARK: I just think that. You know, I’ve always thought that. Of course, I also believe every man should be armed. I mean, unarmed man is a subject. An armed man is a citizen. And it’s not about hunting! It’s just not. So let’s talk about some of the fiscal issues that are going on down there. I mean, we’ve got – let’s talk about healthcare — SB-200, which is the healthcare exchanges. We’ve had a lot of bills coming through. We’ve tried to repeal it over and over again. And there are solutions.
TINLIN: Yes, there are, absolutely. I mean, you know, I think what we really would love to see – and I’m sad that Libby Szabo and [Greg] Brophy’s bill, SB-40, didn’t pass, that would have allowed for some cross-state commerce, allowing for exchanges to go across the states. I mean, I think that that would have been one of the greatest solutions we could have allowed for, because, again, it goes back to that free market, the exchange – you know, we truly haven’t had a free market in healthcare for fifty years, to allow something to come back as free option – [correcting herself] sorry, as a free market option for people. I think, would have been great. So I think those are some of those things that we could have seen that they took down, that they didn’t allow this session.
[…]
CLARK: I don’t know what world she lives in. I just don’t! So what other issues are you going to make as part of your platform?
TINLIN: Well, let’s see. You know, I think anything that reduces regulation, that opens up opportunities, anything that gets rid of rules and laws, it’s going to be – I feel like, as a lawmaker, it will be hard to support things that can’t – that nobody can answer the question, “What problem does this solve?” If it creates more problems, that’s a ‘no’. But really, truly, what problem are we solving with whatever bill is coming down once we’re in session. And that’s really going to be the measurement I go by for when I’m voting, is, truly, “Does this simplify things? And also, does it reduce the involvement of the government in the constituents’ lives?
CLARK: […][Asking the same question posed to a respected Senator in the Colorado Statehouse] So, Marijo, I’ll ask you the same question. What, in your mind, is the proper role of government?
TINLIN: I think, certainly at the state level, the proper role of government is very small and limited to infrastructure–highways, roads—and also public safety, and not a lot more.
CLARK: Man, I like that answer! No wonder we like you so much! That’s good!
TINLIN: [embarrassed laugh]
CLARK: That is very good. Now how do you feel about when, for instance, the federal government starts putting mandates on the state of Colorado, and they always do it with the ‘crack’? Okay? And by that I mean, the money that they’re going to give us to install this new program, and, “ooh, look at all this free money we’re getting from the feds!” Five years later, that money dries up, blows away, and we’re stuck with another mandate.
TINLIN: Mm-hmm. Yeah, well, the key word there is “free money” which is actually our neighbors’ money and our taxpayer money. So, it’s not really free, right? And you know, I think one of the things that we need to remember is the power of the 10th Amendment, and that we’ve got to keep states’ rights in the front of our mind, and understand we are a sovereign state of Colorado – not a sovereign nation, but certainly we have the right to do what we need to do as a state, and to exercise our right as is covered in the 10th Amendment.
[…]
CLARK: [When they wrote the Constitution, and when they sent the letter off to King George, they talked about the “State of Britain”, just like they talked about the thirteen states of the union. So, yes, they did consider themselves thirteen individual countries that came together with one federal government overseeing the thirteen countries, if you will–that’s what they did mean back in those days by the word ‘state’ – that would provide for national defense, the things that states or the countries could not do individually, the Feds would do then. But they also knew that if ultimately that Federal government would grow out of control – as they all do, every single one of them. So, I’ll ask you this, do you support an Article V resolution?
TINLIN: Absolutlely. I mean, I think, again, like you said, I think there’s a lot of confusion between a constitutional convention, which is not what we want, and so people get scared about that. But for you to be able to explain the difference, I think that Article V would be a really, really good thing. And people are getting on board all over the country, and the idea that –
CLARK: It’s gaining a lot of momentum. It’s going to be very powerful.
[Contact information given: Marijotinlin.com is the website. Also Facebook page is: Marijo Tinlin for Colorado. Please like us there.]
