The fever-pitch debate over the Trump administration’s Cabinet and court picks has inspired a separate dust-up over the tactics employed by the warring sides in those nomination battles. It’s as pronounced at the state level in places like Colorado as it is nationally, with partisans (elected and otherwise) stepping into the fray.

The administration’s defenders and detractors – particularly those in elected office – have weighed in with press statements and media opps registering their support for / opposition to a particular candidate.

Meanwhile, what appear to be rank-and-file citizens critical of the new administration – making a case for rejecting the nominees or simply denouncing Team Trump’s policies – are sometimes finding their own credentials challenged and methods held up to scrutiny. They fire back with indignation at having their authenticity called into question.

Colorado U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner and 6th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, both Republicans, took heat for speculating that protesters dogging them at public forums, thronging their offices and lighting up their phone lines over pending Trump nominations and policies are in fact anything but spontaneous or independent. That they are, in fact, “paid,” as Gardner charged, or “activists,” as Coffman’s campaign team recently tweeted in his defense.

Is it a fair charge? A blog post today by the unabashedly partisan Colorado Peak Politics makes a case in point that reminds us just how pre-packaged-for-prime-time politics can be. Calling out some of the activists who are calling in, literally, to tell Congress of their opposition to Education Secretary-designate Betsy Devos, the Peak Politics links to a revealing website called 5calls.org that provides a la carte options for protesting by phone.

The site invites visitors to click “What’s important to you” – “Oppose Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education,” “Prevent the Confirmation of Jeff Sessions for Attorney General,” etc. – and then instructs which lawmakers to call and provides “your script” to read into the phone.

All nothing new; it’s how it’s done in the business on both sides of the aisle. And it’s helpful to keep such things in perspective.

It has been said before: Not much in politics happens by chance; when it does, maybe that’s the real news.