IT ALL started tamely enough. During the last Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association meeting, businessman Carl Peterson almost nonchalantly announced that he and other businessmen have banded together to form a lobby group called Guam United States Asia Security Alliance, or GUASA.

Of course, this was not earthshaking news. Peterson, Gerry Perez and Joe Arnett have been longtime members of the Guam Chamber of Commerce’s armed forces committee and they have traveled numerous times to Washington D.C. to lobby for increased military presence on Guam.

What was new this time was that the group had actually hired a prominent lobby group in Washington D.C. to fight for Guam’s interests. Even this wasn’t really remarkable news-wise. Interest groups do this all the time, which is probably why Peterson’s group didn’t even organize a press conference to announce the decision. In fact, GUASA itself was nothing new, having been formed earlier this year and having hired K&L Gates soon after. They’ve already been mentioned in the media before and the group has even met with Washington officials to discuss the Guam buildup.

It also wasn’t surprising that Sen. Rory Respicio reacted the way he did with regard to GUASA. In fact, Respicio’s reaction was already expected since the majority leader had been the main proponent of the Guam First Commission, which was created to present a “One Guam” voice in Washington.

Respicio’s main point is that there is something wrong with a separate, business-only group, speaking directly to the U.S. government on matters of great impact to all residents of the island. “Raising money to lobby in favor of advancement for our island is a good thing. But raising lobbying money to drown out the voice of a legitimate, democratically elected government, in favor of advancing special interest groups, could sidetrack efforts to form a coalition of all interests into a ‘One Guam’ voice,” Respicio said.

But the issue really became hot when some political genius in Adelup saw it as a chance to single out and politically hurt Respicio, who has been one of the most consistent bete noirs of the administration. Adelup was quick to turn the issue on its head and brand it as a freedom of speech issue.

Moreover, Adelup took the opportunity to focus attention again on the charge that the ruling Democrats in the Legislature were trying to derail the buildup. “As far as I’m concerned, this group of people is trying to help. They’re trying to clean up the mess certain people helped to create,” Gov. Eddie Calvo said pointedly in a statement.

The Democrats had already managed to put behind them the GOP charge that they were the main reason for the delay in the military buildup. Remember the Fab Five days, when five Democrats were singled out as the main stumbling blocks to the buildup, with Respicio among them? Since then, the Democrats have managed to tone down the rhetoric and shift the focus elsewhere. Now, the GOP’s secret weapon, the charge that the Democrats are anti-buildup, has been strategically brought back to the forefront of public attention

Proof that the current effort to vilify Respicio is a deliberate political plan came when Adelup wouldn’t let up even when Calvo left for Okinawa. Without missing a beat, acting Gov. Ray Tenorio continued Adelup’s attack during a special address set up specifically to hammer the issue. Tenorio’s special address picked up where Calvo left off, only this time, the attack was on the whole Democratic Party itself, specifically the Democratic majority in the Legislature.

“Those in power at the Legislature chided the buildup, misrepresented the people, and left congressional leaders and their staffers with a bad taste in their mouth about Guam,” Tenorio said.

A third Republican senator, Chris Duenas, also joined the assault. “Unfortunately, several of my colleagues have sent mixed messages to Washington stating that our people do not support the buildup,” Duenas said.

On the other side of the fence, not one Democrat picked up the cudgels for Respicio. The anti-buildup branding is obviously so fearful for the Democrats that nobody wants to be tainted by it this election year.

Speaker Judi Won Pat did agree to let Respicio take over her usual Speaker’s Address where Respicio stressed that he supports the Guam buildup and had always been supportive of it. But he also said: “The buildup doesn’t belong to big businesses or special interest groups, it belongs to the people of Guam. I also believe that those issues that directly affect your families should never be discussed in secret. That’s why I reacted as I did when I learned about the Guam United States Asia Security Alliance.”

The Democratic Party leadership, perhaps belatedly realizing that the GOP was ganging up on Respicio, finally fought back and focused on the Washington lobby group’s perceived ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

In a statement, the Democratic Party said: “Republicans believe in the power of money, not the power of people. That, not the first amendment, is why Sen. Duenas has been so quick to defend the special interests that are most likely to pay his campaign bills in an election year. That is why the Guam Republican Party used Abramoff's dirty politics in the 1990s and why we aren't shocked that they are using this disgusting bag of tricks again in 2012.”

As for Respicio, it is clear that he is now in the crosshairs of the administration. And this is no ordinary political hatchet job. All this effort is not being expended just to bump off one Democrat senator. A lot of people consider Respicio as the inheritor of the Gutierrez mantle, and thus, the Sunshine horde. If Gutierrez himself doesn’t run for governor again in 2014, a number of Democrats expect Respicio to vie for the nomination. The Calvo strategists may have already decided to take Respicio out of the game this early or at least damage him enough that he won’t be a factor in the next gubernatorial election. As the capo Frank Pentangeli said in the Godfather II movie: “Let’s get him now, while we have the muscle.”