There are some sorts of political connivery good natured everyday folk like you and me just plain don’t like (well OK, maybe these “control sample” folks aren’t just like you and me, but you know the type – those…. well, normal people.)

And you also likely know the kind of scamboogery we’re talking about, those back-alley, smoke-filled room deals that give politics a bad name. The stuff that’s gone down throughout America’s political history making it so we just about can’t even have a decent discussion in regards to affairs of state at our own sackafrackin dinner tables, at least not with steak knives present. Now you can taste what we’re serving, right? The stuff that just makes you want to march right home and take a long shower just thinking about it. Here are a few examples: Exhibit A – Legitimate government waste (no, not the partisan hype kind, the real stuff.) Exhibit B – Election rigging (yeah, gross.) Exhibit C – Government gridlock (unless, of course, you’re a Libertarian, then you revel in logjams.) Finally, Exhibit D – Political carpetbaggers – our topic of discussion, er… chatter this time around.

Now, we’ve seen a lot of carpetbagging with a capital C in our very own Centennial State in our time, haven’t we? Heck, it’s Colorado! Everyone wants to move here right? But that’s not what were jiving on about just now. No, we’re talking the intra-Colorado carpetbagger, a less common species, but one that should always be given his or her fair share of scrutiny. Think along the lines of former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez’s move from Congressional District 2 to CD-7, or former Senate President John Morse’s sudden urge to buy a small apartment in SD-11 just in time for him to run for office.

Well, peeps, man-oh-man, do those past little maneuvers look like child’s play today – particularly to a whole lotta’ folks who are just plum stirred up down south. Nope, Morse/Beauprez carpetbaggery just ain’t nothing in comparison we tell ya’. So now’s as good a time as any for us to announce our 2016 Intra-Colorado Carpetbagger of the Year Award. The lucky winner?

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Benjamin Lyng, Republican candidate for Senate District 4, a seat being vacated by term limited incumbent Sen. Mark Scheffel, the Senate majority leader.

According to our very own Kelly Sloan who first reported this story in The Hot Sheet, Lyng moved from his Cheeseman Park home in October 2015 after purchasing a home in Castle Pines in September. Our review of filings with the Douglas County Assessor’s office confirm the same, with a warranty deed having been recorded on Oct. 13. Wow! Now that’s a squeaker. Throw some mattresses down just a couple of weeks before the filing deadline in order to qualify as a local.

So, there you have it. Lyng’s probably a very nice guy, and perhaps even well qualified to serve as a representative for a community he’s lived in for more than a couple of months, but folks, in our representative republic, you would hope someone wanting to represent you at the state Capitol would have a fair degree of experience in and with the specific community they wish to serve. You can’t gain that sort of real life, hands on experience in a community with campaign CliffNotes, especially when you’re simultaneously trying to build your campaign structure and fundraising machinery.

Capisce? Capisce. So, there’s some of the Chatter for the week. We’ll be back when we’ve got some more of it to feed your curious natures. Meanwhile, keep your carpetbags handy. Thanks to term limits, there’s most always an opportunity to run for some publicly funded job somewhere out in the hinterlands we all call Colorado.