Video: Ban-fracking activists “acting like 10-year-old kids” at Gov. Hickenlooper’s book event

In the latest installment of how extreme Colorado’s ban-fracking campaign has become, activists descended on Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper’s book presentation last night in Boulder, Colorado, shouting slogans and unfurling a banner in an attempt to shut down the event.  As the Boulder Daily Camera reports:

“A book talk by Gov. John Hickenlooper at the First Congregational Church in Boulder turned unexpectedly chaotic Wednesday night when it was disrupted by anti-fracking protesters from a group called the Colorado Community Rights Network.”

The Colorado Community Rights Network (COCRN), which organized the event, is the local face of national ban-fracking activist group, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), an organization that is well-known for such extreme tactics as calling on activists to “fill up jails” and even threatening communities with bankruptcy.

Audience members were not very impressed with the group’s extreme tactics to disrupt the event. From the Boulder Daily Camera:

“Two themes emerged among the remaining audience members: Nearly everyone expressed that they found the protesters’ behavior disrespectful — not only of the governor, but of the audience members.

“Counterproductive,” “Ripped off,” “You’re hurting your cause,” “Acting like 10-year-old kids,” and “We have rights too” were sentiments held in common. (emphasis added)

As EID has previously reported, Hickenlooper’s new memoir extols fracking as the “very best and safest extraction technique.” The governor also elaborates how as a former geologist, he understands the science behind fracking. Hickenlooper writes:

“Early critics of mine were right about this much: my background as an oil and gas geologist did influence my perspective. I understand the evolution of hydraulic fracturing. I knew that the innovations in technology, everything from the hydraulic fracking systems to the fluid, had become so advanced that it was a remarkably safe extraction method.” (pg. 276; emphasis added)

Of course, the Governor has long-been an advocate for Colorado’s energy producers, calling ballot measures targeting oil and natural gas development “radical” and “extreme” because they would “drive oil and gas out of Colorado. Colorado’s other top elected Democrat, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet also supports fracking. For example, Bennet recently lauded the announcement that Colorado’s Mancos Shale contains far more natural gas than previously thought. As the Durango Herald reports:

“Responsible development of these resources can create good paying jobs and a cleaner energy mix, while still preserving sensitive landscapes like the Thompson Divide that make Colorado such a special place,” Bennet said in a statement.

Recent polling shows that broad majorities of Colorado Republicans and Democrats support increased domestic oil and natural gas development. In fact, the campaign has become so extreme that a recent appearance in the state from activist celebrity Bill McKibben drew less than 100 attendees and no prominent Democrat elected officials.

Their increasingly desperate attempts to garner attention are due to the fact that their efforts to ban shale development have been sputtering out at every turn.